Saving 101: How To Save $1,000 On Any Budget At Any Time

"I like my money right where I can see it, hanging in my closet"

Thanx Carrie Bradshaw *insert eye roll*

It’s the perfect mind set to have...if you're rich of course. But for those of us who are still working our way to the wealthy life, we gonna need another motto.

Contrary to popular belief I wasn't always good at saving my coin's and prior to being dead broke and out of work in 2013 the idea of saving money never even crossed my mind. 

But once I got my next job saving was a top priority because I NEVER wanted to be that broke again. The only issue was, at the time I had NO IDEA how to save or where to start because like a lot of people when I was growing up saving was not taught to me.

But now that I know how, I'm passing on the knowledge!

"Hove did that so hopefully you don't have to go through that"- Jay Z

I feel like my blog literally lives by that phrase, if there is anything I can teach you guys to keep you from the struggle-- I got you and being broke is one of the ultimate struggles that I feel like I can keep you from.

Growing up my mindset was:

 "What am I saving for when I can use this money now?" 

I would literally spend my money on ANYTHING just because I could (having little to no responsibility will do that to you) Most of the things I thought I "had to have" back then I don't even own today. 

My spending habits were so bad that I even blew through my trust fund barely a year after I was able to touch it....yea....I was a fucking mess.

I didn't see the need for having money set aside for later, but a day will come when for whatever reason you will need a little extra coin. Maybe its for an emergency, maybe its to take the trip you always wanted or to buy your first home.

Hell maybe its for a pair of Beyonce concert tickets I'm not judging but if you don't start saving it will be a sad day when you don't have those extra coins when the time comes.

So let's talk about saving baby!

5 Ways To Start Saving at Any Time

1) Coupon/Deal Hunt

Y'all knew this was going to be my first suggestion, if it aint got a deal or a coupon then I don't want it. Of course my love of couponing and deal hunting is due to my reckless spending in my younger years. 

As soon as I learned that I don't actually have to pay full price for anything I was hooked. If you are not on the couponing wave catch up. Also deal hunting isn't just for toilet paper and tooth paste, its for clothes, electronics, vacations...you name it. I'll link a few past post below. 

6 Tips On How To Travel Abroad For Cheap 

Couponing 101: The Coupon Newbie Quick Guide For Finding Deals

2) Pay Yourself First

There is nothing more important than making sure that the money you're making, is actually making its way to your pockets aka pay yourself before you pay everyone else. 

Whenever you get a paycheck there is a general rule of thumb on how money should be divided. 

Its the 50-30-20 rule, in this rule 50 percent of your paycheck would cover things you absolutely need, like your rent and electricity. 30 percent of your paycheck would go to covering discretionary items and lastly (more like firstly) 20 percent of your paycheck goes to savings. Of course these numbers are different for each person but again its just a basic rule.

This same theory can be applied when negotiating salary or even when deciding where to live. You never want to put your self in a position that you will not be able to survive in. 

When taking a new job always think, "is the income they are offering me going to sustain my living habits?" 

And when searching for a new apartment think "will the rent here have me living pay check to pay check?"

If the answer to either of these questions is yes, you may not be making enough or you may be living outside your means and in that case you need tip number three.

Image from The Budget Mom

3) Create a Budget

Chile budget ain't a bad word!

It's a actually a great word and a word that will be keep some coins in your pocket! 

Budgets should be based around your income and your necessities and your interest. I'm not the type that believes you can't spend money on things you enjoy just because your trying to save. I think there should always be room for fun.

However where most people go wrong is spending TOOO much money on "fun" or non necessities. 

For example when trying to budget for this year, I decided to take a look into my subscription services. I checked my bank statements and noticed that I was paying for Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Prime, Microsoft Office and JustFab...bruh thats a lot.

All services included came to a grand total of $57.96 a month (minus JustFab) which is about $695.52 per year!! Thats a potential $700.00 that I could be saving in a year going to things I barely even use. I quickly reevaluated and let some subscriptions go cutting my yearly spending on the services in half.

A great way to budget is with "The Envelope Method" which goes like this

1. After you pay your bills rent, gas and electric, car payment, cell phone etc. and save of course. Look at what you have left.

2. Decide on a budget and how much you will allocate to your different spending categories like food, entreatment, clothing, beauty, gas, hobbies, subscriptions, etc

3. Create envelopes with the categories you have decided on and when you get paid put the amount of money you allocated to each category in the envelope.

4. Only spend the cash that is in the envelope on things within the category. When the money runs out, so does your spending on that category until your next paycheck.

This method will surely have you thinking twice about those $5.00 Starbucks coffee everyday that wind up costing you *drum roll* $1,800.00 a year

The biggest key to budgeting is committing to only spending what you say you will on the categories you write out.

4) Savings Plans for Every Budget 

If the discipline of budgeting is not up your ally there is always the option of straight saving. 

Saving is less about putting constraints on how much you spend weekly or monthly like a budget and makes it more about just stashing some dollars away for a rainy day. I personally like saving over budgeting but I do utilize both.

Below are four savings plans I have used in the past that I find easy to follow and helpful. Remember all of these savings plans can be modified to fit your lifestyle.

52 WEEK SAVINGS PLAN

This plan is one of the easiest to follow, you simply save a dollar for each week of the year it is. So on week one you save $1.00, on week two you save $2.00 and so on and so forth. Although this plan is laid out to start on the first week of the year, you can start it at any time and is great for all budgets. At the end of the plan you will have $1,378.00

5 DOLLAR SAVINGS PLAN

How does almost $7,000.00 in a year sound? To me it sounds amazing! The 5 dollar savings plan sets you up to bank $6,890.00 by the end of 52 weeks. You start by putting $5.00 to the side and each week you save $5.00 more than you did the previous week. Mid way through the plan things start to get a little "expensive" so I suggest this plan for those's that have a bigger budget but issues with spending control.

KEEP IT 100 SAVINGS PLAN

THIS IS MY PLAN! This is the one i'll be starting this week, it's super basic and to the point. All you need to do is put away $100.00 each week for 52 weeks which of course by the end of the year will leave you with $5,200.00 in your savings account. This plan can also be modified to accommodate a smaller savings budget. Instead of saving $100.00 every week you can save $100.00 every other week according to your pay check which will land you at $2,600.00 in savings by the end of the year.

I GOT 5 ON IT SAVINGS PLAN

Where are all my peeps that like to use cash? This one is for you, the "I Got 5 On It" Savings Plan keeps you from spending all your coin's while your out shopping. We all know after you break a 20 you're pretty much broke because those left over 5's quickly go to coffee or knick knacks in the next store. To avoid that with this plan every $5.00 bill you get goes directly into a savings jar.  At the end of the year open up the jar and count it up. Most people I have seen try this wind up with a minimum of $2,000.00 by the end.

KEEP THEM COINS SAVINGS PLAN

This savings plan has no exact method to the madness and is another savings plan for the folks that like to use cash. The plan is super easy to follow-- grab a jar and every day you come home empty your pockets. Whatever change is left in your pockets goes into the jar. Do this for a year then take a trip on over to your local coinstar (do people still use those) and cash out!

5) Savings Apps

Last but not least are savings app's. 

Out of every method I have listed this is the one I have not dabbled in just yet. The homie Curls Unbothered who is a fellow saver told me about Digit which she has used in the past to save.

Digit works by connecting to your bank account, assessing your income vs your spending habits and will essentially save for you by moving extra available funds from your account to your digit savings account. Sounds scary I know, but digits biggest claim is that it does not take the money you need. It only takes what you can spare and you have access to your money at any time.

Another savings app like Digit is 

Acorns, which takes Digits efforts a step further. Acorns rounds you purchases up to the next dollar and stashes that money away (get it) after the money is saved Acorn then invest your money in stocks and bonds. This literally makes your money work for you without you lifting a finger.

Bomb.com if you ask me. All of the above savings plans and tactics will get steps closer to your savings goals in a flash!

If you're currently saving for something specific and have your own saving methods you use be sure to share them with the Pretty Girl Community below! Lets help each other be great!

Until Next Time,

XO Deanna