|
Save Money Without Missing It
by: Joyce Moseley Pierce
Over the years I have had to be creative in
saving money. Trying to raise three small children
with a husband whose job required transferring every
couple of years, it was tough to stay anywhere
long enough to get beyond the moving expenses.
Even though his company paid to move us from one
city to another, there were always expenses associated
with selling the old house and fixing up the new one.
I learned a few ways to save without really
missing it beause I found ways to save money I never
got used to having. Here's how you can do it, too:
1. Establish a savings account. Today's savings
accounts don't earn much money, and you might think
that it's not worth having, but it is a good practice
to get used to putting something away each payday
and not living off of everything you bring home. As
your balances increase, you may consider investing
the funds in something that might earn you more money,
but for now, just get in the practice of saving.
2. Don't use change. I don't carry much cash
in my purse anyway, but I never carry change.
The coins that I receive after making a purchase
are thrown into a pocket in my purse and when I
get home, I throw them into a piggy bank. About every
three months I'll dump the coins out on the table
and roll them in coin wrappers. It's amazing to
me that I rarely have less than $25. It's money
I never missed, so I hate putting it right back
into my wallet. Instead, I exchange it at the
bank for bills and put it into my emergency
backpack. For those of you who don't know what
an emergency backpack is, it contains essentials
I might need for 72 hours if I had to leave my
house in a hurry. It is always good to have at
least a small amount of cash when plastic may not
work.
3. Remember that bonuses and tax returns shouldn't be used for
"catching up." Most of us spend all year and then depend on the
extra money to help get us out of financial trouble. Have you ever
had a year when the boss didn't come through with
the bonus? A year when you had to PAY taxes? Then you know
how devastating that can be when you have overspent all year.
We used to have our credit cards charged to the max!
Each year my husband would get a bonus, or a profit
sharing distribution, and we would pay the credit
cards off, vowing to never get in that shape again!
Because we had so much debt, there wasn't much spendable
income, so as you might imagine, we used the
credit cards and maxxed them out again. We finally got
smart and made a commitment we would not use credit
cards except for purchases we knew we could pay off
each month. This meant no big ticket items, and we
estimated that we could afford no more than $500
each month for the credit card payment. Ten years ago
we were able to pay the cards off, and I'm
thrilled to say that we have been successful
with our goal. It feels so good to write that
check for the total balance due every month and
not have to pay any interest expenses.
3. Hide the raise! About 15 years ago I changed
jobs and got a good raise along with it. I had
been able to live on the salary I was making,
so I decided to sign up for an automatic deposit
to my savings account each payday. Instead of
finding things I could buy with this extra $500
a month, I was socking it away into my savings.
Funny thing was that we never missed it because
it was never a part of our spendable income.
It helped me feel secure because I knew if
we did have an emergency, at least we had the
funds available.
4. Save money from rebates. Sometimes we get
checks in the mail as rebates from items we've
bought. They may or may not amount to much money,
but you've already paid for the item. Just take
the rebate and stash it in your special account.
In order to accomplish your goal of saving money,
you have to be committed to it. Decide now that
you will live on your spendable income and put
the rest away. You'll be surprised at the peace
of mind you will feel when you start paying
yourself.
Copyright 2003 Joyce Moseley Pierce
Joyce is a freelance writer and owner of Emerson Publications.
She is the creator of "All They'll Need to Know," and the
editor of The Family First Newsletter, an ezine for families with
young children. http://www.emersonpublications.com
|
