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What are Your Biggest Obstacles to Saving Money?

May 31, 2012 By 12 Comments

Ally Bank recently tweeted on Twitter something that caught my attention:  “Your greatest challenge to saving on a regular basis is __________?”

I quickly sent a response with something that has challenged us in the past but I think is common for many people that I’ve spoken with:  “Excuses! For the things we think we need!”

Obstacles to Saving MoneyDon’t you feel like there is always something coming up that you feel like you need?  Do we really need some of these things over the priority of saving money?  I think many people would reason they do.  There is always the additional monthly expense for gas, family in-town, travel, work related expenses and so on and so on.  But can these things really trump the importance of saving money?  Hopefully not, but how do we keep them from doing so?

Ally replied to my tweet asking me if I cared to share my savings strategy.  I replied with the following:  “Our budget & paying ourselves 2nd to giving.”

My wife and I start with an organized plan or budget to insure we save a set amount each month.  Otherwise, we easily find ways to spend this money.  Again, we easily spend on all those things we reason we need.

We make saving our second priority to giving.  For our family, giving/tithing will always be the first thing we do with our money.  After giving, pay ourselves in savings to insure we have a safety net and invest for the future.

After giving and saving responsibilities are taken care of, it’s our responsibility to manage the remaining money and prioritize spending with what’s left.  The simple rule to follow for all of us is to avoid spending more than we have left after giving and saving.  This means we can’t spend more on a credit card than we can pay off with our next paycheck.  Even better, pay out of our checking account with a debit card that earns rewards makes more sense than getting careless with a credit card.

As I mentioned, our biggest obstacle to saving money on a regular basis can be the things we reason we need.  I’m curious to get your thoughts.  What obstacles have you encountered to saving money and what is your savings strategy?

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About Jason Price

I'm Jason Price and welcome to my personal finance blog. I'm a husband, dad, financial coach, blogger and small business owner. I'm passionate about biblical financial stewardship and doing my best to faithfully manage my finances, career, and small business.

  • http://twitter.com/livewellsimply Joshua Champagne

    Earmarking your savings and even storing it in a separate account definitely helps. Biggest obstacle to saving? Every day unavoidable expenses.

    • http://www.onemoneydesign.com/ Jason Price

      Joshua, I store my savings in a separate account as well and that definitely helps. This definitely makes you think twice before using money for expenses that many times can wait.

  • Shannon_ReadyForZero

    My biggest obstacle to saving is rent.  I live in SF where the rent is very high and the only way to avoid it is to move outside of the city – but then I’d spend the money saved on gas or public transportation. Other than that, I just try to keep my expenses low by cooking at home and not purchasing frivolous items.

    • http://www.onemoneydesign.com/ Jason Price

      Shannon, thanks for sharing! I think rent and mortgages impact a lot of people. You definitely have a unique situation and sounds like you’re doing a good job offsetting this expense.

  • http://kylieofiu.com/ Kylie Ofiu

    We were starting to get back on track with savings after having virtually no work for 12 months and then we find out our daughter needs twice weekly speech therapy, I got really sick and needed some tests etc. and while we do have health insurance, in Australia none of the health insurance policies covered what we needed (had looked into it before getting any as I suspected she may need speech therapy, as issues run in my family).

    That has been a huge saving obstacle for us, but I am determined to still save.

    • http://www.onemoneydesign.com/ Jason Price

      Kylie, thank you for sharing! So sorry to hear of all these unexpected expenses. It seems a lot of people are battling health costs and we’ve definitely experienced that too. One thing I do know is that saving is a journey. There are going to be ups and downs for all of us and we just have to do the best we can. Hope you don’t mind me sharing…I often refer to Philippians 4:19 when things get difficult.

  • MBlackson

    After being out of work for 2 years and depleting all of my savings, I am starting over financially since I started working again in August 2011. At first, I was part-time with full-time expenses, so saving wasn’t happening. In December, my job became full-time and I started saving through my company’s 403B, which allows low-interest loans in case of hardship or other expenses like home purchase, college, etc., 
    (and a 4% match)  My next plan to save more is to start a home business to supplement my income and save from that. (My current tithing & expenses take all of my current take-home pay). Any suggestions for improved saving or spending would be greatly appreciated.

    • http://www.onemoneydesign.com/ Jason Price

      Hi Mrs Blackson, thanks for sharing with us! Great idea to start a home business. I think this is an excellent way to help offset expenses and stay on track even with unexpected expenses and job changes. Wondering if you’ve hard of the Compass Map? It’s similar to the Crown Money Map and is a free download. I think it helps keep everything in perspective. It’s a faithful financial journey and sometimes you make progress, but then have to take two steps back, start over, etc. I think you’ll like this map. Figure out where you are on it and then focus on achieving the goals in that destination. It helps my wife and I out a lot! http://www.compass1.org/resources/compass-map/

  • http://brokeprofessionals.com/ Elizabeth @ BrokeProfessionals

    Hmmm… my biggest obstacle is food. Sounds rather gluttonous, but sticking to our grocery budget is TOUGH. In many ways, eating healthy foods and staying on budget are oxymorons.

    • http://www.onemoneydesign.com/ Jason Price

      Elizabeth, I couldn’t agree more. Grocery spending is definitely difficult to manage for our family. Do you have any tips to share with us?
      Sent from my iPad

      • http://brokeprofessionals.com/ Elizabeth @ BrokeProfessionals

        I’m still on a learning curve myself – I *had* my budget under control when we were a family of three, and I’m still adjusting to the changes of having a fourth mouth to feed! I buy my produce almost exclusively at a local farmer’s market, where I only buy what’s in season. This guarantees me the freshest produce at the lowest prices.

  • Lifton Irene

    The biggest obstacle to saving money is spending money on all those things we think we need, but we avoid this by having a budget and making saving a high priority.