It seems like the way money is flowing, people are being much wiser with their funds. But saving money is a completely different beast, as it calls for a different type of discipline.
It might be super easy for some to save for a girls' trip or an Hermes bag. But what about tossing money into your savings account for an emergency fund or just to have a cushion?
Life has shown that you don't need it until you do. And unless you're saving, there's a good chance you won't have it. Having a savings account might seem impossible, especially considering student loans, car notes, and other immediate things that take our budget's attention. But there are quite a few ways you can start stacking your savings account now without feeling like your money would be better spent elsewhere.
Set A Goal
Whether you're saving for an emergency fund, a down payment for a home, or any other major life moments, set a goal. That way you not only have something to reach for, but also feel accomplished once you reach your goal. This also takes into account unexpected expenses. Once you do accomplish it, set a higher one and keep stacking. Ultimately, you're never done saving. It's just a matter of how much you have in your account.
Let Your Savings Account Keep the Change
Many banks such as Bank of America offer a Keep the Change feature or something similar that will help boost your savings account without you even missing your money. It simply rounds up the amount you spend to the nearest dollar and automatically puts it in your savings account. For example, if you spend $12.75 on a purchase, .25 will be put in your savings account. The cool thing about this is that you can start competing with yourself. I had a friend who would try to spend as close to the .00 dollar point as possible (i.e. $12.01), so she could have the maximum amount be transferred to her savings account. It's just a little change here and there, but it will definitely add up and make the difference.
Schedule Time To Budget
Setting aside time in your schedule to go over your budget can really feel mundane, especially if you're not a numbers person. But knowing where your money is going can help you stack your savings account even more. Plus, you really won't know how much you can save without doing your budget. And the more often you do it, the less time it will take as you start to get familiar with your spending habits. Once you determine how much you can save each paycheck or each month, set up alerts to transfer the money into your savings.
Automatically Have Money Deposited
Thankfully, most banks require you to have a certain amount in your savings account at all times to avoid being charged a fee. You can take things a step further and have a small amount, like $25, be transferred automatically each month or each pay period. If it's automatic, there's a smaller chance of you actually realizing that it's gone or missing it. Another tip would be to have a percentage of your paycheck be directly deposited into your savings account. That way, each time you get paid, you won't even see a certain amount go into your checking account. This will help you be able to budget without it and create a habit of saving.
Avoid Eating Out
I remember one time I looked at my bank statement and was literally shocked at how much I spent on food. Most of the time it was just a snack here and there or going out for ice cream, but that stuff adds up. Once I started putting more money into groceries and less into eating out, I saved a ton of money. This could be a good move for you if you're looking for ways to start building up your savings account. On those days when you would eat out, put that money into your savings instead, and bring a lunch. If you're going out with a group of people, you could also eat a heavy dinner at home and just get dessert or an appetizer at the restaurant and put what you would have spent in your savings. Just like it added up on my bank statement, it'll add up in your savings account. Side note: Having an entertainment portion in your budget is helpful to avoid spending more money than you want to.
Have A Change Jar
This one definitely determines discipline. But similar to the keep the change suggestion, it works; especially if you tend to carry more cash instead of a debit or credit card. For this tip, you just need to have a jar designated for cash and put all of your change in it at the end of the day. If you really want to get aggressive with savings, add your $1, $5, or even $10 bills that you have in your wallet (or in your car) at the end of the day to see a bigger impact over a shorter amount of time.
Featured image by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash
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RELATED
From the day they met, food has always played a role in their relationship, and working together in the food industry is what we call a full circle moment. Learn more about Bryant and Daniella’s story of finding love with one another.
How they met.
Bryant: We met at a mutual clients’ house. She was doing the lady hair, and I was cooking for the lady. The client sent her downstairs to record me while I was cooking to, I guess, see what I was cooking, and I caught her recording, but we didn't talk. I caught her recording, we laughed it off, and she went about her day.
So I guess that was the first thing that made us interact with each other. A few months down the line, I think she posted something [on social media]. I hopped in her DM and responded to it, and then we decided to just meet up and hang out. I looked at her as an entrepreneur. I'm an entrepreneur. She don’t need nothing. I don’t need nothing. It's good to hang with people who don't need nothing from you.
When we linked up, our chemistry was just so soft and just so nice. She is a great person, but after meeting up with her [for the] first time, she went back to Miami. She came back [to Atlanta], and we just kicked it off that next weekend, and ever since then, we've been locked in.
Daniella: That same client had flew me back in so I knew I had to come up here for work. But I told him that we'll meet up and [go] on a date and see each other again. When that happened, everything else was history. It just happened organically. It wasn’t forced or anything.
Bryant and Daniella Williams
Courtesy
First impressions.
Bryant: I knew for a fact for her to come downstairs and try to record me, I knew that she was brave, and that said a lot about her, because I barely even talk when I'm cooking for my clients. So you have to talk to somebody for them to feel comfortable to play with you, or do certain things. I feel like the client sent her downstairs because she knew that she's an outspoken, bubbly type of person who don't mind laughing it off if she gets caught doing it.
When she came back to Atlanta, she booked me to cook for her family. So while I was cooking for her in the kitchen, the whole time she was in there talking to me. It was like a date in the kitchen, and I cooked her food. Once the food was laid out, I just left. We had a great conversation when I was cooking for her, and also when she came downstairs and tried to record me.
Daniella: I was impressed how he was multitasking because I was asking him deep, interesting questions, and he was cooking the food, and he was still answering my questions. But I was in a relationship at that time, so I wasn't really in tune. It was no emotions. But when I came back and flew in to work, we met with each other.
He came and picked me up from the hotel and we drove around Atlanta, sightseeing. We went to the African club. So when he came downstairs, I was like okay, you not gonna hug me, you not gonna say nothing? He was shocked and we stayed together for like eight or nine hours, and he took me back to the hotel. I think he picked me up around nine at night. He took me back to the hotel around seven in the morning. Then he walked me to my hotel door. He gave me a hug and he gave me a kiss and said, 'I love you.' And I was like, what?
We stayed together for like eight or nine hours, and he took me back to the hotel. I think he picked me up around nine at night. He took me back to the hotel around seven in the morning. Then he walked me to my hotel door. He gave me a hug and he gave me a kiss and said, 'I love you.' And I was like, what?
The one.
Daniella: When we first linked up, he took me around Atlanta. He was soft and gentle. He was a gentleman. He opened the door for me and I never had nobody open the door. He opened the door every single time I was going in and getting out the car, and when we went to that restaurant. I was like, [there’s] something about him, and he was just nice, calm and patient. So I knew he was a little different from what I'm used to.
Bryant: [I knew she was the one by] how she cared so much. She didn't really know me like that. She knew of me, but she cared so much about me. When we first met, she would lay on me and just relax. For someone who just wants to relax on you, that says a lot about them towards you. It wasn't like I had to prove myself and she didn’t have to prove herself with me either. It wasn't nothing like that. We were willing to take whatever came with it. But it just was really a break. It was like the best me meeting a woman because I didn't try.
Any other woman, I might be trying to dress up, take her to this place, I did not try at all. I picked her up and I actually thought that she wasn't gonna go on the date with me because of her status and my status. I'm such a laid back homey dude and she's from Miami. I thought she would be on the City Girls, you gotta do this, do that. But she wasn't. She was the total opposite. She was a homebody, chill, like me.
Bryant and Daniella Williams
Courtesy
Marriage advice for couples.
Bryant: Work together. Communication, put your mind together.
Daniella: And keep your family out your business.
Bryant: Keep it private please. Y'all work it out first. When y'all make sure it's solidified, then you tell them, or let them find out on their own. Privacy is the most valuable thing.
Daniella: And date each other because people get married and they stop doing the things that they did to get you, or stop doing the things that they did while they were in a relationship with you, before y'all got married. No, do the same thing. For me, I get bored easy, and I think he knows that. So just keep it spicy. Keep it interesting.
Bryant: We like spontaneous stuff like last-minute trips, trying different foods, going out the country just off a spur of a moment. You gotta make it fun. Don't just make it all business. And I think one person out of the relationship needs to take the initiative to make sure their partner is relaxing and at peace. A lot of people carry functional depression to where they’re functional, like we're doing this right now, but they can be going through something.
I don't think it's male or female. I think whichever one, the other partner should notice it and work with their partner to get through whatever they get through, like, for postpartum depression and stuff. That's something that most men don't even really know exist, but that's something when she had our daughter, I had an anti-postpartum depression plan put in place for her. She didn't know about it, but I knew I was gonna be extra sweet to her.
She won't have to think about doing nothing with the little baby. My little girl was watching the football game with me, when she was a few weeks old, because I was giving her that peace, so she can just relax, because her body has been through so much. So you got to be considerate of your mate's mental state and their mental well-being, because when it's gone, it's gone and it takes a lot to get it back, so I think that's important.
When she had our daughter, I had an anti-postpartum depression plan put in place for her. She didn't know about it, but I knew I was gonna be extra sweet to her. She won't have to think about doing nothing with the little baby. My little girl was watching the football game with me, when she was a few weeks old, because I was giving her that peace, so she can just relax, because her body has been through so much.
If you see something not right with your spouse, help them get help. It's okay for them to talk to a therapist by themselves, or it's okay for them to talk to somebody, but don't just sit there and let them go into this decline and self-destruction. I think that's the most important, because sometimes she be overwhelmed, and I have to be that person to hold her up. And then sometimes I'm overwhelmed. To her, baby, I don't want to do this no more. She's like, you gonna do this. We gonna do this. And she reminds me who I am. I remind her who she is, and we come back feeling more motivated.
Daniella: I think business owners should date business owners because they understand your hustle, your hunger. They understand when you can have a day where you make $0 and you have a day when you make $1,000. But I feel like if you dating someone who is in corporate America, and you a business owner, there's going to be a lot of friction, a lot of tension, and I just feel like I want to date someone that has the same drive as me.
Because I don't want to feel like I'm trying to build a bear, build a man, and I have to pull you and drag you, or just being with somebody who got they self together. For instance, my last relationship. I won't say I was the breadwinner, but I was kind of established, and I felt like I was sleeping with the enemy. I was growing fast and I wasn't stagnant. I was trying to get to the next level. He started to be jealous of me and I feel like a lot of women deal with men trying to be jealous of them. Men also have ego issues where they don't really want their woman making a certain amount of money or making more money than them.
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