My Advice on Saving Money, Part 1

Lately, we've been in major saving mode for several reasons. For a house, for a dog, for a flat screen tv, and so on. So I thought I'd write some advice on squeezing out some extra money from your pockets when you really need it. It works for me now and definitely worked for me during my time in unemployment.

First of all, it helps to evaluate what your goals are. If it's for a house, a car, getting out of debt, whatever it is, make a list of everything you want to accomplish for the next 12 months and estimate how much you need to do it. This helps to set your expectations.

Next, make a budget. Calculate how much money you take home on a monthly basis and then start subtracting all your expenses. Include your rent and your utility bills, but don't forget any monthly subscriptions, student loans, gas, groceries and other things you pay for on a regular monthly basis. What's left is what goes into your savings bucket. Not satisfied with that number? Then stay tuned, I'll detail what I do to cut my expenses to put more in my savings.