Debt Crunch – Frugal Living is the Way to Build Wealth
Frugal Living Is The Way To Build Wealth! Frugal living and building wealth go hand in hand. Saving small amounts really adds up to build your wealth.
There are three things that my grandma always told me:
1) Always treat others as you would want to be treated
2) Live your life the best way you can
3) For every dollar you earn save half of it
I am sure you have all heard both numbers one and two but you more than likely smiled chuckled or let a hoot when you read number 3.
When I first heard her say it I was 16 years old and had just gotten my first paycheck, I called my grandma and was so excited that I had made that much money. And she said SAVE HALF of it. At the age of 16 I of course thought she was crazy!
Later in life I wished I had heard her more clearly. I now imagine how much better off I would be if I had really saved half of my pay every payday…I often think of what that money could have done for me over time.
So fast forward to today. Married 3 kids later, staying home with them not having a job. Money is very tight! Most months it’s battle to get everything paid. So how does a person build wealth when you are living paycheck to paycheck? You save. Just like you would have before you had kids and responsibilities.
Even if you save ONE dollar a day at the end of the year you would have $365.00 to invest. When you invest that money it WILL grow over time. And then the following year you would have another $365 to add to that already growing nest egg.
You can save in other ways as well. Contribute to your 4o1k program at work, most people say to put 10% of your income in the 4o1k but I say if you can only put 1% then just do the 1% anything is better than nothing at all. It will grow.
Everyday you will start to find little ways to save money. The more you see your small nest egg funds growing the more you will WANT to keep it going. Wealth is not measured in my mind by how much actual money you have in my mind it is measure by how much effort you are putting into your FUTURE.
Heather Schnapp is a SAHM of three children and the owner of http://www.justfrugal.com/, a family friendly website created to help others learn to budget and save money.
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I first started thinking about this “save 50%” when I stumbled upon the personal finance blog – Money Monk.
Money Monk is one money blog that I read regularly and she is up to saving 45% of her income – that is discipline. I am no where near saving or investing at this level but it is a personal goal for me. Brian Tracy has recommended that we start at a level of savings that we feel we can commit to… even it’s only 1% then every three months raise the ante – sooner if we can until we reach our first “goal.”
So if you set a goal for saving 10% then bump it up every couple months until you are consistently saving at that level. Once you reach that goal, it is often easier to set the next goal – such as, 15% and on upward to reach that 50% mark. As always everyone’s personal path to financial fitness is unique – each goal is your own to define. The key appears to be discipline and diligence over time – think: the tortoise and the hare. 
Tam
Tags: blog, debt, debt-crunch, discipline, frugal, money, money blog, personal finance, savings, wealth
