Saving money can be difficult, especially at the moment as the current economic climate is not at it’s best. It is however, possible to save without it being too stressful. Saving for a rainy day is something that many families do, and the idea is that money is saved up throughout the months so that when there is a rainy day with very little planned, families are able to have a day out and do something which involves spending the money to brighten up the rainy day. Saving up money for this rainy day fund can be done by the whole family and can actually be quite straight forward. Below are some tips on how to do so.
* Check your budget.
First of all, before you save towards anything you need to be aware of what your budget is. It can be easy to keep on spending money and not actually being aware of what you are spending it on. Once you sit down and look at your income and where it is being spent, then you can see areas in which you can cut back in order to make savings. Perhaps you are spending a lot more on meals out or buying new clothes than you actually need. Maybe you can cut back on one takeaway a month and one new pair of jeans a month and instead put that money towards your rainy day fun.
* Create a piggy bank.
Your rainy day fund can easily be collected in something which looks appealing. Putting money in the bank may not look as appealing, but seeing as your rainy day fund won’t be a huge amount, you can instead store it as cash within a piggy bank. Maybe you already have a suitable piggy bank or perhaps you can simply decorate an envelope in which you can store it, whatever you do don’t break the bank just by buying something for your money to be stored in! Once you have a place to put your money you will feel encouraged to keep adding to it.
* Save change.
Every time you have some loose change put it in the rainy day fund. This can help make the money add up as you may not even be aware of how much you are putting in as just a few coins here and there on a regular basis may not make you feel as though you’ve had to save at all! Encourage your children to save change too, perhaps have them look at how much change they have left after buying a comic and encourage them to add it to the fund.
* Switch accounts.
Sometimes you can find that you can save money just by switching your accounts around. Energy and gas suppliers can give you better deals that you may not have realised were available so it is well worth asking around. Perhaps your television supplier can also give you a better deal if you just ask. Whatever money you end up saving a month and had already budgeted for add to your rainy day fund.
* Remain focused.
It can be very easy to just spend money to get instant results but bear in mind that you are hoping to save towards something. When you are considering whether or not to buy something, remember what you are saving for and ask yourself whether you could actually put that money towards the rainy day fund instead of the immediate item. Another way to help to stay focused is to plan what you could do on the rainy day. This will help you to feel inspired and continue to be careful with your savings.
* Count regularly.
At the end of a set period of time, perhaps every month or every fortnight, count the amount of money you have saved. This will help you to see how close to your target you are. Maybe you will realise you are not close at all and you need to find other ways to save, or maybe you’ll realise that you’re almost there and what you are doing is working really well. It can help to really inspire you and have you think about your spending behaviour.
* Walk.
Instead of always jumping in the car to run errands and go places walk instead. Some trips may not be possible on foot, but for those that are make sure you do put on your shoes and grab a coat instead of heading straight to the car. Walking can help you save money which you didn’t need to spend on gas at all.
* Sell items.
Have a look at what is around your house and you no longer need. With The Internet at our finger tips there are so many options open to us that can help to sell pre-loved items. There are websites such as eBay and Gumtree that you can sell on or you can even take your items to a car boot sale or table top sale. You may find you have children’s clothes that no longer fit, unused toys, unwanted DVDs that you could sell to make money for your fund. You can get your children involved too and have them sort through their rooms.
When you have saved towards a rainy day as a family, then you will feel a big sense of achievement and it will lead to you really appreciating the day even more knowing how hard you have worked towards it. Being able to save towards an event is an important skill to have. Involving children in the saving process is also important because it can be very educational to help them learn the value of money and appreciate it. It doesn’t have to be difficult to save towards a rainy day, but you do have to remain focused and sensible with choices when trying to save.