Your Guide to Building a Savings Account in Your 20s

When it comes to saving enough and planning for your future, it’s never too early or too late to get started on the financial side of things. There are so many ways to begin to take care of your finances in your 20s. One of the most important is opening a savings account. Although the idea of opening a savings account might be a bit intimidating at first, there are actually plenty of ways to make save and work for your lifestyle. Really, anybody can start saving, and that includes you. Here are a few things that you should know about how to build a savings account in your 20s.

1. Don’t Put It Off  

Although it truly is never too early or too late to build a savings account, there is something to be said for jumping on the task as soon as you can. Especially on accounts and investments that accrue interest, starting younger is better for you financially.

2. You Can Start Small

Just like it’s perfectly okay to start whenever you feel comfortable, it’s also okay to start as small as you need to in order to get the ball rolling. Although most savings accounts tend to have a minimum balance for a minimum requirement to open the account, it usually isn’t as high as you might expect. Some banks allow you to open an account with just $25 or $100. As long as you have a starting balance that you won’t touch or alter, you can save little by little and still put money away.

3. Pay What You Can

To build a savings account can be a slower process if you need it to be. You might not have the funds to dump lots of money into it right away, but you absolutely can make small payments here and there whenever you can to build up your savings. That’s the point of saving in the first place after all.

4. Treat It Like a Bill

One of the best ways to commit to saving consistently is to treat your savings account like a regular expense that you need to contribute to. Even if you only have a little bit of money to contribute on a weekly or monthly basis, thinking about it more like a responsibility that you have to yourself instead of a task that you only do sometimes can help you become a bit more consistent with your savings.

5. Set Up Automatic Payments

If you’re looking to treat your savings account like a consistent responsibility or a bill, one of the easiest ways to do that is by setting up automatic payments from your checking account on a monthly basis. When you set up automatic payments, you don’t even need to think about saving in order to do it. This can help you stay on top of your savings a goals and give you one less thing to think about when it comes to your finances. Usually, you don’t even miss the money and won’t realize it’s gone, especially if you save the same amount each time.

6. Have a Goal for Yourself

Although it is possible to save without a definitive goal in mind, having a savings goal for yourself can definitely help you achieve larger savings faster, because it helps to motivate you. Your savings goal can be a number or even a specific goal to your life. For example, if you are saving up an emergency fund, the common consensus is that you should aim for three months of living expenses in case something happens. Obviously, that will look different to everybody, and you can work out what that means to you and start saving. Keep track of your goals in a journal to help keep yourself accountable.

7. Think About Investing

Even if saving is already completely new to you, investing is usually the next step in the process when it comes to taking care of your finances. The younger you start investing, the more risks you can afford to take, so it’s a good idea to get started as early as you can, even if you don’t invest a lot of money right away. There are so many apps and websites that can help you on your investing journey — that way, you can create a diversified portfolio and stay on top of your finances consistently.

Build a Savings Account In Your 20s 

Saving when you’re young it is not just a smart choice, but it’s also an important one to think about. Whether you automate your payments and save a lot of money fast or you start small and pay what you can, there is power in building your financial independence.