We all know the importance of saving money for the future. The issue is it’s not always that easy to do. Whether you’re saving for a house deposit, a well-deserved holiday or just building some financial reserves, there are plenty of obstacles getting in the way. Rising rental prices, utility bills and an ever-increasing cost of living are just a few.
In this article, we’ll delve into some of the best money-saving secrets to help you put more away each month and, more importantly, keep it there!
Focus on debts first, not saving
This might sound counterintuitive, but tackling your debts is a good way to support your saving efforts in the future. Debt repayments eat away at your disposable income every month, leaving you with less to save come payday.
Target the highest-interest debts first and pay them off before putting money into your savings. Once these are paid off, you’ll have more to consistently save down the line and your funds should build up quicker – if you can avoid taking on more debt.
Get organised
Saving without control over your personal finances is never going to work as well as you’d like it to. This means having a clear idea of your income and outgoings, which is the main focus of budgeting – something you should definitely be doing every month.
A basic budget will list your usual outgoings and subtract them from your income to see how much disposable income you’ve got, if any at all. The more disposable income you have, the more you’ll have to build your savings. With an idea of how you’re using your money, you can optimise and cut your spending where necessary to give you more cash to put aside.
Build some sort of emergency fund
One thing that can so easily derail your saving efforts is an emergency or unexpected bill. Most don’t have the cash available to cover a new tyre or dental treatment upfront, so it ends up coming out of their savings or plunging them into debt and knocking them back a few steps.
An emergency fund is simply a separate pot for these sorts of events and can help give you a little financial cushion to fall on if needed. Start to build it slowly and, when the time comes, you can protect your savings from another heavy loss.
Don’t be afraid to make big changes
Change can be laced with uncertainty and it’s not always nice to experience, but sometimes it’s necessary to save for your future. If the little changes aren’t working, it’s probably time to take more drastic measures.
Could you change your living situation to pay less in rent or bills? Could you move in with friends or family to save more? Is there a way you could increase your income by moving areas or jobs? These sorts of questions are important to ask and so often worth it to accelerate your saving efforts and benefit your future.
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