Saving When Money is Tight

My blog readers know how strongly I feel about saving for your retirement years—no matter your age, income or current spending habits, now is the time to save and plan for your golden years.

In your mind you may be thinking, “Joe, you just don’t understand!  Money is tight!”  I get it.  You’re not alone.  A lot of people these days are under financial stress.  But I think that most people can still cut costs and save, no matter the financial situation.  Here are some things I’d like you to think about.

 Practice the Saving Exercise: Multiply by 7

I recently spotted this exercise and think it’s a good one.  Go around your house and pinpoint items you bought but don’t use.  Add up their cost and multiply it by seven.  For example, if you spot a piece of exercise equipment, clothing, some shoes, and a kitchen appliance that equal about $1,000, that becomes $7,000.  That larger amount is how much money you would have today if you hadn’t wasted it but invested it for 20 years.  The next time you’re shopping, I want you to visualize that $7,000 before deciding if what you’re going to buy is worth the long-term expense. 

Here are a few more tips that I like:

• Ignore Your Friends and Neighbors.  Don’t ignore the people, but do ignore their stuff.  Don’t fall into the trap of comparing what you have to someone else, or get caught up in wanting the latest gadget or car like your friends.
• Don’t Spend on Ideals.  Don’t buy a new bicycle when you rarely have time to go for a bike ride, a fancy new outfit when you have no place to wear it or an instrument for your child if you’re not sure he’ll stick with it.
• Save Before You See It.  Automatically deposit money from your paycheck into your savings.  Start small and then increase the amount.
• The Wait Rule.  When you want to buy something for yourself (other than groceries or necessities), give yourself a 48-hour mandatory wait period to prevent impulse buys that you’ll later regret.
• De-stress for Free.  Don’t go to the mall or out to eat to unwind.  Go for a walk, do yoga, check out a movie from the library, play with your pet, take in a free community concert or go to the playground with your kids.
• BYO.  Bring your own water in a reusable bottle, make coffee from home, pack a lunch and bring snacks so you can avoid the vending machine.
• Stay the course.  When you’re feeling overwhelmed, know that every little bit you can save helps.  Make a financial mistake?  Learn from it and move on.  Keep going and know that what you do now will help you later in life.

Comprehensive planning is available to you when you partner with a knowledgeable professional like those at Secured Retirement Advisors. In order to help you, we have recently updated our website and now offer many FREE down-loadable resources which can help answer many retirement questions. Feel free to visit us at www.securedretirements.com and help yourself to our educational materials.  If you would like a complementary “3 Step Review” of your own retirement plan, call Secured Retirement Advisors at 952-460-3260.