I’ve come to the realization that every day I am a little richer than the day before. I had never thought of saving and investing it in this way. It seemed to give me a great sense of pride and feel really good about how I manage my money.
As long as I am spending less than I am taking in each day on average, I am building wealth. Take a look at these numbers I crunched to show how rewarding saving can be. Here are the numbers compounding quarterly with 5% annual return (1.25% Quarterly).
Apr 12
Let’s take a break from the serious lectures for a minute. In life we make choices constantly. How do we know whether or not we are making the right ones? And how do we know how these choices compound on each other to create an alternative outcome? We don’t.
Saving is like trying to lose weight. We all want to shed a few pounds but just getting started and sticking to it is hard. We need something to help get us
motivated, and keep us on track. So let’s think about this for a minute. First we have to have a reason to save. Without reason, you will not be succesful at anything. I could sit here and tell you why you should save, but I could also make many good points of why you shouldn’t save at all. I’ll save that for another post. I can however tell you why I have chosen to begin saving. For me the reason is simple. I hate to work. Simple as that. I save so I can work less and less each day.
Would you like to save over $1,000 dollars a year? Knowing how you are spending your money can help you cut wasteful spending and be on your way to financial success. The first step is to create a budget. Creating a budget is a very simple task yet over 60% of americans do not make or maintain a budget for their own personal finances. Creating a budget is the only way to stay on track with your financial goals.
So let’s start with your budget. Here are some recomended percentages for your budget. Experts recomend trying not to exceed 28% of your income for housing. Another highly recomended number is putting away between 10-15% of your annual income for retirement. Below is an example you may want to start with.
| Account | % |
| Housing | 28 |
| Food | 15 |
| Savings | 10 |
| Retirement | 15 |
| Utilities | 8 |
| Gas | 7 |
| Entertainment | 4 |
| Clothing | 3 |
| Auto | 3 |
| Auto Insurance | 2 |
| Other | 5 |
| **Annual Income After Taxes |
These are some good numbers to start with. According to your income the percentages will vary significantly. Look for a release of ”Budget Tracker V.1.0″ from College Corporation. This tool will help you start your budget and track expenses for the year.
Get it and many other helpful tools at http://www.collegecorporation.com/tools/
Feb 12
College Corporation was created while I was in college, hence the name. The idea started as a hobby of thinking logical to come up with ideas on how to work less and make more.
College Corporation came about as an idea to live on less and enjoy life more. It is a very simple idea, that every college student understands. Money for college students is hard to come by and understanding how to manage your money in a smart way can help you get more while earning less. College students live on very little income often supplied from low paying jobs, loans, and parent(s).
