America Saves Week

America Saves Week – Saving for Your Future

I always hear that there is never any money leftover to save. I used to think that way too until I implemented an automatic savings plan where I pay myself first. Each pay period, I have money automatically taken from my check and put into my savings. It’s as easy as that!

Setting up automated savings puts money into your savings first – either having your employer split your paycheck into two accounts or doing this through your bank. Once you set it, it’s done. No more saying “I don’t have money to save”.

Start with a small amount and increase it yearly or when you receive an increase in pay. $5.00 a week will get you $260; $10 a week will get you $520.

Once you get this set up, you might want to think about the different types of savings you will need in your life. Everyone needs an emergency savings for unexpected expenses. In addition, start think about your goals that need funds – auto, children’s education, security deposit for an apartment, down payment for a home, retirement, travel plans and more. Set up a savings account for your specific goal and set up an automated amount so that you can reach your goal in your time frame.

It’s never too late to start saving for what you want. You can achieve it if you want to.

America Saves Week – Reducing Your Expenses

This is a favorite of mine. I am always looking to reduce the cost of things. Here are some ways that we have reduced our expenses:

Bringing beverage and lunch to work instead of purchasing
Stretching out the time between personal services – haircuts, nails etc.
Asking for discounts – just received a discount code to take an online safe driving class to reduce the cost of auto insurance for the next three years
No fee bank accounts and using online bill pay (not paying for postage)
Eliminating annual costs – warehouse clubs, magazine subscriptions, TV subscriptions, etc.
Using the local library for more than books
Contacting your bill companies to see what offers are available. We received a $25 monthly discount on a bill for being a loyal customer
We do things ourselves – lawn mowing / snow removal, taking our own trash / recycle to local facility and more

What bill bothers you the most? Have you looked into ways to reduce or eliminate it? Have you checked out the competitions pricing? Have you asked your family and friends for suggestions?

America Saves Week – Living Below Your Means

This is an important lesson that we all have to learn with our finances. If we spend less than we earn, we have money to save and can pay our bills in full each and every month. If we spend more than we earn, we will incur debt. Debt creates a future obligation which is another expense for our budget.

Not all debt is bad debt, but debt can be the enemy of your budget. Good debt is paying for education that is going to give you a better job / career path. Bad debt is I want this now and I don’t have a way of paying for it, so I will use my credit card.

How do you know if you are living below your means? You need to track your spending for at least a month. Track your net income and all your expenses to see if you have more money coming in or more going out. This is the only way to see where your money is going. You might be surprised where your money is going. Once you see where your money is going, then it’s time to determine if you want or need to make changes to your expenses. It’s not always about reducing or eliminating your expenses. Sometimes the choice is that you need more income. You will never know until your see where your money is going.

America Saves Week – Planning for The Unexpected

Life is always unpredictable. Just when you think you are all set with your finances, here comes an unexpected expense.

Here are some of the unexpected expenses we have incurred:

Ruptured toilet feeder line damaging the bathroom and bedrooms floors

Car breakdown that needed immediate repair

Unexpected high medical bills that insurance didn’t cover

Pet / Vet expenses

Unexpected loss of income / non-payment from client

So, what do you do when something happens to you and your still have bills to pay? Yes, you can use credit cards as an option. It wouldn’t be my first choice, as this creates another bill to pay. My choice would be to have an emergency savings account to have the funds to pay for what life sends your way.

Experts agree that you should have 3 to 6 months of your income saved in an emergency fund. Personally, I think you should build up to a year in an emergency fund. If you want to start to save, see my post Save for Your Future.

America Saves Week – Financial Check Up

How do you feel about your finances? Are you feeling good about where you are today? Do you wish you had more savings? Do you wish you had less debt?

Be honest with yourself, take a financial check up and ask yourself the following questions:

If you had an emergency expense today, do you have the money in your savings to pay for it?
If you lost your income, could you keep your standard of living?
Do you pay your bills on time each and every month?
Do you pay your credit card balance in full each month?
Do you have a savings plan for today and the future?

Do you have a great credit score?

Are you insured (home / apartment, auto, life, disability, etc.)?

Did any of your answers surprise you? Is there any area that you want to delve into?

This is American Saves Week and I will be writing about a different topic each day, so check your inbox or social media. If I don’t cover the area you want more information about, please visit my website www.JillRussoFoster.com to read more about what personal financial information you are interested in.