Savings

“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”
Benjamin Franklin

Have you ever stopped to think about the small amounts of money you spend each day without even thinking about it?

I never did, until I heard a financial expert giving a concrete example about just how much one spends a year buying coffee out. The total was shocking.  The daily purchase of coffee adds up to well over $1,000 yearly.  The amount is much greater  if you go to a coffee shop such as Starbucks!

Armed with my new insight and awareness, I decided to take the money  I saved each week, making my coffee at home, and collect it in a ziplock bag for one year.

I wasn’t perfect, sometimes I did buy coffee out, but that was when I was meeting a friend or when I was too late to brew my own.  The occasions were few.

The surprise to me , throughout the year, was that I did not feel deprived, but instead experienced satisfaction seeing my my money grow each week. I got great pleasure in counting up the dollars as my stash grew.

I had decided to save the money for one year and to buy something with the cash.  You can imagine just how many times I “spent the money mentally.”

After collecting my money for 52 weeks, I made the choice to buy a shiny new Mac Laptop with my cash. It was great to be able to pay with cash and not to see this item on my credit card statement.

My plan had been to do this challenge for one year only, but I have now started on my second round. I am not sure what I want to do with my money this time, but I am enjoying thinking about it.

What is it you spend money on each day without thinking?

What would you do with the money you could save ?

Would you like to conduct your own experiment on doing without and plug up some leaks?  You’ve got nothing to lose!

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