Everyone can save money. It doesn't matter how little or how much. However there are numerous people who don't want to even try saving money because they embrace these negative thoughts — they don't earn enough money, they are still very young, they'll start saving a year or so later but the end result is they never get to save any money. In case of emergencies they have to borrow money and paying off the debts gets be what they do the rest of their lives. A simple way to save money is to spend less than you earn. Save what you can.
Great advice @Denis Hard! Anyone with any amount of income can save as long as they have the motivation and discipline to do so. I know some of those kind of people you mentioned who don't want to save because they give a negative connotation to saving. My mother-in-law is the exact example of that. At her age of almost 70, she has never ever opened a bank account at all because she believes that by putting away money for savings, you're actually embracing the thought that you'll soon get sick and you're going to use your saved money for that. I know it sounds ridiculous but I never tried to contradict her because it's her own belief. Although her attitude with saving is really unacceptable for me.
I totally agree with you, @Denis Hard. I don't always like it, but I have always forced myself to put a little something away, no matter how small, every single month. That's why I very, very rarely have the need to borrow money from anyone. I'm no big finance expert, but I'm very good at managing my money. I always cringe when some of my colleagues start borrowing money a week after being paid! Of course it's always a resound NO from me LOL I'm only a freelancer, have no benefits whatsoever and get paid about half what they're on, yet I'm the one who's coping better! I'm not sure what they actually do with their money.
A great way to save money is the 52 week challenge Basically you save $1 on the first week of the year, $2 on the following, and so on. By the end of the 52th week you'll have $1,400 stored away It can be hard by the end of the year to save $50 a week. Especially because that's a time of the year when you spend a lot... But sure is worth it.
Thanks for the advice. However, I don't have any problem on saving money because I'm was already financially educated by the time I graduated high school. I know different ways on how I can maximize my earning potential, the different principles on making money and saving money, etc. I do agree with @Colebra and the 52 week challenge is indeed a good way to earn money. Though personally, I haven't done the challenge because I just can't keep up with the high amounts when it reaches the 30 week mark.
I started a different approach to saving recently and it is working so far. I work on Mturk and can usually make at least a couple of dollars each day. I can then transfer that money to my Amazon payments account and forget about it. I am starting to just leave the money in there, and it makes me think of doing the work differently now because I am working to build my savings.
I wish I had started saving money at a much earlier age. I would be a lot better off financially than I am now. I think high schools should put a lot more focus into money management, budgeting, and finances in general that they typically do these days. These are some of the key life skills you will need to be successful. I'm not sure why we focus so much on silly things, and not on things that will actually help students lead successful lives, like financial management.
You are so right about saving money, but when you have it so readily it can be tempting. I know some people who have a jar for loose change that they save for a rainy day. When the jar gets filled they bring it down to the bank and just put it away in a savings account. You have to give some thought to financial security for now and especially when you're older. There is a change in social security laws too starting this May 2016 too for mainly couples and if you receive social security and stop and want to restart taking social security again.Log In to the social security changes for May 2016.
A lot of young people these days live in the here and now, often forgetting that so much can happen in the future and if you are not prepared, you may have to make ends meet for the rest of your life. The YOLO mindset is so widespread in today's society, catapulting single yuppies into debt of unimaginable proportions. One way to prepare for unexpected expense-generating circumstances is to save money and spend within your means. Eventually, you have to invest what you have saved. Once you are financially free, you can YOLO wherever, whenever and however you want to.
I really like this challenge, but never get round to getting started on it! I was going to start on it this year, but sadly had my contract revised and my pay rate slashed towards Christmas, for no apparent reason. Well ok, just so they could exploit me more LOL So I had to put it on the back burner I'm looking for greener pastures and if by January 2017 I've got a better paying job, I'll definitely get this challenge done
Wow, I've never thought someone would phrase my thoughts so clearly, especially the conclusion, I was just trying to explain that to a friend of mine today, that we all have money, the difference is in the way we chose to spend them, as he spends his on cigarettes. Also, I tried to explain the principle of spending less that what you earn, he simply stated that he already over spent today, so he can at least try and "finish the apple". At this point, I can't even feel sorry for these people, as they seem to always be throwing away money, he had about 25 cents left, and he desperately wanted an ice creams for those money, I tried to talked him out of the idea telling him he could save those money and it would add up, he couldn't understand that.
One of my favorite books on this topic is The Richest Man in Babylon, cited by today's leaders as one of their foundational books. Essentially, the author describes the fact that no matter how much you're making, it's completely feasible to save 10% for the future. It can be discouraging to start from zero, but every penny counts and soon you'll start seeing your savings making money for you.
