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Blog author Will Forbes is a senior at Kent Denver High School and a Co-Chair of the 2020-2021 Youth Advisory Board at Young Americans Center. When I was eight years old, Pokémon cards were the “must have” toy. At recess, my friends and I would take out our cards, look at them, trade them, play games with them, and more–we were obsessed! One day, I was at the store with my mom and I asked her if I could get a limited edition pack of Pokémon cards I saw on the shelf. She told me that if I could save up enough money to pay for them myself, she would take me back to buy them.
After about a month, I was able to save up the money that I needed to buy them. At that point, however, I wasn’t very interested in them any more, so I put the money in my Young Americans Bank savings account. That was ten years ago, and I haven’t looked back since! Now, as a teenager, I can take the money I’ve saved up and use it to go out with my friends, buy meals, and so much more! If I didn’t start saving when I was young, I wouldn’t have enough money to do all of those things; so, it’s super important you learn how to save your money at a young age. Here are a couple of tips that can help you start saving:
Tip #1: Don’t buy everything you see!
Oftentimes we see something we like to think, “I need that now!” only to find out that we aren’t as excited about it after a couple of days (like the Pokémon cards!). One thing that I do is if I want to make a purchase, I’ll write it down and wait one or two weeks. If I still want it after that period of time, I will consider buying it. I find that the majority of the time, I realize I didn’t really want the item that much after all. This is a great way to save money by not spending it on things you don’t absolutely need/love.
Tip #2: Out of sight, out of mind.
When I was little, I kept my money in a small plastic piggy bank on the shelf in my room. Whenever it was full of money, I’d become anxious and feel like I needed to spend it on something (even if I didn’t want anything!). After a while, I learned that if my money was deposited in my bank account, I didn’t feel as big a need to spend it. So, I’d recommend that if you want to save your money, you should go to your bank as often as possible and deposit and deposit any money you have into your savings account. You won’t feel as pressured to buy something and you’ll be able to save up money over time. Young Americans Bank allows you to open a savings account with just $5!
Tip #3: Set a goal!
The easiest way to start saving money is to set a goal for yourself. This keeps us accountable and gives us a physical marker of our success. If you want to start saving money, I’d recommend writing down a monthly goal that you want to make, depending on how much of your money you’d like to save. I’d recommend starting with 20-30% of all the money you make and working your way up from there. Not only will you have fun trying to reach your goal, but you’ll also be saving money for your future!
I hope that these tips help and you are able to start saving your money more effectively!
