If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know I am big on promoting transformation and growth in ALL aspects of life. You should be concerned with transforming your body, but don’t forget about you mind, soul, and finances.
In some ways reigning in your spending can be harder than controlling your diet. As tasty as cookies and cupcakes can be, what about the thought of a new home entertainment system? But it isn’t only the big ticket items, what about that Starbucks coffee you buy each morning?
Try the “latte factor” calculator available at this link. I ran through the calculator the $3 dollars I spent almost daily while in college for the two slices and a drink special at the local pizza place. If I had put that money in an IRA account at 7.5% interest here is what could have happened:
2 years = $2,092
5 years = $5,855
10 years = $14,260
15 years = $26,327
20 years = $43,651
Wow. That pizza was good, but it wasn’t that good. Do you see how simple it is to save for retirement (or about anything else).
So now that you see how easy it can be to save, maybe it is time you take some control over your finances. My wife and I are starting this process August 1 (the day we become a two income family).
Below I have provided LOTS of links on getting your finances in order as well as tips on saving money. But for now (before the page break) I want to offer what has been the BIGGEST savings for our family thus far.
PAY ATTENTION! We used to use our debit/credit card to buy groceries at Kroger and Wal-mart. We had no food budget to speak of. So when I went into our on-line bank account and tallied all our trips to Wal-mart and Kroger together I found out that some months we spent as much as $750 bucks at those two stores (the average was about $600). That was insane!
So what did we do? We decided on a reasonable food budget ($250 bucks) and put $250 bucks cash in an envelope that we bring whenever we visit the grocery store. When that money runs out we stop buying groceries. As a result. We cut out about$350 to $450 dollars wasted each month on impulse items and other non-essentials.
Wanna go the extra mile? Make a list before you go and STICK TO IT! Between your list and the knowledge that you only have so much money to spend you will do wonders to cut back on that food budget.
TotalTransformationTest 