If your boss is only concerned with the bottom line and doesn’t seem to notice the extra hard work you’ve put in over the past few months, it’s ok. You can reward yourself for your hard work and give yourself a raise. When you perfect the skills of budgeting, you no longer need to rely on supervisors to provide a financial acknowledgement of all that you do. Wall Street Journal gives a few tips for how to use your pennies wisely to create wealth.
“The problem is most people spend $4 here and $10 there without thinking about it and planning for it and then they wonder where their money went,” Personal-finance radio host Dave Ramsey said to Wall Street. “You have to be intentional with your money and do a written budget.”
A survey by financial firm Accounting Principals revealed that workers spend about $3,000 a year on coffee and lunch. However, if workers were to save or invest the same $3,000 a year, just $250 a month, they would sustainably increase their savings over the course of their lifetime.
“Don’t think of it as $3,000, but rather what $3,000 per year would be in 20 or 30 years if invested at even low interest rates,” Burton Malkiel, an emeritus economics professor at Princeton University said to Wall Street Journal.
Although it may momentarily lift your spirits to buy that Starbucks latte or candy bar from the vending machine, financial happiness in the long-term is the better option. Instead of eating out, bring your lunch and buy Starbucks coffee beans at Wal-Mart. You get the same coffee in a more affordable, do-it-yourself form.
The money saved can create a college fund for your children, get the car fixed, or buy a power suit for your next big interview.
“People agonize over buying washing machines and homes, but all spending is important, Ric Edelman, a financial advisor based in Fairfax, Virginia, said to Wall Street. ”It’s the pennies that add up.”
Accounting Principals’ study also revealed that spending habits varied depending on age and gender. Men tend to spend more on lunch than women in a given week, $46 compared to $27. Workers ages 18 to 34 spend on average $25 a week compared to $45 for workers over 45. Transportation cost is another big money eater. Of those surveyed, about 85 percent commute to work and pay about $123 a month, which is about $1500 a year.
