My FICO logo $$$$$$$$$$$ 9876 5432 1234 5678 CREDIT CARD KELLY SMITH 11/26 My FICO logo
SCORE
Skip Navigation
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  • Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Member Dashboard
  • Log In Log Out
  • Start Plan
 
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  •  
  • Education
    • Credit Education
    • Credit Scores
    • What Is a FICO Score?
    • FICO Scores vs Credit Scores
    • FICO Scores Versions
    • New FICO Scores
    • How Scores Are Calculated
    • Payment History
    • Amount of Debt
    • Length of Credit History
    • Credit Mix
    • New Credit
    • How to Improve Your Score
    • How to Build Credit
    • Credit Reports
    • What's in Your Report
    • Credit Bureaus
    • Inquiries
    • Errors on Your Report?
    • Blog
    • Calculators
    • Loan Savings
    • Vehicle Payments
    • How Much Can I Borrow?
    • Should I Consolidate My Credit Cards?
    • Know Your Rights
    • Identity Theft
    • FAQ
    • Glossary
  • Community
  • Support
  • Member Dashboard
  • Log In Log Out
  • Our Products
    • Ongoing Credit Monitoring Track your FICO® Score & identity
    • One-time Credit Reports Be prepared for important transactions
  • How Can We Help
    • Monitor Credit & Identity
    • Mortgages
    • Credit Cards
    • Auto Loans
  • Credit Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Our Products
    • Ongoing Credit Monitoring Track your FICO® Score & identity
    • One-time Credit Reports Be prepared for important transactions
  • Credit Education
  • Credit Scores
    • What Is a FICO Score?
    • FICO Scores vs Credit Scores
    • FICO Score Versions
    • New FICO Scores
    • How Scores Are Calculated
    • Payment History
    • Amount of Debt
    • Length of Credit History
    • Credit Mix
    • New Credit
    • How to Improve Your Score
    • How to Build Credit
  • Credit Reports
    • What's in Your Report
    • Credit Bureaus
    • Inquiries
    • Errors on Your Report?
  • Blog
  • Calculators
    • Loan Savings
    • Vehicle Payments
    • How Much Can I Borrow?
    • Should I Consolidate My Credit Cards?
  • Know Your Rights
  • Identity Theft
  • FAQ
  • Glossary
View all Personal Finance articles

3 Strategies to Help You Save Money Now... and in the Future

June 27, 2017, by Rob Kaufman

#1 - Set your priorities.

We'd all like to save money and tend to have similar reasons behind why we want to save. The primary difference often lies in where the importance of those reasons falls on our scale of priorities.

Take a look at what follows and see where these categories land on __ your __ priority list:

  • Retirement. Are you hoping to be financially comfortable and secure when it comes time to retire? Time flies, and the earlier you start to contribute to these savings, the more money you'll have down the line.

  • Home Buying. You'll need a down payment to purchase a home. This is often the number one reason why people who want to become homeowners start putting money away early.

  • Emergencies. You need a new roof. The A/C needs repair. You lost your job and need money to get through the hard times. It's important to save (and keep aside) 6-12 months of income for when emergencies arise.

  • Luxuries . Would you like to have enough money in your savings account for special vacations, gifts or the latest tech gadget? Luxuries are important in order to maintain a good balance between work and fun.

  • New Car. Whether your old car conks out or it's just time for a new model, cars can be expensive. Rather than having a car payment each month, wouldn't it be nice to have enough cash to make that purchase and have your car completely paid for up front?

  • Education. You never know when you (or one of your children) are going to need money for school. You might want to further your education or your child might want to attend college. If you start saving now you can be more prepared later.

#2 - Make a plan to save money.

Okay, so you've set your priorities and now know what's most (and least) important when it comes to __ why __ you want to save money. Now... how are you going to start saving? Here are a few ideas to consider:

  1. Track your expenses so that you know how much and where you're spending your money. Once you're aware of exactly how your money is being spent (everything from café lattes to haircuts to cable TV), you'll better understand where cuts can take place.

  2. Build a budget so you can plan your spending, limit your overspending and cut back on things you don't need. Doing these things will provide additional money to put away each week and/or each month.

  3. Budget for savings, which essentially means that, when you categorize and chart out your earnings and expenses, add a "savings" column to your chart. Think of savings as just another monthly expense to which you must allocate a portion of your income. You can use myFICO calculators to help!

  4. Savings methods are an important aspect of any budget. Will you open up a Certificate of Deposit to get more interest on your money than a typical interest-bearing savings account offers? Do you have enough to open an IRA or a stock portfolio for bigger gains? Determine which method of saving best suits your budget (and personality) and talk to a professional who can help you with the details.

#3 - Stick with it.

This is the most difficult part of saving money - sticking to the plan.

It happens to the best of us: we set our priorities and make a plan with all calculations figured out to the tee. We're proud of our accomplishment and for a month or two we stay on track.  But then... a new iPhone hits the market, or we go out for dinner three nights in one week. We start spending again when we shouldn't and by the time the month is over we find there's no remaining money to put in the "savings" column we worked so hard to start funding.

This is the time that matters most. Don't get discouraged and don't give up. Go back to your goals to remind yourself __ why __ you wanted to save in the first place. Then review your plan and, as the saying goes, get right back up on the horse. If you remain dedicated, saving money will likely become a habit and, perhaps before you even know it, you can reach those goals that at the start seemed almost impossible to reach.

You can read about how other people are saving money at the myFICO Forum . You can also see other ways to save money by reading the myFICO blogs anytime, day or night.

Rob Kaufman

Rob is a writer... of blogs, books and business. His financial investment experience combined with a long background in marketing credit protection services provides a source of information that helps fill the gaps on one's journey toward financial well-being. His goal is simple: The more people he can help, the better.

Estimate your FICO Score range

Answer 10 easy questions to get a free estimate of your FICO Score range

740 - 790
Estimate for Free

Instant Access to Your FICO® Score

90% of Top Lenders Use FICO® Scores. Do you know yours?

Get Access Now!

Page footer

Products

  • Home
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing

Learn

  • Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Blog

Company

  • About Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Program
  • Accessibility

Get Our App

  • Download iOS app on the App Store
  • fil_get
    Get Android app on the Google Play Store

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Credit Education

  • Credit scores
  • What is a FICO Score?
  • FICO Score versions
  • How scores are calculated
  • Payment history
  • Amount of debt
  • Length of credit history
  • Credit mix
  • New credit
  • Credit reports
  • What's in your report
  • Bureaus
  • Inquiries
  • Errors on your report?
  • Calculators
  • Know your rights
  • Identity theft
  • FAQ
  • Glossary

Copyright ©2001- Fair Isaac Corporation. All rights reserved.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, and may include additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies. Many factors affect your FICO Scores and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating. FTC's website on credit.

PRIVACY NOTICE: When you visit this website we collect your browsing activities on our site and use that information to analyze and research improvements to the website, and to our products and services. When you register for our products and services, we also collect certain personal information from you for identification purposes, such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, social security number, IP address, and date of birth. Further information is available in our FICO Data Privacy Policy. For visitors with visual disabilities, access to this website, including our FICO Data Privacy Policy, is available through assistive technologies, such as BrowseAloud, JAWS, VoiceOver, Narrator, ChromeVox, and Window-Eyes. More details on software and accessibility are available at WebAIM.org.