Week 5: Make Saving Easy

posted on February 22, 2016 08:14

Last week, we recommended that you take a look at your day to day spending habits, determine what you will do with the extra money and do some research on apps that can help you track your spending.

This week we focus on another important aspect of managing your money responsibly – saving. When you save, you put aside money for future use. Saving money can give you peace of mind, knowing that you have access to money when you need it. Saving money also sets you up for a successful future, a future where you can accomplish your goals, such as pursuing higher education, buying a home, buying a car and retiring comfortably.

Unfortunately, many people do not save. Some people genuinely believe that they cannot afford to save, while others procrastinate, putting off saving until later on. Some even find themselves spending money that they intended to save on wants, not needs. Saving money proves to be difficult for many.

However, saving money should be a priority. Everyone will not be able to put the same amount of money towards savings but, in taking a hard look at your spending habits (as we did last week), you can find that by cutting back, there is money to save, even if it is a little. And if you put aside that money towards your savings consistently, you will find that it adds up.

This week, take a look at your saving habits. Are you saving diligently towards your financial goals, or are you finding it difficult to save? Does the thought of saving make you sad because you find it difficult? Do you wish that saving money could become easy?

Put it on Automatic

One of the best and easiest ways to guarantee that you save is to have money deducted automatically from your salary and sent to an account that is not easily accessible. When you set up direct deposit to your savings account, you are making saving a priority and not an afterthought. You are making provisions to pay yourself first.

You can ask your employer to split your salary; a percentage can be automatically deposited in your checking account or the one from which you pay your bills and another percentage can be deposited in an interest-bearing savings account. You can also set up automatic transfers from your checking to your savings account.

It’s best if you do not have an ATM card access to your savings account so you’ll be less tempted to make impulsive withdrawals.

Benefits of Automatic Saving:

it happens without you having to think about it
it reduces the temptation to spend impulsively
it enables you to reach your goals
it also saves time - no standing in line

So, go ahead – put cash to your goals and automate! Visualise your goals and automate! Make saving easy – put it on automatic!

Your prescription for Week 5

Talk with your banker about setting up an automatic saving plan.
Talk with your employer about setting up direct deposits to your savings account.
It's not too late to commit to a saving challenge. We have created four options for your to choose from. Choose the challenge that matches your saving goal, divide that total figure by 12 and put it on automatic. To view the four options, click here.