Thursday, February 14, 2008
1. Pray that God helps you save this year
One of the biggest mistakes we make is thinking that money is evil and that God is concerned with more “spiritual” things. Money is intensely spiritual. Pray that God makes you a frugal person and a fanatic saver/investor.
2. Find out where your money is going
One advantage of using Quicken is that you can have a print-out in seconds of what you spent last week, month, year, decade. Where is your money going? How much to debt service? Eating out? Housing expenses? We can’t change what we don’t track and understand.
3. Identify your “throw-away threshold”
Every person alive is willing to waste money. The question is how much? Starting with 1 cent and working your way up, at what point do you move from being unconcerned to concerned about waste? Years ago I identified $9 as my “throw-away threshold.” If I needed to eat out or was at the store and needed something that cost $4, $6, or $8, I bought it without thinking. Once I got to $9 I started to squirm a bit. Throwing away $10 was a problem. Mentally throwing away $9 wasn’t. $9 was my throw-away threshold. The problem was that $6, $7, or $8 is a lot of money when multiplied 15 or 20 times a month. Now I’m a fanatic about saving $9 bucks. I’m nuts about it. What’s your threshold? Your throw-away threshold is what stands in between you and creating wealth.
4. Reduce the top 30 elephants in your spending
The Italian economist Pareto said, “If you’re Noah, and your ark begins to sink, look for the elephants first.” What are the top 30 places you potentially waste the most money? Are there hidden fees? Is there a way to cut this cost altogether? Can you shop around for different services, stores, or online?
5. Create simple savings goals, in writing, together (if married)
Everyone says the same thing – save for retirement first, then sock 3-6 months into an emergency fund, then move on to big ticket items like a house, college for kids, and then expand from there. Blah, blah, blah. Who cares if one person has stellar financial goals if the other one doesn’t buy into them? My wife has always been the real saver in the family. But for years she would save and I would spend. It wasn’t until we identified common goals together that she got me to agree to modify my spending habits. I had to feel the goals first before I could change my habits.
6. Discipline yourself to put $100 into savings after every paycheck (and keep increasing by $25 until it starts to hurt)
Do this immediately. Do this before you even start cutting expenses.
7. Ask your vendors how to save money
Businesses view everyone they spend money with as “vendors” and negotiate in an on-going fashion how they can lower their costs. You should too. I’ve begun asking everyone I meet in the stores I frequent one simple question, “How can I save money here?”
8. Create a Yahoo or Gmail account and sign up for everything
Most vendors send coupons through email now. Sign up for every rewards program at every store you frequent, but give them your junk email account. Check that once a week or month and print off what you need.
9. Google “coupon codes” when shopping online
When I purchased an updated version of Willmaker 2008 I went to Google and typed, “Willmaker 2008 coupon code” and found a 15% off code on some website. I do that EVERY time I buy something online.
10. Transfer the money you save immediately
One of the benefits of having an online savings account is you can transfer any amount of money at any time. If I save $40 at the grocery I will go home and immediately transfer $40 into my ING online savings account. That feeling feeds on itself over time. Start saving $100 a paycheck and then $40 and $20 and $60 here and there, and just watch how much you can save by the end of the month.
11. Identify your annual “Big Ticket” expenses and save ahead
Most people get into trouble not so much with monthly, on-going expenses, but with annual things they don’t plan for—vacation, Christmas, back to school, birthdays, etc. That was always the case with me. Have you identified the 4-5 “extra” things you will do/spend/need for 2008 and are you making plans to save accordingly?
12. Completely flip out on yourself for getting into consumer debt
Have you gotten sufficiently angry over robbing your 2008 savings because of 2007 debt? I’ve discovered things don’t change until I’m ticked off about them. Make right now the moment when you get hacked off enough to stop shooting yourself in the foot financially. Get mad enough to change. Remember, it’s never too late to change, ever. But you probably won’t change until you get mad first.
Live frugally. Give generously. Live well.
Brian
12 Ways To Save Big (Frugal Pastor—Part 2)
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2 comments:
OK, so not to be to overly picky ... #9 coupon codes ... in working in retail dealing with online codes, more often than not these codes are not to be transferred. Granted someone else is posting them, but where do you draw the line? It was not sent directly to you, do you have the right to spend it?
I know I am nit picky and I would not go as so far as saying that is stealing, I guess it is more of a moral thought ... I will follow this for any insight.
That's a great point. However, every store in America buys paper and mailing lists and mails coupons to a specific person each week. I get them every Wednesday. You get them once a week. You also get direct mailers. Etc.
Unless something says right on the coupon (or coupon code) "not transferable" then there is no legal stipulation that prevents someone else from using it. Wouldn't you agree?
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