If you are someone who is continually trying to save money each month, but for some reason you never seem to have anything in the bank that really grows, you need to understand how to protect your savings.
If you are not protecting your savings and reducing spending habits, even when you are putting money aside each month, it doesn’t really matter how much money you put in the bank, you will never see any growth unless you find a way to protect your savings from many of the things that can cause it to be lost.
You dip consistently into your savings, then forget about calling it a savings. Control your spending and find ways to cut back so that you are not always using your savings. Once you have your finances under control, then you should see your savings growing each month.
You will be in a better financial position overall if you can grow your balance with every deposit and not touch it unless you need to create an emergency fund.You know you should be saving money, but you might not be saving as much as you thought.
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To protect what you are saving, and see it grow, try these 5 tips to help keep your money safe.
1. Don’t Tap into Your Savings to Have Fun
You know that you are supposed to put money in savings, but do you know you should not dip back, especially for mundane reasons?
You know you’re supposed to put money into savings, but did you know that you shouldn’t raid those savings?
Know when to have fun. Have fun right now, but not by putting your savings at risk. The reason is that If a financial emergency occurs, you’ll want the funds in your savings account to cover those costs.
Use your savings account wisely. Everyone has those moments when they think it would be fun to access their savings and have a good time. Don’t do it! You may be tempted, but you should keep your money in the bank and manage your budget instead.
2. Trim That Fat On Your Cable Package
How much of your cable package do you really watch?
Some people are now using Hulu and Netflix and cutting out the cable entirely and still having their costs reduced. Figure out what you need and what you can live without, like some of these TV channels, as well as other subscription services like a gym or a magazine membership.
3. Create Separate Funds for Emergencies
One of the most common ways that people drain their savings is by using it for an unexpected situation that comes up. Car repairs, an emergency room visit, or a surprise bill from the IRS are not at all fun, but you also do not want to take money out of your savings to fix these issues.
You can protect yourself against these types of situations by making sure you have an emergency fund. Put money into the emergency fund each month and only put in there what you can afford to spend each month.
When something does come up and there are no other options available, use the money in this account instead of taking out of your long-term savings.
4. Stick to Your Spending Plan
If you follow your spending plan each month, you will be able to stay in your savings account. If you do not have a budget, it is not surprising that you end up borrowing a bit here and there to cover things like groceries or utility bills.
This is the best way that you can get control of your spending and stop dipping into your savings account.
If you have a budget, and you are spending less than you budgeted for each month, there will be money left over. This means that you can add it to your savings account which will mean more interest and a quicker way to reach your financial goals.
With your budget, you will know where every penny is going and when it is going there.
If you are trying to get out of debt fast, it may appear like a mystery, but it is really made up of some simple tasks, one of which is to stick to your budget.
When you do not have a budget it is easy to go on spending and you find that you are no longer paying for your essentials with the money you receive each month.
5. Transfer Your Long-term Savings into A Different Account
Many people designate a bank just for their savings. You can take this a step further and pick a bank where transferring money is not as easy.
Your savings should always be easily accessible in case of an emergency, but you may want to move your long-term savings to another bank where it is more difficult to access. It can help you resist spending the money on things that are not truly emergencies.
Moving your savings to another bank can help if you want to make it harder on yourself to access. You will have to think about it more than if the money is right there in your checking account. This is a good way to prevent impulse spending that you may regret. If you’re always moving money from your savings account to cover purchases, move your savings account to another bank.
By making access to your savings harder, you are less likely to use them for purchases of less value. This can help keep your savings safe, even when you are tempted to spend it. Consider banks that don’t have physical locations in your area and do an online-only transfer.
This will keep you from making impulse expenses even if you see the money in your savings account.
6. Keep the Credit Cards Away!
It is definitely harder to keep your savings intact when you are using your credit cards. So, put away the credit cards.
If you have card debt, make a plan to get out of debt! Stop paying high credit card interest and kick-off plans to save money. Your savings account will earn interest at a far higher rate than you pay on your credit card.
A lot can be achieved with discipline when it comes to your savings. You need to train yourself because, when the money’s gone, it is gone — just as in the case of the credit card.
Keeping an actively used credit card means that you will always owe somebody. However, once you begin to pay off your debt, you are well on your way to saving.
7. Tread Carefully with Emails
You live your life over email, but personal information like your social security number and bank account details are too risky to be divulged via email.
If you MUST send sensitive information via email, make sure you send it in a way that nobody can steal. That means do NOT just add them to the body of the email; encrypt that information in a separate file.
The recipient will need a password to open the document—provide it via phone call. When sharing personal information online, you want to make sure it’s safe. If a scammer hacks into your inbox, the info you sent can be used to drain your accounts or steal your identity.
Protect your information. Do not send sensitive info, such as account numbers, through unsecured channels like email. Use secure portals or encryption programs instead.
8. Slow Down in Making Decisions that Can Impact on Your Money
Do you have an offer to reduce your auto loans if you sign up instantly? Jumping into making a sign up decision might be a red flag.
Someone somewhere doesn’t want you to carry out the required findings about what you are about to get into. It is always a safer approach to avoid being hastened into making decisions that would determine the condition of your finances.
9. Secure Your Detail Address Online
How does this matter to protect your savings? Scam and theft is not just an online thing.
Scammers can easily duplicate your information and cook up ways to fraud your potential customers. Hence, you could have people showing up, insisting they made certain payments to your business online.
10. Default to Credit
We recommend you exercise caution if a seller asks for payment by gift card. It’s often a sign of a scam.
Most of the time, the value of these cards can’t be recouped once you have released the figures. Instead, you should consider using a credit card to pay for an offer or deal. Credit cards are often accompanied by more security features, hence, if the deal turns out illegal, you can still recover your money.
