What’s the number one thing people get wrong when they’re trying to save money?
They focus WAY too much on the small money issues, instead of the big ones.
For example, instead of focusing on your $7 latte habit, focus on reducing that car payment, refinancing your debt to a lower interest rate, adjusting your living situation, or increasing your income.
Those changes– are hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in savings.
Do you know how many lattes you’d have to cut back on in order to get hundreds in savings each month?
A lot.
Instead ask yourself– what BIG changes can you make that will have a bigger impact without impacting your overall happiness and well-being?
How to Save More Money & Retire a Millionaire at 50
For me, it meant going without a car for a few years.
That saved me a minimum of $4,000 a year.
If I had just focused on lattes, that would mean I’d have to give up 571 lattes a year.
I don’t even drink close to that many lattes in a year.
A few other major changes I made:
1. Cranked up my 401k investments to 17-25% of my paycheck so I never had the option of spending it.
2. Refinanced my student loans twice— but keep in mind, my student loans were always private so I never would’ve benefitted from deferment or forgiveness.
3. Focused on increasing my income as much as possible which meant leaving my job, doing side hustles, taking on extra work at work, and asking for promotions when I did a good job consistently.
These three things had a WAY bigger impact than cutting out a ton of tiny things.
See what I mean?
Now, I KNOW giving up a car for a few years is not possible for some people.
But what other big changes have you never considered that would make an impact?
Maybe it IS going down to 1 car per household..
Maybe it’s canceling cable (trust me, I know people with $300+ monthly cable bills)…
Or maybe it’s even renting out a room…
Re-Evaluate Your “Fixed” Expenses
The point is to put on a different lens when evaluating your “fixed” expenses, and see… maybe there’s a bit more flexibility here that you didn’t realize.
It’s all about being creative, and focusing on the changes that will create the most impact.
Share in the comments below– what’s something you got creative on and cut out?
And if you’re ready to start your own money journey?
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