Pay Yourself First.
Here’s How!
Have you wanted to start saving, but just haven’t done it? Well, I’ve been there…
I had worked out my budget and knew I had money to put into savings each month, but at the end of the month somehow I had nothing left.
I know how important it is to pay my bills every month, but what about paying myself? I realized I wasn’t making saving a priority, and I was just letting the money slip away. So I decided that I needed to think about this saving thing differently. I needed to ACTUALLY pay myself first.
I had heard of the “Pay yourself first” concept a million times, but never really got it. So here is a quick and easy way to do it—three simple steps!
- Work out your budget and determine how much money you can put into savings. Even if it’s just 5 bucks every pay check, it adds up. $5 x 52 weeks a year= $260. Or maybe you can put away $20 every week—that’s $1,040. You get the idea—even a little bit can really add up!
- Set up your direct deposit so that a portion goes into your savings right when you’re paid. (This is that amount you just figured out when you set up your budget). And that way you’ll really pay yourself first! This process takes out the extra step of you going online and making the transfer (if you remember to do it…). You can most likely make this adjustment in your online time-card/paycheck system. If not, talk to your payroll person.
(And if you’re a freelancer—you can also set up an automatic transfer with your credit union or bank so that on a certain day of the month, the transfer will happen automatically). - Forget about it! If you’re like me, you may not even miss the money. And the money will just add up. Maybe put a tickler on your calendar every 6 months or so to revisit the amount you’re transferring, as you may be able to save more.
That’s it—three easy steps to get saving today. If you don’t already have a way to save, I really hope you put this easy plan into motion. If you’re already saving—how do you make sure you pay yourself first? Drop me a line!
Happy day to you!
Kyra
