Multiple Benefits to Saving Money
I recently wrote that I’m trying four fairly obvious, but time tested ways to save money this week. I started that experiment on Monday and I wanted to give you some updates on the results. It turns out that I’ve found multiple benefits to saving money:
Here’s what I planned on doing to save money and how it impacted me so far:
- Van pooling. This has worked out great. I save about $250 dollars on gas a month this way and end up spending a little less time on the road, as the van gets to go in the commuter lane. Also, I recently took on some side work and every time I van pool I can fire up my laptop and work. In short, I get to earn while I save.
- No vending. I’m not going to lie to you. This is a hard one for a guy who need chocolate every day, but the savings have added up every time I pass by the vending machine. Instead I’ve brought fruit or carrots to work. Good grief. I might actually lose weight.
- Brown Bagging it. This is cheaper, usually tastes better than my work’s cafeteria food and is probably a lot lower in calories.
- No impulse buys. I don’t make many of these, so this might require a little more time to reap the benefits. Still, it’s a way to reinforce my attitudes about purchases.
I guess what surprised me the most in my short experiment, is that there were usually multiple benefits to the more frugal choices. The vanpool doesn’t just save me money, it cuts gas use, allows me to be more productive and saves me a little time. My food habits save me money, but also are far healthier compared to my usual choices.
I guess my youngest child should have taught me that saving money can have many benefits, but I’m a slow learner. I’m going to look for other ways to adjust what I do so it ends up and keep you posted.
Got any money saving tips that have helped you out in more ways than one? Comment on it below.
