Do you have trouble saving money? Does money seem to come and go like the wind, with no explanation? If you find that you have trouble saving money, don’t worry – you’re not alone. In an article by CNBC, they state that 65% of Americans save little or nothing. This is a real problem when it comes to living a better future or preparing for potential financial emergencies. Below are 5 reasons to start saving money.
- Peace of Mind
The more you save up, the less you have to worry about expenses coming in and causing a lot of havoc. Having 6 months of expenses saved up means that you can sleep soundly at night knowing that you’re prepared for almost any financial emergency. If you lose your job, you don’t have to worry about putting food on the table right away. You can take the time to worry about all that later. Having money saved up means more peace of mind and gives you more options for long-term thinking. After all, when you’re prepared for the future, you’re less likely to stress out when bad things happen.
- Be Prepared For Unforeseen Expenses
You never know what’s going to come up. Maybe there’s a birthday this month you forgot to budget for. Maybe your phone breaks and you have to buy a new one. There are an endless amount of possible unforeseen expenses, so why not make sure you have enough to cover most of them? While most of the unforeseen expenses will likely be smaller (less than $100), the more you have saved up the better prepared you are for anything that comes up that is unexpected. You don’t want to have to worry about checking your bank account before you go into the grocery store to make sure you’re spending enough money. Save up so that you can be prepared for unexpected expenses.
- Get Through Financial Emergencies
We all like to think that every day will be just like the last. That you will get up and go about your day, that it will be uneventful and that you will be able to predict, for the most part, what will happen. But what if tomorrow your car breaks down, or your refrigerator stops working? When expensive items need replaced, you don’t want to rely on purchasing them with credit. Even if you can put something on a credit card, or take out a new loan for an item, both of those require interest payments, and interest payments are a waste of money. Instead, when you save up money, you can purchase those items with cash and don’t have to worry about your credit score or finding the best loan.
- Make Large Purchases
Saving money will allow you to make large purchases without having to worry about having enough credit or taking out a loan. Purchases like a car, or the down payment on a house, can be made without having to worry about where that money will come from. Saving money allows you to make large purchases that you would otherwise not be able to make. Without having saved the money, you would have to find the money through a loan or credit.
- Retire Early
If you have enough money saved up and invested, you can consider retiring early. The more money you have saved up, the better off you’ll be once you decide to retire. And if you have enough saved up, you can retire as early as you’d like. Granted, you may not be able to take out Social Security, but if you have enough saved up then that won’t be an issue. Saving up money and investing is a great way to get yourself closer to retirement and allow yourself to really take advantage of opportunities that come your way.
There you have it! 5 reasons to save money. What was your favorite reason? Do you have a reason that isn’t listed here? Comment below and let us know.