Money is hard to get. We work hard. Save up. And when the right time to use that money, we made sure that the value of our hard-earned money went to a worthwhile object of our money saved. It's easy to spend. The mentality of "the more you make, the easier to buy". Easy to let money fly by with wings from our hands in a fleeting moment of materialistic desire to gratify. How do we keep the balance? Let's build a plan. Save money each month is our main goal. 1. Motivate our children to save by our example. 2. Prioritize. What are more important in the list of priorities with our spending? I include entertainment (family movies, outings...) in the bottom of my list. 3. Save money in a piggy/tin bank. I still do. Our very first savings, we were able to pay up 10% down as a first-home-loan borrowers. Cool! 4. We've limited our VISA credit card use. When I buy online, I use my VISA. But I make sure that I have money set aside and hand the money to my husband to pay to the bank as soon as possible. Our credit statement must always be 0 balance. Freedom! 5. Cook at home. Eating out a lot eats up most cash savings-- what used to be in the wallet for something else more important. 6. Rainy day fund. The savings in the fund should be kept for that purpose only. With the way we are going now, thankfully, we have not been "in want."
Right on! I see so many people who make a household income of over 100K and have LESS money then people who make 50K! I am big on cutting transport costs. Buying a used car for cash, and not driving it all the time everywhere. This can easily make 100K difference over a time line like 10 years.
I think it's more "the more you make, the more you have to buy to show off the money you make", then as the above poster said, they end up with less money than lower income earners in the long run. We live very simply. I don't need to appear to be something I'm not and I don't see importance in big shiny things or unnecessary things that will collect dust. We save a lot of money not buying into all that alone. Then we're also plant based eaters, so our grocery bill is sooo much lower than it used to be. Our kids grew up with these examples and they hardly ask for anything.. so when they do, of course we jump on it. They aren't greedy or care what other kids have. They have their game systems, of course, lol.. stuff like that.. but they just don't care to have the latest greatest everything or name brands on their backs etc. I think they're going to be ok out there
Very good recommendations, especially numbers 1 and 5. Adults need to set a good example for their children - manners, conduct, way of thinking and habits - so that they'd live sustainable lives once they grow up and become assets to society. As for the 5th recommendation, truth be told, a great chunk of my earnings has been drained due to excessive eating out. Although I still have enough left for emergency and the like, I could have saved more had I practiced cooking my own meals. I'm about to learn from the error of my ways.
It's great to have an approach or system tailored to the individual. Everyone has their own circumstances to navigate around. I'm a self-employed freelancer so that dictates how I see a lot of things. At the end of the day, we all have to take responsibility and implement approaches that work for us.
