5 Effective Ways to Save Money

So you're working a full-time job, hoping to buy a new house, and all you can afford is a week's worth of food. This is a very tough situation that most of us find ourselves in. The problem is the lack of saved money. Here are some tips to fill up your pockets and fulfill your purchase.

If you have a checking account, you should have a savings account, end of story. A savings account is crucial to, yes, saving money . Many banks have different options, like amounts of an interest rate, bank accounts for certain age groups, and several safety measures.

The bank I have always used is Chase. They have very good fraud alerts and, luckily for my family, they have linked bank accounts for children and family members. Fraud alert is good if you use your bank card everywhere you go. Many public places have high chances of identity theft and fraud, so make sure your bank knows how to spot these thiefs on your accounts. Also, linked bank accounts allow family members to transfer money over faster and easier to someone in need of emergency funds. It's a very good system for children and their parents, since only parents can make the transfers and decide how much the children have. With Chase, you can protect your savings and share the value of money with your loved ones at the same time.

There's only one rule to having a savings account... Never touch it!

Just pretend that the money you put into your savings account has disappeared from your pockets forever, or at least until you have an emergency. Now, a shopping emergency does not count. A sick family member can't pay for the hospital bill or your child's college courses need to be paid are real emergencies. By that time, you can have enough to cover those costs, and still have a little extra to keep.

I'm not sure about other banks, but I know for sure that Chase has a feature I call 'Monthly Transfers'.

So here's the deal. You have $600 in your checking account, and maybe $400 in your savings. What Chase will do monthly is transfer $5, $10, or however much you want, to your savings account. If you're running low on your checking account, you can always transfer back. This process is totally free, and it guarantees a monthly increase in your savings if you haven't done anything else. I highly recommend for everyone to use this, and possibly put a transfer of $10 a month. This is a very effective start to saving.

Now, before I say anything else, let me remind you the rule about savings: Never, ever, touch it.

So when I say 'Monthly Allowances', I mean a tiny bit of money you take out from your checking account.

Here's what you do. At the beginning of the month, sit down with a calendar and plan everything out. How much money do you need in food? What events are you planning to go to, and how much will is cost? Are there any birthday presents to buy? Is there a bill to pay for or a class to enroll in? Write all of your costs down and decide how much of an allowance you will give yourself, from your checking account . If you do not have enough, then lower your budget for the month. Plan food accordingly, book only one event, and find cheap (but nice) gifts. If you can, avoid events at all and craft your own presents. What ever it takes to save money, do it. Consider all options, being cheap isn't a bad thing at all. Trust me, you'll benefit from it in the end.

Now, here's the rule for checking accounts: Touch it only for monthly allowances. Don't use your bank card, and never get cash advances! Keep your money in the bank, not in other people's pockets.

If you're reading this, then you probably know that you can make some extra cash from HubPages. Use this to your advantage. Extra cash means extra monthly allowances.

Here's what I do for extra cash. I have my main job, a small job on oDesk, and I write articles on here. You can also sell stock photos, find other job-like websites like Elance, or start your own small business at home. However you want, you can make the extra cash with some effort.

I take my $450 pay-check from my main job and I put all of it into my checking account and I transfer a quarter of it into my savings account. For my small job on oDesk, I get $7.50, which I keep half as a monthly allowance and half I put into savings. On HubPages, I keep all my earnings as a monthly allowance.

So to put it in other terms, the best paying job is split between checking (3/4ths) and savings (1/4th), the 'okay' paying job goes half and half into savings and your pocket, and the small earnings here on HubPages works well as a monthly allowance. This system allows you to save money, and get extra pocket cash for the month.

So here you are, six thousand dollars later and you've saved up enough money for the car you've always wanted, a 2001 Toyota Celica GT. You're planning to buy that beauty as soon as possible... Maybe even right now!

Stop! Do not spend that money, even if you really really really want your purchase more than your life. You need to consider this: What money will I have saved after wards? This is the mistake most people make.

If you're going to make a big purchase, like buying a car, you need to make sure you'll have extra money saved after your purchase. So, using my example, my boyfriend saved $9000 before buying that Toyota Celica. I recommend you have $3000 extra before you make your purchase, and if you really can't wait, have $2000 minimum. It will help you in the long run.

I hope I have given you some new ideas for saving money.

Make sure to find a reliable bank, don't be afraid to ask your friends and family for recommendations. If you make a mistake, fix it, learn from it, and move on.

Focus on saving and not spending.

And lastly, good luck on your financial future!