Top Ways to Save up for a Car

Top Ways to Save up for a Car

Buying a new car can be an expensive business which is why many people will get a loan in order to pay for it. However, you may prefer to find a way to afford the car without a loan. Perhaps because you have a poor credit record and so cannot get a loan or because you would rather pay it off all in one go. There are things that you can do that will help you to save up.

  • Designate an account for the savings – it is wise to start by setting up a savings account just for the purposes of putting the money for the car in. This could be an account you already have that you decide to just use for this purpose or one that you decide to set up. Having it separate means that you will know exactly what it is for and will be able to put money into it, knowing that it will not be spend on other things by mistake.
  • Pay into it regularly – It can be good to get into the habit of paying some money into the account every time you get paid. The amount that you put in will depend what you can afford. If you normally have some money left over at the end of the month then do at least this amount. It needs to be an amount that will be significant so you can really start to save up but that will leave you enough money so that you can afford everything you need to buy. You might to do some calculations to work out how much or you may have to change it a few times before you get it right. Obviously, the more you put into the account, the quicker you will save up enough to buy the car.
  • Empty out current account – at the end of the month it can be wise to take any money left over in your current account and put it in the savings account. Many people do this anyway. This is not enough though and you should do the above step as well. This is because we can often spend what is left as we will see that there is some money there and know that we can afford a few things that we want. Therefore, it is wise to make sure you save first, even though there is no harm in doing this step as well if there does happen to be some money available there.
  • Spend less on other things – it can be a good idea to be careful about what you are spending money on as well. If you are saving up then you will need to make sure that you are not spending too much money elsewhere. It is not always easy to cut down as it can feel like you are depriving yourself. However, it is a good idea to think about whether you really need all of the things that you are buying so that you can cut back on things that are not so important to you. Also, you can compare prices to make sure that you are not paying more than necessary for items that you are buying. It is wise to get good value for money, but if you compare retailers you may find that they have identical items at lower prices.
  • Earn more – you might find it easier to earn more money rather than trying to find lower priced items or to cut down on what you are buying. This will depend on whether you have the time to be able to fit in more work. There are lots of ways that you can earn and so you may not just have to think about whether you have the time or opportunity. For example, you might be able to look online and find some work to do from home or you could sell some things that you own or things that you make to earn some extra. It can be fun thinking of different ways that you can earn or make money, particularly if they are a bit different to normal.

You can try one or all of these things in order to make saving up for a car easier. The amount of work that you will need to put in will depend on how much money you need to save up, which will depend on how much the car is that you want to buy. It is good to think through your options and come up with a plan that will allow you to get the right amount of money to buy your car without having to make such severe lifestyle changes that you will be unhappy. You could always try a few changes and get used to those and then slowly try more and more until you find some that you really like or until you build up to quite a lot so that you start to make some significant savings.

How to Save up for a new Mobile Phone

How to Save up for a new Mobile Phone

If you want a new mobile phone then you may worry about how you will pay for it. Some people get a contract with the phone included, but this is not suitable for everyone. If you want one then you may wonder whether you will have to get a loan to pay for it as they can be expensive. Alternatively, you might think that you will have to go for a cheaper model that you do not really like. However, it will be possible to save up for what you want. This will mean that you will not have to concern yourself with getting a loan or thinking that you will have to go without the phone. However, not all of us are that good at saving or perhaps may not even know how. It is actually a lot easier than you might think.

  • Find out how much you need – firstly you need to know how much money you will need to pay for the phone. It is good to compare the price across different retailers both online and offline so that you can see who will give you the best price. It is likely to vary and if it is an older model you may even be able to find it second hand or reconditioned which could be cheaper. Do bear in mind that the price may vary though, but it is most likely to go down rather than up unless it becomes collectable. It is wise not to assume the price will go down before you buy as if it does, you will just have saved up extra money. You can always closely monitor the price just in case.
  • Set yourself a goal – it is really important to write down your goal. Think about what you want, i.e. the phone and also how much it will cost to get it. Also consider when you want it. Get this information down and then stick it somewhere prominent. This will keep it in your head so that you know what you are aiming for. It should help to motivate you to find ways of saving up money and not to spend more than necessary. If you put a date on the goal this will give you even more to aim for and should help you to get the phone quicker.
  • Decide where to cut back your spending– in order to save up, it is likely that you will need to reduce the amount of money that you are spending. Most of us spend more money than we need to and so there will be areas where we can cut back. This could be on all sorts of things and it will be up to you to analyse the money that you spend so that you can work out where you will be able to cut down. It may just be a case of thinking about everything that you buy and deciding whether it is something that you need or not. If you avoid buying things that you do not need then this could enable you to save up quickly, however, it might feel like you are depriving yourself. It is worth noting that we cannot buy everything that we want and this exercise is about prioritising your spending. If you want to be able to afford a phone then you will need to give up something else. Once you have the phone then you could buy those other things if you have the money, it will just have to be a matter of waiting for them.

The amount of time that it takes to save up and the amount of things that you will have to cut down on will depend on how much your phone is and how much you earn. You might feel that you would like to try to earn some more money, perhaps by selling things you no longer need or working some more hours so that you can get it more quickly. If you tend to spend all of the money you earn on necessities then you will need to do this anyway in order to afford the loan. There are lots of things that you could try such as doing some online work, some temp work, and evening job or even a Saturday job. There are options available and it is just up to you to pick what will work best for you. It depends on what skills you have, what you would like to do and what time you have. You may even find something that works so well that you will be able to continue doing it and benefit form having that extra money in the long term. It can even be a lot of fun and very satisfying knowing that you have access to this extra money if you need it.