Top 10 ways to save money

Top 10 ways to save money and become a millionaire

If you are looking for some rather great ways to save money then look no further than here. However, I will warn you that these suggestions do not include buy stocks and bonds but lean heavily towards everyday common ways we blow money and do not even realize it. So, are you ready to see the light on your path to becoming a millionaire? Let’s get started!

Number 10: This is one of my favorites but I am sticking it dead last at number ten for a reason. I figure if I am going to offend anyone, might as well get an early jump on things. So, at number 10: learn to say, ‘I’m broke.’ Seriously, if you have a family member or friend that likes to borrow money all the time, tell them you are broke. Even if you do have the extra money, DO NOT, GIVE IT TO THEM! If I had all of the money I have given to family and friend through the years, I would be pretty, wealthy right now. Notice that I did not say loan because only one of my siblings has ever attempted to pay me back.

Number 9: Learn how to walk. Okay, so maybe you are on your feet and learned to walk years ago but with soaring gas prices…it is time to learn to walk, all over again. Having a vehicle is not necessarily a necessity. Sure, it beats walking and it makes getting your groceries home. However, think about the money you would save in gas if you walked, rode the bus or caught a ride with a friend going to the grocery store. Car Pooling is no longer just for work but it is a great idea for grocery store trips, running other errands or taking the kids to school. Getting to know your neighbors could save all of you a bundle in gas by sharing the cost of these chores.

Number 8: Grocery store shopping is almost an addiction for some. I have seen many people feel some crazy urge to go grocery shopping nearly every day of the week. There is an easy solution for that problem. Check your local Sunday newspaper for coupons and sales. Weigh out the sale to see if you actually could save money and write up a list of the meals for the week. The real trick is sticking to the list. Avoid buying anything that is not on the list. Name brand foods are no better than store brand in many cases. So, if you are standing there looking at two cans of peas, buy the cheapest one you can find. In addition, stores always put their sales items on what they call, ‘End-Caps,’ so, be sure to check the end caps before you head down the aisle and make a mental note of what they have on sale and is it really a sale? Another good idea starts the instant you walk inside the store. Most, if not all, grocery stores put their sales papers in a basket close to the entrances. Do yourself a favor and grab one. Through the years, I have met several people that like buying items in bulk while they are on sale and stocking up. I totally disagree with this method with very few exceptions. Unless the product is something I know I will consume a boatload of without becoming, burned out on it, why waste the extra money just to sit on those twenty cans of green beans?

Number 7: Do yourself a huge favor and avoid over-draft protection like the plague. If your bank forces you to take over-draft protection with your banking account, close the account and be glad you did. Over-draft protection cost me $3,500 in damages thanks to my identity being, stolen. When I asked the bank to remove that protection from my account, they refused saying it was required by law. I closed the account. I have absolutely no problem saving a huge amount of money from keeping that from happening to me again and I do not get, charged those silly fees for using someone else’s ATM. So, do yourself, a huge favor and ask yourself if it really is worth all the extra fees and overdraft protection just to look cool with your little piece of plastic in your hand? You are much better off with keeping the bulk of your money in a savings account and keep some cash on hand. There are too many ways for your credit card number to get ripped off in this day and age.

Number 6: Taxes, you have got to love those unwanted taxes. Granted, taxes supposedly go for good thing but throughout the years, many people have said, ‘I file zero throughout the year and that way I get it back.’ Umm, yeah okay…whatever. Truthfully, you will get a percentage back and that percentage will not amount to a hill of beans. If you want to save money on taxes, learn everything you can about taxes. Become a full-time student. If you look on your tax papers, it clearly says you are exempt if you are a full-time student. This incentive is to get Americans to constantly, update their knowledge and skills. This might not apply to all states but do yourself a huge favor. Refrain from filling out any tax form without carefully reading it and learning how you can best avoid paying too much in taxes. One man went, as far as to emancipate himself from the United States to avoid paying taxes, period and successfully did so. I am not saying this will work for you but do your homework when it comes to taxes, which could literally save you thousands each year.

Number 5: I cannot believe I am only halfway through this article and I have already typed three pages worth of financial advice. Anyway, here is number five in all of its glory. Too much stock is, placed on how a person dresses. For example, I worked for one company where the big bosses walked around in 8-10,000 dollar suits. Sure, they could afford it but just because I can afford a prime rib, dinner does not mean I am going to spend that much money on one. Special occasions do require one to look presentable but looking good does not have to cost a fortune. For example, why wear a $125 dress shirt when you can buy one for twenty bucks in the same color? Save the money, you spend on clothes by only buying what you actually need. No one needs to own twenty pairs of shoes or thirty purses. There are seven days in a week, which means you need seven outfits, seven pairs of socks and seven pairs of underwear. Any more than this is excessive and a waste of money. All you need past this is a nice dress outfit or two and learn to mix and match.

Number 4: Electricity is a huge, ‘do’s and don’ts,’ list waiting to happen. As most of us know, turn off lights when you leave a room. However, you should also make sure to turn off all power strips you sue for computers, video games systems and otherwise. Sure, this will set you electronics to default mode. However, did you know that your television, stereo, video games system and computers still pull power even when you think they are off? They sure do and you are wasting a bundle in electric bills each month just by leaving them plugged in. Use power strips so you can flip the switch off at night and you will see your power bill drop dramatically. Many of these items actually pull the same amount of electricity when they are off as they do when they are, turned on. Another recommendation I always suggest to my friends is buy those cute little energy saver light bulbs. Those things actually do work to save on your light bill without an ill effect. Fact is, I placed them throughout my entire house and when everyone else’s, light bill shot up forty bucks a few years back, mine stayed the same. In addition, I have yet to replace any of them in the past two years with one exception making them worth every penny I paid when I bought them on sale.

Number 3: Cable television is a huge waste of money. I save over $540 a year but not having cable. Instead, I have the internet which allows me to watch my favorite shows, go online to write and do research and I am good with this. Depending on your cable or satellite package, you could save a huge fortune by shutting off the cable. What inspired me to do this was the fact that I grew tired of paying to watch commercials. That is exactly what you are paying for…commercials. So, save yourself a bundle and ditch the cable or satellite TV.

Number 2: My apologies go to Alexander Graham Bell. Still, while you are cutting cost, get rid of your, house phone. Well, not entirely. Did you know that even without phone service you could still use your house phone to make 9-1-1 calls? You sure can, since this is the day and age of cell phones anyway, why keep something you do not need. That’s an extra $480 you will save each year just on something you really do not need.

Number 1: Oh, it so about time I reached this part. My all-time favorite way to save money is really my personal favorite. Are you ready? Okay, and with a drum roll, the number one way to save money is also the craziest way but it really does work. Every week, deposit seven dollar into a savings account with your bank. That equates to one dollar a day. Now then, compound that money with interest and it might not seem like a lot at first but after one hundred years, you should have one million dollars in that savings account. Okay, so when you finish laughing, think about this. If you did the same thing with $5 a day, at 10% compounded interest you would be a millionaire in 40 years. Still does not sound too promising for the middle-aged but let us go back to all the other top 9 ways to save money. Add in the extra $125 dollars a month from lights, cable and phone into that savings account each month. Now, let us say you saved an extra $200 in groceries, which brings us up to $325 a month plus the $150 a day from the $5 a day challenge and you are saving $600 a month. Now then, if you take the advice of carpooling for more than just work, you will save another $200 a month, roughly. Now, we are up to $800 month you are saving.

$800 x .05 = $40

Okay, so now you have $840 in your savings account. Drop in the next $800 and you have:

$1640 x .05 = $82

In two months, you have over $1600 bucks in the bank. Unfortunately, I do not know the exact mathematical formula for projecting how long it would take you to hit the millionaire marker but I do know that the facts provided in the previous paragraph are tested and true. Therefore, it is safe to assume you would hit the marker within fifteen to twenty years.

However, if you really work hard at this, stay on top of saving and invest the money wisely, in a Roth IRA or other investment platform, you should have a million dollars accumulated within 5 years at 10% compounded interest. I bet you stopped laughing, huh? Ideally, you can save $400 a month the same way, make the same investment and hit the millionaire marker within 10 years. Just remember, the less you save the longer it will take.