Saving money can seem like something that is impossible. Especially when you are not a high earner. Well the thing is, that is nothing but a farce, it is possible to save money while you don’t make as much as Warren Buffet or Mark Zuckerberg or even a Donald Trump. The key to being able to successfully save is being intentional with your money. There are four tips I hope to expose to you in this article about how you can save seemingly impressive sums of money with an equally unimpressive salary, in a short amount of time, and in my case, saving $18,000 dollars in one year earning less than $35,000 dollars at my day job. I was able to follow these tips through the peak of a pandemic, when times were turbulent, so without a doubt I believe and know you can emulate these steps and start creating for yourself a nice little nest egg.
You should give the entire article a read, but if you just want to see my exact budget, you can find that at the end of the page.
Don’t Leave the Crib, Unless you Have To
Tip One : Live at Home as Long as you can or Find a Roommate/ Roommates
Living at home can truly suck your soul from your body, however, it proves to be one of the most cost effective ways to start having enough extra money so you can begin to save. In life, everything worth having or doing will require sacrifice. Shelter has proved to be one of the most expensive things to have. In my area/ market a simple 1 bed room 1 bath apartment can go anywhere from one to three thousand dollars per month. That is $12,000-$36,000 thousand dollars that you are throwing away just because you want “freedom” every year. And the funny part is, tossing this money away, and giving it to another person, your landlord, is actually what finances their true freedom. In order to begin to save you need to start to master your mindset, and start to look at things with a long term lens on.
Tell Me, How Much Did You Spend on Food Last Month?
Tip Two : Create a Budget and Reconcile it Monthly
As I said before, in order to save money, you have to be intentional about how you earn and spend your money. It is critical that you know exactly where your money goes each month. The best way to track this is through the use and creation of a budget. Track your income, track you expenses and at the end of the month reconcile your actual spending vs the budget you created. A budget isn’t the end all be all, it serves as a tool to guide you to be more intentional with how you spend your money. So its okay to go a little bit over, and its okay to be a little bit under, what is important is that you are building the habit of tracking your money, and adding to that budget a portion of your money you will save.
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Tip Three : Set a goal
Another great tip that helped me save more money was creating a goal for myself. When you can see the light at the end of the tunnel it is much easier to keep on trekking towards that goal. Create a reason, a purpose, a why for your savings, for me it was to save enough for a down payment on a home, for you it can be to save for a down payment on a car, or enough for a vacation, or enough to cover your expenses. Give your savings a purpose and without a doubt you will find joy in putting away a little bit of your money with each paycheck you receive.
The Robot’s are Taking our Jobs
Tip Four : Automate the Saving Process, and create separate accounts
Out of sight, out of mind. One thing that has completely changed the game for me in my savings journey, has been to automate the savings process. This tip is two fold in that you should create separate accounts for your savings, and you should automatically pull from your main checking account to fund these savings, brokerage, and retirement accounts. It is important that you always pay yourself every month, and this is the way you do that. Every paycheck you receive, there should be an allotment that is taken out and put into a separate account automatically.
My Budget Making $35,000 Big Ones a Year
Following those four tips you should be well on your way to saving the most money you’ve saved in your entire life. So the final tip would be to be consistent in following these tips. Saving is a form of paying yourself, and it is important that you do just that. Pay your self so that you can achieve the goals that you want for tomorrow. As promised I will detail my entire monthly budget, as I was making $44,500 dollars a year gross and 33,463.70 net.
My Monthly Budget Making $44,500 a Year Gross:
| Income | Monthly | Yearly |
| Job Net Income | $2,788 | $33,463 |
| Expenses | | |
| Car Payment | $323 | $3,876 |
| Gas | 181 | 2,173 |
| Car Maintenance | 83 | 1,000 |
| Car Insurance | 207 | 2,484 |
| Credit Card (Miscellaneous Spend) | 300 | 3,600 |
| Savings | 1,509 | 18,111 |
| End Of Month Cash Flow | $184 | $2,218 |
The Takeaway
As you can see most of my expenses, came from my vehicle, which I needed to make it to and from work. Aside from that since I was able to minimize my greatest expense, shelter, I was able to amass a healthy sum of money that will allow for me to take a step closer towards financial independence and freedom.
Let me know how these tips work for you! Thanks for the read, find your excellence and unlock what’s within.