Five tips to remember when you begin saving

1. It’s okay to start small.

   Don’t be intimidated if you don’t have much to save. Start small and work your way up. Whatever you start saving now is going to help you in the future!
   
   

2. Come up with a plan!

   Setting specific goals for yourself will help you achieve your savings plan and provide financial stability in the future.
   
   

3. You’re never too young to start saving for retirement.

   Whether through your employer’s retirement plan option(s) or opening up your own individual retirement account, you can begin earning compound interest on your money. Who doesn’t like free money?!
   
   

4. Establish a cash flow plan.

   This way you know where your money is going compared to where you want it to be going. Coming up with a cash flow plan can help you ensure you’re not spending more money than you can afford.
   
   

5. Commit to “paying yourself first.”

   Have your paychecks direct deposited into one or more bank accounts that will help you save. Keep in mind these words from famous American investor and philanthropist, Warren Buffet: “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
   
   

Don’t let money intimidate you! Plant your tree today so that one day you can live under the shade later.

Elise Romero of Goshen, Indiana, is a member of the Eastern Mennonite University Class of 2017.