The positive aspects of savings far outweigh the thought of being unsure whether you can afford to put back. The truth is, no matter how little you have to put back, out of what you have now you can always put back something. The odds are against those who forget to, decide not to, and won’t put back even a little savings.

Are you one of those people who come home every night with a handful, or pocketful, of loose change? Then there you have it. Convert that nagging change into your new savings plan. You’ll be amazed at the amount of cold hard cash-money that can accumulate from change, and with accumulation comes savings.

Open a simple, free savings account at your local bank branch and set up a “change savings” plan. No matter what happens in life, after a few short years of adding up your pocket change, you will have a small fortune to fall back on for emergencies (or you can leave it alone and watch it grow). You may not realize how quickly it can all add up. The average person spends no less than ten dollars of cash a day. With the change left over from ten dollars you could easily put back seventy-five cents or even a dollar. Putting back seventy-five cents per day you are looking at almost two hundred seventy-five dollars a year and that is effortless! A dollar a day is almost four hundred by the end of the year.

Being savvy with savings doesn’t mean you have to go without. Another small tip to keep you out of the financial doghouse is to watch your spending. Budget or no budget, you can still lose money by not being fully aware of what you are spending. With cash it is much easier to see your limits because there is a physical alert when you are almost out of money. When it comes to checking and savings accounts you can get carried away and like most unfortunate victims you can get caught in the overdraft trap. Over drafting can cost more than forty dollars per accident. With an average of one accidental overdraft per month that can cost you four hundred and eighty dollars a year. That is serious cash. Don’t fund the banks by being accident-prone. Keep cash-on-hand to spend and balance the check book once a week.