Do you have a take away coffee each day? It’s part of the morning (or afternoon) routine for a good proportion of the population but have you ever sat back to think about what that coffee really costs? Over a lifetime, a takeaway coffee a day adds up to over $275,000!
Yes, you read that right. Over a quarter of a MILLION dollars. If you’d invested that $4 or so each day you would have saved $275,000. Do two of you drink coffee? Say goodbye to more than half a million!
Now I’m not proposing you give up coffee (I haven’t!) but what I am trying to show you is how comparatively small amounts of money really do add up. Part of putting together a budget is sitting down and working out where your money goes. You may think a saving of a few dollars here and a few dollars there doesn’t amount to much but when you add them together and save them consistently for an extended period of time they really add up.
You may not be going to give up coffee but maybe there are other (less essential) things that could do with a trim from the household budget. The real key is not to let the savings you make just end up back in the spending pool but to save them, invest them, set them aside for something worthwhile.
Need some more inspiration? Here are some more ideas…
- Reduce your grocery budget by $50 a week and save over $2500 a year. Need some ideas? Check out my blog posts here and here.
- Find a better deal on health insurance. A saving of $65 a month is nearly $1000 a year. Find some good tips here.
- Say goodbye to expensive phone and internet and say hello to $600 or more a year by saving yourself $50 a month.
- Get a better deal on your car and home insurances. Savings can be in the thousands over a year.
- Ditching the pay TV will put over $1000 a year back in your pocket.
- Cut back your alcohol spending by $20 a week and save over $1000 a year
- Quit smoking. Aside from the health benefits, a pack a day smoker could save over $7500 a year. That’s an overseas holiday!
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