Most of us wish we could save more money. So why don't we? You say you've heard it all, but here you are in the same spot as last year.
This boils down to two things. The first is that most of us don't have a good handle on what our expenses are in relation to our income. The second reason we don't save more is because we're not aware of our money-sucking habits. Here are a few steps you can take to gain control and save more money. They take less time than you think. So why not get started today?
Gaining Control 1. Write Down Why You Want to Save. Write down all the reasons you want to save more money. The obvious things are for retirement, to buy a house, for college education, for travel, and for that special toy you want (car, boat, etc). Other reasons might be to have financial security, peace of mind, the ability to help others, to feel in control, and other non-tangible reasons. By being clear about why you want to save more, you'll be more likely to stick with it. Write these reasons down at the top of your budget and carry this around with you in your wallet.
2. Know Your Income. Know what your exact monthly income is by looking at your net pay. Sometimes we just mentally think of our gross income because it makes us feel better, but we need to look at the actual net number after taxes are deducted.
3. Do an Expense Inventory. Write down all your expenses for the month or type them into an excel spreadsheet. If you have time take a look at a few months to get an accurate average.
4. Calculate Your Monthly Net Income or Loss. Take your net income and subtract your net monthly expenses. That's the amount you are either saving or losing monthly. Congratulations. Now that you know the number, now you can do something about it.
5. Set a Budget. The easiest way is to use this free online budget service,
The Beehive. Alternatively, you could use software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money. Or if you like to keep it very simple, use an excel spreadsheet with a column for income sources and a column for expenses (including savings). The goal here is to allocate your monthly income to a monthly maximum for each expense type and a minimum for your savings goal.
6. Free Up Some Money (Cut Your Expenses). After you've tallied your expenses, review each one. Where can you make cuts? For instance do you use all the minutes on your cell phone plan? Could you downgrade? How about your home phone? Could you do without it? Do you watch enough TV to justify all the cable channels you have? Call the cable company to find out how you could downgrade. $20 here, $40 there, another $60, and suddenly you've freed up $100/month that could go towards savings or debt reduction.
7. Pay Off Credit Cards First. If you have credit card debt that charges more than your savings account pays, then the most sensible decision is to pay down your debt first. Switch to the lowest rate you can while you pay it off. After you have paid off your credit cards, only buy what you can pay off at the end of each month. If you have trouble controlling spending, then close your credit card accounts and use cash.
8. Add to Your Income: - Second Job - choose something you like to do anyway. If you like to fish, get a job in a fishing supply store, or maybe offer classes on how to fish. Check out the book 150 Jobs You Can Start Today for some ideas such as Massage Therapist, Wedding Planner, Music Teacher, Artist’s Model, Personal Assistant, Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer, Sports Referee, Pet Care, Professional Companion and more.
- Sell Products from Network Marketing Programs -Avon, Mark, Tupperware, Mary Kay, Arbonne, The Pampered Chef, Shaklee, Amway, and more. Perhaps you could sell these products at your local weekend flea market.
- Start a Blog or Website with Advertisements - write about what interests you and have advertising that will appeal to your readers. This one will most likely take some time to generate income, but stick with it and you'll add some cash to your bottom line. Here is a list of resources for making money with a blog. And here is a resource for how to start a blog.
- Sell stuff on Ebay! Start by cleaning out your house of all the things you don't really need. Remember, one person's garbage is another person's treasure.
- Freelance Writing. There are many good books on this topic. Click here to find some of them at Amazon.
Money Saving Habits 1. Try Out Books Before Buying. Use your local library. You can get more than just books these days. Borrow movies and music for free. Audiobooks complete with their own mp3 player are available. And libraries are a great place to find out about arts and cultural events, which are often free too. One great trick that I love is requesting materials online. This way when I go into the library all I have to do is pick up the books, movies and music that I want. It's a great time saver.
2. Don't Go Shopping for Fun. This means catalogs too. If you don't see it, you won't desire it. If you don't desire it, you won't buy it. This will save you tons of money and time! If you love going to the bookstore, like I do, try this trick. Browse to your heart's content. Pick up all the books that interest you. Then when you're done "shopping," write down all the titles and authors. When you get home, go online and request them from your local library. Even if your local library doesn't have the book, often another library in their network will. If you love to go clothes shopping, be sure to refer to your budget first to see what you can afford.
3. Set Aside a Separate Savings Account. Having a separate account just for your savings has a couple of benefits. You can choose a bank, brokerage firm, or mutual fund company. You'll be able to more clearly see your progress, and also you'll be less likely to tap into it if it's not connected to your checking account. Be sure to look for the best rates as even small amounts over time make a big difference in the long run. Check out this guide to
Investing Made Easy. 4. Car Considerations. Think about how you use your car. Calculate all the expenses of your car including loan payments, insurance, gas, and maintenance. Could you do without a car? Could a used car serve you just as well? Could a smaller car serve you just as well? Run some numbers and then consider these options that could save you money:
- Raise Your Deductible on Your Insurance.
- Buy a More Gas-Efficient Car.
- Buy Used Car.
- Ditch the Second Car or Trade in for a Used Car.
- Ditch Your Car Altogether.
5. Seek Free or Used Products When You Need Something. Whenever you discover you need something, especially if it is pricey, see if you can get it for free on your local
Freecycle Network (yahoo group), in your local newspaper, or local swap service. Seek used items on either
Craigslist or
Ebay.
6. If You Can't Buy Used, Buy Online. Avoiding stores will benefit you in several ways. You save time driving around. You save money because you can find the best price. Often you can get free shipping from places like Amazon.com. You'll also save money because you won't be tempted to buy things you don't need.
7. Food and Drink. Cook your own food, brown bag your lunch, make your own coffee, and refill (and wash) your water bottle. Just look at coffee as an example. If you buy a $3 coffee every work day, that's $750 in one year. If you save that money and get a 5% compounded return over 10 years, you'll have nearly $11,000. And that's just coffee. Analyze your food and drink habits to see where you can save.
8. Entertainment. Take a look in your local newspaper for free and cheap arts and cultural events. Check out museums. Borrow movies from the library. Entertain at home with friends and family. All of these things can add up to big savings.
What ways do you save money? Please share! We'd love to hear from you!
译文:
是时候学会理财了
我们总希望能攒到更多的钱，但其实总是希望而已。总是嘴上说说，一年过去了，发现钱还是那么一点点。
这和两件事情有关：一是我们大多数人其实不怎么懂得量入为出；二是我们发现不了自己在哪些情况下比较大手大脚。这里我给大家提些理财建议，可以节省更多的钱。用这种方法攒到钱比你想的时间短，为什么不从今天开始就试试呢！
学会控制
1. 写下你想存钱的理由。写下所有你想存钱的理由。包括那些众所周知的原因，退休，买房，大学教育，旅行或者是一个你筹划已久的大件花销，车子，游艇等等。还包括其他的一些理由比如为了经济有保障，为了内心宁静，为了帮助他人，为了心里踏实，以及其他一些零碎的原因。只有知道为什么要省钱，你才有可能坚持下去。把这些理由写在你的预算的首要位置然后装在钱包里随身携带。
2. 了解自己的收入。根据实得工资清清楚楚的了自己到底月收入有多少。有时我们习惯估算一下增多的收入，感觉相当良好。但是我们应该明确的了解自己的工资在去税后到底还剩多少。
3. 做张消费清单。写下每个月的各项消费项目或者制作成电子表格。如果有时间的话隔几个月看一下估算一个平均值。
4. 计算你的月净收入和损失。拿你的净收入减去你的净消费所得的钱，就是你剩下的钱或者是损失的数目。知道了这些钱有多少，祝贺你，现在你就知道该怎么办了。
5. 制定预算。最简单的办法就是使用免费网上预算服务，蜂巢网。或者也可以使用Quicken、Microsoft Money等软件。当然，你也可以简简单单的用电子表格做一个收入和支出（包括节省的钱在内）的柱形图。这个做法能使你为本月花销给出一个最大估算也得到一个存款最小值。
6. 节省开支（砍掉一些花销）。把你的消费数目列举出来之后，再重头看一遍。那些是不必要的？比如说你要花那么多时间在讲手机电话上面吗？能不能少一点？还有你的家庭电话呢？你能不能不用？你看那么多电视是不是只是证明了你们家有那麽多频道？找找有线电视公司看看能不能找个办法节省一点。这儿20块，那儿40块，这儿又60块，突然你一下就每月省下了100块可以做储蓄或者偿还债务。
7. 先还信用开贷款。如果你的信用卡贷款比你攒的积蓄多，最明智的决定就是先还贷。这样可以尽量把利息控制在最低。当你把信用卡贷款还清了，只买那些在当月月底就能还清的东西。如果你在控制花销上有问题，那最好关了信用卡帐户只用现金。
8. 增加收入：
找第二职业-找些你喜欢做的事情。如果你喜欢钓鱼，在钓鱼用品商店上找份工作，或者开个如何钓鱼的辅导班。看看这本书：
150 Jobs You Can Start Today （你现在就可以开始干的150项工作）也许可以给你一些建议，比如按摩师、婚礼策划、音乐教师、艺术模特、个人主力、瑜伽教师、个人教练、比赛裁判、宠物看护、职业伙伴等等。
创建有广告的博客或网页-写一些你感兴趣同时又能向你的读者做广告的事情。这个很可能要花很长时间才能起到效果，但是只要坚持住你就一定能给自己添一些收入。这里有一张表resources for making money with a blog.（用博客赚钱的资料）还有些资料how to start a blog.（如何建博客）
在Ebay上销售！从清理房间找到那些你不是很需要的东西做起。记住，一个人的垃圾在别人看来可能是宝贝哦！
自由创作-在这方面上有很多好的书。点击这里here 在亚马逊上找找看。
攒钱的一些习惯
1.在购买前先看看书。在当地图书 馆找一找。当下在图书馆里可不止是只有书了。你可以不用花钱借光盘看电影和听音乐，还可以用你的mp3“收听”声像图书。而且，图书馆还是一个发现各种文 艺活动的好去处，而这些也往往是免费的啊。还有一个我很喜欢的小技巧就是在网上要求寄送资料。这样的话当我去图书馆的时候我就能直接拣出那些我想看的书， 电影和音乐了。真的是很节省时间。
2.不要仅仅为了消遣去购物。就是 说要有的放矢。你看不见就心里不会痒痒，当然也就不会乱买了。这个办法可是可以省不少时间和金钱的哦！如果你像我一样喜欢逛书店，那就可以试试这个办法。 问问自己的内心需要什么，选出来那些真正让你感兴趣的书。选完以后，一一把这些书的作者和题目列下来。回到家以后，上网和当地的图书馆预约，即时当时书店 里没有这本书，其他图书馆的网站里也一般能找到。如果你喜欢买服装呢，在购买前先看看你能承受多高的价格。
3. 开一个独立的存款帐户。开一个对立存款帐户有两个好处。你可以找家银行，经纪公司或者是投资公司。这样你可以更清楚的了解自己的进程，同时因为和结账帐户分开也会减少你的花销。一定要注意利率，即时是很小的一笔钱时间长了也就有很大利息差额。可以看看这里的指导Investing Made Easy.
4. 考虑你的汽车.考虑一下如何使用你的汽车.计算一下所有有关汽车的花销：贷款，保险，汽油，还有维修。你能不能不用汽车呢？或者能不能用辆二手车呢？能不能用一辆小一点的车呢？多斟酌对比一下这些选择你一定可以剩下不少钱。
去掉那些不必要的保险。
买一辆省油的车子。
买一辆旧车。
卖掉第二辆车或者换辆二手车。
卖掉所有的车。
5. 当你需要的时候可以找一些免费或者二手商品。无论合适你发现你需要什么，尤其是那些贵重的东西，都可以先在当地的一些自由购物圈子找找看Freecycle Network，或者是当地的报纸，中介服务等等。还可以去易趣等等上面找找那些二手商品Ebay。
6. 如果你不能用那些二手货，上网买吧。绕开商店是有多种好处的。首先你可以节省到处逛商店的麻烦，而且你还可以因为能找到最便宜的价钱节省不少开销；像在亚马逊这样的大网站甚至可以免邮费。当然了，这样你更不会买到那些你根本用不着的东西咯。
7. 食物和饮料。自己做饭，自己弄 便当，自己冲咖啡，自己洗水杯。这怎么省钱呢？我们拿咖啡来做个例子。如果你买每天上班的时候买一杯3块钱的咖啡，那就是750块钱一年。如果你把这笔钱 省下来在10年内拿5%的回报，那就是将近11000块钱。而且还仅仅是咖啡而已。好好分析一下自己的饮食习惯看看哪里还能省下些钱吧。
8.娱乐。在当地报纸里瞄一下哪里有免费的娱乐活动吧。看看博物馆什么的，在图书馆借电影看，在家里和家人和朋友一起玩。这些方法都可以让你有不小的结余。
你有什么更好的理财办法么？请和我们一起分享吧！我们很想听听你的建议！
作者：K. Stone选自于Life Learning Today