Hey All!
Do you have enough money in a savings account to provide for your family should an emergency happen or god forbid one of you loses your job? Do you have a 401K for when you retire or college fund set up for your young children’s future? These are all questions I asked myself and realized I was failing miserably for a long time. I firmly believe these are all questions we should be asking ourselves if we have a family and we want to be prepared for the future.
After I finished college I had a slew of student loans and credit card debt on top of bills for my family. I knew I had to do something fast in order to keep my Family a float. I knew I had to find a way to repay my debt, consolidate my debt, and try to save for my retirement and for my family. What I did was I opened up a Debt Consolidation program in order to pay down my debt quickly. I then opened up a 401k with my job since they match a percentage of my salary and put it into a 401k. I can set the deduction of the amount of the percentage that they take so I make sure my whole check doesn’t go into my 401k.
I also set up and college fund for my teen which I am happy I did since I didn’t want him to have to end up like me paying student loans forever! I wanted to know that I could be proud to support my children’s future without having them be in debt the second they graduate.
Lastly I set up a the highest interest savings account I could find which was an Orange Savings Account. They are an online bank and they have an interest rate of 1%! So with a one percent interest rate I make about $100 a year as opposed to other savings accounts that will make you about $20 a year.
I highly recommend you do all of the above in order to secure a small Nest Egg for your family. How do you save and put money into a College fund if you’re paying all these bills and have no money to spare you ask? There is always MONEY TO SAVE!
Look at how much unnecessary money you really spend a month. Like for example do you spend money on lunches for work or for your kids at school?
Save that money and put it into your savings or college funds by cooking at home! If both you and your husband work make habit of planning meals and cooking ahead of time for the week and pack your lunches. You can find you will be saving lots of money.
Also make a list before going shopping! DON’T impulse buy! I know ladies, we simply have a very tough time resisting the temptation to purchase extras while shopping. Without a list you will buy items that you simply do not need. Having a set list and sticking to it will insure you get all that you need in one trip can help avoid another unnecessary trip and temptation. And you can then put money into your savings since your not doing any more unnecessary spending!
Also if you spend money on bottled water? Why? Bottle your own water! Buy a reusable bottle and invest in a Brita Filter! In the long run it can save you a lot of money and that money can go into your Nest Egg.
If you’re like my family you spend a lot of time and money going to the Movies! One way I have saved money is going to the movies before 6:00 pm! Instead of paying $15 for the ticket, we usually go before 6:00pm when the tickets are a $5-$7 and much less expensive. We avoid the temptation to buy snacks and we sometimes sneak in our own snacks in my purse.
So these are all ways I have added to my savings accounts and college funds. See you can build a next egg and hold onto it and save! There are lots of ways you can save and build a nest egg for you and your family. You just have to figure out what’s right for you and your family. Once you do this you will also figure out ways that will allow you to hold onto it and build it.
I hope my experiences help you and your family as you build your own nest egg!
Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Allstate blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
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