Monday, January 9, 2017

8 Weeks of Saving More! Ways to Save (Week 2, Part 1)


Hopefully last week, you did a little dreaming and finding your "why" for joining this challenge.  If you haven't done that yet, check out the first post in the challenge and be sure you complete both Week 1 tasks.  Also, be sure to share in the comments section!

Week 2 is here and it's time to get practical!  This is where we will decide the methods we will use to actually save.  I'm going to outline four methods today and the other four in Part 2, which will release later this week.  I encourage you to choose more than one method to try as you're working through the challenge, but no more than three.  I don't want you to be completely overwhelmed!  That would just give you reason to quit.  And you're not going to quit now!

Before we talk about these methods to save, I'd like to encourage you to read the corresponding chapters in my book 8 (Really Creative) Ways to Save.  As this is just a blog post, there is only so much I can write.  The book goes into great detail on each of the savings methods, which is why it makes the perfect companion to our challenge.  You can get it here on Amazon, and the best news is, it comes in paperback or ebook, your choice!

Again, the ways to save will be divided into two parts to prevent overwhelm.  Read through all of them, and make note of the 2 or 3 that seem doable to you.

Ways to Save

  1. Grocery Shopping Savings (Chapter 3):  This savings technique is fairly straightforward.  Keep your grocery receipt and save the money your receipt claims you saved.  Do this every time you go to the store and add up the savings during the course of the month.  You'll be surprised at how quickly it adds up!
  2. Habit-Building Savings (Chapter 4):  Are you trying to establish a healthy or positive habit?  Why not pay yourself for it?  Make a contract with yourself to pay into a savings jar or container each time you complete the habit.  You choose the habit you're working on and the rate of pay.  For example: "For the next month, I will pay myself .25 cents each time I drink 8 oz. of water."  See how easy that is?  Just make sure you do actually pay yourself!
  3. Save Your Change (Chapter 5): This one is easy-peasy, but are we really using it to its full advantage?  Because you can't save your change if you don't have any.  And you won't have any if you only use your debit or credit card on the daily basis.  That means, you're going to have to use cash.  The easiest way to do this is to designate a category of your budget as a cash category.  For instance, I usually get cash for my discretionary money.  And then I make sure I use it, and dump the change into a piggy bank at the end of each day.  Call it old-fashioned, but saving change is one of the easiest and time-tested methods of saving up cash quickly.
  4. Percentage Savings (Chapter 6): To try this savings method, you designate a percentage of your paycheck (or any check or income that comes into your hands) to go into savings.  The recommended amount to aim for is 10%, but many of us can't do that when we're just getting started.  So, start instead with 1% or 2% and increase the percentage as you become comfortable with this method.  The rule to remember is to pay yourself first, before you pay anything else.  Otherwise, even that 1-2% is going to disappear!
Those are the first 4 methods!  Look for Part 2 of Week 2 in just a few days where I'll outline the other 4 methods.  I encourage you to tweak these savings methods however you like to make it work for your life.  After all, it's your money!  No one gets to decide what to do with it but you and your family.  Make these methods work for you.

Week 2, Task 1: Read this post.  Start thinking about which of these tips will work for you as you begin this savings challenge and how you can make them your own.  If you have any questions or want to share with the group the methods you've chosen, comment below!

That's all I've got for you today!  Which of these methods above are your favorite?  I'd love to hear from you.

2 comments:

  1. Save your change is something I do now. I've never thought of it as a savings plan. Mostly a way to rid my purse of heavy change, ha! I like the habit-building savings idea and will be interested in trying that. I did purchase an ebook copy of your book and am reading through it now. I think this blog is great!

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    1. Saving my change is something I've always done too! Although I think I'll do a better job of it now that I'm trying to use more cash in everyday life. And the habit-building savings method is really fun! I wish I could pay myself for drinking coffee, lol! Thanks for buying the book. I hope you enjoy it!

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