This page contains the following Savings Tips.
I recently read in a magazine a plan to get your finances back in line and to save money at the same time. It is called the 50, 30, 20 plan.
The 50 part is 50% of your pay goes towards things you absolutely need such as food, medicine and electricity. The 30 is 30% of your pay goes towards things you want like a cell phone, cable television, and internet usage. The 20 is 20% of your pay goes towards savings.
I have begun to limit using what money we have left over from the "have to have" list and the "want list". I have started banking the 20% in my savings account. It is really easier than you think. Neither my husband nor I are paid an exorbitant amount each month, but we do spend money on things we do not need. Since the checks come in at different times, I have found it is easier to take the 20% off the top before I pay the bills. If push came to shove, I could always go into the savings account and take the money out.
There are many good aspects to this plan. It opens your eyes to see what you are really spending your money on and what you really do not need to spend your money on. Also the added benefit of having some savings really does make you rest a little more comfortable. After paying all the bills this month, I actually had money left over which is very unusual. I am looking forward to honestly see what I can delete in my billing and not really miss the loss. I have found it very useful and I hope you do as well. A little nest egg really can make a big difference.
By gem from VA
Here are the Savings Tips asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
We finally are to a point where we have budgetted well enough to have some money to put in savings. About 100 dollars a month. What would be a good long term investment? Thanks, Alice.
The first thing I did was to set-up an emergency fund. I created a 2nd savings account and called it my 'permanent' savings. I would have a certain amount direct deposited into this account and when it reached $500 I would put it into a 3-month CD. When I had enough money to open a 2nd CD I made sure it would not mature the same month as the one I already had opened. I did this until I had 3 3-month CD's that matured in different months. By setting my CD's up this way I knew that if I had an emergency I would have access to at least $500 every month. After I set up my 3-month CD's I started opening 6-month CD's.
After I set-up my emergency fund I put the max allowed into my 104k. The remaining amount was split between my Roth IRA and my 'permanent' savings. If you are not comfortable putting that much into a 401k at least in put what your employer matches. It's free money for your retirement ' take it!
Look in to an ING Orange savings account at ing.com. The current interest rate is 2.35%, I believe. We switched to one of those and have enjoyed watching our savings grow more than it did at our regular bank. We also like it becuase 2.35% is equal to the rate on many CD's, but our money is never tied up. The Orange account is linked to our checking account so we can put money in easily over the internet.
I also think that IRA's are a good idea-- the earlier you start saving for retirement, the better! We split our savings each month between the Orange account and our IRA's.
becare ful about 401 ks i have heard stories from friends about the company going out of business and they loose their 401 k funds
also i would keep some money hidden somewhere at home to tie up all your money in the bank is unwise..if there was a war in this country or some terrible disaster how would you have access to your money..
