Saving Tips: Ways to Set Yourself Up Later
When you have more payments to make than fingers on your hand, it can be difficult to get on top of paying them off before even thinking about saving money after that.
While getting in and out of debt is a common practice in South Africa, it’s not sustainable and will end up messing up plans you might have for the future.
If you’re able to put away a little today, it can have a huge impact on what you’ll be able to do later in life. This could be travelling, buying a car, or even buying a house. If you don’t have debt on your head and have savings in your pocket, choices and options open up much more readily.
Strategies to help you save more are:
Set up goals
Write down how much you want to put away into savings by the end of the month each month for a certain time period. If you write it down, it’s more likely that you’ll be intentional about your savings. Instead of saying “I’ll make sure I’ll save some money by the end of the year”, say how much you’d want that amount to be in an ideal scenario.
Whenever you are going to the shop or looking to buy something, remember that amount and you’ll find yourself less likely to splurge and more likely to save.
Start an Interest-Gaining-Savings Account
Separate your bank accounts from what you save and what you spend. This means you won’t fall into the trap of spending your savings by mistake. It also means if you have to use money from your savings account, you can keep a detailed account of how much to pay yourself back when you get paid.
Most banks make opening a saving’s account easy. It just requires asking for the best deal for your situation and doing some research into what will be the most-well suited account for you and your budget.
Track What You Are Spending
Budgeting can be tough because it means sitting down and looking at your spendings, which can be scary. In order to see what you might be able to cut from your finances, it’s important to know where you are spending a lot of your paycheck.
Tracking your finances means that you will be able to compare what you want and what you need – and start trimming down on the “wants” to put more money into saving.
Money tracking can be done with a paper and pen by writing down your spendings when you shop. It could also be through a spreadsheet on your mobile device. It takes a little effort, but once you’re in the habit of tracking your spending, it will come naturally.
Start Saving Today
You’ve just had a payday! It’s possible that you’ve had to send a big portion of it already off to your credit providers but some might remain behind for the rest of the month. Make today the first day of your saving! Put a little bit of your paycheck into your piggy bank or saving’s account. Then do the same again next month and before you know it, you’ll be a consistent saver!
Read: Benefits of Living Debt Free
How Can Debtline Assist?
In 2024 you might find yourself looking to sort out your finances and kill off pesky debt once and for all. If you find yourself in need of assistance with debt issues, the Debtline team is ready to help!
Debtline is a professional debt management company in South Africa that provides expert advice, helps with debt payment negotiations, and provides protection for those undergoing Debt Review.
We offer professional assistance for all. Get in touch by contacting the Debtline team via the website and filling in the contact form for a free callback.
