by Tenielle Shellman, Manager – Central Planning ,Wealth Enhancement Group

Trying to save money can prove to be a challenge in any economic environment. Whether you’re trying to save for your retirement nest egg, your children’s college tuition, or just make ends meet, here are some things to consider:

Create a budget

Budgeting can be a very effective way of planning how your money will be spent. Given your financial resources, a budget can help manage your personal cash flow. To create a budget consider, first, reviewing all of your income and expenses. You may do this by reviewing your credit card statements, bank statements, check register and receipts over the last 6-12 months. If this information isn’t available or incomplete, consider beginning to track all expenses going forward.

Review the list of expenses that you have created for unnecessary expenses or expenses that could be eliminated or reduced.

Tips for reducing expenses:

• Create shopping lists to help eliminate or minimize impulse buying
  
• Use coupons for items whenever possible
  
• Review all service plans, like your cable service, home phone, cell phone or internet services, to ensure your current package is right for your needs and check to see if you are eligible for better rates
  
• Consider programmable thermostats for heating and cooling needs
  
• Dine at home and pack lunches for work and school
  
• Compare prices for large ticket items on-line before buying
  
• Explore the possibility of refinancing your current mortgage and other debt to take advantage of low, tax deductible interest rates

Establish goals

Goals should be set, with dollar amounts and realistic time frames within which to accomplish each goal. From your available cash flow, specific dollar amounts should be budgeted for and dedicated towards meeting each goal. Goals can be simple and immediate, like making ends meet each month, or more complex and long term like funding your retirement.

Maintain records and review periodically

As you move forward from one month to the next keep records of all of your income and expenses. This will help you review and compare against your planned budget so that you can measure your progress towards your goal and if any changes or adjustments need to be made.