When my kids were in elementary school I used to have coffee with a group of moms on Friday mornings. One day, one of the moms shared that they were going to have their mortgage paid off before their kids went off to college. Having three kids relatively the same age and facing the possibility of triple college tuitions, I was all ears. Later that morning, I went home and did the math. How much extra per month would I have to pay to get the mortgage paid off before the kids went off to school? The number literally made me cry. It seemed totally impossible. After feeling sorry for myself, I decided to do what I could to try to make it happen.
These are the things that not only helped us pay off our mortgage early, they also allowed me to retire early.
- I created a calendar and divided every bill up between our paychecks. Since my husband was paid biweekly, I used his pay dates as our bill paying days.
- I started tracking our spending. This was huge because I am definitely an impulse spender and documenting everything I spent money on was a big deterrent (and slight embarrassment).
- From time to time, we would institute a “no spending month”. This meant that the only money we spent was on essential items. No new clothes, no eating out, and time to empty out the refrigerator and pantry a bit and get creative with our menus.
- We made biweekly mortgage payments. Because my husband was paid biweekly, I divided the mortgage payment in half and made a payment every other week. Because he had 26 paychecks each year, this equated to one extra payment per year (every little bit helps).
- When we received pay increases or bonuses, all of that money went into paying off the mortgage (alternatively, if you have a low mortgage rate, you could invest this money).
- We cancelled subscriptions and non-value added monthly expenses. Yes, having someone mow your lawn or clean your house is amazing, but it adds up over time.
- I learned to cook and bake.
- Prepackaged food is so much more expensive! Google recipes and give them a try! Look for dupes of your favorite restaurant entrees. We recently found a Buffalo Wild Wings recipe that nails it.
- Breakfast for dinner is a real hit with kids, especially homemade pancakes and waffles. Double or triple the batch and freeze the leftovers. They heat up in the microwave for a night when you just don’t have time.
- Make two-for-one entrees. For example, we grill extra chicken on Monday when we are having barbecued chicken and then shred the leftover chicken for soup or stir fry on Wednesday (Taking a break in between chicken dinners and reinventing makes it seem less like you are eating leftovers. For some reason, my family hated traditional leftovers, so this was a useful trick.).
- Prepackaged cookies taste terrible and they are expensive. Find a favorite recipe and make a double (or triple) batch. Bake some cookies right away, but use a small ice cream scoop to create cookie dough balls and freeze them on a tray. Once frozen, pop them into a freezer bag. When you want fresh cookies, let them thaw on a cookie sheet and bake just the amount you want.
- Watch for sales on everything. Create a list of things you want or need and watch for a sale. Several online sites will also let you know when your item’s on sale. Also, if you wait for a bit, the feeling to buy goes way.
- Buy your children’s clothes a year in advance from the sale rack at the end of each season. My kids literally walked straight to the sales rack after a while. This only backfired on me once, when the girls announced they were no longer wearing dresses. I still pine for those pretty dresses that were never worn!
- Resell everything you can. Facebook Marketplace makes this easy these days.
- On a similar vein, buy everything you can on the resale market.
- Use apps that save you money and/or pay you for buying. I recently added the Fetch app and it’s already paying off. You simply take a picture of your grocery store receipt and earn points toward rewards (e.g., gift cards).
- Save money on your own clothes by “shopping your closet” or having a clothes swap with friends. Invite a few friends over to help you build different outfits and/or get together with friends to swap clothes you no longer wear. I had a beautiful summer dress that no longer fit and a good friend was so happy to get it. In exchange, I picked up some nice sweaters. Speaking of sweaters, breathe new life into sweaters that have pills with a fabric shaver. I bought a deluxe model (approx. $25 on Amazon) and several sweaters I was ready to toss look just like new.
- Buy repeat items in bulk. We go to Costco once a month and the savings really add up quickly. Be sure to know the typical cost of your repeat items and only buy in bulk when it makes good sense. We make a killing on discounted wine (don’t judge), sparkling water, cleaning supplies, and paper products.
- Paint your children’s bedroom wall art. I bought small bottles of acrylic paint and my father-in-law made squares and rectangles from leftover wood scraps. This was so much fun and allowed each of our kids to “decorate” their rooms with things they love. Our son chose dinosaurs, our older daughter chose a princess theme (i.e., castles, Rapunzel, princess and the pea) and our younger daughter chose animals (i.e., a ladybug, turtle, and butterfly). I’m no great artist, but they shockingly turned out adorable.
- Buy conservative and reliable vehicles and keep them as long as you can.
- Use miles and rewards to pay for vacations whenever possible.
- Don’t be tempted to keep up with the Joneses. This is so hard, but may be the most important tip of all. Refocus what impresses you from new and expensive purchases to how friends and family saved money. Early in my career, one of the ladies in the office received a beautiful new necklace from her husband and I watched almost every other woman in the office follow suit and buy an expense (or more expensive) necklace to seemingly compete. It’s just not worth it. Someone will always have nicer things. Don’t sweat it. If you want to show something off, share your money-saving tips with friends. You’ll be surprised how quickly this takes off.
- Make saving money a competition. Maybe it’s just a competition with your spouse – or maybe with a family member or friend.
- Always buy the best quality you can afford. Buying a cheaper version rarely pays off in the long run. It either ends up breaking, not working as well as you’d hoped, or you’ll have to use more of it to be effective.
Saving money doesn’t have to be sad or boring. In fact, don’t make it such a big deal that you don’t have any fun. Just be smart about it. It may not have the immediate gratification of a new purchase, but it will pay off in the long run. Stick with it!
Best,
Lisa
Leave a Reply