Out-of-the-Box Tips on Saving Money

It's kind of hip these days to portray young adults in the movies as fashionably irresponsible. They can't keep a house together, and they certainly can't hang onto any money to live a reasonably responsible life. But according to a popular survey by America saves, that only describes half of all young adults. The other half, of adults under 34, are so responsible they actually have life plans mapped out in regular savings working for them. So about half of all young adults in America have trouble holding onto two coins to rub together. If you count yourself among them, here are a few tips on saving money that could save your behind one day.

Putting money away in a savings account in a bank certainly isn't the most rewarding investment path possible. They may pay you less than 1% on money market accounts, but if your regular enough at it, and would save $100 each month, you could actually call about $17,000 your own by the time you hit 40. (And that figure is after you've paid a federal tax rate of 25%, state taxes and lost value to inflation). Here are ways to make that happen.



Handing over the controls to someone else is a great way to get yourself to do something that's unpleasant to you. The first thing to do, would be to set up standing instructions at the bank to move a certain amount of money each month out of your checking account to some kind of savings account you set up. With some banks, they'll even relieve you off  their monthly maintenance fee account if you set up an automatic account transfer like that. You could even ask your company to deposit a certain amount of your paycheck into a savings account. See it this way; if you never get to see your money, it won't hurt you to lose it to savings.

You need to be very inflexible with your expenses. to spend each week. You divide up into separate stacks, the cash for all the different purposes you have in mind, like transportation, bills, eating at work and so on. You need to spend out your exact pile no matter what you buy. If the stack runs out, you'll need to make do with less. Anything you have left over, should go to petty cash for emergency expenses. Watching your stacks gets thinner and thinner should alert you that you need to be careful, I relate so much better to cash than I do to cards. As tips on saving money go, this one's particularly easy to follow.

When you're young and you've just come into your own money and independence, it's easy to get carried away on dates and on entertainment nights. Certainly, you want to spoil your date and take her out on a date that will set you back $400 in a few hours. But think of what you would remember of the night out, in five years. You're sure to remember what it cost, rather than what you ate. Dates can be a blast without costing a bomb. Low-cost date ideas don't have to really be cheap though. It all depends on bringing something new and genuine to the table. All you need to do is look up on the Internet for tips on saving money with ideas on beautiful and classy low-cost dates.