I used to ask myself why I can’t save money
That was until I came across Dave Ramsey’s book Total Money Makeover
I knew what I was not saving money the right way
As every time I start putting money aside I encounter a crisis forcing me to spend all I had saved

Anyway I knew what was my fault
I am here to guide you not to commit same mistakes I was doing
Having said that let me start with the below
1- You don’t have a budget or don’t stick to it
When I asked myself why I can’t save money I came across building a budget
I wasn’t giving budget any weight until I realized budget is the main core of saving money
Why? because it works along with saving money before you commit to your budget
Also using a spending sheet will help you stay on track with your budget amounts
You can download the below sheet from my products page

2- You don’t have an emergency fund
I will tell you why you can’t save money because you haven’t built an emergency fund
Emergency fund is a money you set aside to face any crisis
Like your car not working one day or your roof needs maintenance
These are things that occur suddenly without any control
3- You have debt to pay
Obviously if you have debt you won’t save money and you don’t have too
If you are in debt, focus to pay your debt as fast as you could
4- You have a car loan or student loan
Regarding student loan, I won’t blame you
I would ask you to start paying your student loan from your first job
What I can advise you is to avoid getting a car loan and buy used car
Do you know any car losses 10% to 15% of its value when taking it on the road Click To Tweet5- You lack the basic financial knowledge
I discussed in a previous post how to teach yourself personal financial literacy
I recommend to read it to learn some basic financial terms
6- You are confused between needs and wants
Part of the struggle to save money is you have to be able to differentiate between your needs and wants in your head at a fraction of a second
Your needs are anything that keep your surviving like your rent/mortgage
The food you buy although not all kinds of food
Your wants are what all the things you skip buying it and life will go on
7- You pay too much mortgage or rent
It was a surprise to me when I calculated my mortgage percentage to my total income
Actually I didn’t think about it that way, this was before I started using my budget sheet

The percentage above is feasible if you use my budget sheet in my products page
8- You are dinning out too often
I am not against dinning out every now and then
What I don’t like is that some people ease eating out for the excuse of not having enough time to cook
Steps to follow to start saving money
It is never too late
Follow my advice below and you can fix the money saving issue
1- Build a budget if you don’t have one
Building a budget is not hard but if need an easy task
I got you covered – you can use my budget sheet which I use

password to edit data is 0000
2- Pay yourself first
I know it is bizarre term
It means you pay towards saving and investment right after you get your income
You can arrange with your bank to deduct on your pay day a specific percentage or amount towards your investment account
3- Get rid of your debt right now
Dave Ramsey is always getting this question whether to save while in debt
The obvious answer is No, finish your debt first and then start saving and investing
He invented the snowball effect of paying extra to the smallest debt
When you finish it you get motivated and move the amount you used to pay unto the small debt to the higher one and keep going
4- Build your emergency fund
It is a great feeling having an fund on the side to pay for emergencies
I am not reinventing the wheel, it is called an emergency fund
You don’t touch it at all only when you face a crisis like car fix or whatever
Of course, I don’t need to tell you not to use it for vacation
5- Use jar to save your changes
It is a simple concept to save your changes
Bring a jar and drop any changes you get, convert it to cash every now and then
6- Stop buying things on sale – resist the temptation
Actually I had to try it myself – I know it is very hard
I remember I saw a winter jacket at Costco on great sale
I know I don’t need a new jacket as I have 7 jackets
Anyway I was realistic and I did not buy it
7- Choose affordable rent or mortgage
If you keep a budget – you would know your up to date income
You have to come with the percentage of your rent/mortgage to your income
Sweet spot should be around 20% to maximum 30%
8- Plan your meals with shopping list
I use a mobile shopping list to save my grocery list for the weekthe
The one I use is called AnyList mobile app, you can download it for free
It is easy to integrate it with Amazon Alexa
If I remember any grocery item I call Alexa and she will add it to my AnyList app
9- Use left over dinner to eat on lunch
I knew that was the reason why I can’t save money
I quit buying lunch and I pack my left over dinner to eat on my lunch
10- Join wholesale club membership
Although you pay a membership fee to join these wholesale club
But you will save in the long run – I will give you a hint
If you have the option to pay for the higher membership fees
The one that gives you 2% back – do your math and look at your annual purchases
Sometimes it would be better to pay for the higher membership fee as the cash back you get at the renewal date can lower your membership to a bare minimum
11- Reduce alcohol and soft drinks
I am not saying cut alcohols – at least try to reduce it
Don’t be a daily beer or wine consumer – stay sober
I drink only in occasions and when I have guests
12- Reduce dinning out and cook at home
When I got married cooking was a challenge as by the time we get back home it is almost around 6 pm
That’s why it is better to cook for the next day and cook in bulk
13- Buy used items instead of new
I meant by used items – used cars and refurbished electronics and furniture
Sometimes before buying any new item I check it on Facebook Marketplace
14- Save your bonus and tax refund
Imagine that you did not get any bonus and there is no tax refund that year
It is just an imagination and move your money to your saving and investment account
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