A new smartphone, fashionable sneakers, studying at a prestigious university or traveling around the country - there is always a dream for which you do not regret money. But what if they don't stay in your pocket? The reason for this may be not only a modest amount of income, but also low financial literacy, unwillingness to keep a budget and control expenses. To succeed in hoarding requires discipline. We explain how to start saving with any salary and what techniques will help you regularly replenish your piggy bank.

Your own banker
Scientists have found that areas of the brain associated with emotions push people to choose a reward in the present rather than a potential benefit in the future. Many people live one day at a time, and they perceive saving as a limitation of momentary desires. Therefore, the first thing that experts recommend is to determine the purpose of savings. This will be a strong motivation, because it is always easier to save up for something specific, and a person understands how exactly he will reward himself for his efforts.

In case of unforeseen expenses, there is such a type of savings as a financial airbag. It helps out if you suddenly urgently need to pay for treatment or car repairs, hold out in search of a new job. You can regard this as an investment in yourself - in your own health, peace and comfort.

"A cushion is an amount of money sufficient to live for about six months while maintaining the current level of consumption, that is, without reducing costs,"

"It is not enough just to determine the goal of savings and the period in which it should be achieved. You need to understand the acceptable risks, that is, the level of loss on the way to this goal. Next, you need to weigh all income and expenses, assets and liabilities. Try to increase the number of sources of income. Reduce costs. Insure against sudden expenses by purchasing appropriate insurance products. Draw up and stick to the budget for the year."

Everything will go according to plan
An analysis of the budget, whether family or personal, will help you calculate the resources for savings in a month. Open two spreadsheets in Excel. In one of them, enter all income, including bonuses, cash gifts, repaid debts and other sources of profit. Divide the second table into sections — food, clothing, medicines, housing, children, entertainment, pets, loans, and so on. Enter the costs here. Set a limit for each category and try not to exceed it.

At the end of the month, check the plan with reality. You will understand how much free money is left on hand. Pay attention to which categories have been spent more than planned, and whether these expenses are mandatory or recreational. Often, overspending is associated with indulging in bad habits, eating fast food, buying clothes in high season, light bulbs that generously spend energy, taxi rides, and the like. You do not need to completely abandon them, but you can agree with your "internal consumer" on reasonable savings. And feed the saved money to the piggy bank.

The Muscle of Discipline
You can save both in cash and online. But cash locked in a safe will sooner or later be eaten by inflation. In turn, many banks offer to open a savings account with interest accrued on the daily and monthly balance.

"This means that you will receive interest in any case, even if one day you have to withdraw all the funds. A savings account can be used as a wallet - keep all incoming funds on it, and transfer only the necessary amount to the card. So the money will bring additional income."

There are several techniques that help you save consciously.

"It is important to save not according to the residual principle (spend money all month, and put what is left into the account), but save according to the rule "pay yourself first. Having received income, you need to immediately deduct interest to savings."

This approach should become a habit.

"Someone will say: what profit to save from, I can barely make ends meet, I pay for the apartment, I pay the loan, I need one thing, then the other... But these are purely psychological moments. Pay yourself first." First of all, put the money in the piggy bank, and only then proceed to all other payments. If we pay others first, and not ourselves, then we give a signal that we neglect ourselves. In this case, why do we need money at all, if we do not love ourselves enough and are not attentive enough to ourselves?"

To avoid the temptation to defer a contribution, you can set up automatic deductions by setting a fixed date and amount. "The key issue is discipline," If it is difficult for a person to save money on their own, because there are temptations and they want to spend these funds on something, then it is better to start by making deductions automatically. Over time, the muscle of discipline will get stronger, and it will be possible to switch to manual mode."

Away from debt
Financial consultants give a number of tips to contribute to the success of saving.

Try not to borrow for what you can do without. This applies both to borrowing money from friends and to bank loans - the rates on them are the highest. It is more profitable to make large purchases not on credit, but in installments: the seller will pay the interest, and you will be able to save money.

If possible, refinance loans. It is desirable that the level of credit burden does not exceed 30%. Sometimes it is enough to reduce the payment by 3-5 thousand rubles to have free money.

Refrain from impulsive purchases, do not let emotions get the better of your wallet. If you have doubts, ask yourself: "If it were possible to take this item for free or get its full value in money, what would I choose?" Before a major purchase, it is better to take a break, and the amount that you were going to spend is "hidden" in a savings account. If after a few days this thing still seems like a valuable acquisition, then buy it. If not, we leave the money in the piggy bank.

And try not to get into the piggy bank ahead of time. The thought "now I'll take a little from there, and later I'll repay" is a trap that beginners fall into.

ess Burden
Economists remind: money should work for itself.

"Saving money in bank accounts is the initial, basic level of savings. After the airbag is created or the amount for a specific purpose is accumulated, there is a reason to think about investing in some other financial instruments."

Open a separate investment account and continue to deduct money to it. In the meantime, select different asset options, study investment strategies.

Everyone can save up. Choose the appropriate tactics and don't give up. As the Chinese sage Lao Tzu said, the path of a thousand li begins with the first step.