One of the most important pieces of financial advice you’ll ever receive is the importance of getting into the habit of saving money. This holds true regardless of your financial position, and whether you’re trying to save a lot or a little each week.
If there’s any downside to being on a regular savings program, it’s that sometimes we get so used to saving a certain amount each month we aren’t necessarily saving as much as we could be. In fact, regardless of the financial situation you find yourself in, it’s quite likely that you’ll be able to save an additional $50 per week without significantly changing your lifestyle.
Here are some tips on how to reach that incremental $50 per week saving goal, which will result in over $2,500 in a year!
Spend Less Eating Out. There’s a good chance you’ve already taken note of what’s commonly referred to as the “Latte Effect” or “Latte Factor” – how cutting back on pricey coffee drinks can help you meet your savings goals. But take another look at all the ways that you spend money on food when you’re outside the home. A five dollar “value meal” isn’t such a value if you could bring a sandwich from home and save yourself a dollar or two each day. Saving just a couple dollars every workday can add up to $50 per month or more.
Spend Less on Groceries. When you eat fewer meals out at restaurants, you’re probably going to end up making more of your meals at home. And that means doing more shopping at the grocery store. Before you visit the grocery store, make sure you have a list of exactly what you intend to buy (to avoid expensive impulse purchases), and check the weekly store advertisements to try to build your meal plans around the foods and ingredients that are on sale.
Commute to Work in a Different Way. Depending on how close you live to your job, you might be able to save your $50 per week just by changing how you commute. For example, investigate whether you live within easy walking or bicycling distance to a bus stop (and whether the available bus lines can take you close to where you work). Once you take into account all of the costs you face in driving to work each day – including gas, parking and routine maintenance costs for your car – it might turn out that purchasing a weekly or monthly bus pass could save you a bundle. Plus, you could use the time on the bus to catch up on your reading or even get a head start on your work for the day.
Set Aside a Dollar Every Day. Each and every day, get in the habit of taking a dollar out of your wallet or purse in the morning and put it into an envelope. It doesn’t matter if it’s a dollar bill or a dollar in change – just get into the habit of setting that dollar aside each day. Chances are you won’t miss that dollar, and by the end of each month you’ll have saved up an extra $30.
By taking a few of these steps you’ll be able to save an extra $50 per week. It might take a bit of effort to build up to it, and to add these new behaviors to your normal routine, but once you have the habits in place it will seem much easier, and at the end of the year you’ll have saved over $2,500.
Tags: Banking Advice, saving advice, saving money, saving money tips
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on Thursday, May 17th, 2012 at 8:10 am and is filed under Savings.
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One of the most important pieces of financial advice you’ll ever receive is the importance of getting into the habit of saving money. This holds true regardless of your financial position, and whether you’re trying to save a lot or a little each week.
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