52 Week Money Savings Challenge
It’s week 13 of the 52 Week Money Savings Challenge. Is it exciting to see your savings account grow? We’re almost to our first $100 in savings! Today we’re going to chat about the concept of Pay Yourself First.
Pay Yourself First
Paying yourself first has been a concept I’ve heard for many years, but it’s not one we’ve always implemented. When we have sat down to figure out our budget, adding ourselves to the other bills has not been a priority. The concept is simple, but when you live paycheck to paycheck, your goal is to just get the bills paid. Am I right?
My husband is paid weekly, which has it’s pros and cons. It’s nice to know there’s money coming in each week, but on the other hand, it can make it a little tougher to plan how much we can really set aside. As we sit down each week to look over our budget, we see where our money is going, keep track of spending and bills and see what we can save. I like to have a minimum of what we save each week and then possibly add more to it if we can. I then write down how much I need to withdraw for giving, food, gas and misc and transfer the amount we want to put into savings. In other words, I’m getting all my planning out of the way and immediately transferring whatever I can to our savings account.
Out of sight, out of mind
When the money is transferred to a savings, it’s no longer in there to spend on any extras. The money is then in an account that we don’t see everyday and don’t have instant access via a debit card.
If you can pay yourself first, or very close to first, and put that money in a place you don’t have easy, daily access to, you’ll be surprised at how fast that savings account can grow. That amount might be very minimal (maybe $1 or $5 each week), but at least you’re getting into the habit of setting something aside right away.
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I’m so glad to have you on this journey with me. I’m looking forward to each week and I hope these posts and the emails are not only helpful to you, but encouraging as well.
- If you are new and just now joining, subscribe to the weekly email and download your own copy of the 52 Week Money Savings Challenge printable. All current subscribers are entered into an Amazon drawing held at the end of the month.
- If you want to catch up on the reading of each week, go to our 52 Week Money Savings Challenge page and check out each week listed, as you’re able. Don’t worry about catching up on savings amounts unless you’re able to, just start with the current week and add extra if/as you’re able.
- Want to open an online bank account to help keep things separated? I personally use Capital One 360 and have for years. It takes a few days for transfers to complete if you’re using a local bank
Before we wrap up this week, I want to hear from you! 1) What are you most excited about in participating in this challenge? 2) What are your concerns or frustrations about setting money aside?
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