PLAYING DEFENSE DURING A FINANCIAL SQUEEZE
ORIGINALLY AIRED ON WSB-TV ON MAY 2, 2008
THE ECONOMY IS TOUGH. YOU'D LIKE A RAISE, OR MAYBE EVEN A SECOND JOB.
BUT HOW HARD HAVE YOU LOOKED AT YOUR BUDGET?
CONSUMER ADVISOR CLARK HOWARD TELLS US WHY WE NEED TO TAKE A GOOD HARD LOOK AT OUR SPENDING.
Winning the lottery would be nice!
But if this is your plan to get ahead these days, you need a new strategy!
No problem: The author of the book Living Rich by Spending Smart, Greg Karp, says he has the answer: "You can't out-earn dumb spending. Just ask all the lottery winners and the celebrities and the professional athletes that made lots of money but ended up broke."
Take a baseball game. We love to watch the home run. But what about defense?
"Any true fan is going to tell you that defense wins championships. Now, it's not as exciting as offense, the slam dunks and the touchdown passes and the home runs, that's like earning. But defense -- your spending -- is what's going to win your money championship."
Cut your spending and you get to keep everything you save.
"You keep 100 cents of every dollar you save, but every dollar you earn, you take home, what? 60 or 75 cents maybe," says Karp.
Convinced? Okay, now you need to know where to start:
Easiest place to do it, your kitchen.
Stephanie Nelson of couponmom.com says the members on her free website save hundreds at the grocery store.
"If you can save 200 dollars a month on your grocery bill, that's like earning 300 dollars. It's actually easier to make more money using grocery coupons than getting a 300 dollar a month raise, who's getting that?"
There are so many ways to reduce spending, and unless you've already gone through every single bill you have with a fine tooth comb, I promise you, you'll find ways to reduce your monthlies number one, and what you spend every day, so take the challenge. Go see what you can cut out of your budget. Because if you don't start now, later on, you're going to say, "Where did all my money go?" I'm Clark Howard, channel 2 action news.
|
