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Here’s Why It is Hard to Save Money

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hard to save money

Our family has always struggled a bit with saving money. It seems every time we get an emergency fund established or a little money stowed away, Murphy’s Law kicks in and we have to spend that cash to stay afloat. However, we aren’t the only ones that struggle with this. In fact, most people find it hard to save money. Here’s why…

Is It Really Hard to Save Money?

You may be thinking to yourself, “That sounds like an excuse to just not save.” It’s really not. Saving is hard, especially when you are spreading your focus across multiple financial goals. For us, we are focused on becoming debt-free, saving money for a home, and stacking up our savings. Sometimes, saving takes a backseat.

Not to mention, every time something comes up, we may have to dip into savings to take care of the cost. Of course, this is better than swiping our credit card or taking out a loan, but it makes reaching that three to six-month emergency fund difficult to reach.

All that being said, we aren’t alone. Much of America has a difficult time even saving enough money to cover a $1,000 emergency. That’s pretty nerve-wracking. Many people don’t even save 5% of their take-home income and 20% of Americans don’t save any portion of their income at all. But why?

Why?

In truth, most Americans aren’t saving any money at all because of their own choices. They aren’t willing to scale back or dial down their lifestyle. That isn’t always the case though. There are several factors that contribute to the difficulty of saving money.

  • Rising cost of housing, childcare, education, and healthcare: This is completely out of your control, but everything is going up. With the rising cost of necessities, it is hard to save money.
  • Debt: One of our loan payments is $488 per month. Think about if that was going into savings! Debt is a huge killer when it comes to being able to save.
  • Not making enough money: Your wages simply may not be high enough to stash anything away and cover your basic needs.
  • Lack of organization: Many people don’t track their spending, which can help you identify areas where you might be able to save.
  • Social activities take priority: This is especially hard for younger individuals. Oftentimes, social engagements take a higher priority than your finances (and they shouldn’t). Plan for outings and don’t overdo it.
  • Financial ignorance: Most of what you need to know about finance wasn’t taught in school and parents often fail to teach their kids about managing their finances too.
  • No desire to learn: While you may not have learned young, you can learn how to better manage your money now. You have to want to do it though.
  • Lifestyle inflation: When you get a raise, start saving more money instead of inflating your lifestyle costs.

The best piece of advice I can give you if you are struggling with saving like we often do is to stop comparing yourself to others. This is at the heart of why it is so hard to save money for many people. Unfortunately, when we compare ourselves to others, we wind up overspending and possibly even hindering financial progress altogether. All of this just to keep up with the Joneses. Don’t do it!

Readers, what part of your personal finances do you struggle with most? Why?

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Save Money on Home Entertainment With These 5 Tips

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save money on home entertainment
It’s easy to feel like your entertainment budget is out of control. The things we pay for in this budget category are nowhere near being a necessity, however, everyone needs to have fun, right? If your budget has got you down, here are just a few ways to save money on home entertainment…

How to Save on Home Entertainment

You may have noticed it says “to save money on home entertainment.” While entertainment costs usually occur outside of the home, if you truly want to save cash you’ll want to stay home and have fun (though there are a few here that involve going out). Going out costs more because you pay extra to have someone making your food, and you pay for ambiance as well as convenience. Staying at home is really the way to go.

That being said, here are ten great ways to save on home entertainment:

1. Netflix

Netflix became a great way to save on home entertainment years ago. Before Redbox gained a ton of popularity, Netflix began a monthly DVD mailing subscription. You received a DVD in the mail for your monthly price and once you returned it, you’d receive the next movie on your list. Slowly but surely, Netflix turned into the giant entertainment source it is today. Overall, it is still a great way to keep your home entertainment costs low (especially if it is the only streaming site you subscribe to). Netflix monthly subscription prices start at $7.99 per month.

2. Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is another great way to trim the cost of home entertainment. Many people use Amazon’s video services to replace their current television services. This can save you hundreds of dollars a month if your cable bill was steep enough. Prime offers tons of television and movie options as well as the option to purchase individual channels, like HBO and Showtime, if you desire to do so. If you’d like to watch a new movie, you can rent it through Amazon. You’ll also get free shipping on many items and other great Amazon Prime perks. (See: Is Amazon Prime Worth It?) You can purchase Amazon Prime services for $99 per year.

3. Sling TV

Another great way to trim the cost of home entertainment is joining Sling TV. Sling TV prides itself on being “a la carte” television where you choose what channels you want. Packages start at $20 a month for basic live television. This includes many of the regular television channels you receive with basic cable at a much cheaper price. The more channels you add to your package, the higher the price will be. However, Sling TV can save you a ton of money, especially if you’re switching from traditional cable.

4. Consider a Movie Pass

This doesn’t necessarily pertain to “home entertainment” but you can save a ton of money on monthly entertainment costs by considering a Movie Pass. If you’re an avid moviegoer, Movie Pass may be a perfect option. For $9.99 a month you can attend unlimited movies at various theaters throughout the United States. Of course, you’ll want to be sure that there is a theater near you that accepts the Movie Pass. If they do, you’ll save a ton on going to the movies.

5. Skip Redbox

When most people think about skipping the movies, they think Redbox. However, Redbox can actually cost you more money than it saves you. Sure, it’s only $1 and some change to rent the movie for one night. More often than not, you keep the movie for multiple days or until you have a chance to drop it off again. This usually winds up costing you $5 or more (up to $35 if you keep it out long enough). Skip Redbox and rent movies online, through Amazon or YouTube.

Whether you decide to take these tips on how to save money on home entertainment or find new ways to save for your home, discovering ways to trim your budget and save is always great!

You may also enjoy this article on Free Home-Based Workout Videos. 

Use The 365 Day Money Challenge to Start Your Savings

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Just a few years ago it seemed like different challenges were popping up all over the internet. If you want to lose weight, there is an internet challenge for it. If you want to drink more water, there’s a challenge for that. Similarly, people who want to save money have internet challenges as well.

The first few money challenges that came out were designed to help people begin saving or add to their existing savings. One of the very first, the 365 Day Money Challenge, helps those who take the challenge save one penny at a time.

What is the 365 Day Money Challenge?

In short, the 365 Day Money Challenge is a fun way to save money. It was designed by internet users to help others save and create a community of people with similar financial goals. Like other money challenges, the 365 Day Money Challenge helps you save money by giving you a structure and set amount to save each day over a year (365 days).

How to Do The 365 Day Money Challenge

Every day you add more money to savings with the 365 Day Money Challenge. On the first day you save $0.01; day two, $0.02; day three, $0.03 and on the 365th day $3.65 (as illustrated in the photo below). After the year is over you’ll have saved $668.

365 Day Money Challenge
The 365 Day Money Challenge is a great way to add some additional cash to your savings or kickstart your savings. Many people have also used the money challenge to teach their children about saving. Either way, it is a fun way to go about saving. Click here for a downloadable version of the 365 Day Money Challenge.

Other Money Challenges

If the 365 Day Money Challenge doesn’t appeal to you but you like the idea of a money challenge there are plenty of others to try as well. Below are some of the most popular challenges you can try:

  • 12 Week Money Challenge – Taking a money challenge for an entire year can seem a bit overwhelming. Scaling it down to 12 weeks can make it a bit more manageable. You can save $1,000 in just 12 weeks with this challenge.
  • 30 Day Money Challenge – An even shorter challenge is the 30 Day Money Challenge. The challenge lays out a structure that helps people save $500 in one month.
  • $5 Bill Challenge – The $5 bill challenge is a bit different. Instead of contributing money to savings every day, week or month you contribute every time you receive a $5 bill in change. Each time you do the $5 goes to savings.
  • 52 Week Money Challenge – The 52 Week Money Challenge is similar to the 365 Day Money Challenge. Both take a year. However, the 52 week challenge helps people save about $1,400 throughout the year.
  • Reverse 52 Week Money Challenge – The Reverse 52 Week Money Challenge is the same as the 62 Week Money Challenge but in reverse (as the name suggests). You start out saving $52 in week one and only $1 on week 52.
  • Bi-Weekly Money Challenge – Many people get paid bi-weekly so contributing to savings every other week works better for some people. This still takes a year and you’ll save $1,400 (like the 52 week challenges) but you can schedule it with your pay schedule (if you’re paid bi-weekly).
  • Money Challenge for Couples – Couples and finance can be rough. Trying a money challenge together can bring you closer together. There are many different challenges for couples to try, including daily, weekly and monthly saving structures.
  • Money Challenge for Kids – Teaching kids to save with a money challenge can be fun as well and you’ll be teaching them something they’ll use forever. There are multiple different challenges available for kids out there, most involve small amounts of money.
  • Money Challenge for College Students – A lot of college kids have to learn to save pretty quickly. Using a money challenge for college students can help them get a kickstart.

Whether you’re looking to start saving, add to your savings or save for a specific purchase trying a money challenge like the 365 Day Money Challenge can be great. Will you try one?

Photo: The Stingy Saver

Have You Tried the 52 Week Money Challenge?

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52 Week Money Challenge
A few years ago it seemed like the internet blew up with different kinds of challenges. Weekly challenges, 30-day challenges and challenges that last an entire year all began to pop up on the web. The end goal for many of those challenges was to save money or better your financial life.

One of the most popular of said challenges was the 52 Week Money Challenge. Thousands of people tried it out and were able to start saving or add even more to their savings over the span of a year.

What is the 52 Week Money Challenge?

The 52 Week Money Challenge is a clever way to save some extra cash throughout the year. When all is said and done, at the end of the year, you should be able to save more than $1,300 with this challenge. An additional $1,300 in savings could make a world of difference (especially if you don’t have any savings yet).

Saving money is one of the most important things you can do to secure a financial future for yourself so whether you are just getting started saving, or you are looking to add more to your current savings, the 52 Week Money Challenge may be something you should try. Here’s how it works…

How to Do The 52 Week Money Challenge

Money challenges are fairly easy to follow and generally have a set amount of money corresponding with what day, week, month you are in the challenge. The 52 Week Money Challenge is broken down into, you guessed it, 52 weeks (one year). Many people begin the 52 week challenge on January 1 but you can start the challenge at any point through the year.

Week one of the challenge requires you to save $1, week two; $2, week three; $3 and $52 on the last week of the year. When you’ve completed the challenge you’ll have saved $1,378. If you want to see a weekly break down of the challenge, check out this graphic.

Tracking Your Money Challenge

Once you’ve gotten the gist of how to perform the 52 Week Money Challenge you’ll want to be able to accurately track it. Some people who’ve done the challenge in the past have created a separate account for the 52-week savings. Others have a jar they keep physical cash in. Either way, you will probably want to keep a calendar or table to keep on with which week you are on.

You can download and print a blank 52 Week Money Challenge to record your progress. If you’d like to track it in a different format some people have used planner and calendars to track their challenge. Printing a blank table, however, allows you to alter the challenge to your specific needs.

Other Money Challenges

In fact, many challenge takers have altered the 52 Week Money Challenge. Some have broken it down into a daily challenge where you save pennies every ($0.01 on day one, $0.02 on day two and $3.65 on the last day of the year). There are also shorter challenges, like the 12 Week Money Challenge. If alternative money challenges interest you check out this list of money saving challenges to try.

If you’re looking to save more money this year, or even in the next few weeks, you may want to try a money challenge! There are plenty of forums and comment sections with other people who have tried it for support and you’ll be able to pump up your savings account.

Have you tried the 52 week money challenge? Let us know how it went in the comments! 

Photo: The Single Mother

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