Want to save but just don't have the income to sock away anything? Well, it's time to get creative. Money Central has a piece on how you can save big on a small income. It features 19 tips that allow you "to save when you make next to nothing." They break their tips into five sections, so I'll break the article up into five posts -- to give you the opportunity to consider each idea fully and give me the chance to comment on them all. Here is the first set:
Stash a dollar in a jar every time you do the laundry.
Save all your $5 bills in a coffee can. Or save all your $20 bills in shoe box (“I saved for a trip to Europe this way,” says Bowers, who earns $1,800 a month working in a cafe.)
Cash in your spare change. Many banks and credit unions will sort your change without charging a fee. Or, do it yourself: "We invested in a $30 coin sorter, which has paid for itself three times over," writes a reader.
Salt away all those little rebates, refunds and reimbursement checks.
Take free money. Now some institutions, like Bank of America and even PayPal, are offering what you might call “spare change” savings plans. Bank of America will round up any purchase you make and deposit the extra change in a savings account for you. For a limited time, they’ll even match your spare change up to $250. If you use the PayPal debit card, they’ll refund 1% of your purchase immediately, wrote Kit on the blog. Other cards may offer similar deals; don't let free cash pass you by (but beware of hidden fees).
My thoughts:
1. I like the ideas that revolve around saving just a bit of money over and over again. We do this with spare change. I hate carrying it, so after every day I dump it in a bin. It adds up quickly, and we use it to pay the kids' allowances.
2. Many times the spare change pot starts to overflow. At this point, we let the kids count and roll the coins. They love "playing" with money, and we usually give them a special treat (like Moose Tracks ice cream) as a thank you. Since I get some too, everyone wins with this set-up. :-)
3. I would add to #4 to save things like bonuses, pay increases, tax refunds, and gifts (for birthdays, Christmas, etc.). These can add up to some significant amounts every year.
4. You can find free money all over the place if you look hard enough and have some time to spend getting it. I use a credit card that gives me cash back -- and you should do the same if you use a credit card. Also, many online banking services will give you $10 to $20 just for opening an account with as little as $1. Easy money. And some companies even offer you cash to take surveys. With these, you get the double advantage of influencing a company's plans and making some spare cash.
These are all good ideas. May I add one or two more that work for me and my family who are one income, fixed income?
Our total income is $848.00
Bank fee and car insurance are auto deducted out of his direct Disability check, leaving $628.
The children each draw $100 off dad's disability check. I am in charge of one of them, so that gives me $100 to work with. He handles the rest.
When I cash the monthly check, I buy two rolls of quarters. That way I am "paying myself first". The rolls of quarters go into my home EF jar, not to be spent. (I hate spending coins, so that pretty much keeps me from blowing $20 for stupid stuff). Then $20 for family toiletries, $20 saved for school expenses, $20 saved for kitty expenses(vet bills),
$5 for birthdays, $5 for gifts, $5 for holidays, and the last $5 for clothing/shoes. I seldom go out, so I have very few spend days.
He adds up all the bills, subtracts that from the $620 in his account, then draws out $615, leaving $5.00 in his account as a cushion. Then he draws out the $100 in son's account, adds that to his $615, for a total of $715. Then he pays all bills, spends budgeted amounts for all other expenses, and what is left over is placed into an envelope labeled "Fun Money" not to be spent until family sits down for discussion.
Little amounts regularly saved do add up. We are using the old fashioned Envelope method, which keeps us very aware of our spending and helps us track where our money goes.
Posted by: carol | May 01, 2007 at 06:00 PM