It's hard to save money.  There are so many claims on so few resources.  It can sometimes seem like it's hopeless to even try.  Not true!  Here's an approach that, over time, can work. 

Begin by opening an account that you don't have ready and easy access to. This account can be a savings account at a bank you don't often use, or an IRA or some other type of investment account.  The main thing is that it should be an account that you don't constantly tap into (like with a debit card).  If you want a tax deduction and can leave the money be for a long time, then look into an IRA.  If the tax deduction isn't so important to you, then look into a savings account. 
 
Then, begin to make deposits or contributions to this account each and every month.  The easiest way to do this is to have your bank or employer set it up so the monthly amount is electronically transferred over to the new account.  Don't transfer a huge amount at first.  Transfer just a bit, whatever you can comfortably afford.


Now, here's the trick:  every six months, ratchet up the amount of your monthly transfer by a little bit more, depending on what you can afford.  So, if you started with a monthly transfer of just $20 or $50 or $100, then in six months, ratchet that  monthly amount up to $25 or $75 or $125.  And then let it run for another six months.

After another six months, ratchet the monthly amount up again.  And then again in another six months.  Keep doing this for three years or so.

Before long, you'll find that you are saving quite a bit of money each month.  But you won't have to have a drastic adjustment process.  Over time, you'll be able to save a lot of money each month, but you won't feel the impact upon your lifestyle and expenses in such a dramatic way.

I hope this helps for you!
 

If you're one of the many many people out there who has debt in a lot of different forms (a credit card or two, student loans, car loan, home equity line, etc.), when's the last time you added up the balances?  I bet not recently.  Take a moment, collect info about all of your debts.  Gather bills, statements, go online, whatever.  And add up the balances of all that you owe.  This number is probably bigger than you think.

I suggest this not to depress you but to inform.   Reality sucks sometimes, right?  But that doesn't mean you shouldn't face it.  When money is concerned, debt especially, it's so vital to live in the real world.  It's too too easy to just stick your head in the sand and ignore it all.  And that won't end well.

Figure out the total amount you owe.  Face it.  Reckon with it.  Start thinking of a plan for what you're gonna do about it.  Over time, you can get out of debt.  You can.  If you make a plan and follow it.  It might take a while, might take years.  But if you get there, you will be damn proud of yourself.  

Please do this.  Care for yourself.  None of your lenders will.

Good luck and peace!

Sometimes we get a chance to take a big step forward, financially.  Sometimes something goes right for us in terms of money.  Examples include: finally getting a job after a long time laid off,  getting a better job with higher pay,  refinancing to a super low rate,  selling a house and moving to a better one.

When (not if) these things happen to you, bravo and congratulations.  You've worked through enough hard times, you deserve some good news.  But, make sure to hold the line!

What I mean by this is, don't spend all your new found money and end up worse off than you were before.  Before the positive step forward came, I bet you had all sorts of great ways to save money, keep expenses low, make ends meet.  And you just knew that if fortune ever came your way again, you'd make sure to never get into money trouble again.  Well, now you have to follow through on that.

You'll have to fight against many urges when you come into some money.  You'll want to just relax a bit, take the pressure off and treat yourself.  That's just fine, but be careful.  Perhaps the biggest risk you'll face is that you'll just start spending your money at a faster rate than ever before.  And you'll blow through whatever windfall you've achieved.  I've seen this happen all too often.

Best thing to do is make a budget, and stick to it.  I don't mean to throw cold water on the celebration party.  But be careful, be deliberate, follow your budget.  Still treat yourself, but just a little, for a little while.  Then get back to business.

Good luck, and peace!

Many people don't know what financial planning actually is.  Well, it's not a silver bullet, a magic incantation, or a super elixir that cures all money woes.  Financial planning is, quite simply, an ongoing process that you establish in your life to regularly address and manage your money.   It works step by step, over time.

There are many many processes out there, with different steps and different approaches.  But I think they are all basically the same:

1. Organize - Get organized.  Write down your financial information into an easy to understand (for you) format.  How does your income compare with your expenses?  How do your assets (assuming you have any) stack up against your debts (I hope you don't have much!)?  Once you've gotten organized, you can begin to think about what you need to do.
2.  Make a Plan - What should you do about your finances?  You've organized and looked at your situation.  What needs to be done immediately?  Over the next year?  Over the next three years?  Write these to do's down, with dates.  Put the dates on a calendar.
3.  Follow the Plan - You know, of course, that none of this work will amount to a hill o' beans if you don't follow through and actually do the to do's on your list, right?  Do what you need to do in order to help your ability to follow through.  Get a a friend or family member to help you stay on track.  Put big encouraging notes on your calendar.  Set up reminders on your smartphone or online calendar.  Do whatever works for you, so long as you follow through.  This is a process that will help, over time, if you stick with it.
4.  Repeat -  Same time next year, go through the process again.  Before you start rolling your eyes and sighing dramatically, you should know that this gets easier each time you do it.  You get more organized and understand things better.  But, the most important thing is that you do this process year after year.  You can't change everything in one hour or one day.  But you can make some big change in a year.  In three years, you can begin to turn things around.  In five years or more, you can change your life.

Develop a plan that seems like it will work for you.  Stick with it.  Tweak it over time.

Good luck!  You can change your whole life, step by step.