Struggling to save money? Find yourself living from pay-cheque to pay-cheque and having nothing to show for it other than material things or experiences? You’re in the right place! See below our list of top tips for Saving Money and becoming financially stable.

Firstly, are you saving money for anything in particular? If you are great there’s some added motivation/ encouragement for you. Regardless of if you are saving for a holiday or car or whatever it is you want to buy. You should ALWAYS be saving. It’s a good habit and financial discipline will help you build/ plan, for the future.

Set up a Savings Account

The interest rates you get are generally terrible and your money won’t make you more money, but what it does mean is your savings are now separate from your “Spending money” or current account.

Make it difficult to withdraw from your savings

Open a savings account that does not allow you to withdraw money as you please. The temptation will always be there to dip into your savings if you need some extra money to do something fun or something new. Remove the temptation and avoid spending money needlessly.

Budget per Week

Plan your spending and plan your savings every week. This sets out with the right intent and sets a goal to work towards. as the old cliché says, “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail”, Prepare yourself to spend a certain amount, prepare yourself to save a certain amount, and then you have a better chance of achieving that.

Set Yourself an Allowance

Assuming you receive wages. Paid monthly, fortnightly or weekly, start with the mindset that not all of that money will be spent. For example, pretend you got paid 200€ every week. Take an allowance of 150€ and your Allowance then becomes your new “Wage”.

Monitor your Spending

Pay attention to how much you spend and what you spend it on. Then think to yourself was/ is that really worth it and could I have used that money in a better way. AVOID IMPULSE BUYING. For example, a cup off coffee costs €3 if you bought a cup of coffee every day that’s €1095 a year. – Probably a justifiable expense but it gets you thinking what else you spend your money on?

Live within your Means

Be realistic with your spending and lifestyle. Not to dampen spirits or crush your dreams but if you can’t afford it don’t buy it. If you can’t afford it put a plan in place to achieve how you could afford it!

Set Savings Targets

Set weekly, monthly and yearly savings targets to help grow your savings account. Your savings will continue to grow and could help fund a business venture, deposit for a house, stock investment or comfort blanket should you ever have unexpected expenses. Whatever the case may be having savings is always a good idea!

Savings Direct Debit

Set up a direct debit from your current account to your savings account to help achieve your Saving Goals. This will mean regular growth to your savings and help ensure you do not spend the money you intended to save.

Avoid Loans

Taking out a loan should be avoided if possible. A loan is not free money and will end up costing you more than the amount borrowed in the form of interest. The reason you are taking out a loan in the first place is because you couldn’t afford to pay for the goods or service from your own money, so how do you expect to pay for the goods/ service plus interest. In short only take out a loan if necessary. If you do take out a loan pay it back as fast as possible. Note: having savings but also having unnecessary loans is counter active, in the case of an emergency dependant on the nature of the expense use money from saving rather than a loan.

Start Investing

Not for everyone but if you have extra money and aren’t happy with having it sit in a bank account collecting little or no interest. You could investigate the option of investing. Or even starting a pension through work?

Take our advice start saving money!