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From the time we were children our parents told us how important it was to save money. We all remember our first piggy bank. Maybe yours was a turtle, or an actual bank where you put the coins in a tube and they rolled down the tube into the right section for that coin. Which is why it amazes me to this day that a lesson we have been taught since we were old enough to hold money, many of us still have not mastered.

Saving money is not like riding a bike, where all you need to do is get on the bike and you remember. For some reason the fascination with watching the coins roll in the tube or hearing the coins shake in our little piggy or turtle has dwindled. Perhaps it is because we never really learned how to save money; we just knew it was fun to put our coins in the banks to hear the noises.

This is why I decided that it was important to provide you with tips that I picked up from a few people I know that have been successful at saving money. Picking their brains was fun, and I have to tell you the tips I got from there are easy to follow… and more importantly, they make sense.

Tip One: Give Your Savings Meaning

Probably the number one reason people struggle with saving money is because they don’t see why they need to, what is the point? You can’t take it with you, and if you are saving for a rainy day… what if it never rains? The recommendation, forget that philosophy and save for a reason. Start small, say there is a new bedroom set that you really want. Find out the total cost, and then take a look at your finances and see how much you can set aside each week or every other week towards your new bedroom set. Believe it or not this tip came from a waitress I met in Florida. She had saved for three months for a set of silk sheets she wanted for her bed. She set $5 a side each and every week until she had enough money to buy them. There as purpose to her saving, something tangible and she felt really good about her savings when she was able to go buy the sheets.

Tip Two: Make the Saving Automatic

Ahhh, the beauty of technology, most people have direct deposit. Which means that they really don’t even see their paycheck… it automatically goes into their account. The successful money savers say that what you need to do is take part of your pay and have the bank automatically put a certain dollar amount into a savings account. It is the whole out of site out of mind concept. If you don’t have to think about it you are more likely to do it.

Tip Three: Avoid Your Weakness

We all have them, whether it is Starbucks, Macy’s or the latest CD at the music store. Stay away from those temptations while you are trying to save. Look at it this way; you love your latte at Starbucks. Even if you get the small one you are going to plop down about $3, and let’s say that you go three times a week. If avoided that temptation you would save $468 a year… even if you cut back to going once a week you would save $312 a year.

You don’t have to give up everything in your life. All you have to do is take simple steps to help increase your savings. One Starbucks a week instead of three, have the bank set up an automatic transfer at each paycheck and give the money you are trying to save meaning.

Neil Bartlett is the founder of CheapInsider.com. Cheap Insider provides everyone with Tips and Techniques for saving money and finding bargains. To learn more and INSTANTLY grab his FREE report “10 Money Saving Tips”

Certified financial planners consider household budgeting as the focal point in establishing financial security. This is the reason why they have developed several budgeting tips to help people become financially secured.

Below are helpful budgeting tips from experts:

1. Change your view about budgeting – this is one of most effective budgeting tips that you should learn. Refer to your budget as your spending plan. The term budgeting typically means restraining your expenses but with a spending plan, you concentrate more on how to better spend your money so that there is a balance between your needs and wants.

2. Another one of the most basic budgeting tips is if you want to save money you must spend a lot less than the amount you earn. Establishing financial security is based on this principle. A good spending plan means knowing the amount that you earn and how you spend it.

3. Creating a financial plan will also make it a lot easier for you to save money and achieve your financial goals. For example, you want to save $300 every month but you only have $200 in excess cash, you will find out that you should adjust either your spending or your goal.

4. Settle your priorities before anything else. No matter what budgeting approach that you take, you should make sure that all essentials are covered first. This will reduce the risks of spending your money on unnecessary things.

5. Most people do not know where their money is spent. If you want to save money, it is very important to keep track of your expenditures. It is recommended that you keep a record of your expenses for at least a month or two so that you will get a good idea how exactly you have been spending your money. In addition, this will help you identify the best way to save.

6. Saving money should start with temporary financial goals. Certified financial planners have proven that their clients are motivated towards long-term financial goals by practicing on short-term goals.

7. Having your monthly expenses automated is a good way to secure your money. You can have your mortgages, car and housing loan automatically deducted from your checking account. You can contact your bank on how to do this.

8. Always check your spending plan to see if you are able to accomplish your goals. It is possible that there have been changes in your life that may require you to modify or revamp your spending plan.

These budgeting tips were carefully studied by professional financial planners and are proven to be very effective. Consider speaking with an independent financial planner or advisor to know more about managing your finances.

One of the most important practical life skills is personal budgeting. Learning budgeting basics is essential to financial success. Whether you are in a good financial status now or you are struggling to fix your finances, it is always a good idea to track how much you are earning and how much you are spending.

The first step of budgeting basics is simple – write the numbers down. Start with the amount of your after-tax salary. There is no point to budgeting if you do not actually see the figures. You may know how much you are earning a month but as you write down the numbers, you will be surprised to find out how you are actually spending your money.

To find this out, proceed with the next step of budgeting basics – gather your bills and receipts for the month such as your house rent or mortgage, credit card bills, car payment, insurance payment, utilities, groceries, magazine subscriptions and etcetera. List down all the important expenses first and then the non-essentials. When you are done with this part, it would be like your vision clearing up because you will see where all your money is going to. Individually, the small expenses seem nothing but when you add them all up in this way, the truth of your spending will hit you.

This is where you can now identify where you are overspending and find ways to change your spending habits. You do not have to completely give up the fun stuff like eating out. You can still do this but not as frequently. Treating yourself once in a while is important because it actually increases the chances of you sticking with your budget since it is not too restrictive. So do not forget to budget for your recreation and relaxation as well.

In addition, build up an emergency fund. Obviously, the money you set aside for this fund are for emergencies or unexpected situations only. A surprise 1-day sale at your favorite shoe store is not considered an emergency. Be strict about how you save for your emergency fund and how you use it so when the real emergency comes up – car repair, illness, accidents, and etc. – you have something to use. Unforeseen events are common budget busters so make sure you factor them in your monthly budgeting.

To summarize the personal budgeting basics discussed above, collect your bill statements and receipts each month, list down how much your expenses come up to and subtract this from your net income. Do not forget to make some allowance for your daily needs like food, gas and etcetera. Set aside a small amount not tied to any particular expense. These budgeting basics will not work if you do not keep it up each and every month. Managing your finances takes commitment so do everything you can to stick with your budgeting. Later on you will recognize your spending patterns and identify strategies to better control them.