The New and Improved Way to Save Money

Picture this: You’re in line at Target, ready to check out—and somehow you have a cart full of stuff when all you came for was toothpaste and face wash.

You know you don’t really need all those other things, but the yoga pants, flower socks, hair wrap and holiday table linens were just too cute to pass up.

So you check out and end up spending $150.

Then you feel guilty because you know you should be saving that money instead of spending it.

Sound familiar?

Chances are, if you’re like most modern working women, you know you need to save money for the future—yet somehow there’s never any money left at the end of the month.

So instead of constantly beating yourself up for not saving every month, learn this simple approach  and then spend money guilt-free—a win-win solution.

The old way of managing money every month was to pay your bills, spend your money on fun things like going out and shopping, and then save whatever was left over.

Old Way: Save What’s Left Over

Net Income (after tax income)

-Bills

-Spend money on fun things

=Save whatever’s left over

This approach never works long-term.

It’s just too hard to save money at the end of the month when we live in a world of immediate gratification.

So stop making it so hard.

Simply shift your mindset and follow the new approach to managing money: The “Pay Yourself First” strategy.*

New Way: Pay Yourself First

Net Income (after tax income)

-Bills

–PYF Savings (Cash cushion, retirement, travel goal)

=Spend money on fun things (guilt-free!)

Automate your savings so they’re just like another bill that you must pay every month.

After you pay your bills and  Pay Yourself First, you can spend the remaining amount of money on whatever you want, guilt-free.

If you want to go to Target and spend $150, go for it. Or maybe you want to buy that new designer bag that cost a lot of money.

Do it.

You may have to eat ramen noodles the rest of the month, but at least now you’re being a smart, financially wise woman who is saving first and spending last.

Of course, you can’t spend more than what’s left over every month, otherwise you’ll be creating debt–and we know that’s not good.

How much should I be saving?

A good rule of thumb is to save 10-20% of your net income toward your top three financial goals for the year.

However, if that’s too much for you, start small.  Maybe start with 3% and work your way up by increasing the percentage by 1% every six months until you reach the desired level of 10-20%. 

Take Action

This approach sets the foundation for your financial success long-term.

It makes it super easy for you to save money and not feel guilt about spending what’s left over.

So now it’s your turn.

Work on setting up your Pay Yourself First strategy and start saving the easy way.

Set up automatic savings toward at least one of your financial goals today.

This could be as simple as putting $50 per month into your savings account to build your cash cushion.  Or it could be contributing $100 per month into you Roth IRA.

Whatever it is, just make it automatic.

You’ll be surprised at how you won’t even miss that money once it’s automatically deducted.

Now we want to hear from you!

Leave a comment below and tell us the best ways you’ve found to help save more money every month.

We look forward to reading your fabulous comments!

Brittney Castro, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, entrepreneur and personal finance expert for women, is the Founder & CEO of Financially Wise Women, a Los Angeles based financial planning firm for women.  She specializes in working with busy professional and entrepreneurial women who are passionate about life and want to gain clarity around their money.  Brittney’s mission is to help women plan and create the life of their dreams, free from anxiety about money.   She is known for her innovative, non-judgmental, compassionate approach to financial planning.  She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNBC, Financial Planning Magazine, Investment News, and Registered Rep Magazine.  Away from the office, you can find Brittney working out, drinking green juice, reading, playing at the park with her dog Arya and of course dancing.  Sign up to receive your Financially Wise Toolkit jam packed with great tools and resources to help you on your financial journey at www.financiallywisewomen.com.  Follow her on twitter at www.twitter.com/brittneycastro.