Staying disciplined with your savings is just as important as staying disciplined with your family budget.
When you open a savings account, you are given a passbook. Every time you make a deposit or withdrawal, the amount is recorded in the passbook.
Let’s say, for example, that you have an online business where payments are made to you through PayPal and then transferred to your savings account.
While you may know how much you have deposited into your account utilizing a PayPal printout, it is still important to update the passbook whenever possible. This way, you can be sure that the funds you have deposited are noted in the passbook. You also want to receive the quarterly interest from your bank.
Unlike a family budget where you have to record expenditures and income, the passbook does the work for you. Each time you make a deposit or withdrawal, it is duly recorded.
The discipline needed is in cases when you cash a paycheck and set aside money to deposit into your savings account. Both can be accomplished in one visit to the bank. If you keep deposit slips in the glove compartment of your car or in your purse, you can easily make the two transactions at the same time.
On the other hand, if you merely cash your paycheck at the bank and take the money home, there is no inducement to fill out the deposit slip until another day. Perhaps you decide that you do not want to deposit the amount you initially set aside. Or perhaps you have a deposit slip already made out but decide to rip it up because you need a few extra dollars for something else.
Let’s face it; we have all been guilty of changing those deposit slips ? even with the best intentions. But doing so sets a pattern for future deposits. This is where the discipline part of saving can make all the difference.
In these difficult economic times, we cannot afford to change the numbers that can adversely affect our savings. If the household budget calls for depositing a certain amount of money into the savings account, then that is the amount that needs to be deposited. No ifs, ands, or buts.
It’s quite easy to say we will make up the difference the following month, but the odds are that will never happen.
If you have a budget that requires a specific amount of money to be deposited in the bank weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly ? try to stick to the budget. That is the true test of discipline and your willingness to abide by your own financial policy.
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Fashions change from year to year, but the one thing that doesn’t change is the cost. Clothes are becoming more expensive than ever. But at a time when it is critical that we save money, this is one area in which we can effectively do so – without giving up fashion sense.
Consignment shops offer individuals the opportunity to buy brand-name clothing for less. You can be assured the clothes are good quality because these shops only take new or used (worn one time) clothing. The label on the clothing is also required.
In fact, you can sell your own clothing with these shops and earn a commission. This is another way of saving on clothing costs.
But one of the most intelligent ways of saving money on clothing is an idea that has been around for ages: Buy one or two outfits and add an assortment of accessories to change the look of the outfit. Stick to colors that can be worn year round.
Remember to always have that one basic black outfit! You can accessorize it in a variety of ways and no one would know it’s the same outfit.
For those who have a closet full of clothes, it may not be necessary to buy any new clothes at all if you have maintained the ones you have well. This, in and of itself, can save you quite a bit of money.
Take care of your clothes by changing into sweats when you come home from work, hanging them up as soon as you take them off, taking care of any stains that may occur, and storing winter and summer clothes appropriately. If at all possible, purchase clothing that doesn’t require dry cleaning. That’s a huge chunk of change in savings right there.
You may also wish to swap clothing with your friends. This is becoming quite popular online as well. There is a website where you can swap children’s clothing as they grow out of them. Imagine the savings there!
When you initially buy clothes, look for quality; that is, clothes that will last a long time. Resist impulse buying. Just supplement your clothing with those things you need, not desire.
Looking good doesn’t require that you spend a fortune on clothes. If you are creative and have that confident air about you, people will not be looking at your clothes, but at you.
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Regardless how much you can save using coupons, money saved is really “money saved”. Those pennies add up. Some folks argue that 20 cents here and 50 cents there do not add up to substantial savings. But, if you can save 20 to 50 cents on every item you purchase, that adds up to real dollars in a short amount of time.
There are a number of websites that offer online coupons – some that you can print for supermarket shopping and others that offer discount to a wide variety of retail stores.
Coupon clipping has become more popular than ever. With the economy in the tank, every penny saved is well worth scouring newspapers for, checking out online coupon sites, and joining free clubs where you can save quite a bit of money using their discounts.
For example, Ebates.com is a wonderful site where you can join for free and receive emails delineating the discounts offered in any given week. During the holidays, one woman saved over $50.00 on discounts for clothing purchased from Macy’s online.
Ebates’ comprehensive site lays out the actual percentage you can save on any item and it explains what items will be discounted. You are automatically taken to the store’s website and the coupon is applied to your purchase.
There are coupon wallets you can purchase in your local dollar store encompassing slots for specific types of foods. After you clip the coupons, you can file them away in this coupon wallet instead of trying to go through loose coupons at the supermarket.
Many years ago, when coupon clipping was at its peak, a woman purchased over $200 worth of groceries and only paid $19.00. The difference was in the coupons.
Of course, you don’t want to buy an item simply because you have a coupon – only utilize those coupons that apply to your everyday meal preparations.
Think about it this way; would you take a dollar out of your wallet and throw it away? We all know the answer to that question. It is worth the trouble of going through daily and Sunday newspapers and circulars and clipping the coupons for future use. The money saved can be substantial.
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