Savings Initiative: Help Yourself Become Fiscally Sound and Responsible

Keeping yourself on track with your budget and your savings goals can be tough, even with great planning and responsible spending habits. 

Here are some ways you can help yourself become more fiscally sound and responsible.

Set a Monthly Budget

One of the big reasons people have financial trouble and can't meet their savings goals is that they have no idea how much money they are spending relative to what they are bringing in. 

To get started on the road to responsible financial habits, you must set a monthly budget. Figure out how much money you bring home in your paycheck and any other sources. Then figure out your spending for the month. Start with mandatory spending, such as your rent, utilities, insurance and groceries. 

Then look at your discretionary spending. This is where you may need to make cuts if you are not meeting your goals. One good way to budget is to use a mobile app to automate the practice.

Track your Spending

After you have set your budget and made adjustments, you should track your spending on a daily basis to ensure you are meeting your goals. It's not really enough to just track your spending monthly, because you could be going way over budget without realizing it until it is too late. 

There are many apps on the market that allow you to track your daily spending. You can get online access to your bank and credit card accounts, which helps you keep track each time you make a purchase. 

If you prefer to do things the old fashioned way, you can order personal checks that can help you track your finances. If you get duplicate checks, you will have an easy and simple way to keep track of spending.

Make Saving Automatic

Automating your savings will ensure you hit your goals each month. There are a number of ways you can do this. One of the easiest is to have a certain amount deducted from your bank account each month and directed into a savings account. 

If your workplace has a credit union or some arrangement with another financial institution, you can have money deducted from your check and put straight into a savings account. Some credit and debit cards also have programs that allow you to round up each purchase and have the excess directed to savings. 

By automating your savings, you eliminate the possibility that you might forget or decide to spend that money in another way in a given month.

Designate some "Extras" to Savings

A good way to meet your savings goals even faster is to put extra in savings any time you make extra money. For example, if you get a bonus at work, take a certain percentage of it and put it in savings. Do the same with money you get as gifts. 

Another way to boost your savings with extras is to start a change jar and put spare change in it whenever you have it.

Look for Ways to Generate more Money

If you want to save more, you may have to look for ways to generate more money. You can do this by generating more income, either by working overtime at your job or getting a part-time job, or you can do it by looking for ways to cut money out of your budget. 

Some of the easiest ways to do that are to refinance debt to get lower interest rates and lowering rates on some of your discretionary spending, such as by cutting back on cable or bundling services.

Following these tips should help you get more fiscally fit and boost your savings rate.