No, the title isn’t clickbait. It’s 100% true.
Sure, it won’t be the only $100 in your account once you’re done, but every self made person started out saving $100.
Somehow, we all figured out a way to spend an average of $967.13 on Christmas last month, so we all know it’s possible to squeeze a little more out of our paychecks. Let’s do it for ourselves rather than the big-box retailers.
Now, before you think I’m going to walk down the same old path of “stop drinking starbucks!” or some other tried-and-true nonsense, understand that becoming debt free is a marathon, not a sprint. As such, it’s about doing the same things you do now, just smarter. Sure, you can go whole hog and get ‘er dun, but if most of us could do that we already would have. Here are some realistic, and proven, ideas that may help.
If you smoke, you’ve probably heard every non-smoker in the world tell you how it’s all smoking’s fault that you’re broke. Whatever. Yes, quitting is a vastly preferable option, but as an on again off again smoker, I know how hard it is to quit. That doesn’t mean that you have to blow literally hundreds of dollars a month on a habit that’s killing you. You can keep smoking, but use a Powermatic 2 Plus instead. This is what I did when I smoked cigarettes. I bought bulk tobacco and tubes, and could roll an entire pack of cigarettes for well under a buck. Depending on cigarette prices in your area and how much you smoke, the machine can pay for itself within a paycheck and gets you well along the way to saving $100 in the very next paycheck.
I knew a girl once who saved hundreds of dollars a month by buying video games. Yes, you read that right. She bought video games to save money! She had a problem of going out to the bar several nights a week and would spend $50+ dollars per night just on the “entertainment” at the bar. In order to still have a way to unwind after work, she would buy a video game, and instead of spending $6+ per drink at the bar, she could go home after work and play video games. Even though she still drank, it was at dramatically lower prices. The games payed for themselves, and there were hundreds of dollars left on the table at the end of every month.
Sure, there are other more drastic ways to save $100. You could cut your cable. You could never go out to eat. You could spend every waking moment collecting recyclables, clipping coupons, or radically changing your diet. That’s not the point of this article. The point here, on your very first goal of your financial future, is to not have to break two habits at once.
What both examples above allow you to do is to know yourself, and to work within your existing wants, needs, and habits.
Living paycheck to paycheck is a habit. Debt is a habit. The way we spend and save money is more by habit than by choice. Cut yourself some slack 🙂 You’ll get there, but one step at a time. Should we all quit smoking, stop drinking, and cut fast food out of our diet? Sure, and each of those habits would save us an over $100/month on average in America (google it, it’s true!), but that’s not the point here.
If you try to save money by breaking another habit, you’ll just give up on getting financially free if you fall off the wagon. Instead, let’s just modify the way we consume our favorite “bad” habits in a way that eases us into our financial future.
Once we have a plan to get to $100 in savings, the next question is “Why?”. The answer is twofold. First, many times our surprise expenses are under or around $100. Brakes on the car. The heat bill being higher than we expected. A bill just slipping our mind and incurring overdraft fees. A consistent $100 cushion could literally save you thousands of dollars of interest payments and other fees. Secondly, with a little bit of self awareness and thought, literally everyone can save $100. It’s important to make all your goals (especially your first one) very attainable.
The next question is “now what”? Well, here’s your first tip. Don’t spend it.
If you need to have a second bank account, fine. If you need to take it to the bank and get a single nice, crisp $100 bill (which is harder psychologically to spend), do that too. Take that $100 bill and freeze it in a cup of water so it’s harder to reach for in an emergency.
Whatever you do, don’t go backwards. This is the start of something bigger than $100. this is a radically life changing journey. This money no longer exists unless it absolutely has to reappear. If and when it ever does have to reappear it should be a solemn occasion. The new iPhone, a fancy dinner out, or next Christmas is not a solemn occasion 🙂
If you’ve already got $100 stashed away, congratulations! What are some ways you’ve saved $100?
Stay awake my friends.