Get a grip on your finances before it’s too late
We live in very uncertain times. A financial meltdown could be right around the corner, so the more money we have at our disposal in the future, the better off we’ll be.
Saving for retirement is a great idea and there are a number of different ways we can do that. But saving for the future is not enough. You also need an emergency fund you can draw upon on short notice, if necessary.
Now, it’s difficult enough for many people to save for the future. Trying to also put aside enough money to live on for a month or more – should our income suddenly dry up or an unexpected bill appear in the mail – can be a huge challenge.
The key to establishing and building an emergency fund is learning how to budget your money so you don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck. By carefully cutting expenses and finding creative ways to increase your income, there will be enough left over at the end of the month to set up and then grow an emergency fund.
Here are five action steps you can take, starting right now, that will enable you to build an emergency fund.
- Figure out where your money is going. Seems simple, but almost everybody who starts keeping track of their spending is amazed at how much they spend and where they spend it.
- Establish a budget. Determine how much you are going to spend each month on your mortgage or rent, utilities, food, phone, entertainment, etc., then write it out and follow it. Don’t forget to include savings in your formula.
- Slash expenses. From establishing your budget, you will probably see that you need to cut back on spending in order to save. That’s OK. There is probably a lot of leeway. Many people who focus on cutting expenses can save about $5,000 per year.
- Increase income. There are many ways you could earn extra cash if you really wanted to. And even if you only chose a few of them, you could increase the amount of money you could put aside for an emergency fund. If you have a fulltime job, look into adding some part-time work. Believe me, it’ll be worth it once you have that nest egg built up. Have a garage sale, teach a class, do some babysitting or make crafts you can sell. The possibilities are endless.
- Avoid debt. If you have credit cards with room on them, it’s very tempting to make purchases you would not otherwise be able to make. Don’t do it unless you absolutely have to. That $100 clothing item that looks so good in the store won’t look as good in your closet, and it could end up costing you more like $150 if you don’t pay off your balance at the end of the month.
You probably know of many other ways to save enough money to establish an emergency fund. How about sharing some of them with our readers? We’d really appreciate it.
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As of today, California is a very expensive state to live in. Meat prices is very high to the point that low quality meat is looking better and better all the time. You can’t touch regular hamburger for under $500/lb or steak of any kind under $8.00/lb. So a good size steak that you were use to will now cost you close to $15.00.
The other stab in the back is the price of fruits and vegetables. My wife’s diet has changed to the extent she needed to change her diet to include more fruits and vegetables. So one weeks of fruits and vegetables for one person cost us close to $50.00. Most of what she gets cost a buck a pound. Forget getting any food from a Farmers market. They either charge more or have the same price that you can get at the store. A flat of strawberries will cost you $25.00.
It is for this reason I purchased a seed bank from Frank. It is called http://www.survivalseeds4patriots.com. I get to pick what I want to eat and what I need to supplement my grocery purchases with.
With the surplus vegetables I can or stick in the deep freezer for year long good nutritious food. What I don’t can or freeze, I dehydrate. By making this a family affair, it is a fun way of bonding and enjoying the fruits of my labors. I look at it as a win-win.
I have said this before and I will say it again, “Thanks Frank. I really appreciate your http://www.survivalseeds4patriots.com and other fine products. What is even more fun, I saved some of the seeds to re-plant for the next season and the grandkids just love it because they helped grandpa and his garden.
one more thing I quit using those disposable multiple edge razors many years ago when the cost of a decent one started going up I have several single double edge blade Gillette and other antique even a gold plated .
I can load all at once or change blades out half way through a shave if need be for very cheaply bought blades bought in mass off ebay ……and gel cream lasts a very long time for me .
I never buy my lunch at work for 1. I would have to leave and burn fuel and time to go away from work to get it . So I get up in the morning and cook it while I am having coffee since I rarely cook breakfast . I usually buy ground beef on sale and freeze it . I wrap my patties in saran/plastic wrap and find it goes a very long ways and you can get about 5lb into a extra large freezer bag I square the patty after rounding it out because it doesn’t waste space . after I cook it I rewrap in the same wrap I took it out of to keep it airtight because below 70 degree I don’t worry about it spoiling from 7-12 . I work in a manner that sometimes there is no appliance on location so I cart a small microwave to places where there is electric . Carting the cheap microwave pays for its self by fuel savings and bought lunch in a short time . The microwave gets used at times when not at work also . If you can eat ramen noodle and have water they will fix in a microwave just give them about 10 min for a 75 cent double serving . I use an electric blanket also and Sunbeams IR heater at $45 aint bad for the heat it puts off . of course there is nothing like wood heat if you have an efficient burner and if you have the flexibility of installing one of those rocket heaters somewhere I would recommend it . You can save a lot of money if you don’t have a lot of people using hot water inn your home if you will turn a gas water heater up and down as you use it ….the correct way is turn down to vacation then 15 min before you want hot water turn it up to your preference and let it heat once done heating turn it back to vacation and go use the water using the water without turning it back won’t gain you anything but waste. I f you are really good friends with a close neighbor and you both have trash service but don’t make a lot of trash that you can’t burn yourself then offer to split the cost with them and both of you will pay half as much as you were . Of course you want it to be someone you halfway trust not to dig through your trash lol. Never put sensitive paperwork in the trash burn it . Don’t run extra refrigerators in a garage unless your garage has a stable controlled climate . Where one of my electric service is it costs about $ 40 a month in electric to have a pretty cold refrigerator ,most people don’t realize how much their refrigerator runs try to adjust it down a little if you can , personally I don’t like to I like stuff cold . Of course don’t make multiple trips for things that could all be done in one if you just plan ahead . I buy that ground beef on sale usually and have anywhere to 200 pre-made frozen burgers at a time which if necessary could feed me for 200 days easy . I happen to have a metabolism and health ability to eat once a day . So many days my meal expense only runs 2-3 dollars and I make chilli and freeze it . I like canned fruit and especially pineapple for treats or desert so those of you who have your own orchards should know about canning fruit . They advertise beans vegetables and fruits as brain health foods so don’t cheat the brain it needs to be the sharpest tool inn your shed ! Don’t forget to rotate your tires they will wear better and last longer .
Some people pay their insurances monthly and I find I save significantly paying as long a term as they allow . Some people buy fashionable or dress clothing for their employment purposes and truthfully I have seen brand new clothing that people have never worn because they didn’t like it or whatever in thrift resale stores . clothing is a big big waste of money unless you work at a fashion critique agency or corporation that demands you present an image . . personally a pair of 12.00 wrangler/rustler jeans and a t shirt works for me. I don’t wear boots out fast so they can last me a decade if they are dress and good hikers last me five years as casual wear . I have jeans that are decades old. I don’t care about fashion so I have my affordable clothing and I don’t wear jeans with holes . I would throw my jeans away before I wore them with a hole . Everyone has different preferences about clothing but I don’t believe it reflects the content of your character but it might reflect the lack of it with certain styles. Want to save money ? don’t pay people to scribble stuff on your body or poke holes in it , I don’t. I cut my own hair to . I read scripture and never been to a doctor for a check up or health issue in 40 yrs . . Never had health insurance either ….what has 40 years of that saved ?
Enough to pay for a house ? It don’t bother me to live in the woods in my double wide where my water is free for the cost of the energy to pump it out of the well …..better than the poison they charge me for at my house in town . Once source heals me the other poisons me if I consume it and my well has never been tested in 27 years except for volume. Never had better water anywhere. Still has the original pump I put in it ,hard to believe it has been in there that long w/o getting lightning struck or just wearing out . Of course my favorite tip to save money is harvest wild game off your own land.
Way to go Simon. You’re living the life that everyone should incorporate in to their own. There are a lot of life lesson that we can learn by.
Although I would suggest one thing, get your well water tested. You may find that some evil corporation may have been dumping its poisons into the ground water. Also make sure your water rights are intact for your well water. The Government is snatching these water rights up left and right.
Don’t waste. Whether it’s food, plastic wrap, water, heat, etc. If you use Zip-loc bags, wash and re-use them. The old saying “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down” still holds true. You can save a lot of water that way. Buy store brands instead of name brands (e.g. instead of Green Giant, buy the store brand of green beans, corn, etc.).
Have a little spaghetti sauce left over? Don’t throw it out – freeze it. Next time you have spaghetti and meatballs and there’s leftover sauce, add it to the container of frozen leftover sauce. Soon you’ll have enough that you can use all of it at once. Have leftover canned veggies? Throw them into a pot of homemade soup. My mom used to make “Hobo Stew” with leftover canned veggies, beef stock, and ground beef shaped into meatballs. (We don’t have a lot of leftover veggies in a week’s time, so mine go into the compost bin.)
Grow your own veggies – and if you have enough, can or freeze them. Buy chicken breasts on sale (I can get them at $1.00 – $1.27/pound), clean them, chunk them up, and can them. You’ll need a pressure canner for that, though.
With the winter almost here, don’t keep your thermostat higher than 72 degrees during the day and 68 degrees at night. If you get cold during the day, put on more clothes (or sit with a blanket over you), rather than kicking up the thermostat. It’s easier to stay warm in winter than it is to stay cool in summer. (Once you get down to bare skin, you can’t peel your skin off to get cooler!)
Way to go Judi. Your comments bring back memories of my childhood & youth. We either ate what was set in front of us , or we went without.. One of my Mom’s sayings that has become my favorite over the years — “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, – or do without.” It makes me sad when my own grandkids say things like — “Oh I like the flavor, and it tastes real good; I just don’t like the texture; So I’ll pass”. What a nation of spoiled brats we have become.
A lady after my own heart.
If you can, avoid using ‘plastic’ to pay for things. Not using a credit card is great. But even using a debit card can be dangerous for your budget as well. It is very easy to spend that ‘little bit’ more at the grocery store or grocery store or Star Bucks (I brew my own at home anyway). If you use cash for a lot of these expenses you can feel that ‘ouch’ as you hand over the money. Try putting your budget items in cash in envelopes for the different budget categories. Once the envelope is empty you can’t spend more out of a different envelope.
There are great resources to help with this. I need to go back myself for a refresher.
Cook at Home!!! I see people drop 12 dollars at a fast food place for hamburgers. $12.00 will buy you steak, a roast or plenty of good hamburger! A little planning ahead and preparation of the meats ahead of time can save a fortune in a year!
I don’t know Randy, steak costs here in California are very high, $6.00 to $12.00 per pound. Hamburger is about $5.00/lb. But, I agree with you EAT AT HOME1 The food taster better and the company is easy on the eyes.
In truth, I can’t see spending $8.00 plus at McDonalds, Burger King or Jack-in-the-Box. I went to Olive Garden and spent $100.00 on a steak dinner and a chicken dinner. Not only was the food extremely over priced; it was not cook very well and not worth it. Even at $50.00 I would be upset at the price. Never again will I spend that kind of money for a poor meal – even if t was my birthday.