If you’ve been working diligently to clear your debt, and are now focusing on the next phase of your finance plan, you’re likely eager to achieve your saving targets swiftly. It’s common among individuals who’ve followed Dave Ramsey’s snowball method, to find transitioning from being debt-ridden to a saver a bit hard. Once people get debt-free, they often feel a surge to splurge more since it’s such a freeing moment. However, the principle of maintaining a financially balanced lifestyle is always living within one’s means. Just because you’re free of debt doesn’t offer you an open license to start spending irrationally. Financial discipline is key–even though it’s seldom as enjoyable as spending money.
The encouraging fact is, the more you embrace financial responsibility, the quicker you can save, attain your saving targets, and eventually spend on things that you’re saving up for. Does that resonate with you?
Here are some pivotal tips to help you achieve your saving goals swiftly:
1. Treat your savings similar to a bill: You’ve likely received this advice from many corners–pay yourself first, channel your income straight into savings. Any way you look at this concept, it translates into “compel yourself to save”. When you think of your savings as any other regular bill, you’re obliging yourself to deposit money into your savings account.
Currently, my spouse and I are focused on saving up $30,000 for a home down payment. Rather than waiting till the end of the month to check the remaining balance, we directly transfer a fixed amount into our savings with each paycheck. This approach helps us to constrain our living expenses, enabling our savings to accelerate.
2. Deposit all additional cash into savings: Many people often regard unexpected “extra” cash as bonus money that they can freely spend. However, my spouse and I strictly consider any additional money as an addition to our savings, which includes everything – rebates, tax returns, unused allocated funds.
3. Reward yourselves: While my spouse and I both are dedicated savers, we still want to experience the joys of life and travel. Therefore, we set small rewards for ourselves, like dining at a new restaurant or a spa day, for every $10,000 savings milestone we reach. These little treats serve as great incentives to keep us focused on our ambitious saving targets.
By utilizing these strategies, you too can fast track your saving goals!
