7 Habits to Improve Your Savings Amount

To make the amount of your savings increase, you need something more than just saving.

How much money to save?

Where do you put the money?

How can you be sure that the money will still be there (not used)?

Here are the steps you need to do so that you can increase the amount of your savings:

1. Set a goal

For short-term goals, setting goals can be easily done. If you just want to buy a game, you have to do is find out what it costs. If you want to buy a house, calculate the amount of down payment that you have to prepare.

For long-term goals such as retirement, you have to do more planning (estimating how much money you need to live comfortably after retirement and predict how your investments and savings will help achieve your goal).

In order for your goals can be achieved, then the first condition that you must have is that you do not have debt. If you have debts, then your first priority is to pay off your debts. After everything is paid off, the money you can use to start saving.

2. Set schedule

For example, I want to buy a house in three years from now. Set a date for the achievement of short-term goals and make sure that the goals can be achieved in that time. If not possible then you will only get discouraged.

3. Determine the amount of money that will be saved

Calculate how much money you will save in your savings per week, per month, or every time you receive a salary, to reach your goal is. We recommend that you save the same amount of money each period. For example, if you want to Hajj 3 years from now, let's just say it cost 45 million dollars, then you need to save a month is Rp. 1.250.000, -. But if your salary of 2 million per month, then your goal seems unrealistic, because ideally the savings is 30% of your income. What you should do is to change the schedule in order to produce a more viable scenario.

4. Record spending

The amount of money you tube is the difference between the amount of your income and the amount of your expenses. Because you have more control on the amount you spend, it is a wise thing if you look critically at your expenses. Record every month where you spend your money. Be as detailed as possible in your money supply, including small purchases. Then try to categorize the types of costs. For example: rent, car insurance, car maintenance costs, phone bills, petrol, food, entertainment, etc.

5. Cut your expenses

Look back at your spending for two months back. It is surprising when you realize you are hanging out at the cafe costs Rp. 2 million, a parking ticket Rp. 500 thousand, and so on. Maybe you will find some of the costs that you can not trim. Based on the amount that needs to be saved, you need to take some tough decisions. Make it a priority and cut expenses to bring the least impact on your needs. For example, you can move to a cheaper apartment, reducing car usage, restrict the use of mobile phones, eating at home, etc. Calculate how much you will save each year from these cuts.

6. Stop using credit cards

Pay your purchases of consumer goods with the money in cash, not by credit card. It is easier to buy something with plastic money because you do not realize at the time how much cash you have in your wallet. With the cash, otherwise, you can monitor your actual money supply.

7. Set aside first for savings

Saving should be your priority, so do not say that what you put into your savings is money remaining at the end of the month. You have to set aside some of your money as soon as you receive your income. For example, you can automatically transfer money from the account that you use to receive your income into your savings account.