One really simple 5 minute step that anyone can do that will put you where you want to be.

So you’re looking at your balance in your “savings” account after the holiday and it isn’t on track to put you where you dream of being in your future.  You’re not alone (at least I’m right here with you)! Sometimes everyone feels this way about major life  issues like money especially around the holidays.  This year for new year’s don’t make another resolution you will push aside when it’s no longer easy to keep.

Let’s start putting money in your bank account for your dreams, your retirement, and your future.   It’s really astoundingly easy to do when you do it right.  It only takes one simple choice that will drastically change where you end up and how well off you are.  Give me 10 minutes of your time, do this today and don’t worry about any other new year’s resolutions this year.   This one will stick!

First get out your calculator and a current pay stub.  Looking at your current savings, really start thinking about where you want to be when the time comes to use those savings.  Will what you are currently doing now get you where you want to be? For most people the answer to this question  a no, because in real life things come up.

Taking into account where you want to end up and how much money you will need, pull up a rough figure.  Take that figure and think about when you will want to use this money.  Say you want 1,000,000 in 10 years. So there’s 520 weeks to get to your goal of one million dollars.

1000000/520= 1923.07   is how much you would need to save each week to meet your goal.  You actually wouldn’t need to save near this much provided you managed the money properly, but to keep it simple we won’t compound interest.

The purpose of this exercise is to wake you up.  How much are you saving now?  Will it be enough to make your future what you want?  The only way to be sure is to act today.   I now know instead of saving 200$ a week I should be trying to save 2000$ a week to meet my goals.    The first thing to do is to get into your online banking account and do one simple thing.

Pick a PERCENTAGE!  Start saving a percentage of your paycheck each week instead of a dollar amount.  This way as you make more, you’re saving more too. Many online banking sites have options to set this up and make it very easy. Its done just like a regular money transfer, but you just make it a recurring transfer  and set a percentage of the money from your paycheck to automatically roll over into your savings.  Try to set the date on this automatic transaction a day or three behind when your deposits are usually made (just in case).   Try to start with at least 5% of your pay if you can.

The next thing to do is look at the dollar amount for that percentage that you are now saving automatically.  Say you’re paid 500/week  and you are saving 5% automatically.  That’s 25$ a week… A great start but you still need 1898.07 each week to make your million (without compounded interest).  Now you have an ACTUAL number to shoot for. You know what you need to be doing to get to where you want to be.  Don’t get upset or overwhelmed, start thinking about what you can do to put yourself closer to where you want to be.  Even if you don’t feel that you can save much, set up a recurring 1% to roll into your savings and start to see it add up.

P.S.

Even if you don’t feel that you can save much, set up a recurring 1% to roll into your savings and start to see it add up.

This site has lots of great ideas that will help you find ways to get where you want to be.

http://ptmoney.com/2009/01/28/52-ways-make-extra-money/