If you are tight on money, then you are learning how to live on a tight budget.
But, it’s so important to put money away for savings regularly.
Having money in a savings account will provide you with a cushion for emergencies and unexpected expenses that may pop up in your budget.
Your savings account can also provide you with a way to meet your financial goals.
If you have no savings, it’s time to start saving!
With these living on a tight budget tips, you’ll be able to easily identify ways to cut your spending and amp up your savings.
And these tight budget living ideas will help you quickly guide your family into living a more frugal life to get out of debt and build your savings.
Plus, I’ll show you the importance of how to build a savings account so you won’t have to live so tightly again.
Here is how to build a savings account even if you’re on a tight budget.
Start With A Bare Bones Budget
First, you need to create a budget if you aren’t already using one. That will help you know what is going in and how much is going out.
Download my FREE Budget Worksheets to get your budget started.
Then, if your budget is a little flexible, you should use that flexibility to your advantage.
If an emergency occurs or something pops up, your emergency fund budget is what will keep you from going under.
BONUS FREE DOWNLOAD
Create A Plan For Your Money
These FREE Budgeting Spreadsheets will help you keep a pulse on your money (from the palm of your hand).
Your Bare Bones Budget should consist of these things:
- debt payments
- housing
- food
- fundamental family expenses (daycare, child support, etc.)
- gas (only for work and other necessary places)
- insurance
- phone (as basic as possible)
- personal care (medications, work clothes, hair cuts, etc.)
- utilities
You should NOT be spending money on these things with your Bare Bones Budget:
- cable tv
- cell phones and/or extras on a landline (unless neccessary for work)
- entertainment (movies, concerts, etc.)
- excess clothing that is not essential
- excess personal care (manicures, massages, hair color, perms, etc.)
- restaurant meals
- spending money on hobby items
- vacations
If something does come up, use the extra wiggle room in your budget to help soften the blow until you have enough money in savings.
Get Out Of Debt NOW
If you are still in debt AND have no savings, you need to get out of debt as soon as possible.
After your emergency fund is established, you need to focus on paying off your debt so you can begin aggressively putting money into your bank account!
Switch to a frugal lifestyle, take on a second job, or even cut some of your expenses so you can get out of debt sooner and focus on your savings.
If you continue to live on a tight budget, it will help you get out of debt faster and be able to save more for a rainy day or retirement.
You can use the Debt Snowball Method to help get you out of debt faster!
Find Ways To Save
If you are looking to do some aggressive saving, you need to learn the art of frugality.
Find ways to save on your regular expenses and cut back where you can. This might mean switching providers or researching less expensive options for things you do every day.
Tight budget living ideas include cutting your cable! It’s easy and it saves you so much money every month and will help you save more on your tight budget!
Learn how to save on your electric bill too!
Make a goal to find a way to cut back on your expenses like your cell bill, gas expenses, and your car insurance, and put some of that newly discovered money into your savings account!
There are many ways to save including on your grocery bill like finding great substitutions, swapping out your favorites for store brand, and even saving money on meat.
With just a little bit of homework and changing your attitude about how you go about spending your hard earned money, you can easily master these tight budget living ideas.
Make Saving A Priority
Once you have your emergency fund set up and you’ve paid off your debt, decide on what your savings should be used for.
These living on a tight budget tips will help you prioritize your saving so your goals are clear and concise.
Maybe you are saving up for a down payment or even just retirement money.
If you want to make saving a priority, you need to come up with a clear picture of what you want to do with that money. Once you have this goal in mind, make sure your tight budget reflects that savings goal.
Then, keep your goals posted so you can see them daily. This will help to remind you that your goals matter.
Make It A Habit
Saving money should be a lifelong habit that you consider doing for years and even decades from now.
One of the easiest ways to make sure you never forget to put money into savings is to make it automatic! Set up electronic transfers to put money into your savings account regularly.
BONUS FREE DOWNLOAD
Create A Plan For Your Money
These FREE Budgeting Spreadsheets will help you keep a pulse on your money (from the palm of your hand).
It’s one way to make a tight budget not feel so tight because you don’t always feel it going out of your checking account.
One does not learn how to build a savings account overnight, it has to become a habit for it to stick.
Grab this FREE printable Habit Tracker to get your habit of saving money started right!
Prevent This Situation In The Future
Whatever reason you have for not saving, you want to make sure that you never find yourself in this position again!
Make sure going forward you never find yourself draining your savings account, and that you make sure to set a little aside every month for savings.
As your totals increase, it can be difficult not to spend it. This is why your goals are so important, so you can make sure you don’t spend this money because you have been living on a tight budget.
Having money in savings will not only help relieve stress and improve your finances, but it can make your life so much easier.
As you make saving a priority, you will start to question your purchases and maybe even stop impulse buying!
With these living on a tight budget tips, you’ll be able to easily identify ways to cut your spending and amp up your savings.
These tight budget living ideas can help you quickly guide your family into living a more frugal life to get out of debt and build your savings.
Plus, I’ll show you the importance of how to build a savings account so you won’t have to live so tightly again.
The possibilities are endless when you attitude changes about having and keeping your savings account and living on a tight budget.
YOUR TURN: What steps are you taking towards creating savings? Are you living on a tight budget now? Let me know in the comments below!
