How to Save Money When You’re Struggling

Posted by Shaun Connell

April 24, 2009

by Shaun Connell

Increasing your savings is often the last thing you’re thinking about when times get rough. It can seem like the only advice you’ll ever see are from people explaining how you should be putting money into your savings account at the end of every month. Unfortunately, many people simply aren’t able to follow this advice.

Just think about this:

-The typical household income in 2007 was only slightly more than $50,000. In some regions, that’s much less than it might be in other regions due to differing housing costs, etc.

-Over 30 million live in poverty in the US, with a median income that’s over $8k lower than the poverty line.

-Over 40% of American’s don’t have any health insurance protection.

The above facts allow us to understand that many, many Americans are simply unable to save money because they don’t have the money to save in the first place. You may or may not be part of these categories of people — but perhaps you’d like to save money and aren’t able to simply because you don’t’ have the money to do it. Remember, when it comes to financial planning and personal finance, almost anything is possible. You can save money almost regardless of your situation.

Remember the childhood story The Little Engine That Could? In the story, there was a little blue engine that was charged with the great task of pulling a heavy train over a mountain. The little struggled and strained, but ultimately made it over the mountain by repeatedly saying, “I think I can.”

Think back to the stories you learned as a child, such as the little engine that could. In the parable we read of the little blue engine that was charged with the great task of taking a large train of toys over a mountain to the children on the other side. The little engined struggled, and it seemed impossible to achieve its goals — but in the end the train succeeded because it refused to accept defeat, and told itself, “I think I can, I think I can.”

Getting stuff done is half mental. Think you can’t save? If not, then you’re actually probably right. Think you can save? Then you’re still probably right. It’s a self-full filling prophecy — whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right. Start by telling yourself that of course you can save. The rest will follow.

You might actually not be as broke as you feel, incredibly enough. If you aren’t extremely disciplined with your money, then you could be spending it in small ways you hadn’t considered before. By noticing and tracking every dime you spend, you can find pockets of waste, and financial mistakes. This step alone could save you hundreds or even thousands.

Then, go back through your expenses and categorize your spending. Then, add up what you spent in each category. Take note of any categories with high spending, especially for things like entertainment. That kind of spending can easily be diverted to savings.

When you look at your budget, the numbers might indicate that you couldn’t possibly save a single penny. And based on your current expenses, that may be true. But, there are ways you can cut back your spending, even on things you need to spend money on.

When it comes to cutting back, sometimes you have to make some tough decisions about what you’re spending money on. For example, you can’t just ditch your car note, but maybe you can trade-down to a cheaper model. The same thing goes for your mortgage payment. While you can’t just stop paying your mortgage, you may be able to shop around for a home with a lower mortgage payment.

Look at every single expense in your budget and evaluate whether you could switch providers for a lower monthly cost.

About the Author:

Once you start saving money, you can go the next step with your own savings account. The Internet is filled with ways to get more great financial planning advice.

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How to Save Money When You’re Struggling

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