Thinking Like A Saver

[Olly]

I've recently been re-organising my finances (credit cards, banking etc) in order to get better deals and one of the things I did was open an ING account. I only opened it for $100 while I sorted out other accounts ready to move money over. Imagine my surprise when I noticed only 2 weeks later that I now had $100 AND 25 cents! You'd have though I'd won Lotto!

It struck me then how I'd forgotten how to FEEL like a saver. I think the last time I felt like this was when I had a grey passbook account that you manually deposited and withdrew from and could see the growing balance.

I realised then that although I love all things electronic - banking included, it had taken this feeling away from me over the years and I hadn't even realised it. In these days of online banking where usually things are listed in 1 column and ATM's spit out receipts with only a balance showing and bank statements are riddled with charges so you see lots of 'outs' and not many interest 'ins' - it's hard to SEE the savings and FEEL like you're getting anywhere!

Now, I see all 'INS' and no 'OUTS' and I'm loving it!

Olly

 

[duncan_m]

Originally posted by Olly


Now, I see all 'INS' and no 'OUTS' and I'm loving it!

Olly

Great topic.. I love seeing the in's and out's in Electronic Banking as well!

Has anyone ever paused to think of the dramatic increase in OUT's that occur in our lives now?

The last 20yrs has seen all of these new "Outs/Expenses"

Movie Hire,
Playstations,
DVD/VCR players.
Microwave Ovens,
Dryers,
Dishwashing Machines,
Security Systems,
Very Large TV's,
Mobile Phones
SMS's
Value Added Telephone Services (messagebank etc)
Personal Computers,
Personal Organisers
Internet Access,
Pay TV,
Cosmetic Surgery,
Car Audio Systems
Car Alarms,

And I cant for the life of me think of any expenses that have been removed!?

 

[Peter Parker]

Great stuff! That 25 cents is your first passive income!

Yes it might be eaten up by inflation and taxes, but it's not going backwards like most of items in that list.

Another thing that's interesting is work out the proportion of your passive income to total income. For most people it would be less than 1% (ie 99% proletarian, 1% capitalist).

But once you get it to 50% (plus a buffer for inflation) you are financially free!

Rgds, Peter

 

[Keen]

Olly,

Good to hear. My brother and I went through his finances and worked on a game plan - he had too much on credit cards and I'm pleased for him that he's turning the corner.
At 22 I cut up my $500 dollar limit credit card, I hate the accessability of loaned finance.
These days I have a Police and Nurses Visa Card - it's not a credit card - but a debit card. I draw on my credit funds in my account and thus am not borrowing from the bank when I purchase. The card costs me nothing in fees and I have the convience of having a Visa Card.

Having read Rich Dad Poor Dad, I arrived at a point where I suddenly lost the word "Saving" and these days replace it with "Investing". It puts a different spin on things, and reminds me of the importance of proactively looking to make my money work best for me.

Regards and Good Luck in the future

Keen