Finding the Savings

According to a recent study published on August 24, 2017 from CareerBuilder.com, 78 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. http://press.careerbuilder.com/ That is a scary statistic. How in the world can people save money? How can anyone have an emergency fund. How can anyone save for a trip? How can anyone retire? There has to be a way, and I believe there is a way; it is just not easy. This has inspired me to sit down and think about how the average person can actually be somewhat prepared for the future. I have come up with a few common sense steps that I practice myself for saving money. These steps are simple and something that many of us already know that we should be doing. Maybe they can inspire us to really take that next step towards financial freedom and motivate us to be different than 78 percent of Americans.

Step 1

The very first step, I believe, is the most important part of saving money! It's the cornerstone; it is your target. This step is to find a goal. First of all, in order for you to become motivated to save money you need a goal. Not just a goal but a detailed goal. Even better, a detailed goal with a timeline. It's not going to be “I want to save for retirement” or “a new car.” It should be “I am going to save $250,000 in 15 years” or “ I am saving for a 2018 Ford F-150!” When you have a detailed goal you make it personal. When you add a timeline you make it a challenge. Following this article I am going to give an experience of my own about saving for an engagement ring for my wife as an example. This was really my first big adventure of setting a financial goal and walking through this "saving money" process, and it all started with my one goal.

Step 2

Our next step is motivation. We need some motivation to reach the goal that we have set. For some, just having a detailed goal is all it takes. If not, what is it? Is your goal a need? Is your goal a want? If so, how bad do you want it? You need to picture yourself achieving the goal you have set. Picture 15 years from now with a solid retirement foundation of $250,000. Picture that beautiful F-150 sitting high like a beast in your driveway.This is where you envision that goal becoming a reality. This is where you get pumped up!

Step 3

Now that we have a detailed goal and we are motivated and excited to make it happen, we need a plan! This is the meat of the deal. This is where we plan out the in-between stages from a dream to a reality. How are we going to make this happen? We have to break things down and take small steps each and every day! So if $250,000 in 15 years is our goal, we have to break it down into small pieces and then attack. For this exercise we are going to work from ground zero with absolutely nothing saved for retirement to begin our goal. So $250,000 divided by 15 years is roughly $16,667 each year. Now that we have a more detailed plan, we need to save $16,667 this year. $16,667 divided by 12 months is roughly $1,389 a month, and $1,389 divided by 4 weeks is $347.25 a week. We now have a weekly goal to grind it out and average an extra $347.25 a week. Remember this is starting with not even a penny saved beforehand.

Step 3.5

Alright, at this point we have a smaller goal and a target to hit weekly. Now we have to figure out how we can reach this goal. There are three ways we can do this.

The first is to minimize spending in other areas and spread the dollar as far as you can! This is a written budget, and it takes discipline but will be very rewarding. You will need a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly plan to manage your money and assign it a place to go; this is vital to your success. Something special happens when you write it down and plan for your money to go to certain places before you spend a penny. You will be surprised at the money you have just vanishing through the cracks each month.

The second is to increase your income. This means more work; but if you are motivated and believe in your goal, it's no problem at all. We need to find ways to bring in more cash. This could be working overtime at your current job. This could be a part time job. Maybe it is mowing yards in your neighborhood, having a yard sale, delivering pizzas on the weekends, or selling handmade crafts. There are many ways to make some extra cash in today's time, just hop on Google and learn what others are doing.

The third way, I believe, is the best…. Do both! Combine the discipline of a budget and the hard work of an extra income source and yours goals will be met in no time. It's only up to you to make it happen though. You control your destiny!

Step 4

The final step in this process of saving money is to live it out! This part will take patience, hard work, and discipline. This is where you just do work and stick to the plan that we have created! At this point we have hope because we have a solid goal set, we have the motivation to make it happen, and we have laid out a coarse to complete our goal. We now have to follow our road map and know that a great reward is around the corner! As you complete your weekly checkpoints you will become more and more excited as you see the savings pile up. More motivation and determination will come— trust me. The hardest part is just starting!

To conclude, I would like to encourage everyone reading this to give it a try! Find a detailed goal that you would love to reach, Find the excitement within you to complete this goal, Find the pathway to succeed, Find the discipline and patience, and then you will Find the Savings!