How To Start Saving Today

We live in a generation of spenders.  We see something, we buy it.  No questions asked.  If we cannot pay cash, we use credit.  If our credit cards are maxed out, we open a new account.  Soon this cycle reaches a point where we have all our money going out to rent, utilities, food, and credit cards bills.  It’s when we reach this point, a point where we cannot stretch another dollar that we find it necessary to buckle down.  But by this time, the damage has been done.

Somehow, we begin to pull our way out of debt and start to see a little extra cash flow. We feel good, our relationships improve, and our health improves; all because the stress has begun to lift. We even discover that it’s nice buy things on a cash basis. 

Over time, we begin to think about putting that extra cash away, but we don’t. We like the relief it brings. We like the peace of mind it brings. There’s just one problem with this thinking. Emergencies have two choices: credit or cash. If we don’t have a savings in place, we’re right back where we started and will once again see our debt raise and money get tight.

In an economy that is growing more unstable by the minute, we must take action to secure our futures and the first step is to start paying ourselves first. It doesn’t matter if it’s $1, $10, or even $100 a month. We just have to start.

But what if you simply don’t have a single dollar to spare? What if every penny you earn is tied up in the high cost of gas, daily living expenses and minimum payments to credit card companies? What if you cannot even afford a trip to the local fast food chain? How will you even get one dollar to save?

That’s easier than you think! Start by downsizing.

• Go through your house, your garage, and your storage units and weed out anything you no longer wear, no longer show interest in, or haven’t used in the past two years.
• Divide those items up into four piles: trash, recycle, donate, and sell.

The pile you want to focus on, of course, is the sell pile. The best way to get motivated is to think locally. What items can you sell to used bookstores, used DVD/CD shops, gently used clothing stores, and pawn shops? What items can you sell through a local newspaper ad or bulletin board? What items can you sell at a neighborhood garage sale?

Once you’ve exhausted your local resources go global. What can you sell on eBay? What can you list on Craigslist.com?

Before you know it, that extra cash is going to feel great. And more than likely, you won’t even miss the items you’ve sold!