by Isabelle Esteves

Created on: March 14, 2009   Last Updated: January 12, 2011

Saving is one of the most important things that you can do. It will help you to survive any rough times that may come your way and also allows you to do things like plan for retirement and even to take a much needed vacation. Considering how important saving is, it is hard to imagine that it is not a lifestyle for most people. If you are ready to change your ways and commit to a lifestyle of saving money, here are some tips to help you get started. If is never to late to change the way you think about saving.

Don't be discouraged by the fact that you may not have a lot of money to save. Anything is better than nothing and everyone has to start somewhere. Times are tough and most budgets don't have a lot of extra in them. It is time however to rethink where savings fit into that budget,

Saving

Savings must comes first. If you leave saving until last, guess what, it will never happen. If your employer offers automatic deposit, check with your bank and see if you can have a set amount automatically deposited into a savings account each week. It doesn't matter the amount. By all means start slow as you adjust to your new lifestyle. If you find after the first few weeks that you haven't even noticed the difference increase the amount that you are putting into savings.

Take a good look at your payroll deductions. Are you using the IRS as a no interest savings account? Shame on you, even if you only earn 2%, the IRS is going to give you nothing for using your money all year, that is very generous of you. Start by being generous to yourself.

If your employer offers a 401k or 403b sign up and donation up to the amount that they match. If they don't match then just a very small amount should be donated especially if you are young. You will have plenty of time to build up your retirement. In this economy you need to keep your savings liquid in case you lose your job or have your hours cut or any other decrease in your income. The idea of a saving lifestyle is to make sure that you have a safety net to protect you from any unforeseen catastrophes such as major car repairs, illness or injury.

Cut Back

Look for ways to make reductions in your life that will result in extra money that you can save. This will require that you take a good look at your budget and where all of your money is going. Many of us don't even realize how much money we spend that is unaccounted for.

Start with the luxuries. Are you buying a latte or an espresso at a trendy coffee shop? Start brewing

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