Happy New Year!
Having cleared that out of the way and all the celebrations that come with a new year, let us get down to business. Yes, right here and now, on January 1st. We don’t have much time to waste. Not even having an extra day from this being a leap year is an excuse to waste any time getting serious.
So what am I calling for you to do? to start saving. Yes, start right now. It doesn’t matter if you are already saving, you can still do more to make this an even more serious plan. Being January 1st, you have a huge advantage. You are basically starting from zero and not missing on any day. In about one year from now, and as this year will be coming to an end-assuming the world doesn’t end on Dec 21, damned be the Mayans for their ambiguous calendar!-you will look back and be so thankful that you started saving from day 1.
Ok, so if you already are saving, go ahead and deposit something into your account today. I don’t care how much, as long as you deposit something. Minimum of 5 to 10 dollars. This is necessary as it signals to your brain that you intend to keep doing this for this year and on a consistent basis.
And if you are not a saver yet, get started now. Call your bank and schedule an appointment to open a saving account. If you prefer, and I highly recommend it, you may want to open a high-interest savings account with ING (you can get a referral bonus if you mention that you were referred by us: Ref# 17109393S1) , Ally or other online banks. Look in your wallet and see if you have any excess money and set it aside to be deposited into your new saving account.
And finally, for both those who are already saving or not, I recommend having a good old-fashion piggy bank where you will throw in all your coins-big or small-as well as some occasional small bills. Although your main saving account will be your one and primary saving source, this one will simply supplement it for an extra future income. The idea behind a piggy bank is that it will force you to save small change that you would otherwise end up spending on things you probably don’t need. It will also keep you more focused and committed to saving money.
If you have been following the news lately, you will have noticed that 2012 will be a tough year for economies worldwide, with no exception. It is the year of the unknown, one that is hard to predict. All of which means that you have to keep a tighter grip on your wallet and hard-earned money, and to save rather than spend them.
And hey, it is not too late to have resolution for 2012: to save money and be serious about it through Dec 31st!