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Each month we focus on one financial topic at Young Americans Bank. While we always encourage saving, March is the month that we’re really talking about savings goals.
What’s the Plan?
What kinds of things are coming up for which you will need money? School clothes? End-of-summer vacation? College?
How are you going to get that money? You need a plan! Try a spending plan like the one below that will help you figure out how much money you have coming in, and how much money you are spending.
Setting up a personal budget
Creating a spending plan or budget to achieve your goals takes six steps.
- First, you need to understand your current money habits by tracking how much you currently earn and how much you currently spend each month.
- Set a savings goal. What are you saving for in the short term, long term or in between?
- Compare how much you currently save each month with the monthly savings goal that you determined in step 2.
- If you currently are not saving enough to meet your goal, you need to make adjustments to your income and spending habits.
- Because sometimes maintaining your goal will cost you money, you need to figure out how you will budget your money once you have achieved your goal.
- Finally, if you find that you cannot save enough to purchase or maintain your goal, you may need to adjust that goal and go through these steps again.
Check out this savings worksheet to help you plan out your savings goals. Then be sure to come into Young Americans Bank and have our staff help you get on the right track!
