Three Tips to Building Your Savings

It’s a new year! Now is a great opportunity to develop some positive savings habits to build or refresh your Emergency Savings account.

Experts recommend that at any time you have three to six months of expenses saved in case of an emergency. If you don’t have much in your savings account now, getting to that amount can seem intimidating. Here are three ways to get started towards reaching your goal:

1. Use a physical calendar to track your spending. Here’s how it works: List everything you spend money on every day. Example for January 7:

• Coffee: $3.35
• Groceries: $77.28
• Auto Insurance: $65.00
• Dinner out with friends: $48.00
• Total: $193.63

There are clearly items that you can’t stop paying, such as your car insurance or groceries, but maybe you can spend less when you go out with friends or cut back on coffee. You’ll start to get a clear picture of how you’re spending money and find ways to cut back.

2. Try a savings challenge. There are many savings challenges on the internet. A good place to start is to save $1 for every week that has passed in the year. Week 1, you put aside $1; Week 2, you put aside $2, and so on until week 52 when you put aside $52. By the end of the year, you’ll have saved $1,378. You can do this with cash or by transferring from your checking to savings account every month.
3. Set Savings Goals in Online Banking. In the “Credit Score & Budgets” section of Online & Mobile Banking, you’ll find the Savings Goals tool. You can set one up for Emergency Savings that will help you keep on track. You determine the account you want to use, the goal amount, and the date you hope to achieve your goal. This will keep your goal front and center as you go about your everyday banking!

Find the method that best works for you! Knowing you have money ready for an emergency will help limit financial stress. If you are experiencing financial difficulties or need some assistance in getting your savings on the right track, GreenPath Financial Wellness can help! This is a free service for MVCU members, and they provide judgment-free counseling for all of your financial questions.