Money saving tips - when “Just don’t spend it!” doesn’t cut it
So you want to save money, do you? Yesterday I explained why more money earned=more money saved is not always true. Today I share some easy money saving tips, some you may already be doing.
Automate it!
Your banking, that is. If you haven’t embraced the world of online banking, make a trip to your bank and set up the following:
- a savings account
- a chequing account
Most people have their employer pay them directly into their chequing account. If that is the case, arrange to have some of each paycheque transferred out of your chequing account into your savings account (how much you decide to transfer out will depend on the bills you have to pay) on a regular basis. You won’t even miss it. Those wanting to go a step further might consider preventing access to their savings account through the debit (ATM/interac) card. This will help curb most impulse buys as you will have to either go online and transfer the money electronically or visit the bank and arrange the transfer of funds before you can spend it. After a while you may even forget that the money in your savings account is accessible, and start living within the boundaries of your chequing account.
Give yourself an allowance
Related to the first point, this involves sitting down and creating a list of necessary weekly/monthly expenditures, including room for ‘treats’ and creating a realistic budget from this information. You can then make sure that only money for your budgetted expenditures is available for your spending pleasure. I know this is a great idea in theory but my penchant for impulsive purchases has led to my not implementing this one yet.
Think twice before making any big purchases
While small impulsive purchases do add up over time, if you are prone to making large impulse buys, you may want to set up a system whereby purchases over a certain amount need 24 hours thought or the creation of a ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ list. The hope is that thinking twice (or thrice) will reduce the number of purchases you make, and the regret that follows when you see your dwinding bank accounts.
I’ve got a few more tips in me but I’ll share those another day. What are your (no brainer) money saving tips?
money, saving, money saving, saving money wealth
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June 1st, 2007 at 1:27 pm
I have my savings in ING Direct, where it takes 3 business days to get your money out. (It really does, I have called and asked if there was any way to get it sooner.) Making it hard to get at your “emergency” money keeps you honest about what really is an emergency.
June 1st, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I like the way you put that: “makes you honest about what is really an emergency”. Many times I’ve told myself I’ll wait before buying something and in the majority of cases it turns out that it was just a temporary desire. Would that I could apply that to resisting the urge to eat unhealthy food! But it’s a good lesson: things we think we need and will die without are rarely that essential.
June 2nd, 2007 at 12:58 am
Good tips. I didn’t realize you were British(cheque).
June 7th, 2007 at 10:04 am
I have had a chequing and saving account for a long long time, and have always had a portion of my pay cheque put into the savings account, which I cannot access with my debit card. And it is true, you eventually don’t notice. Got a raise? Have the extra money put into the savings account.
Another thing I do is tired of having to pay money or not getting a whole lot back at tax time? Have your employer deduct a bit more off of each cheque for taxes, you’ll find you make out better a tax time. Sometimes it is easier to lose it in small increments than get a surprise at tax time that you owe money.
June 7th, 2007 at 10:40 am
KD Griffin: I am Canadian
Dave: good idea about getting more of your taxes taken off! Once I file my 2006 taxes (gasp!) I’ll see how accurate my employer is at deducting taxes!