BOISE, Idaho — Summer is a great time for getting out and enjoying a balance of work and play, but it can also be a great time to begin balancing your household budget.
A report by Bankrate found that 68% of adults are struggling to save and say they’re worried their savings wouldn’t cover their everyday living expenses if they were to lose their job. In fact, only 43% feel confident they have enough savings to cover an emergency of a thousand dollars or more, which is why building up a bit of savings is so important.
Melanie Weir, a deposit operations manager at First Federal Savings, says poor financial wellness leads to high stress and when people worry about money, it impacts their mental and physical well-being.
“Those are concerns, obviously, that affect all people in all different walks of life,” said Weir, “and the answer is establishing good savings habits to overcome those situations.”
Weir says one of the best ways to start saving is to stop thinking of the big picture and remember that little amounts add up over time. Your goal should be to save a little at a time to build up a rainy-day fund with 3-to-6 months' worth of living expenses.
Most importantly, Weir says having a budget is key, as well as understanding that you need to pay yourself first.
“Really, we find that the most successful savers are those that establish a regular habit where, for example, it’s payday so the first thing I’m going to do before I do anything else is transfer a little bit of money into a savings account.“
Some common mistakes that people tend to make when building up their savings are waiting too long to begin, not making saving money a priority, or just giving up on their plan to save.
On the bright side, Weir says that once people have established a regular habit of saving, they often find it to be addictive and continue to build upon that feeling and end up saving even more.
