There are lots of ways to save money. In times like this, you have to tighten your budget and minimize your daily expenses. It may sound challenging to others but to some, this is their practical way to save the day. Every penny counts. If you save $1 a day, that would be a savings of $30 a month, or $365 in a year. You may say that it may not be that much but this is just a way to develop your own money-saving habit. Once habit becomes a daily thing to do, it becomes a character.
A woman making the average annual salary of $31,000 saves a measly $500 a year-less than 2 percent of her income, according to research. That's not even close to the 10 percent experts recommend. Why don't women save? They tend to put it off till they have a new job or get married. But by procrastinating, you lose out on compound interest (a.k.a free money).
A woman making the average annual salary of $31,000 saves a measly $500 a year-less than 2 percent of her income, according to research. That's not even close to the 10 percent experts recommend. Why don't women save? They tend to put it off till they have a new job or get married. But by procrastinating, you lose out on compound interest (a.k.a free money).
Here are the 5 ways to build a bigger nest egg:
- Reduce your spending by just $5 a day. Brown-bag your lunch, get regular coffee instead of Frapuccino, and boom! You've done it! Follow this plan and you'll save about $150 a month., or $1,800 a year.
- Do not neglect to sign up for your 401(k). Contribute as much as you can, since you will get a tax break on the money you invest.
- Arrange to have money deducted automatically from your paycheck and placed directly into a savings account or mutual fund if your employer does not offer a 401(k). When you make your cash a little harder to get to, you will be a lot less likely to spend.
- Do not hit the ATM more than once a week, unless you are in a serious pinch (no, a sample sale does not count). According to Lois Frankel, author of Nice Girls Don't Get Rich, "Women don't accumulate as much wealth as men partly because we spend more freely on impulse purchases."
- Hunt for savings everywhere. Go to pfblog.com, ftc.gov, soundmoneytips.com for advice on everything from cheap car insurance, lowering utility bills to banks with interests on savings account.
