Simple Math
One of the more popular New Years resolutions is to save more money. If that’s among your goals for 2013, please study this equation:
Money Saved = Earnings − Spending
Not counting extraordinary events like winning the lottery, to save more money in 2013 you’ve got to do one of two things, or both. You must
→ Earn more money, and/or
→ Spend less money
If you’re serious about a 2013 saving goal, you’ll have to do more than say you want to save more. You need an action plan. And the sooner you start, the more progress you’ll make toward your concrete goal.
How to Earn More in 2013
- Get a higher paying job
- Ask for a raise
- Get a part-time job and work some evenings or weekends
- Start a side hustle (Blogging’s easy—even I can do it. Not well, but I can do it.)
- Take in a boarder or roommate
- Check out peer-to-peer lending
- Sell some of the useless junk you’ve collected over the years
- Share your car
- Write and publish an eBook (you really do know a lot)
How to Spend Less in 2013
- Make a budget and track your spending
- Stop eating food that’s slowly killing you
- Sell a car and join a carsharing organization
- Take your lunch to work
- Get competitive quotes for each of the insurance policies you buy
- Twice a week ride a bike instead of drive
- Don’t shop
- Get rid of that self-storage rental unit
- Cool relationships with friends for whom fun = spending money
- Break your smartphone addiction
- Ditch cable and your landline—they’re so 20th century (and better, cheaper alternatives exist!)
Your Ideas for Saving More in 2013
Please comment and suggest your additions to the lists above. The more creative the better!
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Kurt Fischer
Through formal and self-education, experience, and work in corporate finance and as a certified credit counselor, I’ve learned about making good money decisions. I still have a lot to learn, but my wife and I have achieved modest financial freedom: We’re debt-free and have managed to sock away a decent nest egg. We don’t have and have never had a lavish lifestyle (the main reason for our progress), but we’re reaching our goals and like our lives. We’ve learned that simple living saves money and, more importantly, improves life's quality and richness. We didn’t get to this place by accident; we arrived through thousands of choices large and small to save or simplify instead of spend or splurge. I believe you can do the same. Thanks for visiting and sharing. - Kurt
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