The reason why we always are trying to find deals on the net is because we want to save money. However most people once they save a little money spend it immediately on something else. It's money you'd have spent anyway, right? It shouldn't work that way. Each time you save some money when you buy something, save it. If you have cash at home and you save say $5 on a product you bought, say $5 slip into an envelope labeled "Savings" — Whatever Works for you — don't spend that money until the next time you create your budget.
My husband is a senior citizen who has the privilege of getting discounts in food and groceries. When we go to the supermarket for our regular groceries, he gets a discount of 65 pesos (roughly $1.50). And he keeps the money in an empty can of biscuit. This new year, he opened up the can to check his savings and it is more than 1,000 pesos already. Quite a sum for a one year savings from those discounts.
I love saving money. What I do is that all my spare change goes into this jar, and I just like what @Corzhens does, I open the jar at the end of the year. Last year, I managed to save close to 125$ and all of that money went into my investments in order for it to grow faster.
What's good in having a piggy bank is that you do not notice the money you put into it. Like in my story, the 65 pesos is nothing much but with 10 of that it will be 650 pesos and can pay for a classy dinner for 2. We have several savings location in our home intended for loose change (not coins though). We intend to open them after 5 years.
It's just silly to save money on place, then immediately spend it elsewhere when you see something you want to get your hands on! I would never do this, especially now. Maybe if I had money to burn, I'd be careless like that hehe. It's often the case that people who have too much money and don't know know what do with it, will fall into this trap. Obviously, I don't mean everyone, but I have known some people who fall into this category. But to me, it just doesn't make any sense. I'm not in a hurry to spend my money LOL What doesn't get spent in our shopping visit, is saved for when I actually need to spend it on something useful.
I'm more of a thrifty person so whenever I get discounts from the things I buy, I don't spend them on anything else especially if I really don't have anything else to buy other than the one I got a discount from. What @Corzhens mentioned is actually a good idea. Anyway, piggy banks are not just meant for kids but for us adults as well. I also love the idea of investing the money you have saved to increase its value over time as what @thenextGeek said.
That is the most practical thing to do with your extra money - investing in any which way to earn. However, the prevalence of scams is a big discouragement to invest. With the bank, the money is very safe but the interest that it can earn is just peanuts. In our office, we have a cooperative where you deposit money regularly and then it is loaned to members to earn interest. At the end of the year, the dividends are distributed - the deposits plus the earnings from the loan interests.
I recently started a savings box in my own home as a way to encourage myself to save some of the money I save by using coupons and taking advantage of deals. I only have about $15 in there so far because I just started, but it is motivating. I clipped about $20 worth of coupons the other day and when I go to use those, I am going to add the final savings to my box. The fun thing about it is that the box is hidden so I am the only one who will know about it until we are ready to put the money to good use.
You dear sir, have the makings of a millionaire lol. Seriously speaking though, very few people nowadays possess the attitude of "not spending" any extra money they have. I mean, most people always buy things they don't need just because they have extra money. Money they could have invested which will earn them more over time.
Yes! So glad someone see's it like that. Now I can understand if you save money specifically to save money for something else, that makes sense. But I think everyone needs to learn to save and the envelope method is a good way to start out especially for those people who are not accustomed to saving money or have a hard time. Personally I do my budgeting and put it in different places like groceries, bills, etc and at the end I leave some money for fun stuff and go ahead and put the rest into savings. If I have an emergency or something comes up I can always grab it, but it is one of those things out of sight out of mind.
I am also aware of cooperatives such as yours. My husband and I actually joined one just recently. We were encouraged to join because of my parents who have been long time members of the said cooperative. It has similar policies as yours and it is run by nuns so I generally feel safer and more comfortable depositing some money and investing in them. Hahaha! I hope what you just said would come true one of these days. I couldn't agree with you more on your statement. Most people nowadays tend to spend rather than put away even what may seem as small amounts but little do they realize that once these small amounts are joined together through saving them, they eventually become one big amount with time. And with the proper attitude of saving and investing, the money they though were just dimes could actually become hundreds or even thousands in value sooner or later.
That could work but a certain amount of discipline may also be in order. I hear of people trying to save up money by depositing their change or extra bills in coin banks. Some are lucky enough to maintain a functional savings the whole year round, while some couldn't even lay their hands off the money, always taking a bit here and there until only a few coins are left.
