‘Do you work to live or you live to work?’
Before you read the article below, I urge all the readers to take a few seconds to find the answer and then go through the write-up.
In this society of working-class people, you will meet basically persons of two categories. The first one is the ones who live to do their day job of 9 to 5 and likes to continue till they are 60 years old and officially announced ‘ Retired’. They are satisfied with the weekly offs and yearly vacations. They do their best to save their energy cum money to spend on those specific days and gains satisfaction.
The persons who belong to the next category are never satisfied with the weekly or yearly holidays. They like to celebrate their lives every day to the fullest and they like to pursue their hobbies. This type of people does their job so that they can enjoy the life and do whatever they want to do in their life. Financial goals like buying a home, having a net worth seem less important to them.
If you belong to the next category, then here is the key to live the life of your dreams.
One must not forget the fact that the lifestyle you want to have is not a low cost one. It needs lots of money and for which you are to work as well as start saving at an early age. Saving money is a must if you want to take an early retirement and enjoy the rest of your life according to your wish. Here are 13 simple though useful tricks to save a sizable corpus which you can start in your twenties to have a retirement at 38.
Tip No 1
Use Coupon Apps in Your Phone
The youths who have started earning a quite good amount in their early twenties, never much care about small discounts which they can avail by using online payments or mobile wallets. The coupons and cashback as they are supposed to lessen the price only with a few rupees. The coupons and cashback might not make a great change in the price of a particular product but if you keep on saving a small amount, you will be surprised to find that you have saved a great amount by the end of the month.
Tip No 2
Payback Your Student Loan Aggressively
Student loans are the biggest challenger of savings in 20’s. Once you start earning you should pay back your loan as early as possible. Until and unless you pay off your student loan, you won’t be able to save money for your retirement.
Tip No 3
Live With a Roommate
This is the simple but most useful trick to save a good amount of money. When you share your room with a roommate, the living cost will be divided and you can save a good amount every month for your early retirement.
Tip No 4
Cut Up Your Credit Card
Credit cards are one of the easiest ways to transact and most of the youths are fond of it. But sometimes credit cards make us spend more than what we should. It is best to build up a habit of minimizing the use of credit cards and maximizing the use of debit cards. If you have more than one credit card, then you can better close the other credit cards and keep only one credit card to use in emergencies.
Tip No 5
Opt For An Automated Bill Paying System
Automated bill paying system is the best way to pay bills as you don’t need to initiate the payment. The automation payment system never makes you face the late fees which is a waste of money.
Tip No 6
Control The Habit Of Dining Out
This is one of the habits which is draining a considerable amount every month. It is the best remedy to this problem is to start self-cooking so that the number of days when you eat out can be minimized. A single day of not eating out is certain to save Rs.700-1000. If you carry your lunch to the office every day, you will be saving a lot every month which can be added to your retirement savings.
Tip No 7
Use Public Transport
Public transports are best if you are a daily commuter. Nowadays public transports are not how it was a decade back. They are comfortable and more in numbers. One can even use carpools and shared cabs to save a good amount of money every day.
Tip No 8
Have A Health Insurance
Most of the youths ignore health insurance and don’t show interest in buying one for self or spouse. Buying a health insurance needs a very nominal amount as monthly premium but it would cover your medical expenses which are nowadays unimaginably high.
Tip No 9
Shop During Sales
Sales are the best time to have shopping. You can keep your wishlist wait till the merchant gives out a sale. But while shopping in sales we are to be careful that we don’t shop only because it is on sale. Most of the youth tend to shop more if there is a sale. Sometimes we even purchase unnecessary things just because we are getting the product at a low price. If you want to save money by shopping in sales then are to strictly stick with your purchase list.
Tip No 10
Unsubscribe Magazines
This trick may sound weird at first glance but if you think in depth you will find that there are options by which you can gain the knowledge which you were about to gain by reading the magazine. All the magazines and newspapers have their online portals where you can go and read the same content of the magazine which you get at your coffee table. So one can better go online and save much money.
Tip No 11
Be Debt Free
If you really want to accumulate a great saving by the age of 38 then you are to become debt free at your earliest. Carrying debt of any kind, may it be a student loan, personal loan, credit card or anything else, never allow you to save. The EMIs for those loans eat up a considerable amount from your take-home salary. Try to have a pre-payment of loans so that you can be debt free and can save for the retirement.
Tip No 12
Add a Second Income
A single income source may not be enough for any person to run the household and save a huge amount simultaneously. It is best to add a second income so that you can maximize the amount of your savings. The advent of digital media and e-commerce has opened a number of ways by which you can earn big while being at home. One can work as a freelancer, give tuitions, sell art and craft materials online etc to compound the earnings.
Tip No 13
Track Your Spending
Whatever you may do to save your money, if you don’t follow this last trick, it won’t be helping you. One must make a monthly budget and track the spending. Untracked spending makes you wondering where your money has gone by the end of the month. You are to make a note of expenditures so that you can stick to your budget and save money for a plan for early retirement.
