Do you have a savings account, yet find it difficult to find money to deposit into it? This isn’t an uncommon problem and most people find it hard to save. Generally when you receive income it is either directly deposited into your checking account or you go to the bank to make a deposit. Typically these funds head straight to the checking account so they are available to pay the seemingly endless stream of bills.
Most people save money as an afterthought. When they receive income the money is allocated to bills, groceries, rent or a mortgage or daily expenses among other things. The only time adding money to savings is when there is money left over. Unfortunately with this backwards thinking there is almost never any money left over to save.
When deposits are made into a savings account automatically and regularly you don’t have to think about it and the money is deposited before you have time to worry about expenses or how much money will be left over.
If you don’t have direct deposit there is still an easy option available if you do your banking at a local branch. Typically your bank can link checking and saving accounts together and establish automated transfers between accounts at a regular interval that you select. So if you cash your paycheck every other Friday you could establish an automatic transfer of a set amount of money from checking to savings to coincide with this deposit.
For many people, it comes down to having a mix of multiple savings vehicles. There will be part of an emergency fund in a savings account at the bank, possibly some cash in a money market fund in an investment account, and some CDs or bonds stashed away for longer-term savings. Whatever the case may be, you want to make sure your money is working as hard as it can.
