Managing Your Money

Six Exercises That Will Help You Save Money

 

For example, when you make your last payment on your car loan, instead of going out and spending that payment on something else the next month, simply pay the amount to your special account. Since you have already been paying this amount each month, you should be able to continue doing so with little pain to your normal spending habits.

Pay to Use Game

This is a wonderful game to play that will help ensure that you never have to pay for a major replacement purchase on credit again. After purchasing something, most people rarely think about the cost to use that item except maybe for the amount of energy it consumes. For example, you probably don't think about the cost of buying your washing machine or dryer each time you use them even though there will eventually be a cost to replace each. By implementing a pay to use game to use these appliances, you ensure that when any does need to be replaced, you have the money to do so.

For example, every time you do a load of laundry you pay $2, every time you use the TV you pay $1 and every time you drive the car you pay five dollars. You chose the amount, and pay it each time you use the specific appliance.

One of the great benefits of this game is that not only will you save the needed money for replacements, you'll also greatly reduce the amount you previously wasted using them. There's something about having to physically pay each time that will make you stop for that split second to evaluate whether you have a full load of laundry, whether the TV program is worth a dollar or whether you need to drive the car or can combine a trip with another trip the next day.

While subtle, this change in attitude will mean you use these things less often, which can generate great savings in lower energy costs and less wear on the appliances for even more savings.

By incorporating some of these money-saving games into your daily life, you'll find that saving money for your New Year's resolution which had been difficult in the past, isn't nearly as painful as you imagined it would be.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints

Jeffrey Strain has been a freelance personal-finance writer for 10 years, helping people save money and get their finances in order. He currently owns and runs SavingAdvice.com.

TheStreet Premium Services

Jim Cramer
Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS:
Trade right alongside a Wall Street pro — enjoy access to his Charitable Trust portfolio and be sent trade alerts BEFORE he makes a move. Learn More
OptionsProfits
OptionsProfits:
Get 50+ trade ideas a week from the industry's top options experts. Plus — exclusive commentary on market trends and essential trading tools. Learn More
Real Money
Real Money:
Our team of professional Wall Street Pros — including Jim Cramer, Doug Kass, and Nicholas Vardy — delivers intelligent analysis, timely trade ideas, and colorful commentary. Learn More
Stocks Under $10
Stocks Under $10:
Break into the market with small- and mid-cap stocks... all $10 or less! David Peltier tells you exactly which low-priced stocks he's buying and selling. Learn More
To begin commenting right away, you can log in below using your Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, OpenID or Yahoo login credentials. Alternatively, you can post a comment as a "guest" just by entering an email address. Your use of the commenting tool is subject to multiple terms of service/use and privacy policies - see here for more details.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Dow Jones S&P 500 NASDAQ 10-Year Note
12,393.45 1,310.33 2,827.34 15.81
Oil *
101.78
DOWN
26.41
DOWN
2.99
DOWN
10.02
DOWN
0.44
10 Yr
1.58%
SPDR Gold
151.62
-0.21%
-0.23%
-0.35%
-2.71%
Data delayed 20 minutes

Top Stories and Tools

Articles From

After the Bell

Before the Bell

Booyah! Newsletter

Midday Bell

TheStreet Top 10 Stories

Winners & Losers

We respect your privacy.
Podcasts

Connect with TheStreet