This is from my early writings, an interesting and very no-nonsense point of view on things. I do agree a penny saved is a penny earned.
Remember that one? I’ve said it a couple of times now.
The way to increase your take-home pay is to stop spending the money you are getting. Seems pretty simple really, here are some examples that I have harangued about:
- Buy 1 less coffee a day (better still drink the free crap at work, or bring your own from home). $2-$5 a day for 250 working days = $500 at least
- Lottery tickets, let’s say we save $10 a week and another $500
- Eating Out, again, you can save $20 a week on that at least another $1000 a year
Hey, that’s $2000 saved, which means, if you are somewhere near the top tax bracket living in Ottawa, that means you have “earned” about $3500 before tax money, not half bad.
Let me make it clear – $2000 is a substantial amount that is certainly worth sacrificing a cup of coffee, a chance at a million dollars, or a single night’s leftovers.
Saved money == Earned Money!
Now, the next trick is to remember to SAVE the savings. Whenever I make a conscious decision to save (or find a 30% off sale–something like that), I write down the amount I saved and transfer it from my checking account into my savings account right away.
Very true!