Happy Tuesday! It’s time for another helpful budget tip. This week I want to talk about feeling the urge to take money from one place to use in another, specifically, your savings account.
Do everything you can to resist this ever-so-tempting feeling!
If you go through a pay period or time in your budget that is very tight, it can be SO easy to look at the money in your savings account and want to pull some of it out. It may be $20.00 or $500.00, but every single dollar in there counts. Think of all the time and planning it took to save up that money. Building up that safety net for the future is so important. You’ve worked so hard to create that for yourself and your family.
So, my advice here is to think about WHY you need to take money out of your savings account if you feel that urge. Are you taking $20.00 out to buy more groceries? To pay for dinner out at a restaurant? To buy clothing? To purchase something your child needs that came up without notice? For all of these questions, be completely and totally honest with yourself. Can this thing wait? Can you find a way to prevent taking that money out? Think of every option you have otherwise before you actually remove that money. You may find that this particular item is not as important as you thought, or you may find that it is. If it is, borrow as little as possible from your savings and do your very best to replace it as soon as possible. Try not to put it off.
If you think you can do without “borrowing” that money, then don’t do it. A lot of times I would look at my savings and think, I won’t notice 20 less dollars, and I’ll put it back next paycheck anyway. So, no big deal, right? Wrong. Do you know what usually happened? The next paycheck would be tight as well and I wouldn’t have the money to replace it. And then the pattern would keep going and I wouldn’t be saving any money at all.
Think of all the work that goes into that precious savings account, and do your best to keep it all there for when you REALLY need it. You will be so thankful you did it and took control of your finances. You are the boss of your money!
