Saving
A solid foundation of any financial plan is to be intentional about saving. Saving is the process of committing a percentage of your income to the future. In order to save money, you must spend less than you earn. Budgeting is a major factor in creating a solid saving strategy.
Many times, we are encouraged to save money for an unexpected emergency. According to a 2022 survey, 4 in 10 Americans have enough savings to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. Saving helps to protect us against emergencies like car repairs, medical costs, and more. We hope to prepare you for the unexpected.
It’s important to note that we also save for opportunities. Having a solid saving strategy could contribute to acquiring assets and experiences in your lifetime. Saving is how we prepare for our financial goals. Exciting purchases and moments like renting an apartment, buying a home or car, or a study abroad trip requires us to save. Without savings, we can miss out on great opportunities. Even worse, a lack of savings could contribute to anxiety and financial stress. Check out the below tips and resources to develop you saving strategy.
What Does It Mean to Pay Yourself First? (thebalance.com)
Tip 1: Create a budget and plan to save a percentage of your income. 10-20% is recommended but you could start with any amount. The important thing is to get in the habit. Saving is a behavior. Paying yourself first is highly encouraged.
Tip 2: Automatic Transfers & Direct Deposits. Saving increases when we set direct deposits or automatic transfers on pay day. Automate to accelerate saving.
Tip 3: To the extent possible, minimize your recurring expenses to save more. For instance, you need a cell phone but do you need the newest phone every year? Minimizing your expenses can help bolster your savings.
Investing
Investing like saving is committing your money to a financial goal in the future. The goal of investing is to increase the value of your money by selecting profitable opportunities. Investing is a strategy to build wealth. Many people refer to investing as making your money work for you. By having a budget, you can plan to invest a portion of your income and watch your money grow over time. Although investing offers the opportunity to increase your wealth, it is important to still have an emergency savings for the unexpected.
It’s important to note that investment returns are not guaranteed. All investments carry some level of risks that can produce a loss instead of a return. This is why it is important that you understand the type of investment vehicles and the risks associated with them. Investors have strategies to manage risks and make informed investment decisions. There are many ways and strategies to invest. There are the short-term and long-term investment strategies. The key item is to understand investment tools such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, individual retirement accounts (IRA), 401(k)s, and/or more advanced investment tools. You should also under the risks associated with each investment tool/vehicle. Check out the below resources to learn more about investing.
Introduction to Investing | Investor.gov
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