Pay Yourself First: Savings

When we are working on the nitty gritty details of our lives—the budgeting, the scheduling, the shopping, the lunches – it is easy to forget about the Big Picture and our view from the Castle. Taking time each week – maybe through journaling or vision-boards – to keep an eye on those dreams will keep your life on track.

Making savings a part of the monthly detail is a must. Even when you are in the middle of your debt rehab, putting funds toward savings each month is essential. Here’s a good example of why:

Suppose you’ve spent four months gathering your financial muscle, laying out your budget and changing your habits to focus on paying down more debt each month. But you do not have an emergency fund of any kind. Then your dishwasher decides to die a spectacular death, and floods the kitchen while your family is away for the weekend. Plumber, new dishwasher, carpenter to fix flooring. And it’s all on the credit cards – If you had an emergency fund, at least part of the damage could be paid for outright – without interest and without going back into debt.

Pay Yourself First:
Remember the 50/20/30 Rule? Put your savings action into your “20” bucket, but make it as important as your “50” bucket! Pay yourself and your dreams first!!

One of the simplest ways to begin saving is to open a savings account attached to your checking account and automatically deduct a certain amount each month as soon as your paycheck is deposited. Even if it’s ten dollars, that’s 120 a year. A quick google search will yield numerous of online savings accounts with a decent interest rate and no fees. Just be sure they are FDIC insured.

Now, let’s ask some serious questions:

Do you REALLY need cable? Your cable bill is probably costing you at least 100 bucks a month. What are you watching? Can you get that from Netflix, Amazon or Hulu for one quarter the price? Can you get your news from an online service instead? Adding $100 per month to your savings just increased your emergency fund by $1200 per year. Insurance is necessary, but there’s lots of competition. Check out a few competitors for your homeowners, renters or auto insurance. How much do you eat out or take out? Even trimming $25 a month on your eating habits is $300 per year. Are you going to the gym enough to warrant that monthly expense? Can you trim your cell phone bill? We are not saying that you have to completely cut out all the extras you like, but cutting down or eliminating small stuff makes way for the BIG items and desires we envision on our Empiring journey.

Can you think of any less expensive substitutes you can make in your life? Tweet us your ideas (@GatherGrowGive) and see what changes others plan on making in their lives.

ACTION:

If you haven’t already, Fill out your 50/20/30 spreadsheet HERE. Now let’s take a look at your net worth with our calculator HERE. How are you doing with your savings goals? Do you need to put more in your emergency fund? Are you looking to save for a vacation? Saving money is always easier with a big, beautiful goal in mind. Be super-specific and very clear and make the necessary adjustments!

Journal time! 

Grab your journal to reflect on what you've discovered this week.

Dani Hughes & Valerie Sanchez
Co-Creators of the Divine Empire Transformation System

Divine Asset Management LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser