Saving money can be tough, but it’s worth it in the long run. Here are 10 ways that saving money can help secure your future.
Have you ever wondered if there are any ways to secure your future when it comes to your finances? Saving money, whether it’s one dollar or one million dollars, can be difficult and frustrating at times. However, when you look at the big picture, saving money can actually secure your future and improve the quality of your life in many ways that we might not even be aware of. Here are 10 ways that saving money can help secure your future…
1) Create an emergency fund
To protect yourself against financial uncertainty, create an emergency fund—just in case. While experts disagree on how large a fund you should have, aim for at least three to six months’ worth of expenses (at $1,000 to $2,000 a month). Don’t know where to start? If you have debt like student loans or credit card balances—pay those off first before setting aside money for your rainy day fund. Once you’ve got some breathing room in your budget, set up an automatic savings plan with your bank and don’t touch it until you need it. And if you do end up using some of that cash, replenish as soon as possible to keep yourself protected from whatever life throws at you next.
2) Set up an automatic transfer into a savings account
One of the easiest ways to kickstart a savings habit is to simply make it so you’re automatically transferring a certain amount out of your checking account and into a savings account each month. This removes much of the decision-making process and just makes sure that you have enough set aside for rainy days. You might need some discipline at first, but most people will develop an automatic transfer schedule they’ll continue for years once started. Think about how much fun you’ll have spending all those saved dollars when you’re retired!
3) Use automated bill pay
Bill pay is a lifesaver for forgetful types or busy people who just don’t have time to go online and make sure every last bill is paid by its due date. Consider this before making your final decision You will save money in the long run, will be able to take care of business sooner than if you chose normal mail delivery, and best of all. With this bill pay program, you won’t have to remember to pay your bills or remember to send the check in on time. Your bills will come to your bank account, so there’s no need to think about writing a check or mailing it off on Friday night at exactly one minute past midnight. When your inbox becomes clogged with your annoying monthly bank statements, it’s fine to just throw them away. If you don’t want to get junk mail any more, PaperKarma will help you with cancelling subscriptions.
5) Prepare for retirement early on
Saving for retirement is a great goal to have and doing so may guarantee your future success. But if you wait until you’re older to start saving, you may find yourself in a position where starting late may not make it possible to achieve your goals.
You should start saving as early as possible, or else you may have little chance of succeeding. For example, if you wait until the age of 45 to start putting money away for retirement, you’ll have only 20 years of payments to make—with only 15 or 20 years left to benefit from them.
6) Invest some of your savings into bonds and stocks
There’s a fine line between smart investing and throwing caution to the wind. If you start dumping all of your savings into stocks or whatever else you feel like, you could easily lose what little security you may have built up over time. Make sure you invest in bonds first; they’re safer than stocks and will give you something stable to fall back on if something happens with your stock market investments.
4) Negotiate with credit card companies
You should contact your credit card company to ask for an APR reduction (and request in writing) if you’re paying more than 10 percent per year. It is your right as per law. Credit card companies have 45 days to honor this request and the APR rate cannot be increased if you made a late payment on time. It’s also a good idea to check with all three major credit bureaus every few months so you know what your scores are at any given time. It’s $20 per bureau, but if you want to stay up to date on your finances, it’s worth it.
7) Buy insurance policies if you need them
Whether you’re buying life insurance or health insurance (and a lot of people don’t), having coverage is important if you want to be sure that your finances and those of your family will survive if something unexpected happens to you. It may seem like an unnecessary expense when you’re younger, but once you have dependents and/or other considerations like retirement savings at stake, there’s no such thing as too much insurance.
8) Cut down on extras like cable or cell phone plans
If you’re trying to save a buck or two each month, consider cutting down on other expenses like cable and phone plans. The big players typically give you an option of basic or elite packages at different price points, so go for one of these instead of paying full-price. You might even find that you don’t miss some of those extra channels after all!
9) Prioritize paying off debt first
This means things like student loans and credit card debt. Paying off these debts gets you back in control of your finances while getting rid of something that’s causing you to spend too much money and rack up interest payments on a monthly basis. By cutting out extra expenses—especially unnecessary ones—you can put more money toward paying off debt each month, which makes it easier to get out from under its burden sooner rather than later.
10) Save 20% of your income each year
Whether you’re living paycheck to paycheck or have a few dollars stashed away in savings, budgeting is an important part of securing your financial future. But many Americans have no savings at all. According to one recent survey, 41% of people say they don’t even have enough saved up for an emergency expense like a car repair or medical bill. To start building some security for yourself, try setting aside 20% of each paycheck for savings—and if you can’t do that much right now, start with 5% and work your way up from there.
