It is a new year and it is time to get serious about savings. For decades, many people relied on their companies and employers to provide pensions and retirement packages that would supplement Social Security in their golden years. There is no way that is happening now. Even with Social Security needing all the supplementing you can get, you want to have your own safety net, like an IRA in place that will help you bring down your fear of retirement.
Now that it is time to get serious about savings, there are all sorts of ways to save money. From bank shopping to cutting down on your television to selling off a lot of your possessions, you can take some real strides towards putting extra money in your bank account. There are drastic ways of saving more money and then there are less drastic ways, like cutting down on your daily coffee shop runs. They can add up quicker than you think.
Moving your bank account around can seem like a time consuming and annoying thing to do, but you can take advantage of sign up bonuses or better interest rates by shopping around for new banks. It is worth exploring even if you don’t end up switching all that often, because you can really make strides towards learning as much as you can about personal finance. A little knowledge can be a game changer when it comes to saving money.
Cutting down on watching television can bring about the most benefits by saving time. And saving time can result in more time to build skills in your career and more time to devote to a side business. A side business can be the most important financial move you make as a young person. Not only are you developing important money management skills, alternative income can really save you during a difficult time after a job loss or company downsizing.
Cutting out your cable bill can also mean more money in your IRA right away. There is no substitute for doing away with unnecessary spending and immediately adding it to your savings. The benefits are both immediate and long lasting. Plus, when you don’t have cable or TV, you are spending less time getting bombarded by ads inducing you to spend more money.
Do you have burdensome collections of books, DVDs, action figures or some other collectible items? It might be time to look into selling them and banking that money into your IRA. Not only can you add some real money to your retirement savings, you can get rid of the headache and time suck of managing all those collectibles. Plus the cost of storage and upkeep. And buying more things. It all goes away.
Saving money is a choice and it is one that can really balloon your IRA and allow you to have a comfortable cushion in retirement. When you get to that age you are going to want to be able to feel safe and secure. Learning how to cut down on your lifestyle today is a great way to keep your finances healthy for rest of your days.