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Week after week would slip by and I would have the good intention of putting a set amount aside (usually 10% as so many finance and money books advocate) of my income for savings. But week after week, I just never seemed to have anything left over. I know, I know you're thinking that I should be paying myself first and a minimum of 10% at that. Well, when the bills arrive and your paycheck just barley covers those expenses, then what? This is when I decided to create simple and painless ways of saving money by saving in ways that don't make me feel like I am missing something or going without. By saving in small consistent amounts everyday I have been able to amass a sizable savings that have come in handy when life has thrown financial curve balls at me from medical expenses to new tires to vacation expenses. Specifically I started using the following simple and painless techniques to save money.
S&P Way 1 - The Spare Change Way
One of the simplest ways to save money and have it accumulate in a short time is to take an empty glass canning jar, the quart size works best, and upon returning home each day simply deposit any change in your pocket or purse into the jar. You'll find that in a very short amount of time that your change adds up to a sizable savings. The two primary ways of making sure that this does add up to a nice sized savings is:
1.) Everyday when you go out to work, shop, etc. only use paper money to pay for your purchases keeping the change, and
2.) Never "borrow" from your change jar. If you are into the habit of using a debit card for just about everything from fast-food to gas purchases, then simply refer to your receipt and calculate the amount of change you would have received had you paid the amount in single dollar bills. For example, if you purchased gas using your debit card totaling $16.42, you would refer to the receipt and calculate the change you would have received if you had paid $17.00 in single dollar bills. Therefore, you would have received 58 cents. At the end of the day when you are emptying your pockets and purse of change, take a moment to tally up all of your receipts as described and place the total amount of "change received" into the jar rounding to the nearest dollar. If you follow these steps and make a habit of depositing the change from the jar into your savings account every time it becomes full, I guarantee that you will be surprised at how much you will have accumulated in savings. Note too, that most banks have a change counter and provide automatic change counting as a service to their patrons.
S&P Way 2 - The "You Saved!" Way
Another simple and painless way of saving I have found is that most stores that I go to provide receipts that seem to always have a line at the bottom that reads, "You Saved ____ today!" The food market I frequent has this printed on their receipt. So, every time I receive one of these receipts with this line, I refer to the amount of money I saved. Then I simply take that amount of money from my wallet and place it into the change jar as well. Over time I have found this to be an especially easy and painless way of saving and often save well over $1000.00 in a year's time without so much as even feeling like I am missing or giving up anything.
S&P Way 3 - The "You as Creditor" Way
Make yourself a creditor. This way, I become a bill that I have to pay and one I make sure to pay first. The only difference is that I "pay" a mere 3-5% of my net pay check depending on what bills I have needing monetary attention that particular week. In fact, I set up a second checking account and electronically transfer the "owed amount" into this savings checking account before paying any other bills. By keeping the amount to a minimum and being consistent about putting it into my savings checking account I find that I have been able to amass a sizable savings quickly. Moreover, this savings has come in handy to pay for vacations; much needed new tires for my vehicle, and other unexpected emergencies that crop up from time to time, a phenomenon everyone knows all to well.
S&P Way 4 - The Level Income Way
Finally, I make a habit of not increasing my standard of living along with my pay increases. I like to call this my "Level Income" method. Every time I receive a bonus, pay raise, or other monetary incentive I put it into my savings checking account. By practicing this technique, you can ensure that your spending does not outpace your wages. This technique also provides you with the knowledge that if your income ever decreases over time due to some unforeseen event, you will still be able to pay your bills and live at an acceptable standard of living.
Using these simple and painless savings techniques will bring huge rewards in providing you with financial peace of mind knowing that just about any emergency requiring an unexpected cash outlay can actually be taken care of without breaking the bank. Now that's what I call simple and painless saving!
About The Author: Jona is an instructional designer, web and graphic designer, and technical and business writer. When she isn't working on client projects, she can be found updating her personal project, http://www.simpleandfrugal.com , a website dedicated to those seeking to simplify their lives.
Copyright 2005 Jona E. Kessans. All rights reserved.
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