When thinking about saving money, most of the time, we think of the big deal savings like securing 1 million at the age of 65. As much as that is ideal, we have to accept the fact that we cannot control what will happen 30 or 40 years into the future. What you can do now, though is more important than what you can do for tomorrow. Therefore, it is important to have a mix of short term and long term goals. The short term goals in saving money are those tasks that enable you to save money daily, weekly and monthly for different things like buying new furniture or maybe saving for emergencies. On the background, you have long term financial goals.

Set your goals

On hindsight, if you do not know what you are saving for will lead to difficulties in committing to saving money. Let us say you want to buy a 3 hectare lot within 3 years. That is a goal. The question now is how you will get there. Therefore, you need to set up smaller goals that work in line with your main goal that is just on the background.

The quick fix

Learn more about your daily budget. However, that is the idealist in your talking. The reality is that we are sometimes blinded by the things we want and they become somewhat of a need. Reassess what is necessary and what you can sacrifice for now. Unless you earn more than 7 digits a year, keeping a practical mind on your daily finances is necessary.

  • Instead of spending 4 hours daily on your computer, keep it to a 2 hour minimum. The same goes with your TV viewing and internet surfing.
  • Develop hobbies that will allow you to stay out of the house and spend less. Have a day at the park. Imagine how much you will save instead of bumming around with all your appliances on.
  • Live a healthy life. Know your daily diet and you might be surprised how much money you could have not spent by just having all those food that in turn go to waste. Check the cupboard and see what items you rarely use and what you always use. Buy only what is necessary for the moment. If you need to prepare for an event, plan ahead.
  • Buy more clothes that do not require extra processing like ironing or the extremely expensive dry cleaning. This will help save you some money from electric bills.
  • Diversify your savings options. You need not focus on just filling your savings account. You can invest on stocks and you can also invest money on pension plans and college plans. In a few years time, that will mature and you will have enough money by the time your kids go to college or maybe for you to have a bit of a rest in a nice hotel with a lovely view of the sea.