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How to Save Money from Salary (5 Powerful Tips to Help You)

September 25, 2022

If you want to know how to save money from your salary, this article is perfect for you.

It reveals very powerful secret tips that can help you really save money from your wages, even if you haven’t previously been able to.

Table of Contents

What Have the Chinese Got to do With Saving Money from Wages?

John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is quoted as saying:

“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.

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One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.

In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity.”

Some have disputed whether this is accurate or not as it relates to the Chinese brush stroke. However, the quote is accurate and has a powerful message for us today.

That powerful message, as it relates to our money, is sometimes we find ourselves in a financial bind and desperately need some money.

Life is going along pretty well, but then suddenly something happens that puts a strain on our money or more correctly lack of money.

It could be a major repair expense in the household, it could be a medical bill, it could be the unexpected loss of a job, etc.

The reality is life happens and when it happens there are usually financial implications.

Do we see this strain on our money as a crisis or do we see it as an opportunity to pay closer attention to our savings?

Importance

The importance of money can never be underestimated. This importance is underscored every Monday through Friday morning when the alarm goes off at 6 o’clock.

Specifically, a majority of individuals wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and find themselves going off to work for roughly 8 hours Monday through Friday 50 weeks of the year with two weeks off as a vacation.

These eight hours a day equates to 40 hours a week or 160 hours a month.

With there being 24 hours in the day, this accounts for being one-third of a person’s available time spent working Monday through Friday.

That is a pretty significant chunk of time devoted to earning money.

Also See: Why Do People Say Money Can’t Buy Happiness?

Additionally, money is at the center of our surviving through the purchase of groceries and paying rent or a mortgage.

Money also heeds the siren call of time as it relates to paying bills on time and “keeping the lights on.”

Consequently, if money is critical in our lives, it stands to reason that not having money can be equally critical as well.

5 Powerful Tips to Help Save Money from Your Salary

1: Decide & Discipline

When it comes to saving money, the first order of business does not involve money, financial planning, or figuring out ways on how to save money from your salary.

The first action item begins in the mind with the realization that this is something that you are serious about pursuing.

Several motivational factors can drive this decision.

Some of those motivational factors include the realization of the retirement years fast approaching, a lack of money when that emergency arises, the educational needs of children, etc.

Your decision, whatever the motivation, is the best foundation for pursuing this financial course of action.

The second significant successful mental factor that needs to be exercised is discipline.

Once a plan has been set upon, it is important to follow that plan. Of course, there may be a few hiccups, but it is important to get back on track and continue to follow through.

This takes discipline and the individual can be held accountable by a trusted friend, spouse, or by even preparing a spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet can reflect the goals and milestones that need to be reached at certain periods. When those milestones are achieved, enjoy the moment and celebrate.

Also, a financial log or diary may be proved to be helpful.

The log will capture highlights, achievements, or even reflect disappointments.

A diary can serve as a wonderful inspiration and provide teachable moments.

Also See: How to Stop Going Broke and How to Be Independently Wealthy.

2. Paint the Right Picture

The first critical practical component of how to save money from your salary is to paint a picture, especially the “right” picture.

This picture can be painted by using ordinary paper or a spreadsheet that captures your income and your expenses.

This picture will vividly paint for the individual all of the money that’s coming into the household and all the money that is going out.

Additionally, the line items will specifically share with the artist or creator of the picture where in particular the money is coming in from and where in particular the money is going out to and for what reason.

You can definitely use some of the best money saving and budgeting apps to help with this.

For the most part, the individual will be keenly aware of their salary and any other revenue that is coming into the household.

The same also applies to the obvious expenditures of rent, utilities, insurance, or other basics of life.

These expenses are pretty standard and do not allow for too much flexibility in decreasing the expense.

However, it is the small things that money is expended on that can add up to a big chunk of our expenses leaving the household.

Examples of the small things could include that daily gourmet coffee or bagel, eating out, renting of movies, streaming services, etc.

It is these out-of-sight and out-of-mind expenses that can be reduced or eliminated that may total into a significant amount.

Remember, a stop at your local gourmet coffee shop and the purchase of a Caramel Macchiato for five dollars a day can add up to $25 a week or $100 a month.

3. IOU

The next important step to take when saving money from your earnings is to establish priorities.

Yes, you need to eat and yes, you need a roof over your head. Therefore, groceries and paying rent or mortgage are important.

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However, there is one more important priority that overshadows shelter and eating. That priority is you!

Therefore, your first expenditure out of your monthly earnings is an IOU. This acronym of IOU means I Owe U with you being you.

Therefore, you should pay yourself first, as originally taught by one of the most famous money making books “Richest Man in Babylon”!

This payment can be to a savings account, money market, or retirement investment vehicle.

One of the best ways to pay yourself is by layering your savings. Layering means that you contribute to a savings account with whatever interest you can get.

When this account reaches a certain level, then you upgrade an amount into the purchase of a money market.

When that goal, of your choosing, is reached in the money market then transfer any additional monies into a CD, (generally a CD gives you a greater percentage rate when you leave the money in over a longer period).

Therefore, you have layered your savings into different savings vehicles that provide different levels of interest payments back to you as the saver.

4. Increase Your Salary or Income

Another powerful way of saving money from one’s salary is having more salary to save from.

Why not consider taking on some extra odd jobs. These odd jobs can be found in one’s local community or by researching various Internet websites.

You can read the following for more ideas on making extra money on the side:

By using your spare time you can translate this action into spare money which can then be saved.

The financial power of committing to working a few extra hours a week is that it is money that is, most likely, not part of one’s needed budget devoted towards household expenses.

Therefore, it can be labeled as discretionary income, and consequently why not relabel it from discretionary income to savings.

These money-saving opportunities can be making money writing content as a freelancer for an online website, making money with your vehicle as part of a service delivery program, musical or educational tutoring to individuals, or a multitude of other ways to earn additional income.

How to Save Money from Salary

5. Reduce Your Debt

When considering saving money from your salary, it is important not to forget the expense side of the household budget.

With a critical economic eye, evaluate and re-evaluate the various expenses that are often a significant drain on the income side of the ledger.

A good way to do this is to, for some time, write down every expenditure of money that goes out of the household.

All these can really help with getting out of debt, especially bad debt that doesn’t put money in your pocket!

For example, if you buy a coffee, write that down and the amount that you expended.

If you stopped into a convenience store to purchase gasoline and bought a bag of chips or a soft drink, write that down as well.

At the end of the timeframe in which you have recorded these items, you may be surprised and shocked to realize the amounts of money that are expended that you didn’t realize were happening.

This exercise is not intended for you to cut out certain expenses or force you to live too much below your means if you can’t, but only to gain a realization of what is happening to your monthly income.

As you scan your list of expenditures accumulated over time, certain items may pop up at you in regards to areas that maybe you can eliminate or cut back on.

Some of those areas could reveal certain patterns in buying habits.

Some of those expenditures could include the purchasing of tobacco products, eating lunches at a restaurant, entertainment expenses, high utility, expenses, etc.

Then, with a symbolic red pen, begin to transfer these modest expenditures into savings.

Also See: Best Tips to Help You Lower Housing Costs & Saving Money as a Housewife.

Personal Story

The crisis came when I was traveling back with my two young children who had come to visit for the weekend.

Within 5 miles of my small apartment, I realized that the sound that we heard was not the backfire of the engine. I had blown a tire.

There on that back road while changing the tire and putting on the small spare I realized the negative depths of my financial situation.

My two children had come for a great time with their dad, I was changing a flat tire and putting on a spare that was attended to be driven for only 50 miles, and, to top it all off, I had $23 in my checking account.

After surviving the weekend, my crisis was turned into an opportunity as I vowed then and there that I would not jeopardize the time spent with my children nor would I risk their safety by driving in a vehicle that was in disrepair.

I vowed then and there not to go down this “road” again and immediately began saving money for situations such as this.

Also See: How to Stop Being Broke and How to Make Success Your Best Revenge.

You Can Do It

Granted, saving money from your income is not necessarily a slam dunk. There are many things in life that we enjoy and we are not willing to deprive ourselves of those things.

We work hard to earn our money and believe we are entitled to use our money as we see fit.

You are right!

However, it is also important to remember that sometimes things happen in life.

Sometimes these things can be labeled as negative or positive and sometimes expected and unexpected.

The hard-core reality is that if something negative happens and you do not have the financial resources, what is your fall plan back plan of action?

By saving money from your salary you are not only securing your present financial situation but securing your future.

The securing of your future financial situation is accomplished by saving for those unavoidable circumstances and for the day in which you hope to retire.

With a little discipline, you can determine to start a savings plan of action.

Yes, you are a hard-working individual who has earned that paycheck or salary that you receive consistently.

However, it’s important to realize that you not only work hard for that money but to allow your money to work hard for you.

Other related financial questions you might want answers to:

Conclusion

Any crisis/opportunities in your life as it relates to finances?

It may not be apparent now, but we don’t need an umbrella when it is not raining or in the forecast. It will rain, though, at some point in the future.

When it does, will you have your umbrella available? Will you have set aside savings now from your salary for that rainy day?

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