Saving $20 a Week – It Can Sure Add Up!
We all know how quickly a 20 dollar bill can slip through our hands. It seems once you break it – it's gone in no time. With a little bit of effort and will power you can try to hang onto a twenty a little longer. If you can do it every week and save for the future it can really add up to big savings! We wanted to see what Dad, Mom and the kids could do to try and save 20 dollars a week.
How Dad can save $20 a week:
- Bring coffee from home: $6
- Pack lunch: $5
- Drive the speed limit: $4
- Buy less expensive cut of meat: $5
Total: $20
How Mom can save $20 a week:
- Bring water from home: $5
- Cut back on dry cleaning: $6
- Buy less expensive wine: $5
- Buy one less magazine: $4
Total: $20
How the kids can save $20 a week:
- Use library for DVDs: $5
- Use library for books: $5
- Cut down on soft drinks: $5
- Avoid fast food meals: $5
Total: $20
Additional ways to save money:
- Make dinner at home more often
- Dye your own hair
- Do your own pedicure
- Buy generic products
- Groom pets at home
- Raise air conditioning by 2 degrees
- Buy clothes from resale store
- Review your insurance
- Review your cell phone usage
- Plan meals with shopping flyers and coupons
Saving $20 a week:
Years (amount saved based on 5 per cent interest in brackets)
- 10 years ($13,700)
- 20 years ($36,100)
- 30 years ($72,600)
- 40 years ($131,900)
I know it's difficult to achieve but just for fun lets say you could find a mutual fund that could give you a 10% annual return. That 20 dollars a week would add up to a whopping $506,300 in 40 years! Imagine – more than a half a million dollars for skipping the coffee shop, going to the library and packing your lunch once a week. Something to think about the next time you see that 20 dollar bill in your wallet.
