The concept of saving money has been misconstrued by many people. First of all there are lots of people out there, who do not give a damn about saving at all. They were in bliss all these years, when the economy was so healthy and they did not feel the pinch of shortage of money for spending. But the world has changed due to strenuous economic situations, for no fault of the people of course. So it becomes imperative, you give a new thought and start a new approach to spending money. Saving is the best way, if you do not want to be caught stranded financially.
Saving money for long-term plans of buying a house; marriage or high-standard education of children etc. is different from saving money for short term requirements. Although both are most welcome, for beginners it is easier to practice saving money for short term plans. Supposing you have an emergency situation of meeting medical expenses, accidents and such other unforeseen situations, if you are left with no money, what you will do?
First you should have the right mental attitude, to change your habits. May be you have been a person, who spends without planning or budgeting. But that is okay only when economic conditions were entirely different. Today what you need is the determination to save money and if you think over it, amazingly you will find many more ways opening-up in your mind, each leading to fantastic ideas of saving money, from different sources.
Application of mind is important to begin anything. You must set out goals for saving money for short term periods of say 12 months or 24 months. This will encourage your thinking in terms of saving money every day, which in turn will add up in a monthly total, and again the amount will bulge at the end of 24 months. If you save peanut sums of 5 or 10 dollars from out of your expenses each day, imagine how the money will grow at the end of the designated period?
If you have this determination to save these amounts, your mind will work faster as how to save money, from morning till night and find out loopholes, where you have been wasting money. If you are using credit cards, putting them at rest and starting to use cash payments for all your daily purchases will be a useful idea. While dealing in cash, you will automatically think twice before taking out your wallet every time, whether at all that expense is utmost necessary or can be put off later or never.
Open a savings account separately and put these saved moneys periodically. You will be happy when you see how this amount grows slowly but steadily. The feeling that you have money to fall-back-on will be tremendously happier. Of course, there are online lenders to provide you short term loans, payday advances, instant cash assistance etc. But your saving money will obviate the necessity to resort to this borrowing money from lenders, and use your own money with pride and satisfaction.
Come out of your long-held myths about saving money and wake up to save money now, for spending later happily without guilty feelings.