.....saved 100K in my 401K in 7.5 years.
And, I don't make six figure salary. My wage was $18 per hour when I started with my current employer 8 years ago.
Method:
1. Pay yourself first
2. Set a clear goal
3. Challenge myself and be creative
1. Pay yourself first
I like saving money this way because any money I have in my bank account is my spending money. If it goes down to zero, no more spending. And, I don't stress out like "OMG! I have no savings!" I do have savings, and it is done before I know it.
2. Set a clear and measurable goal
My first goal was to save equivalent to my annual salary. The balance grew very slowly first, and it took me almost 4 or 5 years to reach this goal. After I achieved my first goal, I set my second goal that was to save 100K. It took much shorter time to achieve my second goal. Now, my next goal is to save 250K. I don't particularly set the deadline for it because I still have almost 20 years till I retire.
3. Challenge myself and be creative
I set my contribution percentage at 20% before tax and made myself used to the income after the deduction. Since cash flow was always tight, I became frugal and creative. I started packing lunches instead of buying lunch, look for coupons for anything I do, borrow instead of buy, sign up for survey, etc. When there's a will, there's a way.
I'm sure anybody can save money if I can. There was another blog about "10 things you need to do before you turn 40" or something. Yes, I used to go to exotic places for vacation, I have the real watch, I have real Louis Vuittons, and I used to pay $300 for a pair of shoes.
I changed my mind-set from finding a pleasure from material things to finding a pleasure from challenging myself. Saving money to me is like playing a game, a game to reach larger balance in my net worth. Like I said, I could do it, so anyone can do it. Really.
How I .....
November 2nd, 2007 at 08:19 pm