This article covers some of the big excuses people give for not saving more money.
1) I don't make enough money
This is just silly. Everyone can find small things to cut out of their life that they don't need and can save them money. Saving just $5 a day (most of us can cut that out of our food spending) amounts to over $1500 per year.
2) I'll get around to it later. See my post linking on compound interest. Saving earlier means saving more, even if you stop saving later!
3) I deserve a little luxury in my life. I've posted recently on rewarding yourself for financial decisions. A little luxury you deserve, but be sure you are not just spending money on the first thing that you think you want.
4) Someone else will take care of it. FALSE. You are responsible for your own wealth production.
5) I've saving through my 401(k). Great! But you can do more.
6) This item or service will pay for itself. There are some items that will do this. The example I've given before is books. A book that teaches you something about making money can generate a return on investment. Most items (that cool exhaust on your car) will never bring you any return.
Check out the article for more examples.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Six (Worthless) Excuses to not save money
Save money on electric bills
A great way to save money on your electric (or laundry) bills is to hang some or all of your clothes instead of using the dryer. It's easy, just hang your clothes or lay them on something and let them dry over night.
There are many benefits:
- use less electricty (=save money on electric bill)
- less wear on your dryer (=save money)
- less money spent on laundry (if you use a laudramat)
- less heat produced by the dryer in the summer (cut down AC bills)
- get more moisture in your apartment (With the AC on all summer or the heat in the winter it gets very dry in my apartment)
- less wear on your clothes and no staticness when they dry.
Buyers Groups - buy in bulk
You can find people in your area who are also interested in saving money. These should be people you can shop with and trust. Each person can find low prices in the area for various items.
You can also get bulk rates if you get enough people together. I know people who collectively buy a side of beef each year and freeze it. This works well with most products. I do this with wine. I'll buy an entire case (usually you can mix and match). When you buy a case at my wine store they give you 10% off your whole purchase.
Minimally you can get a Costco or Sam's Club membership. They are inexpensive compared to the savings over a year. If you have room to store them, buy large packages of things you will eventually use.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Fidelity: avoiding investment mistakes
Fidelity has a page on typical mistakes made by investors. It's kind of boring, but good advice. Take a look here.
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