Basseterre, St. Kitts - The concept of saving may be as well woven into the fabric of our Caribbean culture as the concept of hire purchase. However, the average man is now beginning to understand the importance of saving for a rainy day.

  It is often believed that hire purchase is the quickest way to acquire material wealth but saving has become the foundation for which most persons have been able to deal with sudden emergencies that are a part of life. Savings can be simply defined as income acquired that has not been spent but where that unspent income is placed is determined by the individual. 

Some persons have become extremely proficient in building up their savings while others have to work hard at savings. For those who are struggling with ways to accumulate saving, here are a few tips listed below to help you, to become more financially sound and to make sensible decisions in the hope of keeping you growing financially.
 
• Pay yourself first - try to put away at least 10% of your income into a savings account

• Spend less than you earn - While this might seem very obvious, some of us continue to do the opposite on a regular basis.  Stop spending and start saving

• Pay your bills on time - Avoid needless late fees for the payment of bills past the due date

• Set a budget - Try very hard to live by it. 

• Have an emergency fund - The suggestion is to have at least 3 months income put aside in case of extreme emergency

• Buy a used car - The most expensive miles on a car are the first 10,000. Let someone else drive those for you. 

• Be patient - Don’t buy that new gadget or that new outfit today. Wait a month or two and the price will go down

• Buy airline tickets as far in advance as possible - The cheapest tickets are the ones that are bought at least two months in advance.  

• Make your own meals - Eating out gets to be very expensive if you do it too often

• Keep track of your spending - At least for a month, keep a journal of everything purchased. At the end of the month, review your spending priorities and make adjustments

• Write a will - We do not like to think of death, however it is inevitable, therefore if you have dependents you must write a will.  Write a will to protect your love ones

• Save now - It does not matter how old you are it is never too late to begin saving.

• Keep your receipts (especially on big ticket items) - Just in case there is a need to query sometime down the line.

• Avoid debt to any extent possible - You do not want to be caught into a spiral of debt

• Finally and most importantly MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING - HEALTH, FAMILY, AND HAPPINESS ARE IMPORTANT TOO.  REMEMBER, MONEY CANNOT BUY YOU LOVE