Everyone wants to be a millionaire and be able to retire with a lot of money, but how many people can actually do that? So few. This is mostly because they don't save enough for retirement and have bad spending habits. Building a retirement fund takes time, but you can speed up the process by making small but helpful changes to how you spend your money. Here are seven ways you can change the way you live every day to make your spending habits better:
- Ride a bike if you can get there in less than 30 minutes by car. This improves blood flow in your body and cuts down on pollution in the environment. You could also save money on gas and parking.
- If you like to read a lot, go to the public library as often as you can. You don't have to buy the newest books from stores like Borders unless they are in a genre that can't be found in a public library. After a while, the public library will usually buy popular books. Learn how to wait.
- You should bring your own coffee to work. A cup of coffee at Starbucks or a similar coffee shop can cost a few dollars or more for many people. If you make your own coffee at home and bring it to work in a Thermos, you might be able to save a lot of money each week. Also, you never know, it might taste better than Starbucks coffee! If you can't live without Starbucks coffee, you might want to think about getting a Starbucks rebate card. If you save up enough points, you can use the rebates to get free coffee at Starbucks.
- Have you ever paid attention to how much time you spend watching TV? When you sit for a long time, your blood flow gets worse. Also, you can use the time you save to do more useful things, like teach your kids or learn a new skill.
- Do more walking than driving. If you can drive to your destination in less than 10 minutes, you might want to leave your car at home and walk there instead. You'll spend less money on gas and parking. This can easily cost a few thousand dollars a year.
- Eat more of your meals at home. You can save some money and try out different recipes at the same time. You are also improving your cooking skills, which could be very helpful when you eat at home.
- If you smoke, start cutting back on how many you smoke every day. You might be able to stop smoking for good over time. If you don't buy any more cigarettes, you'll save money and your health will improve, which will save you a lot on your medical bills.
These seven ways are a good place to start if you want to stop spending money in bad ways. But you should keep learning about healthy habits that will help you build up your retirement fund and add them to your life. By reinvesting the money you save by using these tips, you will be far ahead of your peers and closer to your retirement goals.
