Amazing easy ways to jump start your savings at Catch a Gideon

November 10th, 2006 by digerati

Starting to save isn’t the easiest thing to do. Actually, if you’re not in the habit of doing it it’s very hard to do. Most people end up spending all if their take home pay. Here are some ways to begin your adventures in saving!

Set a clear goal. What are you saving for? If you can’t say what, then you are probably not very committed to saving. Are you saving for a new car, retirement (how much do you need?), a rainy day? You should be saving for all those things. Decide how much you need for each thing you’re saving for. You need the goals to keep yourself motivated.
Use a jar. Put an old tomato sauce jar and keep it out in the open. Dump change in it every time you get home, or even put extra dollars in it occasionally. When it fills up take it to the bank and deposit the money in a high yield savings account.
Buy generic. Don’t skip buying something you like, but don’t buy the name brand. Look at the store’s version of the same products, they are usually the same and much cheaper. Sometimes they are even made by the same company. It’ll save money over time.
Do it yourself. Make your own coffee. Bring lunch to work. Bring soda instead of using the vending machine. If you can buy it or prepare it yourself then do so.
Plan a garage sale. You don’t need a garage for this. I sell my old textbooks on Amazon along with investing and other books I’ve finished reading. The garage of today can mean the Internet and you can sell just about anything on Ebay.
Cut your overhead. Also known as “double latte factor.” Almost every bill you get can be cut in some way. If you’re at Starbucks order a smaller size. Look at your phone bill, can you reduce it without losing the benefits? Maybe you don’t really need call waiting since most people call you on your cell phone anyway. Maybe you can get a Lingo Account and have free long distance. You can get many bills reduced simply by asking. Call the credit card company and ask if they can lower your interest rate. Lower your cell phone plan to the number of minutes and texts you actually use.
Tax yourself. Every time you buy something non-essential, add 10% to the cost and put it in your jar. Deposit that amount in a savings account. It makes you think more about items because they are “costing” you more. Also it means discretionary funds are used for savings too!
Make saving a family priority. Get kids in the habit of saving too. Make a habit of putting a portion of their income (from grandparents, from allowance, whatever) into a savings account. You can even offer to match savings amounts.
Automate saving. Determine in advance how much you want to save each month. This goes along with setting goals. Have the money deducted automatically each month from your accounts and placed into savings accounts. You can keep separate accounts for each saving purpose. If you don’t see the money in the account you are less likely to spend it.
Do something regularly to remind yourself why you’re saving. I’ve discussed the importance of rewarding yourself before. Make sure you do something nice for yourself to keep you motivated.