Rainy Days are Inevitable: Make Saving a Priority

Saving Money

For rich people, handling money isn’t something that’s as much of a concern as for regular folk. After all, the wealthy and opulent have armies of accountants and financial advisors that are ready to tell them what’s the smart call at any time. And the extremely poor on the other end of that spectrum can’t really afford to save money, with all of their day-to-day issues. However, the truly astounding people out there are members of the middle class who really can set aside some money and build a rainy day fund; but end up not doing so, to their own detriment.

On the other hand, if you do have the financial sense to save on time - you’ll realize that it allows you to achieve any sort of life goal. Whether you want a comfy and early retirement, or you need a down payment for your new car - setting money aside in advance is what will get you there without becoming deeply indebted. Besides, it’s always good to have a rainy day fund; you never know when an emergency will demand a lot of money from you.

Prioritizing Savings

So, now that you know the importance of savings, the question is - how do you actually achieve the level of saved-up money that you want? Well, the only way to do it is to truly make saving a priority in your life, on a day-to-day basis. And that requires a thorough and responsibly devised plan. With that in mind, have a seat and do some thinking about the goals you’d like to achieve with your money. Do you want to have an emergency fund, college education for the kids, a new car, or something else? It could be a combination of all of the above, of course.

Regardless of which, try to do a simple cost analysis, and figure out what kind of predictable long-term expenses you’re looking at. Once that is done, you need to give yourself a rough timeline for your savings; by the time this allocated time period has passed, you should have reached your monetary goals.

Mind you, this mustn’t be some sort of arbitrary and esoteric goal, like saying you want to save up X amount of money by 2025. Instead, you need to have this ETA constantly in mind. Your regular schedule will be determined by dividing the gross amount by the pay periods, months, or weeks between now and the end date. That way, you’ll remain vigilant when it comes to contributing to your savings; just like when it comes to must-pay costs like utilities, mortgage, or rent.

You Are The Priority

When people receive their paycheck, what’s the first thing they do? Pay their utilities, their lenders, or their landlord. But once you start being responsible with your money, You’ll realize that the first thing you need to do with your money is to pay yourself first. And when you’ve contributed to your long-term financial well-being, you may begin to divvy up your income for all of the other fixed expenses. For people who are smart about their consumerism, there’s a chance more disposable income will be leftover by the end of the pay period. If that’s the case, put that into your fund as well.

Where To Save From

Of course, while all of this is sound financial advice; sometimes it isn’t easy to make ends meet; let alone save money for later. Still - you may have some extra money laying around without even fully being aware of it.

If you want to find it, pay closer attention to your purchases. During a single week, track them and see what you’re actually spending money on a day to day basis. You will probably be surprised at the amount of stuff you can definitely do without.

Also, you want to steer clear of impulse purchases. That’s why we recommend not going with a credit card as often as possible; use cash instead, and you won’t be as tempted to splurge. Sticking to a budget will be far easier when you’re limited to what money you’ve actually got.

On top of that, try to rank all of the expenses that are flexible, like various subscriptions and payments for software. Cut out the ones that belong on the bottom of that list, because you probably don’t need them that much. We also recommend taking a look at your food expenses. Many people don’t realize just how much money they spend on eating out; try cooking at home more often, and packing yourself lunch. No pun intended - but expensive dining does tend up to eat up your money.

Conclusion

At the end of the day - it’s all about proper budgeting. If you’ve got what it takes to be rational and track your income and expenses for a while, budgeting will become like second nature to you. And while it doesn’t always sound pleasant, it’s really only a matter of not spending the money you can’t afford to. Once you understand where your personal finances stand right now, you’ll have an easier time saving up for a car or a rainy day fund.