Save Money to Fit your Life
By: Olivia Picton
Tags: Saving Money, Savings Plan, Money

There are two types of people. People who take advice and use it if it is pertinent to them. And then there are people who know better and won’t use the advice, even if it would benefit them. I was the latter. I had always been told by my accountant father that you need to save money. There was always something else I needed. I had savings accounts that had the minimum balance in them most of the time. I learned the hard way that saving money in case of an emergency is as important as they say it is. Moreso, even.

Plan for Contingencies

You can’t plan for everything, but you can plan for life-changing events. One type of life event you can and should plan for are layoffs. No one is immune to being laid off or even fired.

I had received a degree in English Literature, but found myself working for a while on the factory floor at a reputable Fortune 500 company. I had worked there for about a year and a half and had decided that I would stay due to the good benefits, but the work was wearing me ragged. I had been told there were positions opening, and was going to get my quality assurance certification. I have always been in the habit of improving myself, and it is always good to have job security. I had a cursory knowledge of technology and was planning on acquiring certification in various niches of software and software development. But, the company decided to close the plant in which I worked. It was unexpected and my family had to scrape by for a while due to our diminished savings.

Any amount is helpful

I learned that even though the money you put aside every month might seem to be wasted just sitting there, but that is something you need to get over. Take solace in the fact that the money is sitting there and will help you when you need it. If you can afford 5 dollars, save 5 dollars. It is easy to talk yourself out of making a 5 dollar deposit, but 5 dollars here and there adds up. Also, there are so many apps out there that allow you to save and even invest whatever you can. Heard of cash back, where you get a set amount or change rounded up to the nearest dollar back on purchases? There’s an app that gives you stock back. Instead of saving what is rounded up, they invest it.

Do not play catch up

I was raised to be accountable. When it came to savings, I would convince myself that I had to make up for lost time. If I had intended on saving money for the past year but had fallen behind, I would work out the amount I needed to save to catch up. I would then feel overwhelmed because the amount never fit in our budget and we would fall short on other expenses. I would subsequently quit saving money and even take the money out of savings to help with bills.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, acknowledge that life happens and that, even though you have told yourself you would save money, something came up that you had to use the money for. Even if that is not the case and you still fell short of your savings goals, you should never strap yourself financially to save money. Yes, you can give stuff up, but not food or other necessities.

Life happens and you should be prepared for it. Just remember, when saving for something or in case of emergencies, try to plan for contingencies. Even if the amount you put away seems miniscule, any amount is helpful. If you fall behind on saving, do not sacrifice necessities to play catch up. If you remember those three things, you’ll see your savings grow.