It can be a great feeling knowing that you have some savings behind you. Knowing that if you need money in an emergency then there is some to fall back on and you will not have to worry about getting a loan to get by. Knowing that you are building up a nest egg towards paying off a mortgage, retirement, helping your children buy a home or whatever can be a great feeling. However, it is not always easy to be able to afford to save very much money and it is worth taking a look at your finances to see whether there is anything that you can change so that you can save more.
One mistake that people make when saving money is to wait until the end of the month and put any money left in their current account into their savings. Although this is better than spending the money that is there, it is far better to put money into the savings account at the beginning of the month and then you cannot spend it as it is not available. Then you will have to think more about what you are spending and budget more carefully to ensure you do not overspend that month.
This could still mean that you are only saving little each month though as obviously, the amount that you transfer will very much depend on how much you earn and how much you spend each month. You will know how much you can afford to save and so you will make sure that you only save that much so that you have enough left to cover everything else. This could even mean that you cannot afford to save anything at all. Therefore it can really help if you do something that will enable you to save more money.
It is probably obvious that in order to do this you will need to earn more money, spend less money or do both. Trying to do both will lead to the best results, but obviously you will need to think about which will work out best for you depending on how much time you have to spend on it.
The easiest way to earn more money is to ask for a pay rise. This may be possible in certain jobs, but some will have annual reviews and pay rises will depend on performance or company profits. Do find out how to request a pay rise if you do not know and consider whether you should try to get one. Unless you have very recently got one or you are a new starter then it can be worth trying. You may also feel that you could fit in some extra hours and it could be asking if there is any extra work or overtime available. It may even be worth considering changing your job to one that is better paid or taking on a second job.
There are many other ways that you could earn extra money outside of your job as well. There are work from home opportunities, which may not always pay as much as a conventional job but could still boost your income. You could start a business, do freelance work, buy and sell items, do paid surveys, become a mystery shopper, sell catalogue items or do free lotteries. There are many opportunities out there if you are prepared to put the time in and it is worth looking at message boards online to find out about them and how you can make some extra money.
Spending less money is also something which can make a big difference as well. This is something which may sound difficult but there may be things that you can do which will not have a huge impact on your lifestyle but will make a really big difference to your bank balance. For example if you compare what you are paying for insurance, banking, mortgage, utilities, mobile phone, tv etc you could find that you can switch suppliers and save a significant amount of money without really noticing a big difference. It can take time to do the research and switch but it can be really worth it and you could save a considerable amount of money if you do it with everything.
