{"id":531,"date":"2010-03-08T14:20:11","date_gmt":"2010-03-08T19:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.billlosey.com\/?p=531"},"modified":"2010-03-08T14:20:11","modified_gmt":"2010-03-08T19:20:11","slug":"bill-losey-five-savings-secrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/bill-losey-five-savings-secrets\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Losey: Five Savings Secrets"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to increase your savings without significantly lowering your quality of life.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the problem?<\/strong> In general, when it comes to a lack of savings, it is often not a question of low income, but a matter of high spending. While it\u2019s very true that often we\u2019re put into situations where we must spend money (due to loss of employment, health care bills, home repairs, etc.), for many of us our excessive spending is merely a habit we must learn to break \u2026 or at least control.<\/p>\n

But \u2026 where do we begin?<\/strong> Many people would like to reduce their spending and increase their savings, but it seems like such a monumental task that they simply don\u2019t take any steps in the right direction. Sound familiar? If so, don\u2019t shrug it off any longer. Saving money can begin right now, and you can start in small ways. Here are several easy ways to increase your savings \u2026<\/p>\n

Secret #1: \u201cPut it on the mantle\u201d<\/strong>
\nMy grandmother used to use that phrase when I was making a major decision, generally related to a purchase. She would say \u201cput it on the mantle\u201d, meaning that I should set it aside and think on it. That\u2019s great advice, Gram! When you\u2019re considering a large purchase (like a car) or even small (like a pair of designer shoes), try putting it aside, even for just a week or two. Allow yourself time to think it through. If, after that time, you still feel it\u2019s a good idea, proceed \u2026 knowing it\u2019s not just an impulse buy. If not, don\u2019t. Most of us have made at least one (and probably more) purchases of this nature that we have later regretted. What if you had the money back for every such purchase? What if that money was collecting interest in your savings account? It could really add up.<\/p>\n

Secret #2: Pay yourself first<\/strong>
\nWhen you get a paycheck, you likely pay your rent first, your car payment second, your insurance third, and so on and so on. Somewhere at the VERY BOTTOM of your list is YOU. Why are you at the bottom? Probably because you know YOU won\u2019t penalize YOU if YOU don\u2019t make a payment to YOU. My point is this \u2026 hold yourself accountable. Start by putting money into your savings account FIRST. Take care of YOU before anyone else, so there are no excuses at the end of the month. Unless your monthly bills are higher than your monthly income, you should be able to determine a set, comfortable amount that goes into savings every month \u2026 no ifs, ands, or buts. Stick to it!<\/p>\n

Secret #3: Shop smarter<\/strong>
\nWe\u2019re all in a hurry, so it\u2019s easy to grab items like snacks or coffee when convenient. But think about it \u2026 if you stop at a convenience store for a 12 oz. coffee every morning, that\u2019s probably about $1.75 you\u2019re spending every day \u2026 that adds up to over $600 every year! What if, instead, you bought a $10 coffee maker for your office and bought your coffee grounds in bulk? How much money could you save? And how could interest affect what you\u2019re saving? If you saved just $600 per year and earned a 5% rate of return, after 30 years you could potentially have more than $30,000 \u2026 and that\u2019s after taxes! Start paying more attention to those \u201clittle\u201d expenditures. They can really add up!<\/p>\n

Secret #4: See your destination<\/strong>
\nThey say that hindsight is 20\/20. Think about this: if 10 years ago you began saving just $200 per month in a shoe box under your bed, then today that shoe box would have $24,000 in it! Unfortunately, you can\u2019t go back in time. But you CAN look ahead. Use a financial calculator (there are free calculators available online) and start plugging in numbers \u2026 calculate where you could be in 5-20 years depending on how much you\u2019re willing to save today. Once you know what you COULD achieve, saving money could become your favorite pastime. A competition (with yourself) to see how much you can increase your future net worth. Have fun with it!<\/p>\n

Secret #5: Ditch the shoebox<\/strong>
\nSpeaking of that hypothetical shoebox under your bed \u2026 the money in that box might collect dust, but it won\u2019t collect interest. And while I seriously doubt that you keep money in a shoebox, take a moment to consider WHERE and HOW you save your money. While a traditional savings account can earn you interest, there are other options available to you that could potentially earn you more. It\u2019s a good idea to learn all you can and make informed decisions about your money.<\/p>\n

While saving money is important, where and how you choose retain and grow that money can have a significant impact on your net worth in the years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to increase your savings without significantly lowering your quality of life. What\u2019s the problem? In general, when it comes to a lack of savings, it is often not a question of low income, but a matter of high spending. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billlosey.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}