Hands up who’d love to save more money. Now, hands up everyone who’s actually doing anything about it. That was a lot of hands up in the air that came straight back down again! That’s why we’re going to look at tried and tested methods of putting more money aside.
But first, don’t forget that you might even be eligible for some money – many people put off formally checking because they don’t know where they stand and they think their personal injury, for example, might not be severe enough. Why not get in touch with an LA based personal injury lawyer for more information, to confirm or deny this. It’s worth a go. Now, let’s get on with how to save more money.
Balance your own books (audit your bank account)
Many of us are already signed up to online banking, but for those who aren’t, you’ll need access to your most recent bank statement. Taking the time to go over your bank statements (either online or on paper) can be a little off putting. We all know that we indulge here and there, and who can blame us, with only 12 pay days in every 365 days of the year, we look forward to making use of our disposable cash while it lasts. But it’s time to be grown up.
Make a list of everything you spent money on last month. Subtract that total from your wages and see how much you have left to save. Don’t worry, it’s meant to be shocking, otherwise you wouldn’t be in the position of having to check your finances in the first place. Now, looking at your list of outgoings…
Cancel every payment to things you don’t want or need
We all make decisions regarding regular monthly payments that we later find we don’t want or need any more. Things like signing up to zoo memberships, signing up to gyms, taking out memberships at golf clubs, taking out store cards, paying for music streaming services that we rarely use, and paying for several TV and movie streaming services that we do use, but realistically only once or twice per month and with mixed results. All of these things can arguably be cancelled with very little effect on your enjoyment of life, saving you an easy small fortune each month.
Set up a savings account and pay in automatically
Research shows that people don’t always do what they say they’re going to do. Things like starting a new diet or applying for new work or changing careers always seem to be on the to-do list, for example, yet rarely make it onto the ‘done’ list. Likewise, with our finances, people tell themselves that they will see what is left at the end of the month and put what they can into a savings account. But nobody ever does.
Instead, set up an automatic payment, so that you remove the flaw in your plan to save (the flaw being your own reliability to manually pay into a savings account each month!). Even if you can only save a small amount, it all adds up over the course of several months.