|
How to save $200,000 dollars in 6 months Part 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Before, Holder says, she and her husband would have put many expenses on a credit card. "Now, if we need new tires, we discuss how we're going to approach it: 'OK, if we put away $20 a week, we can get them by the end of summer,' " she says.
"Instead of owing more, we can just save for it."
The secrets of savers According to Garver, about 60 women have joined the Savers since January, and altogether they have saved $200,000 and counting.
As with the Women in Red Racers, who are "racing" to pay down their debts, the Savers say community support is a big reason they keep saving.
Amanda Bellamy, an avid saver who works for the city of Mission Viejo, Calif., says she had never told anyone about all of her savings strategies and goals. "It's not the kind of thing you talk about."
The Savers do. But it's not just a cheerleading squad. Savers inspire each other by swapping all sorts of tricks and tips:
1) Divide and conquer. Many Savers swear by the power of multiple savings accounts. When funds are earmarked for, say, house repairs, you're less likely to tap them for your cell-phone bill, Garver says.
More from MSN Money Save your 'emergency fund' for the real thing Haircuts, car repairs on the cheap The $0 emergency fund Why you need $500 in the bank Too broke to save money? Never
2) Let yourself "find" money. Garver says that one big surprise for women when they join the group is that "there's a lot of 'found money' out there -- money that would otherwise trickle away," she says, referring to the bits of cash that float through our lives (a refund from the telephone company, for example, or $10 you find at the bottom of your purse).
Rather than ignore a mini-windfall, she says, "Now they're excited to hang on to it."
3) Do what works. In the six months she has been monitoring the group, Garver says, she has seen people employ many different successful saving methods. There's no "right" way, she emphasizes. Some strategies:
Set aside a fixed amount or percentage each week or each month.
Start with a goal of saving $2,000, for example, and break that down to an amount you can manage each month.
Save only the extras: refunds, overtime pay, interest earned, gift money, bonuses.
Some Savers try to live on one biweekly paycheck and save all or most of the next one.
4) Don't succumb to savings blues. The trouble with saving, Garver says, is that most of the time you end up spending the savings on a designated goal. "A lot of people go through some disappointment when they see that money go," she says. "It can be a downer."
To stay on track, Garver advises, it's important to acknowledge that the money you spent was spent wisely -- and then to keep on saving.
Video on MSN Money Budget your way to smarter spending
The "B" word isn't a straitjacket on fun. Here's how to start a budget and find the leaks in your wallet.
5) Play games. The Savers I talked to emphasized that saving, especially in a group, can and should be fun.
Bellamy puts aside $5 every time her boyfriend does something sweet, such as taking her out to dinner.
My husband and I save all our $5 bills. That's our mad money.
Holder separates her spare change in different buckets, to make it easier to roll. "I think I have $100 that we can put toward our house fund."
Bellamy gets 26 paychecks a year but has learned to live on two per month, so the "extra" two checks each year go toward her car loan or other goals. Thus far, she has paid down a $13,500 loan to just $1,500. "It will be paid off in August," she says.
And last but not least:
6) Put your money on automatic pilot. The oldest new trick in this high-tech era is still one that most Savers swear by (including yours truly): Use automatic transfers to save.
That's because, as we all know, money left in your checking account is magnetically drawn to the inside of your wallet. Put it out of immediate reach.
Holder has peace of mind in the present, and she looks forward to the future: buying a home, sending their son to college and one day retiring in comfort. "You have to be able to live life," she says.
Published July 11, 2007
Sakura1406 · Fri Jul 20, 2007 @ 05:27pm · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|