Kari Harwood
Retail Training Manager 
kari.harwood@border.bank
701-532-3648

There are a number of reasons people decide to save. Maybe it’s a big expense like a car or vacation. Or a not so fun purchase like braces for your child, or windows for your house. Maybe you want peace of mind that when an unexpected expense comes up, you will be able to pay for it.

Regardless of your motivation, saving allows you to control your money and gives flexibility for future spending.

If you haven’t started saving yet, (or if you already save, and want to do a check-in of your finances), follow the steps below:

• Start a budget. Do this by reviewing your current income and spending. This can be a bit of work to start out but going forward will be much easier.
  • Make a list of spending categories to help you organize. You will likely have categories for utilities and other bills, as well as discretionary spending categories that might vary each month.
• If you don’t have a savings account, open one! Minimum balances on savings accounts start at only $50 and having your funds in a separate account makes it easier to work toward your goal. You can easily transfer funds when needed.
• Depending on how motivated you are, consider cutting back on your discretionary spending categories.
  • Tip: If you allow yourself a realistic amount of "fun money", you may be more likely to stick to your budget long term. For example, my budget has always had a "Coffee" spending category!
• Save! Determine what to do with excess funds for the month.
  • Consider other savings techniques that are minimal impact to your account. One example is a purchase round up program, like Border Bank’s Transfer the Cents to Save. Debit card purchases are automatically rounded up, and the difference is transferred into your savings account.

The steps above can be repeated any time you want to do a review of your savings. As you begin to develop your budget and start to save, remember that every small step you take will be beneficial.

For more information or to open a Border Bank savings account, please contact one of our Relationship Bankers.