No one can call themselves good at managing money if they don’t know how to save it. A budget is incomplete without a good savings plan, and any financial advisor worth their salt will tell you that saving is essential. But no one needs a professional to tell them that they should be saving money; it’s common sense!
Savings can be made in the form of several different avenues, from saving for retirement to putting money aside in a rainy-day fund or emergency account. This may change depending on certain factors like your lifestyle, income, etc. Whatever it is, it’s pretty clear that you should start saving NOW!
Easier Said Than Done
No one intends to spend all their money in one go, but it’s a lot easier to say that you want to save money than it is to actually do it. We all know how those unexpected expenses can sneak up on us, especially if you have children or other dependents that you need to take care of financially. Mortgages, credit card bills, school fees, grocery shopping, it keeps piling on.
So how exactly do you make sure that all of your needs are met and still manage to put away an extra dollar or two into your savings account?
So How Do You Do it?
Certainly, #adulting comes with so many problems that we never thought existed when we were doe-eyed children wishing we would hurry up and grow up. Reality isn’t as sweet as the fantasy that lived in our innocent minds and a lot of us now wish we could go back and stay small, but maybe the least we can do is take a little money-managing trick that we used to employ back when we were little.
I’m talking, of course, about the humble piggy bank. Before you scoff at the idea, a sales executive from Surrey in South-East England has actually proven that this could totally work. According to an interview she did with The Daily Express, 27-year old Erin O’Meara revealed that she had saved £386 in 2019 by simply saving every £2 coin she received throughout the whole year. That’s equal to about $500 US dollars!
Erin says she got herself an old-fashion jar and promised herself she wouldn’t break it open until the year had ended. She was pleasantly surprised to find out just how much she had saved. So are we!
Erin dreams of buying her own house one day, and the £386 is certainly a great starting point for helping her realize that dream. Home ownership is one of the most common indicators of success, and no one on this earth would say they didn’t want to own their own house.
Erin Learned this Trick from Someone Special
Erin also revealed that she learned this little trick from her old man. She remembers that her dad would always ask her to check her change when they went out shopping. If she found any £2 coins among them, he would always take it. As a child, Erin couldn’t help but wonder exactly what her dad could be doing with them. As an adult, she approached him for some money-related advice and left with this invaluable trick.
The Trick is Tried and Tested
Erin knew that this was a savings plan that had been tried and tested by her father for ages, so it was bound to work for her too. And it did, helping her get that one step closer to buying her own home!
According to Erin and her dad, you’re supposed to get a till and start filling it up from Jan 1st, never opening it until or after December 15. Think of it as a Christmas present to yourself!
Erin Has Big Plans
Since it worked so well last time around, Erin has started a new till for 2020, and this time, she went bigger. She plans to save every £2 coin like before, and has added £1 coins too! It may seem like a small thing, but that’s exactly the point. How many of us leave change lying around or even leave them behind after shopping? Think about it, if Erin had saved £1 coins as well in 2019, she would have had £365 more!
Along with homeownership, Erin has also set traveling and opening up a fabric store in her sights. She hopes that the extra bit of saving she plans to do will help her achieve these dreams.
Erin says that in addition to buying a house, she plans to save up for traveling, and she also hopes to open up a fabric store.
