Whenever we can, we put a few dollars away in savings.  This is for any type of emergency, remodeling, vacation, college or even retirement. However, lately it’s been hard and we have been dipping into our savings.  We might have some left and others may have completely depleted their savings.

Due to the economy, it’s understandable but even during these times we can try to put a little money in our savings.  However, it just seems harder and harder to do. We are spending more than what we earn or close to it.

Sad part is when we get our bank and credit card statements we wonder what happened to that money, where did I spend it?  It’s getting to a point that many of us are living paycheck to paycheck.  This is scary, what happens if an emergency comes up, how do we take care of it?  We no longer have the funds or enough funds in our savings.

It’s time to take a step back and put our finances back in order.  It’s time to take control of the situation before it takes control of us.  The first thing we have to look at is our spending habits.  Save all your receipts and once a week look through them.  See what you have spent your money on.  You’ll probably notice that some of the purchases weren’t necessary, it could have waited.  Some times we spend because we see a sale and figure we can use it later.

Here’s an example, you did the groceries for the month.  Usually you have to stop by the store at least once a week for milk, eggs, bread, and certain items that have to be purchased weekly.  When we leave the store, instead of a few items, we walk out with a shopping cart full of groceries, because they were on sale.  You figure one time is okay but we end up doing this week after week.  It’s crazy, next thing you know half the stuff you purchased go to waste.

Why is it so easy to spend money, it’s called plastic.  We either use our credit cards or our debit cards.  Everyone accepts these cards, you no longer have to stand there and write out a check.  All we have to do is swipe the card, sign for it and walk away.  If we purchase it with a credit card, we promise ourselves we will pay it off immediately, of course that doesn’t happen.  If it’s our debit card, we don’t worry too much because we can transfer the money from our savings account.

Many will say that it isn’t a problem.  Well if you have money to spend then great but that is not the case for more than 70% of Americans.  We are tight on money and what little we have we can’t seem to hang on to it.  Our biggest worry right now is money, just ask or listen.  Think about your friends and family talking about how hard it is to make it on their income.

So what do we do?  Well, first open a new account, one that is not tied to your regular account.  Every week take at least $50.00 or more if you can and put it into this account.  Most of us have direct deposit so at work, fill out a form and divide your check amongst these accounts.  Cut spending, buy only what you need, nothing else.  When buying the items you truly need, hold out a bit and wait until there is a sale or a discount.

Biggest problem of all, we have to control our desire to buy on an impulse.  To be honest, many of us don’t even realize we are doing this.  Whenever you reach for something you think you need, ask your self if it’s true, be honest.  99% of the time you will admit you don’t need it.  If you have three or four credit cards, leave only one in your wallet for true emergencies.  The rest, leave them at home.  Try to carry cash and don’t use your debit card too much.  If you don’t have the cash, don’t buy it.

Basically we have to retrain ourselves.  Learn to live on a budget and be more conscientious of our spending habits.  We have to think about the future, set goals for ourselves to help us save more money.  It may be hard to do, take a little time but it’s not impossible.  Hopefully by doing this we can see our savings increase, which would give us peace of mind.