4 Simple Steps to Master Consistent Savings

Welcome to today's episode. We have been discussing savings for the last several episodes and today's episode I want to just wrap up with some ideas for consistent growth and how to define your own savings plan. If you are looking for additional support in the savings area, looking for ways to you know implement it into your money routine, into your financial journey. Yesterday we kicked off The 90 Day Summer Savings Challenge so it's not too late to join. Each week you will receive a strategy that you can implement into your money, into your financial journey. These are customizable to how it will best serve you. We're not talking about just cutting expenses, or just putting some money aside. We're covering all the things that will really make a difference on your savings journey. So back to today's episode. And I first want to start with three steps to help you with consistent growth, consistent savings. A lot of times That is where we struggle with money. It's the consistency, the motivation, you know, the keeping on going. So before you are able to even start saving, it's very important that you make sure you already have enough money to cover your bills and spending. The adage of paying yourself first and then giving that money into savings and then budgeting the rest, while it's great advice. I don't believe it works best. If we don't have that money to put into savings, we're either going to be continually taking it out, feeling daunted, feeling discouraged, and maybe even turning to credit cards or other loans to make ends meet. So be sure that you know how much your bills take each month and then how much you're spending. The spending will be fuel, groceries entertainment, eating out, everything, you know, maybe there's some haircuts, you've got some boys, so they happen quite often or a husband, anything that is happening fairly regularly. Make sure that you Calculate those needs the spending and the bills, and then you'd subtract that from your income. If you have any money left over, this is your savings. This right here is what you get to start building your savings that will help you with financial stability. reaching your financial goals and being able to retire. This is that money that then you get to define how you're going to support yourself. The second thing that you need to make sure to help you with the consistent growth is is to make sure you can measure your progress. This is very important so that you don't get discouraged. So that you're not like, Oh my gosh, I had that money in my savings account and now I don't. I had a client, we worked really hard on helping her plan and set aside money for school fees. 1, 500 in six weeks. Amazing. However, when the need for that came, she was so discouraged that she didn't have the money anymore, rather than looking at it from the fact that she had saved 1, 500. That is what I want you to measure, whether it's a savings rate whether it's just, I saved this much this month and you keep track of it by months, that you don't measure it by what's left in that savings account. That is not helpful in any way because you are going to need it. As we dive in just a little bit deeper, you'll better understand what I mean by that. So make sure you're measuring the amount of dollars you are putting away every month or every payday. This can be a color chart. Like I said, a savings rate. This is the very first strategy. So yesterday's email telling how to calculate that, how to challenge yourself to increase that. And really if you're increasing that savings rate and seeing that number grow, it doesn't matter Excuse me, matter how much is left in your savings account. So be sure you are measuring true savings product progress and not what is left in your bank account. All right, the third tip to help you with consistent growth is to save with intention. How many times have you said, I've got to save 200 this month and you put it away? But you don't know what it's for. You don't know why you needed to save that 200. That makes it ambiguous that then you're like, well, I have that 200 and I really like this item over here. And so you go buy it. So we really need to be intentional with our saving. This is where we get into the definition and purpose, and we talked about this on one of the earlier episodes, but really thinking about what is our immediate needs, right? What are our immediate obligations that we need to be setting some money aside for, so that we can cover it? Number one, you'll be prepared. You'll not have to turn to credit cards or other ways debt and being able to meet all of those needs. And as you fill those needs, eventually you'll be able to fill all of your wants. And that's where everything happens. Being able to see that you, you can create the stability. Create the self sufficiency, and that is huge. I had a client come to me. She was using a budget. She was saving for all of the things, but she says, I still got debt. It's just continuing to grow. And so we worked together, and I said, All right, what are your immediate obligations? What is coming up in the next month or two? This is key. This is what we need to do. first start saving for while it's not, quote, fun. It's not what we really truly desire, but this is how we can get to what we desire. So talking with her, we made this plan. She found she could quickly cover all of those eight immediately. obligations for the next two, three months. And, you know, because she had that debt, be able to divert some of that money to debt payoff. We strategized how she wanted to quote, save and pay off debt at the same time. And so really be intentional with your savings. When you think about intention, what is it that you want to have safety Security and protection from first and foremost we have car insurance. It's usually I know there's a lot of monthly options and those are great. You've already got those covered, but people who are opting to pay every six months or annually. Are you setting that money aside? This would be one of those things in that. That's an immediate obligation. You have to pay that. You need to pay that. You're gonna have birthdays and graduations, all of those types of things. You're gonna have car registration, car repairs. You know, these are the things, but if we start looking at Who wants our money next and making sure we set aside for those first, then we're not dumbfounded when they show up and we're like, Oh, man, I forgot about that. Now where am I going to take the money from? And you know, this just makes money less stressful. So I cannot. I cannot, you know, just say how much you need to save with intention. Again, start with immediate obligations, then go to your next priorities. We're going to dive deeper into that process when we go in to how to create, how to create your own savings plan. So the three tips, make sure you have enough money. Make sure you have the money to set aside. If you have 25, start with that. If you have 200, start with that. What you will discover is as you are then spending on bills and, you know, you're spending between as well as this quote 25 or 200 being saved, you'll get to know your bills and spending in a lot better. a lot better ways, a better relationship and being like, oh gosh, but I have this other immediate obligation or, oh man, I really want to go on that summer vacation and I don't want to have to put that on my credit card. Whatever it is, you'll start expecting. Blurring and being able to quote, find more money for savings. It's just a natural occurrence. That is what I want you to get from doing this is not a forced. I need to save this much, but more as a natural, what is it that you're. immediate obligations are yelling at you for, and then what desires do you have? We go to work, we work hard for our money, whether we're going to an employer or an entrepreneur. And so being able to cover those immediate needs and then get our desires fulfilled are so, so very important. So make sure that's a natural transition. And again, money is the long game. It's going to take a while, but be patient. Again, these are the steps for consistent growth. Number two, make sure you're measuring your progress. It's not about how much goes out of your savings account, so we don't want to measure by that, but we want to measure by how much we're contributing, how much more. Did you initially start with the 25 a month, but now you're setting aside 500 a month, or whatever it is. Really keep track of your progress. And again, intention. Intention, priorities. all of those things. Stick to those three steps. Within three, six, nine months, even a year, you will see a difference. I can guarantee you will see a difference in three months. Just imagine what that will look like in six months. Keep going. Just remember your intention. All right. So how to create your own savings plan in four simple steps. So creating this plan and remembering our consistency steps will get you to where you want to be quicker. So number one, define how much you have to put towards your savings every month. Again, don't leave this up to chance. Don't say, ah, they're saying I have to save 20 percent right now. If you don't have that money, Then don't be saving it. You've got to fix what is needing to be fixed first before you're able to save that much. So really get, get clear on how much you can put towards savings every single month. Once you've defined that, then you need to look at what are your immediate obligations? What are your desires? What is it that you're saving for? Right? If we just leave that undefined, we're less likely to keep it in savings. We're less likely to put into savings. So really define your purpose and your why for saving. What will bring you safety, protection, enjoyment, not only now, but also in the future. Create all that you can. All that you want, make that list of all of those things. What is it that you're saving for? I want, you know, I don't want this to just be, oh gosh, in the next three months I need these things. I want you to go beyond that. Seeing what it is that you want and that you need. Is really helpful into planning ahead, and that's what we need to look into the future. Money isn't just about the now, it's about, you know, a year from now, five years from now, ten years from now. So once you get that last of all the things that you, will bring you safety, protection, and enjoyment. Then I want you to create a priority list. So that's step 3. Again, what is the demand now? Looking at your priority list, those things that are immediate obligations, how quickly do they need to be? With how much you're putting into it every month, how quickly will you fill those and be able to move on to the next step? So make sure on your priority list, you also have that estimated amount that you need in there. Maybe you have an immediate obligation, it's only 50, but you still need that 50 if you're saving 25 a month. Two months, that's filled. What is next? You know, and just be able to keep going, keep pursuing that. Keep going. Keep your eye on that priority list. Fill those buckets as you can. This is very important to be able to help us become savers. I did an episode early on on the podcast where I talk about savings is the number one money habit to have. Savings can do so many things for you. That is why I think it's so important. That's why I created the 90 Day Summer Savings Challenge. Savings can create stability. It can help us do things. reach our dreams. It can help us, you know, pay off debt. It can help us do whatever it is we want to do. If we want to give to others. If we want to build something. Savings is where we do that. So really learning how to do savings is key. Hopefully you'll go listen to that episode and I'll see you I just want to cover those four steps for building your savings plan again before we jump off. So number one, define how much you have to put towards savings each month. This isn't just a percentage. This isn't what somebody said. This is the amount you truly have left over after bills and spending. Number two, what are you saving for? What will bring you safety, protection, and enjoyment? Number three, make that list into a priority list. One to whatever your number is. What is your most immediate need? And what is your most immediate want? Really don't forget those wants as you're filling all of these immediate needs. Stick with that. Keep going with that. Again, three, six, nine, twelve months down the road, you will see a difference. You will start noticing things better. Now, first chance, you're not going to be perfect, but keep going. Keep striving. And I cannot reiterate enough, do not let your savings account be your measure for progress. I want you to make sure you set up a Another measurement method you can have color charts. You can have the savings rate like I talked You can just have a monthly, you know annual calendar and every month you put this is how much I saved and just Really noting the effort you have put in towards putting money aside Not how much is left over but how much you've put aside because that right there shows that you are able to be a saver So again, I hope you'll join my 90 day summer savings challenge and learn some more strategies to dive into your money to be able to really harness the savings habit and find the money and start building that new relationship with your money, being able to support what it is you truly want in the future. I also have another special for the month of June. Available until June 30th, I have 25 Complementary Financial Foundations Intensive Sessions available, 25 that need to be booked by August 31st. Again, these spots are only available during the month of June. So if you're somebody who's needing help to take a look at your numbers, get some clarity, Define the next steps. This intensive is for you. It's a two hour session. We review all of your numbers, including your savings, your debt, your retirement, whatever problem you are looking to solve. This session is for you. You walk away with a clear, better understanding, and you will have one to three action steps. Again, depending on the size and how what long it's going to take you, you will walk away with some action steps to implement moving ahead. So if you are interested, please check down in the show notes and schedule your complimentary Financial Foundation's intensive session today. Again, thanks for listening and don't miss out on future episodes. Be sure to hit subscribe and leave a review to let us know what you think.