How to Start Saving for your Future
With increasing technology comes increasing costs and decreasing savings accounts. We at Klinger Insurance Group not only want to save you money but we want to help you save your money too. Here are some small tips to help you save that can make a big impact in the long run:
- Learn your ABCs
Actually Commit to your Budget. We often make budgets and spending plans but don’t keep them in mind when we’re making non-essential purchases. We must stick to our budget no matter what. In order to avoid miscellaneous spending, set aside money out of a paycheck to start saving for something you may want down the line. A good rule here is the 24-hour rule. If you’re going to make a big non-essential purchase, think about it for 24 hours. This way you can gauge if it’s something useful to you or something you can live without.
- Automatically save for your future
It’s easier now more than ever to actually save. Many banks and credit unions have automatic savings tools that can round up your purchase to the nearest dollar and deposit the extra change into a saving account. You can also automatically set up transfers to a savings account online or in a mobile app so you’re saving without thinking about it!
- Treat yourself now and later
It’s important to treat ourselves but it’s also important to save for ourselves. Match your treat yourself spending and deposit that same amount into a savings account. If you splurge a bit and get a fancy coffee, put the total for that coffee in your savings account. These small amounts can build up over time and allow you to accrue money over time
- Short Term Savings can lead to long term profit
Set short term goals for yourself in terms of saving. Start out small like saving $20 a month and once you establish a pattern, you can really start to build up your savings. A common misconception is that you have to start big. You can always start with smaller savings and learn the discipline first then really make strides towards saving larger sums of money. Saving is a process and one that you have a lot of time to learn.
- Get more from your windfall gains
We all love to get a little extra cash but it’s important you handle those bonuses or tax refunds carefully. Make sure that when you get that extra and sometimes unexpected money, you put some of it away it help bolster your savings. Unusually influxes of money don’t come in often so it’s important to use and invest that money wisely when it does come in.
If you want to save even more, consider taking out a Permanent Life Insurance Policy. Most policies have a guaranteed interest rate of 3% or more. Your cash value will increase faster than a savings account. After a few years of saving, you can cash in the policy, take out a loan from it, or leave it to make sure your loved ones are taken care of if something happens to you.
We know that saving money can be difficult but hopefully these tips can help you start planning for your future. It’s important to start saving as soon as possible because you never know when something may come up. America Saves recommends you start with a base level of a $500 emergency fund and build your savings from there. We hope that whatever you’re saving for, we’ve made it a bit easier to get there. You can find out more at AmericaSaves.org.