How to Save Money

How to Save Money. If you have $40 burning a hole in your pocket, what do you do with it?

More often than not, it disappears without bringing in something of real value!

How does this happen? What if you put that same $40 ($10 per week) in your saving account instead? In 12 months you would have: $480!

What if you could come up with $60 ($15 per week) a month? After 12 months: $600!!

The bottom line is that for most people, it's hard to save money.

Below are my top 5 tips to help make it easier.

Before you unleash all your money to the world, make sure you put some aside for yourself. The gurus call this "paying yourself first".

It's hard to make a habit of this. If you don't have any extra money, then cut something out. You'll be glad you did. I sure was!

• It was fall 2007, my husband was out elk hunting. So I was solo for a few days. The second night he was gone it happened! I had tucked my two girls in bed at 8:00pm and two hours later I heard a horrible crash in front of our home.

  I ran to the window and I couldn't believe what I saw! A little silver car had run "head on" into my car.

  That would have been enough in and of itself. But our truck was parked behind our car and he had hit our car with enough force that it was pushed into our truck. Later we realized that the impact had actually forced our truck backwards two feet! It's a F-250 Diesel... it's not a small truck!

  The kicker is that this drunk 17 year old kid didn't own the car. Luckily we proved that he had permission from the owner! But we still had TWO deductibles (of $1000 each) to cover before insurance would kick in!

  I've never been more thankful for a savings account!

I'm not saying that you'll have a drunk driver total your parked car, but other things DO happen. Always pay yourself first! It's the best move you'll ever make. (It's a good idea to have at least the amount of your insurance deductable in it.)

How can you save any money when you're in over your head with debt? It's NOT impossible but it is hard.

Be patient and persevere with getting out of debt. It does take time.

If you are still charging money on your "VISA" and you don't pay it off every month, then put your brakes on now!

1. Stop purchasing items with your card
2. Begin paying it off
3. Put any extra money towards this effort/li>

But what if I have more than one credit card or other debt? Simple, keep reading and I'll show you.

First you need to gather all your debt. Credit cards, car loans, education loans, mortgage, etc. Now follow these steps:

1. Find the amount that is scheduled to be paid off in the shortest amount of time
2. Now find the next one to be paid off after the first
3. Keep going until you've listed all your debt, even medical bills

Now you need to remember to RELAX. This debt is not WHO YOU ARE, you will overcome and win!

Next steps:

1. Start paying extra on the debt that is scheduled to be paid off FIRST
2. Continue to do this until it is completely paid
3. Move on to the next debt, but combine your monthly payment with the first debt you've just paid. For example: you've just paid your credit card debt off. Your monthly payment was $100. Your next debt is your car. Your scheduled amount is $250. Continue to pay the $100 dollars along with your $250. So the total you will be paying is $350 on your car.
4. Continue to do this until it is completely paid
5. Move on to the next debt. Again combine your payments. Take your $350 you were paying on your credit card/car and combine it with your mortgage of $1,200. Now your total payment for you mortgage is $1,550.
6. Continue until all debt is paid!!

Stop and think about what's really important. Is it that pack of cigarettes? Or is being financially secure (and healthy) more important? You make the call.

Here are some very helpful ideas to see where you can cut back: ZenHabits.net

IF you decide to use credit cards you must pay them off every month!! If you don't have the willpower to do it, then skip this TIP!

I don't think that credit cards were invented to create enormous amounts of debt. They are a good way to build your credit. But you have to be smart about it.

If you can be disciplined enough to pay it off every month, then do it. I like to use cash back cards. My favorite is DISCOVER. I earn 1-5% back from every dollar I spend.

Would you like to know how I earn between $100-$300 a year from my DISCOVER card?

CLICK HERE

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