In today's financial climate it can get very hard to find a little extra money to put away for that rainy day. I did not say that it was impossible just kinda hard to be able to build up the emergency fund when it seems that every day is an emergency. Here are three of the best ways to save money even when money is tight.

Set up a change jar. I have mine set up at the kitchen counter by our back door where I always empty my pockets. I throw my keys on the counter next to my wallet and I plug in my cell phone and throw all my change (every day) into my jar. Twice a month I empty my jar and take it to the bank sometimes there is only two or three dollars in it and sometimes five or six. It is amazing how fast it adds up. At approximately $8.00 each month it comes to $96 a year. Not a fortune but better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Save Coupons and Use Them

Start to clip coupons or better and easier, just print them off your computer for the brands you use. It is amazing how much you can save on your monthly grocery bills if you just do a little work at it. Of course if you are going to save then the money you do not spend you must put into your savings account. What we have done is set our bi-weekly food budget for the amount we spend to eat each payday. Then we clip coupons and look for deals while shopping so we do not spend our entire budgeted food allowance. Depending on the coupons we find for the two week period we can save $10 to $20 each time which adds up to an average of $30 per month totaling $360 per year. Again not a fortune but $360 plus the $96 comes to $456 each year.

Pay Yourself First

This is a must if you are ever going to build up your emergency fund. Just put yourself in the budget and pay yourself every payday the same as you would pay your electric or phone bills or any other creditor. Make sure that you drop it into your savings account right away or you will spend it on something you really do not need. If you pay yourself only 10% of every payday it will add up fast. Say you bring home $400 per week 10% is $40 times 52 weeks totals $2080 per year. At only 5% it would total $1040 per year.

As you can see just these three of the best ways to save money can put a sizable sum into your emergency fund in as little as a year. Add seven more ways to save and look out world here we come.

By: J. Snyder

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You can find more ideas by clicking on the best ways to save money. You can find out how to live on less money each and every day at my blog Bondage Breaker: Financial freedom is possible.