You work hard almost every day of your life, so why not save some money for yourself and your goals? What is going to happen when you walk into that job one day and they say I’m sorry but we’re getting rid of your whole department? Or you walk into your house on a hot summer day and you discover that the air is not working? You have to be ready and sadly enough a lot of us are not ready for the “all of a sudden moments” that lie ahead. So let me help you get prepared.
At the minimum you should have a savings with at least 6 months worth of expenses that you have documented on that lovely budget of yours. The goal here is to be able to live comfortably for a minimum of 6 months after loss of income. A lot of people don’t even think about having an emergency savings account and they end up getting behind on bills or maxing out their credit cards trying to salvage one situation. Don’t let that be you! Start saving today.
Start Saving: Bundle expenses where you can
The first thing I want you to do to start saving is take a look at your budget. Do you have expenses in your budget that you can bundle together? I have my cable, internet, and phone service bundled together because it’s cheaper that way. I also have my auto and home owner’s insurance bundled together as well for a cheaper rate on both services.
Major Key Alert: When I signed up for home owner’s insurance, I mentioned that I had a home security service as well so the rate decreased again. I know you may be thinking home security is an added bill on top of another bill that you're already getting a good deal on. Not exactly true. You’re paying for peace of mind as well as a decrease for the chance of a home invasion which is costly in itself. Also, I negotiated my home security bill when I was out of work.
Start Saving: Unexpected Extra Income
We all get excited when we come into some extra income, especially when it’s unexpected. Here’s some ways to use that unexpected extra income:
Become current on a bill
Pay off a credit card or loan
Reward yourself. Especially if your extra income is from a raise or bonus at work
Take a thrifty trip. I did this before with one of my bonuses from work.
Last but not least…SAVE it. What better way to jump start your savings than putting away your unexpected extra income for unexpected situations that will arise.
Have you ever heard someone say “you can’t take it with you when you’re dead and gone?” Well the problem with that is none of us are dead and gone and tomorrow we don’t know what is going to happen to us so either someone is going to inherit what we left behind or we’re going to have to end up using it for something that decided to happen “all of a sudden”.
The choice is yours. I hope you choose yourself, first!
