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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 anywherelong
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 theextra 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 maxed 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.
4. 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
5. 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.
About the author
Joyce Moseley Pierce is a freelance writer and owner of Emerson
Publications. She is the creator of "All
They'll Need to Know", a Christian Homemaking recommended
publication, and the editor of The Family First Newsletter, an ezine for
families with young children.
http://www.emersonpublications.com/famfirst.htm
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