Why You Should Care About Saving

Save your money. By now you have probably heard it a million times. Your parents probably tell you to save every time they give you allowance or every time you bring home a paycheck. If you’re like most people, saving money probably doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, especially when there are cool things to buy like music, movies, sports equipment, clothes and… you get the picture. But saving, however boring it may seem, is essential.

One of the best ways to get that longed-for independence is to save your money. With well-planned saving, you can buy a car, pay for college, get the iPod you’ve been wanting or pay for that ski vacation with your friends.

Every dollar you save now will make things that much easier for you in the future. If you have a sizeable savings account, you won’t have to worry about going into debt if your car breaks down or you have to travel at the last minute for an emergency. Think of your savings account at the Credit Union as a protective cushion that can shield you from running out of money.

Make a Saving Plan
So, just because you want to start saving money doesn’t mean that you can’t still buy that CD you want or go to the movies with friends. You just have to make sure you don’t spend all of your money without setting some aside for the future. The best way to get going on saving is to have a savings plan that you stick to.

A savings plan can be any plan that helps you set aside money for later use. Your plan could be to rent videos instead of going to the movies and save the money you would have spent on the theatre ticket for your savings account. If you have a job or get allowance, a good idea is to always save a certain amount of the money you make. A common recommendation is to save 10 percent of your earnings. That means that for every $100 you earn, you’ll put $10 in your savings account.

Every Bit Helps
You might be thinking that the amount of money you would be able to save wouldn’t make a difference in the long run, so you might as well spend it. This is never true. The younger you are when you begin saving, the longer your money can stay in your savings account collecting interest, or in an investment like a mutual fund. When you put your money in a savings account at the Credit Union, it will earn interest and grow over time.

Saving Strategies