When you are on a limited income, it is really  important to save money, else in the long run you will start feeling that life is going past you and you haven’t enjoyed it a bit. If you start saving money now, you will be able to afford later on more than  you’d think you will.

Particularly large companies have a 401k plan, which means that the will match the amount that you set aside, sometimes as much as ten percent. Thus to not participate means turning down free money. When you participate in this plan, they will take a small portion (usually a few %, depending on your agreement with your employer) of your salary and put it aside. You will not see this money from the get go, so you will get used to not have it in the first place. I remember after a few years when I left my previous job, I got back the money put aside for the 401k plan (here we call it provident fund), and it amounted to a nice sum of $10000. I put that money in the bank, and should I ever be laid off from my current job, I always have something to fall back to.

Also make sure you don’t go into debt. If you have more than one credit card, by all means, cut all but one in half and throw them away. Credit cards are a blessing but mostly a curse, particularly when you are tight with money. Your grandparents could live without a credit card all their lives, so can you!

Try to do your laundry as few times as possible per week. That doesn’t mean that you have to walk in dirty outfits, however you don’t have to throw everything in the washing machine right away. Wait until you have enough whites, or color clothes to make the washing machine really full and then start it up. I usually wash one color and one white per week. It’s really seldom that I need to wash more often, and I do change my clothes every day, and so does my husband too

Don’t wait until tomorrow to start saving money. Like dieting, it is easy to put it off until you realize it’s too late. Make a commitment to save money today, and begin feeling the increased level of security that having a bit of extra money can bring.