Money Matters - More Savings: Save On Everything You Purchase
BOSTON (CBS) - We did a series earlier in the summer on ways to save and I heard from a lot of listeners. Some sharing their successes and others saying it was just too much work and they did not have the time.
Saving money does mean you have to spend your time to accomplish it, but it becomes a challenge. And if you could save $100 on groceries and spend 2 hours that is the equivalent of getting paid $50 an hour.
We know we should save but instead many end up going into debt using their credit cards to buy stuff. The more debt you carry the less apt you are to achieve the bigger financial goals you may have.
Almost every goal we set or decision we make as adults has a financial component. You want the American dream; a house, kids and a comfortable retirement.
To buy that first house you need a down payment. No more loans for a 100%. You have to save to get there.
Having kids makes you start thinking about college. You know that a college degree for most kids means a better job. But have you thought about how to pay for college? How much do you need to save?
You also want a comfortable retirement. You need to save money to have a comfortable retirement. The average monthly Social Security check for this year (2011) is $1153!
Think about living on that. Can you buy groceries, buy gas for the car, pay the electric bill, pay the rent, buy your meds for $1153 a month? Maybe, just maybe, if you are living in a trailer in Arkansas or Mexico!
In order to achieve your dreams you are going to have to save more money and learn to invest. Now if you are living paycheck to paycheck or worse if you have found yourself in debt spending more than you earn because those credit cards tempt you, achieving your dreams could be close to impossible.
There are ways to save. Ways to save on everything we do or purchase. So my plan is a Spending Plan.
I don't want you to give up the things you think are important just figure out a way to pay less for them. You can spend your money but spend it more wisely and if you are able to save on everything you purchase you could have those extras dollars needed to achieve your goals.
Saving 10% of your net pay would be a good beginning. Saving 10-40% on everything you need to purchase is a way to achieve that.
