When funds are tight, income is low, or saving money has been a low priority, it’s hard to change your ways. Even when your funds aren’t as tight and your income got a little higher, if you weren’t in the habit of saving before, you aren’t magically going to make it a habit now. Don’t worry though!
You can actually train your brain to save consistently. The CGS Team is sharing 5 ways to make saving money a habit, regardless of what your situation is.
How to Make Saving Money a Habit…
Create Accounts for Each Goal (and Name Them)
Many banks will allow you to open multiple savings account without fees or with very minimal balance and transfer requirements. This will make it easy for you to create accounts for all of your savings goals.
Once you do so, name each account. You are much more likely to pull from your generic savings account than your savings account entitled “Bahamas Next Year”.
Put Your Goals in Writing
A goal is great in your head, but it’s overlooked and more likely to be forgotten than if you just wrote it down. When your goals are in writing, they are more likely to be achieved.
They are real and there is meaning behind the words on paper. Create a vision board to make it a positive experience, or get a trendy journal and keep it for all of your goals and ideas. Check out the article Creating a Game Plan for Your Goals to see exactly what you should be writing!
Break Out the Piggy Bank
Loose change may seem like nothing at all, but collected over time it can add up! To get yourself into the frugal mindset, start putting extra change or small bills into a piggy bank.
Eventually you will get to a point where you look for money to add to your piggy bank! This will result in less unnecessary spending and more mindful shopping.
Get Cyclical With Saving
According to a study in Phycological Science, people who adopted a cyclical mindset with saving, like building a monthly or seasonal savings habit, saved nearly 78% more than people who simply saved money randomly.
Putting $50 away every 1st and 15th of the month becomes a set-in-stone habit, as opposed to saving $100 throughout the month. Get a saving routine in place and it will be hard to break it.
When All Else Fails, Automate
Set it and forget. Automating your savings—like having a specific amount direct deposited from your paycheck, or having automatic transfers scheduled—takes the burden off of you to remember to save.
You can literally set it and forget all about it, until your savings goal is reached or you need to use the money.
Related: 5 Tips to Make Saving for Money Goals Fun
Saving money is fulfilling, and fun when you get into it! Get serious about your savings goals so you can do and achieve the things you want in life!
What actions do you have in place to make saving money a consistent habit? What tips can you share with people new to saving money? Post a comment below to share your tips and advice!
