No, really. What are you saving for? Is there something specific that you are saving for? A new car, a vacation, retirement? If you are just saving with no specific goal in mind, chances are you won’t save very much. This is because people focus too much on the short term and not enough on the long term and therefore will tend to use money for something in the here and now.
I’m a visual person, like many others. I have found that when I have a goal to achieve, such as graduation or exercise, I do better when I have a picture relating to the goal that I see everyday. This can definitely be applied to savings. Hang a picture of your savings goal on your mirror, use it as the desktop wallpaper, or place it on your desk at work. Seeing the picture day after day will help you focus on what you are saving for.
Some people are saving up for more than one item. For those people, I recommend using more than one savings account. That way, you know exactly how much money is for item A and how much is for item B and so on. You can go with a traditional brick and mortar bank, or you can open an account online. MoneyNing has a great list of different online savings accounts you can apply for.
So back to my question: what are you saving for? Make sure you have something specific in mind. Let me know what your savings goal is in the comments.
Right now I’m saving up (or rather paying) all my debt so I can become debt free! Then I’ll focus on maxing out my retirement savings and building a full emergency fund. I agree, keeping your goal visual is really helpful to kickstarting the whole process.
By: Carrie Smith on April 30, 2012
at 11:40 AM
That’s a good plan. Thanks for the comment!
By: Ryan on April 30, 2012
at 12:20 PM