guestpost by Crystal H. of Sophisticated Spender
There are a lot of advantages to putting your savings on autopilot, and then combining your autopilot savings with Impulse saving!
Here are a few reasons why:
1. You Won't Miss It: You won't spend money you don't see: things in your budget always adjust themselves when you have fluctuations in income. Most Americans already spend so much money on meaningless impulsebuys - and never even realize how much cash is missing! Now, that cash is no longer flying out the window, but going somewhere safe and sound.
2. It Adds Up Quickly: Lets say you want to to go on a vacation or a $2,000 shopping spree next year. You only need to set aside $24 a week to reach your goal in less than two years!
3. Do It On Impulse: The people here at ImpulseSave have it right: you should tie your savings to a daily activity. Wells Fargo has a similar program: every time you make a purchase using your check card, $1 is deposited into a savings account. And trust me, that money really adds up fast!
Save Like A SmartyPants:
1. Automate something to go into your savings account. You can even start with something as little as $5 or $10 a week. That will quickly turn into $260 or $520. And after 5 short years you'll have $1,300, just from saving as little as $5 a week!
2. Sign up for ImpulseSave! Create an action for you to tie your savings to. Here are a few examples-save $1 every time you: check Facebook, check twitter, send a text message, swipe any card of any kind. You can even up the ante to $10 for every time you get gas, every time you go to the grocery store, every time you go to a bar or restaurant, or every time you step into a mall. (If you can afford a trip to the mall, you can afford to put $10 into savings first).
I know you can all do this. Starting off small will get you into the habit of saving money and when you are ready, you will take bigger steps with your savings. Adding saving money to your regular routine will be much easier than you think, and the benefits will surely have you loving it all the more!
Good luck!
