10 Ways to Make Yourself Save More Money

Saving money can be difficult as you’re usually putting money away for an intangible item, out of sight out of mind problem, for a future occurrence that may never happen. Maybe you make a general statement such as I’m going to start saving because it’s important. This is not motivating enough to consistently save money. You may save for a week or two, but then you’re going to fall off.  Ask yourself: Why is it important? What exactly are you saving the money to buy? Here are a few more ways to make you save more money.

1) Write down your goals (previous post about resolutions and goal setting). In order to achieve something you first have to state what it is. The goal should also be specific and measurably. You should know exactly when you have successfully reached the goal, give it a dollar amount and deadline.

2) Create a visual reminder of your goals. Out of sight, out of mind is a big factor. You’re more likely to spend and not save if you can’t remember why you should be saving, especially when the impulse to buy a want occurs. Create something visual to hang on your wall, place as a screen saver, etc.

3) Break your savings goals into daily or weekly amounts to make it more manageable in your mind and so you know exactly what to aim for every day or week. For example if you want to save $6,000 for the year, then you know you need to save $500 each month, $125 each week, or $17.85 each day. If you’re saving up $1,000 for a trip coming up in 5 months, then you know you need to save $200 each month, $50 each week, or $7.14 each day.

4) Wait and come back. When you want to buy an item, wait for at least a week, come up with reasons as to why you need it, not want but need it. If you can’t think of any reasons then leave it. If the item will no longer be available in a week, then wait at least 24 hours. You’ll be amazed how this simple trick will get you to decrease unnecessary spending.

5) Shop your closets. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I clean a closet or cupboard I find things that I’d completely forgotten existed. There may be things in your home suffering the same fate. What’s in the back of your closet? Check the clothes closet, hall closet, pantry etc. What forgotten items may be in there? How can you re-purpose them for the new season or a new use?

6) Get a bottle for loose change. When you buy something, put the loose change in a bottle (aka piggy bank for adults), or just get a piggy bank and have fun with it. Once your bottle is filled, wrap the coins in the appropriate wrappers and take them to the bank. It’s better to take them to a bank where you have an account as you can deposit the money in savings right then and there.

7) Only charge items you can pay off in full before the end of the month. Don’t carry a balance on your credit card and you’ll save all the money you would have paid in savings. You’ll also maintain a good credit card history and credit score while not increasing your debt.

8) Make a realistic not extremely frugal budget. One of the top reasons a person doesn’t stick to a budget is the budget isn’t realistic. The budget is so limiting, there are no rewards or real entertainment factored into it. No one and I mean no one can stick to a budget like that one and if you can’t stick to the budget then you’ll overspend. Make sure the budget is frugal so you’re getting the most out of your money and moving towards your financial goals, but don’t make it so restrictive that you can’t enjoy yourself a bit. You won’t overspend and you’ll save money.

9) Calculate how long you have to work to afford the item. Every item you buy you can figure out how much time you have to work to be able to afford it. For example, if you’re buying a jacket that is $200 and you make $20 per hour, you worked for 10 hours in order to get the money to purchase the jacket. Is it really worth 10 hours of work? Do you feel comfortable trading 10 hours of your time for the jacket? Do this before making a purchase and you might just decide the item isn’t worth it.

10) Delete your saved card information on the shopping sites. Major shopping sites will allow you to create an account and save your payment information. This is offered as a gesture in convenience for the shopper. If you have an account you don’t have to take out your card and spend time entering the information. Or looking at it from their view, you won’t spend time thinking about the purchase and potentially deciding that you really don’t need the item. Convenience can and does lead to more spending. Delete the information, take the time and save more money.

What are your biggest obstacles to saving money and how do you overcome them?

Want to learn more about creating your own wealth check out Financial Blueprint for Quitting Corporate.

About the Author: Maria James has a compassion for people that makes her involvement in Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation a sure fit. She is a biomedical scientist who is public health conscience and has always worked for the betterment of others. Maria is the founder of Pocket of Money, LLC which provides tools and tips to help you take control of your money and live your best life. Dr. James is our resident Money Scientist.

Why New Year's Resolutions are Dangerous to your Money

Many people look at new year's resolutions as a good thing. They make vows to get healthy, save more money, spend less money, give up vices or bad habits and more. Do these all sound great to you? Most people would say yes. However, all of the above are bad resolutions. Why do you ask? Because they are all too vague! What exactly is meant by get healthy? Are you resolved to eat healthier? How? What exactly is meant by save more money? How are you going to do it? How much is more? You have to create a specific plan if you want to achieve these goals. Making vague resolutions is setting yourself up for failure. Do these three steps to make concrete financial resolutions or goals.

1) Write a plan.
Write out what your resolution is. That's the what. Then get very specific as to how you are going to achieve it. What the steps necessary to achieve this goal. For example, say your resolution is to start saving for retirement. Look up what that entails. What is the first step? You need to know about different types of retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403(b) traditional IRA vs Roth IRA, SEP IRA for those who are self-employed. Learn the advantages and disadvantages, money going into the account pre-tax vs contributing after paying taxes on your income. I would go into the differences but that's is an entire blog article itself. Then write out how to start the steps to start these accounts. How much you're allowed to put in etc. You see where I'm going get very specific, write out a detailed plan.

2) Set a date.
For each step in your plan, write a deadline. When are you going to accomplish each task? Writing it out without saying when it should be done is a good way to ensure that it never gets done. Giving each step a deadline will also allow you to avoid getting overwhelmed by the steps and tasks. You'll be able to complete them in an orderly fashion with less stress. Staying with the example from above, if your first step is to learn the differences between retirement accounts, by what date are going to have that accomplished? Put the deadlines on your calendar as a visual reminder so you ensure they get done. Remember each task accomplished takes you closer to your financial goal.

3) Set a dollar amount.
Every financial resolution should have a specific amount attached to it. You have to have a number that you're working towards. At what number can you claim success. If you're resolved to save more money. How much money do you need to save per month, per year? Make it specific. For example, I will save $1,000 this year. Now you have a number. Now you have a concrete endpoint for when you have accomplished the goal. If we stay with the retirement example, a goal with a dollar amount would be: I will contribute 20% of my income. You know how much you make and how much should then be contributed. 

About Your Author: Maria James has a compassion for people that makes her involvement in Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation a sure fit. She is a biomedical scientist who is public health conscience and has always worked for the betterment of others. While an undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University she co-founded an organization called STOP, which taught basic self-defense to women and children. Her has a passion for diverse communities led her to live in Costa Rica for three weeks to learn more about the culture and community. Maria also continues to pursue her other interests which include, Spanish and finance. Maria also founded the business Pocket of Money, LLC which provides tools and tips to help you take control of your money and live your best life. Meet Dr. James at our 2014 Unlimited You Conference April 11- 13, 2014 www.hwhn.org.

Combat Holiday Marketing and Save Money

As soon as October hits, marketing for the holidays starts. We are bombarded with commercials and ads for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. No matter what your religion or which holidays you celebrate or observe, the commercials and ads get you thinking of your upcoming holidays and traditions. The marketers and companies that have paid the marketers good money to create the campaigns are hoping to direct your thoughts and emotions in order to get you to buy more and more items. Do you realize when it’s happening? How do you combat it? There are some nice tricks to work around the marketing and work with your money mindset to prevent any “extra” spending.

Mid-October I saw a commercial about a family dressed in costume and trick-or-treating for Halloween. Each member of the family, both parents and each child, had the latest gadget to plan their route and to get updates on the best houses to visit. The commercial showcases several new features of the gadgets and several new gadgets. The Dad then remarks that he is so happy that he upgraded their technology before the “holiday”. You may know to which commercial I’m referring. If you ignore the cute factor (the family is absolutely adorable) then you clearly see what the commercial wants you to think and do. You may start looking at your phone and think I do need an upgrade and I could use some of those new features for … and when I do ... We all do it, but there are ways to combat this.

Now, we are starting to see more commercials geared toward the major holidays in November and December. They want you to spend as much as possible for any major holiday or event observed during this time. You may start to feel pressure or the desire to get new items as you see the ads and commercials, as you start considering what gifts to get for others and yourself. This is what the companies want. Sure they also want to show off the new items, but they are also banking on the fact that you’ll feel the urge and need to buy, buy and buy some more things. You may need to use credit in order to get everything you “need” and we know what happens then, debt and guilt. Here’s how to combat the marketers and get what you need and nothing that will cause you to break the bank. First get familiar with your money mindset so you know which marketing tactics are hardest for you to resist. Next use the following tips to combat some of the marketing tricks.

1) Question it. When you see commercials and ads, ask yourself: what is this commercial really trying to get me to do. In my family we play a game, when we see a commercial we try to guess what the commercial is selling before it’s revealed. This little game will get you out of the mindless consumer trap.

2) Stick to your list. Determine what you need to pick up before going shopping. This will help you to combat a few marketing tricks employed within the stores. The holiday music playing and the scents in the store are all marketing tricks to evoke emotion to get you to buy more items, extra and unplanned purchases.

3) Use a waiting period. If you just heard about or saw a commercial for a new item that made you want it, you know you just need to have it, then wait for awhile. Do you still feel the same way about it? Have you done research looking up reviews and features of the item to determine if it will truly fit your needs? If you’ve determined that it is actually a great buy and fits your needs then purchase it (after looking for deals and doing comparison pricing).

4) Think of your spending not saving. There will be a lot of price tags and signs that tell you how much you can save by doing a certain action or purchasing a specific item. Instead of looking at how much you’ll save, look at how much you’re spending. If the sign says an item has been marked 50% off from $60 to $30 then you make think: yes I’ll save $30. However, the bottom line is you’re really spending $30. If this item is unplanned or something not on your list, you’re spending an extra $30 not saving $30.

Keep these four tips in mind when shopping to combat and resist the marketing efforts that want to convince you to spend spend spend. You will save money and still get everything you need and have fun during the holidays.

Author: Maria James has expertise with designing income management, debt management, and wealth protocols to help you keep more money in your pocket.Graduate school allowed her to further develop strategic planning and scientific analytical thinking and apply those methods to money management. The Money Scientist was born.Maria hosts webinars, speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate and empower you about money.

Maria is also Co-founder of Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation (HWHN), Inc, where she is currently the Director of Finance. She has used her skills to develop and implement a financial system that has kept the nonprofit growing for the past ten years. Maria has also been a guest financial expert on WEAA, Bobby Finance and RIB Radio. Visit www.pocketofmoney.com to learn more.