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FINANCIAL FOCUS: Four Tips to Help You Start Saving

Some folks have the savings game on lock, but others – not so much. In a survey conducted by Experian, 48% of American are resolute in wanting to save. If you aren’t invested in saving, there’s no better time to start. Here are four tips for getting started:

  1. Think positive – Some of us get negative vibes from saving. We totally get the importance of saving money, in theory. But in practice, spending money is fun. Think of a time you found yourself in a sticky financial situation and you wished you’d been saving instead of splurging. Now re-imagine that same scenario and how you would’ve felt with an ample emergency stash of funds available during said crisis. Don’t sweat what you’re missing out on, rather, relish in comfort of a crisis averted.
  2. Be realistic – Setting a realistic, achievable savings goal when your current savings habit is $0 is super important. After all, this is income you’re now learning to live without. You don’t want to start out with a huge chunk of your income going to savings if you’re going to lament a very sudden and startling lifestyle change, and you’ll be less likely to stick with it. Make saving a positive experience and ease into it, and then push yourself to go further.
  3. Seek out savings – This could come in the form of an interest rate reduction, or the expiration of a paid product or service. When you pay off your new cell phone and you’re suddenly spending $30 less per month on your phone bill, throw that money into savings. Talk to your service providers and negotiate lower monthly fees for your loyalty, and add the difference in your bills to savings.
  4. Automate it – Just like any bill and utility these days, you can automate a percentage of your paycheck to deposit into savings account each pay period. And the less you have to be hassled with saving, the easier it is to commit to.

Questions about saving? Call and ask our member service specialists about how you can automate your own savings.

Source: USA Today

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