Two Sure Ways to Start Your Rainy Day Fund

Are you the kind of person who lives paycheck to paycheck? Are you the kind of person who doesn't even have enough money in your savings account to buy a soda pop? Are you the kind of person who can't afford a "rainy day" because you don't even have the money saved up to buy an umbrella?

Sadly, there are too many people who can answer yes to one or more of these questions. No matter who, no matter where, everybody needs to begin saving money in order to maintain some sort of financial stability.

If someone falls into the category above, there are two easy steps they can take to beginning their rainy day fund.

Paycheck Rounder

Chances are, nobody's paycheck comes out to a perfect amount (ex. $200). The paychecks for most people usually come out to an odd amount, but has anybody thought that the odd amount from that paycheck could actually be used to start a savings account. The example below will explain better the concept of this idea.

It's Friday, and Jeff has just received his paycheck from Sonny and Sons, Inc. Jeff heads to his bank, where he has a savings account set up, to cash his check. The check total is for $416.23, but instead of Jeff cashing it all, he decides to follow the Paycheck Rounder method. He sees that to make his check a nice, round number, he must deposit $6.23 of his check into his savings account. He deposits that amount, leaving the bank with $410, never missing the $6.23 he deposited.

Jeff does this faithfully every week for a year; depositing roughly $5.00 every time he comes by the bank (about $250 after a year). Sadly, the tires on Jeff's car become bald, and he must buy new tires. Instead of stressing out, wondering how in the world he's going to afford it, Jeff calmly goes to his bank and withdraws the money he needs to pay for a new set of tires. Jeff didn't have to make any sacrifices to buy that new set of tires because he had the money available from his savings plan.

As ridiculous of an example as this may seem, a simple savings plan like Jeff's could save somebody from having to "break the bank" to make ends meet.

Paid Check Rounder