Have you ever spent your money as soon as you received your paycheck? It happens more often than not. According to CNBC , 1 in 4 American workers don’t even have a savings, while 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Some people I’ve met have admitted that, with or without a family, they had no savings. Some of these same people lived in the big homes with big cars. If these people claimed they had no savings, it was obviously going toward the house and car debts in the form of mortgage and car payments. Even the French word, mort in mortgage means “death”. It gives a whole new view of a house payment when you look at that term. When you owe on a house, it is more of a liability than an asset, despite what the majority says. Notice the millionaires next door are usually the ones with the smaller home and a Buick or Toyota. Saving is a lifelong commitment, so here are ways to save money in life.
Track Your Spending and Income
With so many apps and software to help you track spending and income, how can you not save? Some apps and software make it easier for those too lazy to write. There are still a few frugal spenders who would rather write it down on paper or type it on a spreadsheet than store it in their phone or device. Whichever route you choose, have a separate expense account. For example, one account can be used for bills while another can be used to save for future vacation expenses.
Go Couponing
Remember when you or your mom would clip coupons from the Sunday paper? Some still do it and it’s still just as effective today. Nowadays with alternatives like Groupon and other online coupons, life seems more simplified. Families who coupon can see a significant difference in their monthly grocery bill. This goes back to tracking your spending. When you document what money is coming in and going out of the household, you can use the software that adds it to view and compare your monthly spending. If couponing seem overwhelming for newbies, take small steps with just specific items. Go with a coupon of your favorite item, for example, for motivation and watch your savings grow.
Have An Accountability Partner
If you have read my previous post, Your 2020 Vision How To Set Goals, you will see that I stress the effectiveness of an accountability partner. This can be in any goal you set. This also means that you will need to surround yourself with supportive people and avoid naysayers and cliques with a poverty mindset. If you are the competitive type, challenge one another to a fun game followed up with a reward for whoever saves the most within a period of time.
Divide Goals Into Jars 
Label some old mason jars into categories of your bills. Any change you collect and find, drop into each jar that you want the change to go towards. Set a date as to when you would like the change to go to the bill. The more you drop towards that bill that month, the quicker you will build your savings by the bill date with money leftover for the next month. You can clip coupons until you’re blue in the face, take notes from others’ experiences, etc., but if you don’t have a healthy mindset to want to change, then you won’t apply your habits to save money in life.
Build Your Debt Snowball 
If you have finally paid off the smallest debt, use that extra money to go toward the next smallest debt until it is paid off and so on. Another wise way to save money in life for example, is to pay off a $250 car note bill to free up that same amount for next month’s $300 credit card bill. The next month will free you to only add $50 extra to the credit card bill. Repeat this habit with the next larger bill and so on. With consistency, you will be on your way to debt freedom. Among tracking your spending, couponing, and categorizing, you can pick one and try one at a time as long as you are at least saving. With so many rewarding opportunities, there is none more rewarding than seeing results and goals met within the period of time you set for yourself. What are your savings goals? Leave a comment and share your thoughts on how to save money in life.