While making money work actively is beneficial to consumers, Suze Orman suggests that saving funds, although a business owner or private individual has to dig deep to make it work, can be the best approach for a future financial plan.
Saving takes patience
Spending habits might be harder to break than any other ingrained part of life, Orman claims in Oprah Magazine, because the way to alleviate excessive spending is to find a small amount of money that is spent without necessity each month. Orman calls this "hidden money," and it can be found in too-big cable packages, insufficient home insulation and Friday night delivery pizza orders. Her task to those who don't believe they have the means to save is to decrease utility bills by 10 percent, and she insists in her Oprah Magazine feature that anyone who says they can't would be mistaken at the review of any financial expert or friend.
For some, weeding out small spending might not be necessary or as simple as it is for others. There are alternative ways to save, according to Real Simple, but the absolute first step a person must take is to begin working on a deposit set aside for emergencies.
First step to financial stability
The credit availability seen in the early 2000s is not so plentiful today, meaning cards or loans can't as easily be relied on in the case of a lost job or sudden unexpected expense, according to financial planner DeDe Jones.
"Ten years ago, you could have [used a credit card in a pinch]," she told Real Simple. "But with the recent tightening of credit, you could easily get in a bind that costs more than what you can charge."
Jones suggests that an emergency fund should be able to cover a month or two of the absolute necessities, but there is no need to rush the building process. As low as 5 or as high as 15 percent of a person's income is all it should take to effectively build a cushion, as long as the saver adds funds with each paycheck until the goal amount is reached.
Saving for emergencies, a kid's college tuition and buying a home are challenging plans, and both sources tell that a deep commitment is necessary for success. Orman and Real Simple's financial tips insist families and individuals generally have to make sacrifices on spending for things that are relatively cheap – if it's determined that $8 for streaming movies or $30 a month for fast food runs is too much extra cash spent, the saver has to make cuts on the most unnecessary extras.