When times are tough financially, it’s frustrating to realize that you should have been saving all along to have some kind of emergency fund, a savings buffer to get you through and pay the bills. Despite wishing you had more money set aside, it’s not too late to start saving money even when you are in the middle of a financial emergency.
The idea is to get yourself into the habit of saving money. This is the reason you don’t have an emergency savings account: you haven’t been putting aside regular savings to cover you in times of need. Getting started saving money is not hard, you just need to carve out some extra cash, even if it’s just a small amount, and do it each paycheck before you spend all of your income on expenses. That’s what the saying “pay yourself first” is all about.
You can get started with as little as $10 or $25, since you are simply making a commitment to put something aside. The act of putting money into a saving account, that you do not touch, and do so on a regular basis, is what you’re after here, not having hundreds or thousands of dollars in your emergency fund right away. Some financial commentators though do say you should strive to keep $1,000 in your emergency fund at all times, and only use it for legitimate emergencies. Once you have that thousand set aside, you can focus on using extra cash to pay down debt or build up savings for other important life events, like buying a house, paying for college, or saving for retirement.
If you think you can’t find even ten bucks to put aside, think again! Any time you make an impulse purchase, for example picking up that DVD on sale, or an extra beauty item, or a cute top you walk past in the store, these are all items that you don’t really need, and it’s cash you can move into savings. Find ways to avoid buying those extra items, and on your way home, stop by the savings bank and add that money you didn’t spend into a statement savings account. This is the only way you can begin to build wealth, and avoid getting over your head in debt again, which was the reason so many people have had such hard financial times over the past year or two.
Starting to build savings will help you and your family in the long run, and help you feel more secure and stable. Use some of the tips for saving money that you’ll find on this website to get started immediately, today, and make it a personal commitment to pay yourself first each and every paycheck.
