December 28, 2021
Diligently saving money is no easy task for most of us and without a solid plan our savings dreams may never become a reality. It’s been proven that people have a higher success rate of saving money when they set a specific goal, timeline and utilize the right tools to manage their accounts.
As your financial partner, we’ve got you covered. At First United Bank, we have the tools and tips to guide you to savings success in 2022.
- Set a Specific Savings Goal
To start, you should determine exactly what you are saving money for – a down payment on a home, dream vacation, an emergency fund or your retirement. You may even be working towards more than one savings goal, and if so, break them apart to make the most of your plan. After determining WHAT you are saving for, you’ll need to determine the amount of money you need to save to reach your goal.
- Establish a Savings Timeline
Once you’ve established your objective and the amount you need, it’s important to set a timeline. This will give you additional motivation to actively work towards reaching your goal.
Some timelines are simple. For example, you may want to go on vacation in a year or have the down payment for your house ready in two years. For other goals, such as saving for retirement or an emergency fund, you may want to set benchmarks and dates that you want to reach these goals. No matter what you are working towards, set a date to hold yourself accountable.
Once you have your timeline set, you can easily determine how much you need to save each month. You may prefer to make deposits bi-monthly or even weekly to keep yourself on track.
- Add Your Savings into Your Monthly Budget
Be sure to incorporate saving into your monthly budget. It’s great to have a goal but make sure you can fit the amount needed into your monthly budget. You should set this aside before you even have a chance to spend the money.
- Track Your Goals (This part is made easy with GOALS within DIGITAL BANKING+!)
You’ll be most successful in reaching your goals if you separate the money out of your regular checking account; it removes the temptation to spend that money. This is where GOALS in DIGITAL BANKING+ comes in. Our GOALS tool allows you to transfer funds from your checking account into individual savings accounts automatically. With GOALS you can set up an automatic withdraw/deposit from your regular checking account into a GOALS account, track your savings and keep track of where you are in your savings journey.
**These accounts are always accessible and keep your money safe.
To set up your GOALS account, log in to DIGITAL BANKING+ and select Create a Goal at the top of your home page. Follow the simple steps and you’ll be on your way to meeting your savings goals! It’s that easy.
Let 2022 be the year you conquer your savings goals and build a solid financial plan. We are here to help.
