1) Be Realistic
2) Set a budget
3) Use an app or banking tool to track your savings
4) Share your goal
Saving is hard, we get it. Even the most money savvy of us find savings hard, you are not alone.
When you think about saving it’s usually equated with being shouted at by some ‘boomer’ to give up your avocado and toast and morning coffee. But saving money doesn’t have to mean giving up the things you enjoy, it might mean some small sacrifices here and there. But, let’s not give up everything that makes us happy to save money, giving up everything may result in you being more likely to not commit to your goals, and dip into those savings, even more, to help you get that feel-good hit the coffee and avo on toast brings you.
Here are our top 4 tips for saving:
1) Be realistic – unpopular opinion alert: if you only have $100 left after all your bills are paid every week – then DON’T aim to save all of it or even half. Start with saving 20% so 20% of $100 is $20. Then once you are comfortable saving that amount and you have made a commitment to saving that 20% like for at least a month, then reassess and look at increasing your amount. It might seem like slow progress, but if you can achieve a goal with a small amount and see rewards you are more likely to keep to your savings goal when you increase your percentage.
2) Set a budget – take a long hard look at your bank account, this can be scary and confronting (we don’t like doing it either) but if you are serious about saving then it has to be done.
Simple Steps:
- Print out some statements, crack out that highlighter and get on to it.
- Divide your spending into some categories, these will depend on your situation, but some favourites are expenses – groceries, takeaways, shopping, hire purchases etc.
- Then grab a calculator (or phone) and look at where your money goes each week or month.
Think seriously about where you can cut back, but remember don’t cut back everything at once. If you buy coffee every morning on your way to work, try only buying it every second day and saving the other day’s coffee money. Once you know where your money is going and you know where you can cut back, start your budget by looking at your non-negotiables ie – rent, grocery money, bills etc and work backwards from there. There are A LOT of apps and websites that can help you with setting a budget. We highly recommend the Sorted Budgeting Tool and we recommend setting up your own budgeting tool – using an excel spreadsheet or google sheets.
3) Use an app or banking tool to track your savings – this is a great way to help motivate you on your savings journey, lots of apps will let you set up an alert or reminder to help you see where you are at with your savings without having to log into your banking app. In fact, most banks offer apps that link in with their banking app to help you keep track of your savings.
4) Share your goal – tell people about your savings goal, just like any goal you have if you tell people about it you have others around you to help hold you accountable. Tell your flatmates, your mum, your dad, grandma, aunty, best mates, work colleagues, whoever you can about what you are saving for and how much you want to achieve by when. You never know Helen at the office might be saving for the same thing, or Jodie your flatmate might decide to quit buying pizza on Wednesday nights with you to help her save as well.
While we’re home loan experts, our blog posts are for general information purposes only and are not intended as financial advice. If at any stage you need personalised advice, get in touch on 06 8788 4444 or Ben or Mark.
