Saving money is not easy and is made more difficult if you have a short-term outlook regarding your personal finances. If, like many people, you are living from one pay cheque to the next, it is difficult to put some money aside for a rainy day or for a summer holiday. But what if you were to change your financial outlook into a medium to long-term one? You might believe that you cannot afford to think ahead and make plans, but in most cases you would be wrong. Most people should be able to save some money and with some effort, maybe even as much as 20 percent of their salary each month.
Income Analysis
First of all it is important to have a handle on where your income is going. Unless, we are on an extremely tight budget or are very money conscious for other reasons, many of us have never really sat down and considered what our money is being spent on ? we just know that by the end of the month, it has all gone! You will know if you are consistently spending your money on unnecessary purchases, for example. Having this knowledge equips you with the control to change things a little or a lot.
Saving Money Mentality
Many people have never been taught to save and as children, immediately spent the money they received without any forethought. You often hear people say, "Life is short, if you want something buy it now", but thankfully for most of us life is not really so short and along the way we will have to deal with both opportunities and challenges. Having some money saved will help you make the most of the opportunities and ride the challenges.
Savings ? Seeing the Big Picture
If you could save 20 percent of your salary each month, imagine what that would mean in real financial terms. For example, if you earn 2000 dollars per month and you saved 20 percent or 400 dollars out of every pay cheque, after 12 months you will have saved 4800 dollars! Regularly saving this amount of money would give you the financial freedom to take advantage of more of life's opportunities. You could plan the special holiday you have always wanted to go on, buy the car that you have been dreaming about for years, or help put a child through college. When it comes to life's challenges, having a lump sum put away could help you pay for private medical care or deal with an expensive plumbing problem in the home, all without having to turn to the bank for a loan and getting into debt.
How Can it Be Done?
As we have already seen, knowing exactly where your money is going is the starting point. Next, start thinking about the big things you could achieve with some money in the bank. Some people compensate themselves for not having what they really want, by making many frequent small purchases and getting a temporary "feel good" sensation afterwards. Rather than satisfying yourself with small purchases, such as new clothes and CDs every week or always buying the latest mobile phone, think about how much more satisfying it would be to save up and buy or do something special, which you previously thought was out of your reach, but is achievable with a little effort.
Emmanuel Mendonca is the webmaster and publisher of Debt Genius at http://www.debtgenius.com - a free source of information and advice on debt consolidation, getting out of debt and on saving money.
executive chauffeured services Bradford .. Madison to Airport carMost consumers are aware of the importance of their credit... Read More
1) HOW TO LOOK FOR A JOBA) The Chronological Curriculum:1.... Read More
I've been going through and interesting growth period lately that... Read More
Christians are called to be good stewards of God's resources.... Read More
With the advent of the internet and especially auction services... Read More
To save on food, be an opportunist. Buy what you... Read More
I have been a loyal user of Quicken(R) for more... Read More
Get Access to Realistic profitable strategies & discover the mindset... Read More
**If it's Spam, it's a Scam!- If it sounds too... Read More
Shopping for groceries is an inevitable fact of our ever... Read More
If you have a 401(k) account, it can be very... Read More
Gas prices have soared to unimaginable heights of late. Since... Read More
Have you ever stopped to think about how your "mood"... Read More
Recent security breaches at several credit card companies continue to... Read More
The judge had to ask the question, and we had... Read More
With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes... Read More
Are you a check fanatic? Don't worry, you aren't alone.... Read More
For me, the most terrible time of each month is... Read More
While 40% to 50% of us make New Year's resolutions... Read More
ID theft is a major consumer concern, though there is... Read More
Confused about whether you can contribute to a Roth IRA?... Read More
Did you know that 43% of all married couples argue... Read More
If You Have an Existing Account and 5 Minutes, You... Read More
Saving money is not easy and is made more difficult... Read More
Most Americans have been brought up to be concerned about... Read More
O'Hare Chicago prom limo ..Our global society has had a wake up call in... Read More
I have to admit, I do it too. I complain.... Read More
One of the simplest ways to improve your professional image... Read More
Are you a check fanatic? Don't worry, you aren't alone.... Read More
So, you've made the decision to apply for a credit... Read More
Good money management needn't be difficult. In fact, there a... Read More
How many drawers did you have to look through to... Read More
It doesn't take much for you to get behind on... Read More
Women have a love/hate relationship with money. Most of us... Read More
People haven't always written checks to buy goods and services.... Read More
Next to our physical health most of us are primarily... Read More
If you were to ask 100 women "What would you... Read More
Millions of people have a checking account and many people... Read More
The cries are heard from the distance, "I need help... Read More
Single Mother's in need of Financial GuidanceBudgeting is key to... Read More
Future financial success is not a guarantee that any one... Read More
It is possible to eat a healthy, balanced diet without... Read More
Recent findings from the Educational Policy Institute indicated that the... Read More
Do you struggle from week to week trying to make... Read More
Chapter 7The potential chapter 7 debtor should understand that a... Read More
Now there are ways to save money in the grocery... Read More
With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes... Read More
Budgeting. It's a word we're all familiar with. Everyone knows... Read More
Here are ten steps you can follow to help improve... Read More
We live in a crazy world. Someone ought to sell... Read More
Personal Finance |