Yahoo Finance produced a very interesting article about people and the tricks to help them in making the saving. I would like to share with you all the tricks and my own experience about it. According to Encik Azizi Ali – the famous Financial Planner/Consultant and book writer – i was attended his seminar about 3 years ago, he said we MUST have 10% of our paycheck (salary) every month as a fixed saving. Honestly, i saved a minimum of RM380 every month as my fixed saving and it is working. Make me feel comfortable, secure and well-planned for any contingencies. So, here we go. 10 ways to tricks yourself into saving :
1. Know your plastic personality. Disciplined credit-card holders can earn rewards points by using their cards for all their purchases and paying the bills in full each month. Consumers with less self-control may want to use debit cards to make sure that they don't spend more than they have. In either case, your monthly statement provides a handy record of areas where you're leaking cash.
2. Don't trust yourself to pay yourself first. Instead, have someone else do it for you. Sign up for your employer's retirement plan. Set up an automatic deposit with your bank to seed your emergency fund.
3. Deposit your paycheck and other money to your savings account instead of checking. You're much less likely to spend the money if you have to transfer it from savings. Yes, you can use non-ATM card savings/investments account like Tabung Haji and ASB.
4. Limit yourself to one ATM withdrawal per week and make your money last. You can plan the amount for the withdrawal by comparing your spending. Save more money when less money in hand!
5. When you make a credit-card purchase, record it immediately in your checking-account register. You won't be surprised when the credit-card bill arrives, and you will have enough money to pay it in full. You can use a planner, Blackberry, Phone Organizer or Diary to record all the transactions. Sound a little bit annoying to use all the staff right?! Believe me, it is working because you always know and remember how much you are already spent.
6. When you subtract a check from your account, round up the amount to the next dollar. That way, you'll always have a slush fund. Your bank may even do this for you. Sounds like small potatoes, but even if it's only RM100 every couple of months, that's still money in the bank.
7. Toss your spare change into a fun savings bank or glass jar -- anything that will catch your eye and your quarters. I know one person who accumulates RM900 to RM1,000 a year this way and uses the money to buy the gifts. Imagine – I’ve around RM100 coins collection in the end of every month, the change from toll, groceries, foods etc.
8. Bag the savings from brown-bag lunches. Each time you bring your lunch to work or pass up the temptation to buy a latte, take the money you would have spent and put it in your cash jar. It's an immediate reward for your self-discipline. Honestly, this trick doesn't work much for me. I will use the money for another things before it can be out in my drawer. Sad!
9. Pay yourself after you've paid off a debt. Once you finish paying off a loan or credit-card balance, keep writing the check but send it directly to a savings or investment account. You work so hard to gain the money with the huge paycheck. So, it is important to pay yourself with it. Only pay for yourself needs, not everything for yourself wants!
10. Can't decide between two items in a store? Give yourself a cooling-off period. Chances are you won't go back. I believe this is very easy for a man like me. I almost never have a problem in deciding to choose between two items in a store. But, when you face this situation you surely can use this tips.
Remember, if money is power, then saving money is empowering. It gives you financial security and the freedom to make choices. Every once in a while I tap my own slush fund to send my three grown children checks to treat themselves to dinner. They appreciate the gesture and I have fun making it.
Sources : Yahoo Finance and my own experiences/readings.
love this one too!
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