If you buy a cup of coffee every
day for $1.00 (an awfully good price for a decent cup of coffee, nowadays), that adds up to $365.00 a year. If you
saved that $365.00 for just one year, and put it into a savings account or investment that earns 5% a year, it
would grow to $465.84 by the end of 5 years, and by the end of 30 years, to $1,577.50.
That’s the power of
“compounding.” With compound interest, you earn interest on the money you save and on the interest that money
earns. Over time, even a small amount saved can add up to big money.
If you are willing to watch what
you spend and look for little ways to save on a regular schedule, you can make money grow. You just did it with one
cup of coffee.
If a small cup of coffee can make
such a huge difference, start looking at how you could make your money grow if you decided to spend less on other
things and save those extra dollars.
If you buy on impulse, make a
rule that you’ll always wait 24 hours to buy anything. You may lose your desire to buy it after a day. And try
emptying your pockets and wallet of spare change at the end of each day. You’ll be surprised how quickly those
nickels and dimes add up!
Speaking of things adding up,
there is no investment strategy anywhere that pays off as well as, or with less risk than, merely paying off all
high interest debt you may have. Many people have wallets filled with credit cards, some of which they’ve “maxed
out” (meaning they’ve spent up to their credit limit). Credit cards can make it seem easy to buy expensive things
when you don’t have the cash in your pocket—or in the bank. But credit cards aren’t free
money.
Most credit cards charge high
interest rates—as much as 18 percent or more—if you don’t pay off your balance in full each month. If you owe money
on your credit cards, the wisest thing you can do is pay off the balance in full as quickly as possible. Virtually
no investment will give you the high returns you’ll need to keep pace with an 18 percent interest charge. That’s
why you’re better off eliminating all credit card debt before investing savings. Once you’ve paid off your credit
cards, you can budget your money and begin to save and invest. Here are some tips for avoiding credit card
debt:
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