Savings Journal

There is so much out there about saving money.  We are talking about eliminating or reducing expenses to save money here, as opposed to putting money in a savings account.  And saving money is important for most of us.  If you never seem to have enough money, then saving money is a priority.  If you have enough to get by it is still important so you can invest and maybe save for a dream.

There are so many good articles out there about saving a few dollars here or there or even moving to a new location to save a lot of living expenses.  But you know what? Saving money is often kind of boring.  Spending money is fun!  Saving money is not fun because you would rather have whatever you are eliminating to save money.  And on top of that you seem to waste precious time even thinking about ways to save money.

The trick to saving money might be finding a way to make it fun, or at least somewhat interesting.  There have been several ideas put forth out there, mostly centering around using your savings for something you really want.  I’d like to propose the idea of a Savings Journal.

The idea of the Savings Journal is very simple.  There are just two tasks:

• Every time you save a little money you record it in the Journal.
• You keep a running total of what you have saved.

Here are some basic rules.

• If your savings is one shot just record the amount.  Example – You decide to not buy a new computer game and enter $60.
• If your savings is something you spend on a regular basis you put down the amount you save in a year.  Example – the
• famous one of skipping your $4 a day gourmet coffee.  You save 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year for a grand total of $1040!
• Subscriptions also work on a yearly basis.  A magazine with a $30 annual subscription generates a $30 entry.  Cutting a $20/month streaming service generates a $240 entry.

You are aiming to make saving a bit of a game or competition.  We all like games and competition.  You should subtotal your savings at least once a month.  Then you can play a little game and try to beat your previous month’s savings.

OK, so here I’ll throw in some savings ideas to get you started making entries in your Savings Journal.  Note that there are whole books out there and many good articles that provide guidance and ideas.  Hopefully the Savings Journal makes the ideas more interesting.

Find Little Sources of Cash Savings

I would consider the reduced gourmet coffee stops here.

Streaming Subscriptions

I’m a sucker for free and low-cost streaming trials.  And then I forget to cancel when they go to full price!

Magazines and Newspapers

If you really look forward to receiving a magazine by all means keep it.  But if it just lays around or you don’t have time to even open the Email subscription you should let it go.

Look at Food Bill

There is almost always some savings available here.  Less processed and prepared items might be a place to start.

Less Restaurants and Take out.

This can be a really big one for many people.  And learning to cook more is probably healthier for you too.

Fix Something and Estimate How Much You Saved

Can it be fixed, rather than replaced?

Use the 24 Hour Rule

When you decide to buy anything expensive wait 24 hours and see if you still think it is a good idea.  This is especially important with credit cards that make it all too easy.

Give the Savings Journal a try and see if it works for you.  The worst that can happen is you’ll be encouraged to save some dollars.  And that is usually a good thing!