The Importance Of Saving More On Everything
BOSTON (CBS) - We did a series in July on ways to save and I heard from many listeners. Some sharing their successes and others saying it was not for them, just too much time and work.
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.
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 that 10 or 20% for a down payment.
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 (2012) is $1229!
Think about living on that. Can you buy groceries, buy gas for the car, pay the electric bill, pay the rent, and buy your meds for $1229 a month? Possibly, if you are living in a trailer in Tennessee or Oklahoma or if you are willing to cross over the border to 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.
