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So you have reached the point where you have some money in savings that you want to keep for the long term future.

However, you realize that putting it in your run of the mill savings account will likely result in its compound interest rates barely keeping up with inflation.

You are willing to accept a little bit more risk in return for a higher reward and you are interested in investing in the stock market.

Investing can be intimidating for the beginner and there is a lot to learn about the world of stocks and bonds.

Here are a few things to remember when you are first starting out:

You’ve tried to make a budget and stick to it, recording your expenses and income on a spreadsheet and keeping track of your spending. However, you still seem to always end up with more month than money.

Where does it all go and what are you missing?

Budgets are not easy to keep and there are many things that you could be doing which are unintentionally ruining your best laid plans. Here are a few of the top things which can get in the way of your goal to save money:

Are you spending your money on things which are completely unnecessary? If you are looking to save money and help your finances go further in these tough economic times, examine your spending habits and see if there are any needless expenses you can cut from your budget.

Here are some examples of things that you really don’t need to spend money on:

It’s not how much money you earn that will make you rich; rather it is your spending habits. How aware are you of what you spend on a daily basis? Do you ever think you have a certain amount of money in your account and then realize that you have a lot less? Noticing how much you spend can be the first step to learning how to manage your money better.

Here are three useful tips for becoming more aware of what you are spending:

Do you gulp with fear every time you approach the checkout at the supermarket?

Do you end up spending a huge amount on grocery shopping every week, yet only coming home with a few bags of items?

It is possible to cut down your grocery bill drastically; you just need to know how to outsmart the supermarket and get more for your dollar.