Are You Patient Enough to Save Money?

Building up savings is hard, especially if you're a stay at home mom trying to stretch your family's single income. It's important that you do save money, however, so that you're ready for emergencies. It's just hard to be patient when it seems as though it's two steps forward, one back on your savings.

While you should have a goal for how much money you'll save up for your family, as well as one for how long it will take you, don't let frustration stop you when your savings just aren't working out. That's just the way things go.

You get some savings and then a major car repair wipes them out. That's rough, but all too common. Give a sigh and be grateful that you had savings to help out with the repair. With any luck, they'll have been enough to keep you from putting the repair on a credit card and having to pay for it even longer.

Patience can help you save money too. Be  patient in your purchases. When you think you want to buy something you don't absolutely need, stop and give it some thought. At least an hour, but if you can go a day or a week without making the purchase you can figure out if it was a matter of impulse, a want worth indulging or a need you just discovered. That will tell you if you should spend the money or direct it toward building your savings.

The most difficult part of patience is when you don't get cooperation in your savings goals from the rest of your family. When your husband disrupts your plans by spending money you had intended to save, of course it's difficult. That's one of those things you need to talk out together, so that you can each spend money without causing the other to resent what has been spent. If you aren't getting cooperation, find a way to get it. This isn't always easy, but it is necessary.