Missed Opportunities: Are you missing out on saving money·
Posted By: Matt in Frugality on 08/21/2017 at 13:18:45
For those individuals who believe saving money is simply an exercise in income versus expenses, you're not wrong.
You just have financial tunnel vision.
By that, you are focused on budgeting in the purest sense, and there's nothing wrong with that mentality whatsoever. In fact, if more individuals had that, at the very least, down pat, you'd have more than 50 percent of the population with an average of a $1,000 in a savings account.
But if you're just focusing on budgeting, you might be missing out on lost money along the way. Sure, you have to have the budget and always fine tune the process, making sure you don't forget odds and ends and incidental expenses along the way, but saving money also is about thinking outside of the proverbial box.
If you're intent on saving money, start first by examining exactly what you're paying on, more specifically if the interest rates or rates in general you're getting are the very best. Often times, refinancing a home, for example, can save you thousands of dollars per year or hundreds more per month, and that gives you an opportunity to save that money for retirement or just start building a savings account. Also, you can use that additional income to pay down credit card debt.
In addition to interest rates, have you looked at those aforementioned incidental expense and if you truly need them. Yes, they're expenses but are they necessities, and often time the water is seriously muddied with this particular discussion.
A want is something that you can live without, in the simplest terms. If you're looking at things like coffee every day or eating out for lunch three times a week as a necessity, you might have those terms mixed up. Sure, the coffee is nice and not having to worry about actually packing a lunch is equally convenient, but doesn't replace the fact that you have coffee and food at home that can be brewed and prepped, respectively, to avoid spending additional money on each of them every day.
Convenience truly is the kryptonite of saving money. Not having to worry about making dinner, thawing out food or packing a lunch the night before is what leads to the average person spending nearly $500 per month on take out food, and that $6,000 per year is a huge chunk of change that you're out after 12 months of spending money unnecessarily.
These are examples of missing out on saving money, losing that opportunity when afforded it to keep the money in your pocket, due to bad habits or not thinking about money in a more multi dimensional way.
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