Find areas in your budget that you may be able to live without.
Here are 10 quick and easy ideas for generating an extra $250 a month that can be used to pay down debt or redirect to your retirement savings:
Savings Idea / Minimum Monthly Savings
- Cut out the boutique morning coffee — make at home, $35
- Drop or reduce cable TV – you can find most shows online for free, $40
- Stop eating out one or two nights a month, $80 (family of four)
- Borrow two movies from your local library instead of paying for movie tickets or renting, $20
- Make a list before going to the grocery store, $20
- Invite friends over for dinner rather than meeting out, $40
- Properly inflate your car’s tires & clean the air filter, $10 (car mechanic recommendation)
- Instead of going to the mall, check out your town’s recreational areas & entertainment offerings, $20
- Buy staples in bulk, such as canned tuna, paper products, soda and laundry soap, $10
- 10. Audit your credit card statements for any repeat charges that you no longer need or use, $20
TOTAL MONTHLY SAVINGS, $250
*If you found an extra $250 per month to invest in a retirement plan, you could lower your tax bill and 10 years later contribute an additional $30,000 that could grow to over $40,000 with a reasonable amount of risk in the stock and bond markets to achieve a 6% rate of return per year.
There is vast plain of ideas that people use to find or save money so that they can improve their financial lives. If you have any ideas that have worked well for you, please share them.
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This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal or investment advice. If you are seeking investment advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.