Expert Q&A

Some people are spenders by nature, and for spenders the most difficult thing is to set aside money for the intangible(emergency funds, retirement, future needs, ect.) Start by making your intangible tangible. For example you may want to go shopping for the things you want in retirement (SHOPPING NOT BUYING). The internet is a good place for this, pick the dream house, fill it with furniture, park a dream car in the driveway, and so on. Now list all your bills and expenses and rank their priority from most important to least important. Now fit your goal into your priorities . This will help with a couple of things, first the discipline to shop and not buy, and second you will answer your question why you haven’t saved in the past and it will help you save in the future, by setting your personal priority to your savings goal. A couple of other things that will help is to put your saving in a place that is not immediately accessible. If you have money in a savings at the same bank you have your checking then it makes it really easy to just transfer the money anytime you want to. If you want to keep the funds at the same institution try setting up a rule that you have to go into the location in person in order to move the money. You’ll find that you are less likely to move the money. Be sure to set some short term goal as well as long term ones.

The key is to spend your money on paper before the month begins by using a budget, you can also use the envelope system for expense categories such as food, transportation/gas, etc. That way you will not overspend. Also you can get an accountability partner to account to on a weekly or monthly basis.

Honestly, this was me; So I am going to explain what I was able to do to force myself to “put away” money before any bills or expenses are paid AUTOMATICALLY transfer funds to a savings account. I use my banking mobile app that shows all of my accounts and I have started small with a just a few dollars until I began depositing more money. The key is to develop the habit.

Have a budget stick to it and make saving a priority. Pay yourself by saving because it is for your own benefit. Think about how hard you worked for that money and remember that you do not get rich by spending. save for your future