So I’m always trying to figure out ways to help my clients budget better and save more money, and the other day I read a great article on earth911.com that really made me think about how wasteful we all can be sometimes – even when we think we’re not! Now, I don’t mean buying yourself an outfit that you know you shouldn’t, but do anyway, and then pretending like it wasn’t really wasteful. Instead, what I’m talking about is wasting small amounts of money on a regular basis without realizing it at all! The thing about small wastefulness it that the amounts are barely noticeable, so they don’t really register in your mind, but over a few months, or a year, they can add up to big bucks! And before you do anything, please relax, and ease your grip on that Starbucks cup in your hand – I’m not here to take away your latte. Instead, I want to talk to you about something truly wasteful: buying food you never eat and just end up throwing in the trash, and forgetting to use coupons!
Here’s the problem: an average American family spends about $151 on grocery trips every week. Now, that is the average amount, and some families spend more than that. But think about how much of what you buy ends up going into the trash. A little bit of spoiled milk here, and some rotten eggs there, then there’s that cheese you forgot on the countertop overnight, oh and let’s not forget the strawberries and the bananas – those LOVE to be the first to spoil! (It’s almost like they’re competing in the Tour De France of growing mold, and are taking performance-enhancing drugs, like a certain rotten egg we all know!)
So for example, from that weekly shopping trip, let’s say $10 of it (about 6.6% of the total $151) is being wasted because you either let the food expire or didn’t bring a discount coupon with you. That adds up to about $500 a year that you’re just throwing away in the trash! Literally, pull out a $10 bill out of your wallet, and imagine what it would feel like to just toss it away as some useless scrap of paper! No way, right!?
Now, imagine that you actually save that $500 every year, and are growing it at a rate of just 3% annually… That’s $5,700 after 10 years, or over $13,400 after 20 years! Do you think that’s worth it?
Now that is just savings from groceries! Think of other areas where you could do the same thing! This is so important, because I talk to women every day and I hear the same thing: “I live paycheck to paycheck. I only spend on essential items. There’s nowhere that I can cut back on.” But in reality is there are many places that all of us can cut back on. A little savings here, a little savings there, setting it aside to earn a little bit of interest, and all this “a little” adds up to a whole lot over the long term. And it doesn’t even have to be difficult. It’s all about developing the right habits – actually just one habit: asking yourself two questions every time you open your wallet “Do I really need this?” and “Is there a way to buy this cheaper?” (Oh, and specifically for those of you that may feel embarrassed by clipping coupons, there’s actually a great third question to ask: “If I run out of money after retirement, become a bag lady, and am pushing around a shopping cart with all of my belongings… Will that be less embarrassing than using coupons at the store?”)
The reason why I bring this up is because I want every woman to enjoy and love every moment of her “Life Vacation” (your retirement). But it takes smart work to do it right, not just hard work. Because there are many hard working Americans that are trying to reach their retirement goals, but end up running out of money eventually. So ladies, it’s all about starting small to get to the bigger goal. And once you get to that bigger goal, you make an even bigger one after that! So during your next grocery shopping trip, be sure that every item on your list is actually needed and will be used. And if it’s not, then every time you throw something away, like a carton of expired milk, literally think of it as actual dollar bills that you’re tossing away. Really… I am serious; the next time you’re about to throw away those old rotten eggs, bread or apples, I want you take out a dollar bill, crumple it and toss it in the trash! How does that make you feel? NOT GOOD, right?
So remember, it’s everything we do and all of our actions that determine our future. What you do when you’re tossing all that food away, or forgetting to take a few minutes to look for the right coupon, is telling the universe that you don’t care about money and you’re totally fine with throwing it away! Well, guess what? Next time, money just won’t flow your way! It will instead run away as far as possible because your intentions are telling it that you don’t care for it at all. SO BE WISE in all your shopping habits and be true to your intention for a happy retirement – if you do indeed want it to be a happy one.