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How To Start Saving? Where Do I Start? 

I remember thinking when I was in my teens: “How can people afford to own a home?” “Where do they get the money?” I always knew home ownership was a goal I wanted to achieve at a young age, so I began my financial planning early! I planned and executed a savings plan that would allow me to eventually purchase my first home in my early 20’s. 

 I know thinking about finances isn’t very exciting…but planning for your future can be! Your first step to saving should be knowing how much money you are taking home per month after taxes. This seems like common knowledge, but lots of people I talk to do not actually know how much money the make per month or annually. (If you are in a commission or sales based career, just create an average income taken from previous months)

My biggest tip to start saving is to have an amount that will be put towards your savings every month that is non-negotiable ^ex/$500 that gets directly deposited into a TFSA or other Saving Account. 

MY TIP: Talk to a bank advisor and have them set up direct deposits to your saving account so that you don’t forget or make excuses to not save for that month. This amount should not be anything that will financially strain you on a monthly basis. Remember, any amount of savings is more than you had before!

But just to break things down: $500 per month translates to $6000 per year. In 5 years of implementing this savings strategy you will have saved $30,000. And the best part is…you didn’t even have to do anything besides set up a direct deposit with your baking institution.

So now that we are putting aside a set amount every month, lets talk about how we can kick things up a notch! You know when you are at home and fill up that online shopping cart full of items and fill out all the payment and shipping information…then get cold feet and let it sit there for a few days? Well, lets turn this into an opportunity to save some money! If you were able to spend money online shopping, then you can set some aside for your savings, RIGHT!? Take the amount you would have spent shopping and put it directly into your savings. Once you get into a habit of saving the money you would have spent it becomes quite addicting! This goes for anything! 

 MY TIP: Start making your coffee at home and that is $20.00 per week in savings! That is $1040 annually you have saved by cutting out your morning coffee run.

 If you are saving yourself an average of $75.00 per week on purchases you passed up (fast food, coffee, etc..) that is now $3,900 per year that you have saved instead of spending! In 5 Years you will have saved $19,500. AMAZING! Just with the 2 strategies for savings we have gone over, you will have saved $49,500 over a 5 year plan! 

These savings tips don’t involve any crazy budgeting or investing. They are attainable for anyone earning any income. These are tips I have used for years to help myself save my hard earned money. 

If you give these tips a try, keep me updated! I would love to hear about your savings journeyJ.

Happy Savings Y’All! =)

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