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Cali Pearl Response:
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I'd like to applaud your honesty and your never-give-up attitude! You're determined to win this battle and I appreciate your openness. As with any endeavor, saving money takes time, commitment and discipline. Below are some tips that may help you have a successful 2012 money saving resolution.
- Set a savings goal and define its purpose. If you begin your savings plan without any clear direction on how much you want to save or what you're saving for, you're setting yourself up for failure. It's a good idea to start with a plan. Write down the reasons why you're saving. Is it to buy a new car? To purchase new furniture? Go on a well-deserved vacation? To invest in mutual funds? It's very important for the money you save to have a purpose. It's been my experience that money without a purpose is doomed to get spent. Once you detail "why" you're saving then it will be an easier process for you.
- Save a portion of your savings for emergencies. As you begin your savings plan, break off a small portion of that savings for an "I'll only touch this in an extreme emergency" backup plan. So if you start by saving $25 a month, take $5 (of the $25) and put it in a secret place. You don't have to open a separate bank account for this money. Put it in a cookie jar or under your mattress and forget it's there, until you really, really, really need it. Have the $20 automatically deposited from your paycheck in a savings account at your bank. Your bank or HR Department can help you set this up.
- Think before you spend. Many times we spend money because it's freely available. We believe that if the money is in our pocket or on our debit card it's okay to spend it. In order to have a successful savings plan, you have to make tough decisions and start questioning your spending patterns. Do you really need to eat out everyday or can you bring your lunch from home? Do you have to have a "girls night out" and go to the movies or can you have a "girls night in" with a movie from Redbox and invite your guests to bring their favorite dish to share? Look for ways to increase your savings. Making smart choices to save money should be celebrated and once you see your savings account grow you'll feel better about the decisions you've made.
If you think you can't save any money, let me just say that anyone who saves $25 a month will have accumulated $300 in savings by the end of the year. If that seems like a small amount to you, ask yourself this question, "Do I have $300 in my savings account today?" If the answer is "no" then I personally believe that saving $25 a month is a great starting place for you. Once you get into the habit of saving a small amount, saving larger amounts of money will be much easier to achieve.
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