Household money saving tips

Ten Strategies for Saving Money

By Larry Ferstenou

Based on You CAN Retire Young

If you aren’t swimming in money but you’d still like to retire early, it is essential that you initiate an effective savings program. Your first decision is how much you want or need things. Not buying items you want but don’t need, results in money saved and invested.

Our general philosophy has long been this: Why pay more if you can pay less? It can be a critical factor in your effort to accumulate net worth so that you can retire early (or meet some other financial goal). We save a lot of money by looking for sale or clearance items so that we get the best value for our money. In addition to that general philosophy on paying less, strategies we have used over the years to spend wisely and save money so that we could retire in our early 40s include the following:

1.  Buy reliable vehicles infrequently.

2.  Research major purchases prior to buying.

3.  Buy used if it hasn’t been abused.

4.  Take advantage of discount movie theaters and matinees.

5.  Buy your clothes during the seasonal clearance sales or try thrift stores.

6.  Anticipate in advance and buy as much merchandise as possible on clearance.

7.  Take advantage of early bird specials and coupons when dining out.

8.  Use the library as a reading and entertainment source rather than buying new.

9.  Brown bag your lunch rather than eating out every day at work.

10.  Prioritize your expenses and make appropriate trade-offs: smaller rather than bigger house, smaller and more fuel efficient vehicle rather than a bigger one, smaller TV rather than the giant screen HDTV, give up cell phones that are merely for pleasure or convenience rather than business, etc.

Go through all of your expenses, determine your priorities, and ask yourself this question: “Do I need that? If I need that, is there a less expensive alternative that would still give me pleasure but allow me to save and invest more money?” Focus on the long term and set your priorities today so that you will have options in the future (such as working only part-time or retiring altogether) that may not otherwise be possible.

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Larry Ferstenou retired over ten years ago at age 42 and is the author of You CAN Retire Young: How to Retire in Your 40s or 50s Without Being Rich (American Book Business Press, 2002). More information can be found at www.youcanretireyoung.com. Copyright © Larry A. Ferstenou, 2002–2003.