Many of us would like to have money in savings. Frankly, a dollar spent now seems to provide a lot more pleasure than a dollar saved, how can you make sure you're motivated enough to put money aside on a regular basis?
Here are five things that could work for you……
Save Little and Often
Do you tell yourself that it's not worth saving if you don't have at least$100(or$500,or$1000)to put into a savings account?This is a bit like telling yourself that it's not worth getting some exercise unless you have a whole day clear to jog.
How about saving just a dollar or two each day?Most of us can cut a couple of dollars of unnecessary spending every day(how about skipping that latte, carpooling, ditching your daily newspaper). It's a tiny amount that you'll barely notice on a daily basis, but over the course of a year, you'll have saved several hundred dollars.
Read Personal Finance Blogs
I find that I get encouraged to save-and to adopt good financial habits in general-by reading about others'tips and success. One of my must-read blogs for this is The Simple Dollar.Other good blogs on personal finance are Get Rich Slowly and Wise Bread.
Keep a Savings Log
Something that's often recommended for those sorting out their finances is to keep a spending log-to write down what you spend, so that you have a clear picture of where all the money is going. I've done this in the past, and it's always revealing(and occasionally a bit horrifying).
A twist on this, though, is to keep a savings log. Each time you make a deposit into your savings account(or each time you shove a few dollars into the jam jar hidden under your bed),write down the date and how much you saved.This can be a great way to motivate yourself to save more.You could also use your calendar or diary for this.
Save Towards a Specific Goal
Having a very clear goal in mind can make it much easier to save up. If you know that you need$1000 for that new computer, or if you're determined to reach$5000 in your emergency fund, focusing on the end goal can keep you motivated.
Your end reward might not be a tangible thing like a vacation or a new purchase:it might be peace of mind, or a sense of security or freedom. Consider visualizing how you'll feel once you have your target amount in the bank.Will it take a weight off your shoulders?Will you be proud of what you've achieved?
Automate Your Savings
Finally, if you do find that your motivation waxes and wanes, simply automate your savings. Get your bank to transfer$100(or$200 or$500 etc)from your checking account into a savings account, at the start of each month.If the money goes out without you having to lift a finger, chances are that you'll simply let it head off into the savings pot.
大部分人都希望手里有所積蓄。坦率地講,花錢要比存錢爽多了,那么該怎樣做才能保證你有足夠的意志力把錢按期存起來呢?
下面是你可以參考的五個(gè)辦法。
存小錢,常存錢
你是不是告訴自己,至少有100(500或1000)美元才值得存入銀行?這就有點(diǎn)像對(duì)自己說,只有一整天都在跑步才會(huì)對(duì)身體有好處。
何不試試每天只存一兩美元呢?大多數(shù)人每天都能省下幾美元來(例如不喝咖啡,和別人合伙打車,少買幾份報(bào)紙),你可能很容易就忽略這些小錢,但在一年以后,你就可以節(jié)省數(shù)百元錢。
閱讀個(gè)人理財(cái)博客
我是通過閱讀別人的小技巧和成功經(jīng)驗(yàn)才學(xué)會(huì)了存錢和理財(cái)?shù)?。我必讀的一個(gè)理財(cái)博客是“簡(jiǎn)易理財(cái)”。
其他好的理財(cái)博客還有“慢慢變富”和“聰明的面包”。
建立一個(gè)儲(chǔ)蓄日志
管錢的一個(gè)好辦法是建立一個(gè)花錢日志,寫下你的花費(fèi),讓自己清楚地知道所有的錢都花到哪里去了。我已經(jīng)做到了這一點(diǎn),而且我發(fā)現(xiàn)它真的是很有用(只是偶爾覺得結(jié)果有點(diǎn)可怕)。
另一個(gè)辦法正好相反,是建立一個(gè)儲(chǔ)蓄日志。每當(dāng)你把錢存入銀行戶頭(或把幾美元放到床底下的果醬罐子里),記下日期和錢數(shù)。這是一個(gè)挺不錯(cuò)的方式來激勵(lì)自己存錢?;蛘咭部梢允褂萌諝v或日記本來做記錄。
為自己設(shè)立一個(gè)具體目標(biāo)
有一個(gè)非常明確的目標(biāo)可以讓你的省錢計(jì)劃更加易行。如果你知道需要1000美元買一臺(tái)新電腦,或者決定要存5000美元,以備不時(shí)之需,明確最終目標(biāo)能夠讓你保持干勁。
你也許因?yàn)橐驽X而不能去度假或消費(fèi),但你因此收獲了安心、安全感和自由。想象著存折上的數(shù)字一直在增加,你是不是感到自己的生活壓力小了許多?你會(huì)為自己所擁有的而自豪嗎?
自動(dòng)化你的儲(chǔ)蓄
最后,如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己省錢的激情在減弱,想辦法讓儲(chǔ)蓄變成一個(gè)自動(dòng)化的流程。讓銀行在每月的月初自動(dòng)把支票賬戶里的100(200或500)美元轉(zhuǎn)到儲(chǔ)蓄賬戶中。不需費(fèi)事就把錢存了起來,你輕而易舉就一頭扎進(jìn)儲(chǔ)蓄罐里了。
實(shí)戰(zhàn)提升
核心單詞
motivate['m?utiveit]v.給……動(dòng)機(jī);刺激;激發(fā)
tangible['t?nd??bl]n.有形資產(chǎn)
visualize['vizju?laiz]v.想象;設(shè)想
wax and wane盈虧
財(cái)經(jīng)知識(shí)一點(diǎn)通
賬戶(account)
根據(jù)管理需要和信息使用者的具體要求,對(duì)會(huì)計(jì)要素的內(nèi)容進(jìn)行科學(xué)的再分類,并給每一類別以標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的名稱和相應(yīng)的結(jié)構(gòu)。
支票(cheque/check)
是出票人簽發(fā),委托辦理支票存款業(yè)務(wù)的銀行或者其他金融機(jī)構(gòu)在見票時(shí)無條件支付確定的金額給收款人或持票人的票據(jù)。
翻譯練習(xí)
Frankly, a dollar spent now seems to provide a lot more pleasure than a dollar saved, how can you make sure you're motivated enough to put money aside on a regular basis?
Your end reward might not be a tangible thing like a vacation or a new purchase:it might be peace of mind, or a sense of security or freedom.
lf the money goes out without you having to lift a finger, chances are that you'll simply let it head off into the savings pot.