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The Little Things


Sugary, caffeinated, carbonated beverages go by many names. What you call it depends on where you live. I grew up using the word “soda” but I have friends that say “pop” and know of others who just refer to everything as “Coke”. Regardless, you know what I’m talking about. Having one by any name once in a while will probably not do much damage. But one can a day for a year will pack on an extra 15 pounds. You can see that just a little bit at a time can add up to a lot, and not in a good way, because most of us want to lose weight, not gain it.
But, we’d all like to have a little extra MONEY. This is a key ingredient to reaching financial fitness.
Last week we talked about an emergency fund and how critical it is to get there quickly. There are things you can do to reach that goal in a flash, and you should, but once those things are done, they are not always easily duplicated. There are little ways to decrease your spending that can really add up. Here are some questions for you and your significant other to ask yourselves:
  • ·         Is our television service really that important? Can we change it for a streaming service?
  • ·         Can we eliminate my home phone? Can we find a cheaper cell plan?
  • ·         What subscriptions or memberships are we paying for that we don’t use?
  • ·         How much are we eating out? “Having drinks”? Can we brown-bag lunches?
  • ·         Can we combine trips in the car?
  • ·         Can we give up soda/coffee runs, pedicures, expensive haircuts?
  • ·         Can we work opposite shifts to cut down on daycare costs?
  • ·         Do we get a big tax return? Should we change our W4s to get more with each paycheck?
  • ·         By the way, now is a GREAT time to quit smoking.

Make it a game–sit down with your SO and see how much extra money you can “find” this week. Vincent Van Gogh said, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Financial fitness is definitely one of those great things.

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