This week, I received the very informative results of a survey that Ramit Sethi had conducted on his readers. (You will remember Ramit from my previous post on his work and his new book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich).

As we are about to enter into Independence Day weekend, I got to thinking th

at setting up some savings goals is a great way to celebrate independence from debt and to have the freedom to make choices with the money you save. Here's the scoop on the survey:

Ramit asked his readers about saving money. It was quite eye-opening to see what people wish they had saved for at various points in their lives, and how much they had wanted to put away. 

 Here's what he discovered:

People in their 20s wish they had saved for travel.

People in their 30s wish they had saved for a home.

People in the 40s wish they had saved for retirement.

 And... here's how much they think they should have saved:

20s: $10,000-25,000

30s: They wish they had saved more than those in their 20s ($50,000-100k)

40s: Ditto for those in their 30s. ($100,000-500k)

How would you feel to have hit these savings goals?

I have found that looking at the end result can be scary with saving. 

"How am I going to save all that?"  is a question you might hear echoing in your head? 

I have found that just a little at a time adds up. The idea that really helped me from studying with CB was to come up with savings accounts that were related to my goals- just like we want to spend in accordance with our values, we also want to save that way.

So... I have a savings account dedicated to travel. I put money in it regularly so that when a cheap ticket or trip opportunity comes my way, the credit card is not the first way to finance it. I find the best way to enjoy a trip is to have as much paid for up front as possible so you come home with memories, not debt.

Savings accounts are great for any goal: need a new computer? Open a "computer" savings account and watch yourself getting closer to that goal all the time. 

Making savings deposits automatic will help you schedule when those goals will be reached, too. This can make saving more empowering. 

When do you want to have that house down payment? Simply open a savings account, figure out an auto-savings option that will transfer the money so you pay yourself first, and then budget around this new plan. It's easier to give up dinner out as often when you see it's going to get you to your goal that much faster. Get creative and watch how motivated you can be to save.

 Who knew it could be this fun? 

If you have tips or savings success stories, please share them in the comments below.

And- to get Ramit's fun newsletter to get info like the survey I shared above, sign up here.