3 money saving tips

By Gail Vaz-Oxlade on April 14, 2011
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

It’s easy to set a savings goal. “I want to save $40,000 for a down payment on a home.” There. Goal set.

It is much tougher sticking it out to achieve that goal, particularly when you’re looking at something that’s going to take a while to accomplish. Let’s face it, if you’re nine months in and your best friend says, “Enough with the savings, let’s par-tay!” the temptation to put your goal on the back burner can be strong enough to derail your plans. If you want to stay motivated, you have to find ways to keep yourself on track. 1. Tell everyone what you’re trying to accomplish. One of the biggest problems we have is the fact that money is still a BIG SECRET. We’re afraid of looking stupid for some decision we make that ends up going horribly wrong. But we all make mistakes and if we don’t share them it means we have to make them over and over, never learning from our friends or family. Talking about what we are trying to do means we can count on our friends or family to pull us back from the edge when we come close to falling. They become a safety network to help us stay motivated. 2. Keep your goals visible. Post them on your fridge, on the bathroom mirror, on the wall right behind your computer. Put them where you see them ALL THE TIME so you can stay on track. 3. Measure your progress. This works for kids and it works for grown-ups too. Draw yourself a thermometer graphic to show how much you want to have saved in the next six months. As you accumulate money, colour your way up the thermometer. There. You have a visual record of your progress to keep you motivated. Once you’ve hit your six month mark, make yourself a new chart that includes what you’ve already accomplished and shows what you want to achieve next. No matter how well you prepare and how many precautions you take, there will be times when you’re thrown off track by an unexpected setback. That’s life. Having friends to urge you on, going over what you’ve achieved and taking pride in your progress are all ways to get yourself re-motivated to get back on track. Whatever you’re facing, it can be a temporary setback or you can let it permanently derail you. It’s up to you.