As much as society tells me to hate 'em, I’ve always got a slew of resolutions when the new year rolls around, because I love nothing more than a fresh start. Except for Law & Order. I really like Law & Order. My resolution would be to watch more Law & Order but I don’t think that’s physically possible.
Anyway, while my big financial goal this year is to increase my retirement savings (I’m getting old, ya’ll) I can’t do that without being even more frugal in my day-to-day life. Pondering ways to trim my spending got me thinking about the ever-present “If you just make your cup of coffee at home every day, you can retire early”-type advice you see on financial websites.
I don’t know if that’s quite true, but I do know you can save an awful lot by curbing or quitting some habits, coffee-related and otherwise, and you can put that saved money towards retirement. And who knows, you might just might be able to jump off the 9-5 hamster wheel a wee bit sooner.
Check it out.
Say you buy…
- Lunch at work every day ($8) …. Adds up to $2080 annually (What about just once a week? $416 annually)
- Dinner out once a week ($50) …. Adds up to $2600
- 1 pack of cigarettes a day ($7.50) … Adds up to $2737.50 annually (What about just once a week? $390 annually)
- 1 case of beer a week ($20) … Adds up to $1,040 annually (What about just once a month? $240 annually)
- 1 bottle of wine a week ($8) … Adds up to $416 annually
- Subscriptions to both Hulu and Netflix each month ... Giiving up one ($7.99) adds up to $95.88 annually
- Drinks and snacks at Happy Hour once a week ($12) … Adds up to $624 annually
- 1 cup of coffee every work day (I know, I know) ... Adds up to $260 annually if it's $1 a day, $780 annually if you're buying the pricey stuff ($3.50)
- A monthly cable subscription ($70) ... Adds up to $840 annually
- 1 bottle of water every work day ($1) ... Adds up to $260 annually
- 1 trip to WaWa for snacks a week ($3) ... Adds up to $156 annually
Kinda scary, isn't it? All that to say, even when you think you can't save any more, I betcha if you look at some of your routines, you'll find room to cut corners - I know I have! (cough, cough, Wawa snack.)
What are your financial resolutions for 2016?