Save Your Savings!

When it comes to financial planning, the goal is to get from the present to the future with enough savings to live once you are at the future. And you can’t do that if you spend all your money in the present. Your future is going to happen, whether you plan of it or not, so don’t create one that you are not proud of because you didn’t take care of business today.

You’ve simply got to start saving. Even if it’s just a few dollars each month, you must get started. If you have no savings now, you are not alone. According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 36% of US adults have NO SAVINGS outside of retirement accounts. None, Zip, Nadda… Guess how many of these people are going to be fully ready when their future happens. Probably a few more than “None, Zip, Nadda…”

How To Get Started

Start.

Wow, That Was Insightful!

I could have written a whole paragraph on how to motivate yourself and all the reasons you need to do this, blah, blah, blah … But the fact is, you know you need to do this, so do it. What holds many people back is they think they need to start with some huge, impressive amount of cash in order to get started. There is this grand vision of walking in to the bank branch with a wheel-barrow full of $100 bills and dumping it into the safe.

How embarrassing is it to walk in to your bank and ask “What’s the minimum amount I can start a savings account with?” This may stop you from starting. Don’t let it stop you any more. Most banks will let you open a savings account for as little as $1.00. Yup, a buck. Empty the change out of your coat pocket, plop it on the counter and say, “I’d like to start a savings account, umm … for my kid… but my name will be on it”. Or start with a slightly larger amount if you can.

Your Savings Account is Like Farming

Think of those coins in your coat pocket or that little bit of cash you can spare as your seeds. You’re planting these seeds in the hopes of growing a great crop for the harvest time that’s coming. These “seeds” will get the crop growing. Just like a farmer can’t grow a crop without any seeds, you can’t grow your savings if you never start small. And it is not the amount of seeds you plant that is important – it’s the fact that you now have a crop to grow. It’s the momentum. It’s the “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” idea. Take that single step, plant those few seeds, and you’re on your way.

Tend To Your Crop

Once you’ve got some seeds in the ground, you’ll want to continually add more seeds to the account. Here’s a couple ideas to grow your savings:

“The Latte Factor” - you’ll be making decisions on how to spend less money each day by making smarter choices, and those “Latte Factor” savings can be added to your account.

An “Income Blitz” - to raise some more seed money. You can set up a direct deposit from your paycheck or from your checking account each month into your savings account.

These articles above and more will give you ideas and strategies you can use, but you simply can’t use ANY of these ideas until you actually get started. “Once begun is half done.” Don’t put it off another day. Walk in to your bank and set up a savings account or go to ING Direct and set one up – but don’t get caught up in the “considering” stage of this or the waiting until you have enough to make it worthwhile. Start TODAY with what you have and that will be a huge first step towards getting to your “there” with enough.