Why Can’t I Save Money (10 Reasons Why & 15 Best Tips to Help)

Wondering why you can’t save money? You are definitely not alone.

Thankfully reading this article will really help as it shows 10 top reasons why most people can’t save money.

Apart from the 10 reasons, it also shows as many as 15 powerful tips to help reverse that trend of not saving money to saving money and moving ahead in life!

 

Importance

Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as, “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

New Year’s Eve, for many, is a time where we take stock of our lives and with the new year approaching, want to make changes in our lives.

These New Year’s resolutions are well intended and for some of us may be successful where, perhaps, for the majority of us we are unsuccessful because we fall back into the same patterns or behaviors which doesn’t lead to change.

In other words, if you want a different outcome in your life you need to mix things up or change your behaviors to get a different result.

For many of us there are particular areas in our life where we want to change it up or do things differently.

Some of those typical areas of our lives include a desire to lose weight, work on relationships, better ourselves through education, find a better paying job, and so forth.

All of these goals and identified areas in our lives that we want to address are worthy to improve us and our involvement with other people.

Another major area in our life that most of us, if we are honest, would want to see a significant change in not only our thinking but in our actions.

That specific area is money and increasing our savings.

It may or may not be New Year’s but let us look at this possible resolution in our life and peel back the dollar bills and understand why we can’t save money and then look at ways that we can save money.

 

10 Reasons Why You Can’t Save Money

 

1. You Don’t Budget

Possibly, one of the reasons why you can’t save money is that you don’t have a budget.

A budget is a financial tool that reflects on a single page, spreadsheet, or in a software program, all of the money that is coming into the household as well as all of the expenses.

The basic reality is that if you have more money outgoing on the expense side of the ledger then you have coming in on the income side of the ledger then that is a significant reason why you are not able to save money.

 

2. You Spend More Than You Earn

Dovetailing on the budget concept and practical use of this financial tool is that if you are spending more money than what you have coming into your household then it is not enough just to come to this realization.

Therefore, something significant happens has to happen to either add more income or cut down on your expenses.

Adding to the income side of the ledger can be obtained by taking on a side job or cutting expenses on the outgoing side of money on the ledger by cutting back on certain expenses such as entertainment, streaming services, and so forth.

 

3. Wants vs. Needs

Another possibility as to why you may not be able to save money is that there’s not a clear distinction in your mind as to the difference between wants and needs.

Once are those things that we want, that we dream about, that we hope to attain at some point in our life.

Once could be a new car, new clothes, that dream car, etc.

Needs are the expenses that must be covered with the money that we earn.

The needs could include insurance costs, car payments, having a roof over our head, paying utilities, etc.

In distinguishing between wants and needs we can prioritize our spending that we concentrate on the spending of money on our needs and then if there is money left over putting that money to what we want to do with that money earned through the energy that we exert.

 

4. You Have the Wrong Attitude

Another reason why you are not able to save money are any attitudes or thinking that you we have as it relates to money.

While growing up, perhaps you were taught that money was evil or that money doesn’t grow on trees and therefore is limited, etc.

These limiting beliefs can affect the way that you think about money and therefore how you utilize that money in your lives.

Or perhaps you were never taught about the importance of saving money for a rainy day and just spent money in the moment and let tomorrow take care of itself.

 

5. You are In Debt

A very strong possibility, given today’s financial environment, that you are unable to saving money is that your hard-earned money is paying debts along with interest to your debtors.

The reality is that if you borrow from others (credit cards, loans, payday loans, etc.), that any money that you may have had to invest or save is being paid as interest to those who you have borrowed money from.

 

6. You Don’t Have Goals

An important component in wanting to attain anything in life is goalsetting.

The same is true for the financial goal of saving money.

Quite possibly you’re not able to save money because you do not have a goal.

Certainly your goal can be to save money but added to that goal should be a specific amount.

Also, part of the process would be to set up objectives and methods in the achievement of that goal.

Those objectives and methods can be having a certain amount saved at a certain point in time and what methods will you use to achieve those goals.

Having a goal, especially in the financial area of our life will prevent us from being aimless in the use of our money and will provide a sense of accountability.

 

7. You Have Expensive Habits

Sometimes, we are not able to save money because we may indulge in expensive habits.

Some of those expensive habits could include eating out, cigarette smoking, gambling, drinking alcohol, etc.

Certainly no one is telling you that these habits should be stopped as that is your call are what you wish to spend your money.

But perhaps, without meddling too much, you could cut down on some of these habits and use the reduction in and that overall cost to be applied to your savings.

 

8. You Lack Understanding

Another possible factor in why you don’t have savings is not perhaps you don’t understand the importance of having savings set aside.

By having money set aside in a savings account, you will be planning for your future as well.

That future planning can be in the area of your retirement or also having the financial resources necessary in the event that something occurs in your life that will affect your financial situation.

Some of those financial challenges that you may face could include:

• Medical issue
• Loss of a job
• Major repair
• And so forth

By having money set aside you will have the financial resources to manage situations as well as planning for your retirement.

Therefore, possibly your understanding of the importance of savings needs to be addressed and to why it is important to begin.

 

9. Talk is Cheap

Another possibility as to why you don’t have savings is because you’re wanting to have savings or talking about having a savings is not coupled with action.

The reality is that talk is not expensive but the actions that we couple with our talk are where the reality takes place as you put into action what you have verbalized.

 

10. Pennies Add Up

It is also important to remember that money is money.

Sometimes we like to rationalize our situation and, in this case, think that a dollar or two is not significant and therefore should just be spent and that the word about.

The reality is that pennies add up and even if you are able to put away a dollar or two here and there eventually that will add up into $10, $20, $50, and more.

 

15 Best Tips to Help You Save Money

 

1. Automate Savings

A powerful way to help you save money is by automating the process.

When you have determined how much money you will be setting aside and how frequently this money will be sent to a savings, high interest-bearing account, retirement account, etc. it is then important to set up a transaction with your banking institution to automate the sending of this money.

Many banks offer this automation process and like clockwork the money will be sent at the time of each month that you have specified that the money be sent to your account.

This is a excellent way of savings because you don’t have to think about it, it is done automatically, and without any fanfare.

 

2. Side Hustle

If your budget is balanced without any expense line item for savings and after you have cut away any extra expenses, then a good way to start savings is to add to the income side of your budget.

This can be accomplished by taking on gigs or side hustles to increase your revenue.

Possibilities of side hustles could include:

• Driving for Uber
• Delivering groceries through Insta cart
• Finding freelance opportunities through www.upwork.com
• Selling any arts or crafts at sea
• And so forth

This money should be dedicated to your savings account and should not be used to increase the expense side of your budget other than it being designated for savings.

 

3. Read

A good idea to start your savings is to educate yourself.

There are many good books online as well in your local bookstore or even reading articles through the Internet.

These resources will help to educate you about the importance of savings, inspire you with real-life stories, and give you practical tips and measures to take to start your savings and increase that amount each month.

 

4. Money Log

A practical way of setting money aside for savings is not only to stick with your budget but also keep a financial log.

A financial log can be just a notebook in which you write down every expense or use of money that you might make throughout the month.

The headings of the financial log should include:

• The date
• Location of expenditure
• What you purchased
• And the amount that you expended

The parts of a financial log are to record those amounts of money that are spent in the moment or known also as spontaneous thinking.

This spontaneous spending can be reflected when you are standing in a grocery store waiting to check out and you buy a item that is not on your shopping list.

Spontaneous spending or spending in the moment can also include gourmet coffee, bagel, bag of chips, candy bar, etc.

At the end of the month, you then total all of these amounts that were expended and you will be amazed at what could have been saved if you hadn’t spent that money on extra treats or spur of the moment cravings.

Therefore, the purpose of the financial log is to show where all of your money goes, and what money could have been set aside for your savings.

 

5. Accountability

Another good way of saving money is to have an accountability partner.

This could be a spouse, close friend, etc.

The idea behind a accountability partner is that they are aware of your wanting to save money and what your goal is.

At the end of the month, without fail, you indicate to your accountability partner how you did towards that goal, and they then have the opportunity to encourage you or congratulate you on the achievement of your monthly goal.

Accountability can be a positive thing and not only the achieving of a goal but if the goal is not reached the accountability partner has the privilege of asking why not.

 

6. Pay Yourself First

When paying your bills each month you most likely, when the income arrives, have set bills that need to be paid according to when they are due.

Rather than paying these bills as to when they are due, a powerful way of savings is to pay the most important person or bill in your life.

That most important person is you.

Therefore, the first bill or amount paid should be to your savings account.

 

7. Competition

As individuals we often thrive on competition.

The competition can be a personal competition or one in which you compete against others.

When it comes to savings you can incorporate this dynamic and compete against another individual who has the same goal of setting aside money for their savings.

After a predetermined set of time and percentage of the savings goals reached, the competition on who has done the best will be realized.

Rewards can be in place in which the losing individual has to watch the car of the other person or prepare a meal, etc.

This channeling of our competitive nature can help us to be better achievers and realize our savings goal through competition.

 

8. Set Up An Emergency Fund

An additional important fund that should be set up in addition to your savings account is an emergency fund.

An emergency fund is that pool of money that has been accumulated by you in the event of something unforeseen financially happening in your life.

An example of a financial challenge in your life could include:

• Car repair
• Repairman appliance
• Extra medical bill
• And so forth

I setting up an emergency fund this would be the first pool of money that you would draw from for those emergencies and not have to dip into your savings account.

 

9. Pay Raises

Often, for our hard work at our place of employment, we are rewarded with bonuses or pay raises.

A good strategy when you receive a pay raise is not to think of that money as additional money that can be spent.

Somehow, within your mind, you should not even consider that as part of your budget and just set any pay raises aside in your savings account and continue to live at the same standard of living prior to being rewarded.

 

10. Windfalls

In addition to pay raises, sometimes there are financial windfalls that come into our life.

Those windfalls could be a bonus, tax refund check, reimbursement, etc.

Rather than looking at those windfalls as extra money that can be spent, it is best to consider them as opportunities to add to your savings account and not be tempted to utilize them in other ways.

 

11. Credit Cards

A big hit that we take financially is the paying back of any credit card debt because of the amounts of money applied to interest payments.

Therefore, it goes without saying, that in order to add to your savings account you should do our utmost apply extra money to pay down the debt or set a percentage towards the added payment of a debt with the other part of the percentage towards savings or whether to use the full amount of any additional money left over at the end of the month.

It would be your decision and can be based upon the hard-cold reality of whether it is better to pay off a debt that is charging 19% interest or more or whether to set aside that amount of money into a savings account that you may be only getting 3%.

 

12. 401(k)

When starting your savings account, it is important not to leave free money on the table.

What is meant by this is that at your place of employment an employer will match your 401(k) contribution up to a certain percentage and you don’t maximize that benefit to that maximum level then you are leaving money on the table.

Therefore, if your employer will match your 401(k) contribution up to 4% and you only put in 1% you are leaving 3% of that matched money behind.

 

13. Different Job

Another way to put money aside in your savings would be to possibly seek different employment.

This action item would not necessarily be for everyone but if you have been working at a job and pay raises have been minimal and you know you can get a better hourly rate at a different place of employment it may now be time to make that switch and maximize your earnings with those earnings going into your savings.

 

14. Create a Plan

A practical step to take when starting to put money into your savings account is to set into motion a plan of action.

The plan of action should include what your monthly goal will be, setting of milestones as to where you should be certain time periods, how you will achieve that goal (the steps needed to take) and continually monitoring your action plan to make sure that you are on target.

 

15. Savings App

A good way to monitor your financial act to that he, set goals, realize your net worth, etc. is to utilize a app that you can download on your smart phone.

One such app that you can utilize that will provide all of this information, Link to your various accounts, help you with your goal setting, etc. is known as mint.

Click here to check out some of the best money savings apps.

 

Personal Story

Before my retirement I used to diligently and according to the schedule, go to work every morning and drive the same route.

Along the road 5 or 8 minutes in the drive I would put my first stoplight and if it was green go on through, and of course, if Brad would stop.

Just beyond the traffic light was a large pothole.

Almost without fail morning after morning I would try to remember where that pothole was and avoid it to save wear and tear on the suspension and tires of my vehicle.

Sometimes, I would remember and sometimes I didn’t.

In retrospect, the best way to have avoided that pothole would have been to go down a different road to get to work.

I taking a different road I wouldn’t have to remember where that pothole was and trying to avoid it.

 

FAQs

 

What Are the Benefits to Saving Money?

There are a variety of benefits provided to you in saving money.

Some of those benefits include:

• Financial Security
• Preparing for Emergencies
• Reducing Stress
• Helping Others
• To Name a Few

 

What is the Most Important Step Towards Saving Money?

The most important step towards saving money surrounds the word and action of knowledge.

Knowledge as it relates to what your income and expenses are for the month

Knowledge about any attitudes that you may have that are limiting towards your saving money

Knowledge about the importance of savings

Knowledge about pitfalls and taking a different path

Check out the following helpful articles on saving money for more tips:

• Why You Should Always Save Money
• Tips for Saving Money from Salary
• What’s the 30 Day Rule to Save Money
• How to Save $10,000 in 6 Months
• How to Save $20,000 in 12 Months
• How to Save $5000 in 6 Months
• Best Tips for Saving $10,000 in a Year
• Best Tips for Saving $3,000 in 3 Months

 

You Can Do It

If your goal is to save money it is important for you to realize that it is within your grasp to obtain this goal.

By identifying any limiting actions and embracing and incorporating a plan of action you can turn your financial life around and become empowered to the point where your savings will grow.

 

Conclusion

There are many potholes in our life.

There is the pothole of not exercising, the pothole of being overweight, the pothole of being in a dead-end job, and so forth.

Another pothole that we seemingly hit time after time is the pothole of not being able to save money.

To avoid these potholes and others in our lives we need to understand why we continually manage to hit these hazards and then take dynamic steps to avoid the obstacles altogether.