“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” Luke 19:17
There are many small ways to reduce costs in our every day lives, so to help do just that each week I post a money saving “Tip of the Week”.
This weeks tip involves…ways to boost your savings!
The King of Fads
Back in the 80’s Michael Jackson was not only The King of Pop — he was also The King of Fads.
If a company could get MJ to endorse their product, it would instantly blast off into the realm of over-night success. Just consider for a moment his orange jacket with 100 zippers pictured. What kid growing up in the 80’s didn’t have, or at least desparately want one of those? Where they a necessity? Was it practical? Absolutely not… but it was “cool” and that is a testament to the power & influence of the infamous King of Pop!
A lot of fads come & go be it clothing, housewares, automobiles… there is always some new & exciting product that advertisers & culture dictate as “must haves”! If you pay attention to these trends you will see that all of them come & go with the passing of time. Most of them don’t even last an entire season… rushing into our lives, then fleeting away just like the passing of another day.
Today I wanted to offer up some tips that will NEVER go out of style! These are sound money tips that can be employed by you, or by Michael Jackson’s kids. It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you have, you still need to manage it wisely.
Instead of spending your money on the latest fads & trends, inventory your stuff to see what you already own then make it useful or give it to charity & write it off on your taxes. Then take all the money you save by not buying loads of new toys, clothes, household items, etc… and establish an automated plan to save your money. Focus on saving percentages of your money. Even if you can only save 1%, then save that 1%. Then establish progressive goals to save progressively higher percentages as time goes by. It doesn’t matter if you are saving $5 a month, or $500,000 a month — just save whatever you can. Trust me… you will never miss the difference!
My wife & I use Capital One 360 for our banking needs, which I highly recommend. Capital One 360 has an awesome feature called their “Automatic Savings Plan” that allows you to automate your savings in whatever way you wish. We are currently saving 5% of our money, but have progressive goals in place to increase that over time as we pay off more debt & inch closer & closer to financial freedom & independence!
So What’s The Answer?
Here are my tips for boosting your savings:
- Spend less than you earn! Michael Jackson’s kids are being left with a legacy and rumor has it, not a whole lot more. Just like the rest of us, they need to learn how to properly manage their finances, and save their money! Remember… no matter how much dough you have, you can only make so many cookies!
- Now matter how “little” it is… just make sure you save something every month! As I mentioned above, don’t worry about how much your are saving… just start saving. You will be amazed how fast it adds up and how you will never even notice that small percentage of money no longer funding your bad spending habits!
- Set savings goals! Create both short-term & long-term savings goals… that way you know where you are heading, what you are trying to accomplish, & can receive encouragement as you reach your smaller goals enroute to your more long-term goals. A few of my long-term goals include reaching $100,000 saved, and also saving 50% or more of my income.
- Automate your savings! Take the amount you decided on in tip #2 and set up a plan to automatically save that money every month. The best advice I can give you is to set it up in some automatic format, so you do not have to think about doing it every month. See if your bank offers an automated savings plan. If they do not, consider opening an Capital One 360 savings account which allows for automatic & easy money distribution. Remember… just set it & forget it.
- If nothing else – hide it well! If you’re one of those people who just wants to hide their money… just make sure you hide your money in a safe place.
Remember… saving your money never goes out of style!
Whether you are the ever-famous children of the late Michael Jackson, or if you are just a regular Joe… saving your money is something that will be fashionable until the end of time!
Click here to see all our past DFA Tips of the Week.
DFA is passionately dedicated to helping people break the bondage of debt & work toward financial freedom using biblical principles.
Sometimes the basics like spending less than you earn and automating savings are the things that most people forget to do. Good reminders!
Often people think “oh it’s only $50 no point in saving” they believe saving large amounts is the only way you can build a savings…….small amounts over time can add up quickly and more importantly it will get you in the habit of saving.
p.s. it seems like it’s “how to save” day this is now the fourth post i came across that talks about how to save 😉
I had never seen MJ’s kids before yesterday. In fact, it was a little surreal to see them. Especially Paris. God bless her!
I wish them the absolute best and pray they do not let the demons that often surround unguarded money to affect their lives!!
You are really inspiring me to become more formal with my budget and savings! I actually accessed the Google Docs for budgeting that you recommended the other day and told my husband, who is working in Florida, to save his receipts so I can see what he is spending down there. Supporting two households definitely complicates things, but it can be done. The first thing I did was to set up a separate bank account to transfer money for him to access for his expenses. That gives him a budget figure to work with. Much to easy to blindly use that debit card, since I handle our finances. My friend Dan has been harping at me to save, even if its five bucks, he says. So, I guess I will listen and start taking your great advice. Thanks!
I am so glad that I could motivate even one person to strive toward more freedom regarding their finances! I have a burden to spread the word…
Congrats on working to gain greater control over your personal finances! Just that fact alone is very liberating.
Even if we still have debt, making any positive steps in the right direction is so encouraging… and addictive I might add!
I wholeheartedly agree with your friend Dan. It is inexplicably important that we work to pay ourselves first, no matter how small the amount!
Have you started using the Google Docs spreadsheets for budgeting? I am using the Family Budget Planner one and like it a lot so far.
Matt–Nothing to add to your advice on savings, it’s solid. But a comment or two on the fad issue.
It’s easy enough to identify fads when they’re in the form of something as outrageous as an orange jacket with 100 zippers. But what when it’s more subtle, such as the latest must have, gadget du jour? Or the hottest vacation spot? Or the newest restaurant in town?
All of these are fads as well, and in order to maximize the amount we save, fads in any form are best avoided. Real value is found in the things that are overlooked, not the ones everyone’s stampeding to buy.
Great points you have made here Kevin!
I will point you to an article I recently wrote on FiveCentNickel.com that addresses “Breaking Free From a Culture of Temptation”.
Before I buy anything now, I scrutinize my need for the product, then look to see if I can use anything I already have, then move on from there… Usually I find that I do not need it, or that I already have something that works just fine.
Brilliant ideas! Love this part: Instead of spending your money on the latest fads & trends, inventory your stuff to see what you already own then make it useful or give it to charity & write it off on your taxes.
Shared, tweeted and stumbled with me network, thanks for sharing!