How much money would you like to save in an ideal world? If your answer is “lots,” I feel you, but also, let’s get more specific. Your emergency fund is just one piece of the pie, and having different accounts can be a great way to save for various needs. I’ve found it also helps to identify an initial goal, even if it seems completely out of reach. A couple of years ago, my husband and decided to try to save $10,000. Did we have that kind of money lying around? No. Did we know if we could save that much? Not exactly. Did it seem like a crazy goal? Yes, to me. But I kept it in my mind as something to reach toward with our savings habits. We set up an automatic savings plan to set aside $100 per week, and after two years of aggressively saving, we finally hit the mark. That slow-and-steady approach eventually became a nonnegotiable habit; even in months with a tighter budget, we did our best to stick to it, no matter what. And it worked.
Pick a savings goal, whether that’s just for an emergency or as a whole. Your goal can be significantly smaller or larger than mine was. No matter the actual number, use your weekly saving strategy to figure out how long it’ll take to save that amount of money.
TRY THIS
Set a savings goal in terms of how much money you’d like to save within the year. Be realistic—yes, of course more is better, but what’s a target you can potentially reach? Now work backward. Divide that sum of money by twelve months. That’s your monthly target. Divide that by four, and you’ve got a weekly amount to aim to save. Again, a little goes a long way: $25 a week can add up to more than $1,000!