Many years ago I worked as a tax preparer in Easley, SC. In the course of interviewing clients about their income and expenses, I would often learn that they had no bank accounts. No checking. No savings. If it were only one or two people I might be surprised. Nope. I heard the same thing from dozens each month I worked there. Close to one out of every three people that came in didn’t have ANY bank accounts!
These were people of all ages. Didn’t they know the advantages of banks? This was back when bank accounts paid good interest rates.
These days banks pay very low interest rates. But there are a couple other reasons to use them:
Safety—most accounts are protected up to $250,000. FDIC insured means the government will make sure you get your money back even if the bank goes out of business. That makes them a safer place to keep your money than your mattress if your house burns down.
Protection—if your money is accumulating in a jar on the dresser, it can be tempting to grab a twenty on your way out the door to the mall. Protect your money from YOU!
Now hopefully you have a bank for your checking and savings accounts. But are you ACTIVELY using them?
I’m sure you can think of many things to store money for, here are a few to get you started:
- Emergency fund—you’ve started one, right? CLICK HERE for a recent post on Emergency Funds.
- Saving for a car—begin setting aside money each month for your next car. Don’t borrow money for a car.
- Vacation fund—ditto for your next vacation. It’s important to make memories with your friends and family. But if you don’t have money saved to go to Disney find other alternatives. There are a ton of cool things to do and explore in your local area without spending a bunch of money. The big trips are special. Save up and do them right.
How do you get started?
Find $10 a month to get started. One less pizza night a month. Once you get in the habit of saving, you’ll be surprised at the ways you can save in your daily, weekly, monthly lifestyle. Read the Frugal Friday posts for more ideas. 😉
I’ve heard it said that what you focus on, increases. As you begin to focus on adding money to your savings account, you’ll be aware of more ways to add money to your savings account. Make it a game to add one more dollar than you added the previous month.
Don’t be like those lovely people I worked with in the South who just never got around to saving money for a rainy day. What are you saving for?