Found Money

Five Places to Plug

Now comes the fun part. Find five places to plug in your monthly spending. Don’t eliminate, just prioritize. Set a spending limit for what you really want to buy. If you love to shop and are spending $200 per month on clothing, lower it to $100 per month. Therefore, you are not depriving yourself, but you now have a set amount that you can spend everything month. By finding five places to plug in your budget, you can squeeze out at least $100 - $300 extra per month from your spending – if not more.

What to Do with the Found Money?

Now that you have your “Found Money”, what should you do with it? Divide that amount into the following categories:

• Debt

• Savings

• Retirement Savings

• Other (children’s college savings)

If you have debt, most of your Found Money should go towards your debt, but you should still save some money every month. If you are debt-free, make sure you have an emergency savings account and a retirement account as well. Next: saving without thinking.

Make it Automatic

Setup an automatic savings account. Most great savers do not think about saving, it is done automatically. Ask your bank to automatically transfer a set dollar amount from your checking account to a money market account. For example, on the 15th of every month, they will transfer $50 to a money market account. This money can be used for your emergency savings or holiday gifts. Check out www.bankrate.com for a higher interest rate money market in your area. You can still link it to your checking account and get that money out automatically.  

Still worried about finding that extra money? Don’t fret, just take ½ hour from your schedule this week and get started. Enlist a friend and do it together over a cup of coffee. Call your sister and do it together over the phone. Make it a priority and get ready to start sleeping better at night once you do!