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(continued
from previous page) 17 sneaky -- and fairly painless
-- ways to build a nest egg
By
Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com
9. Reward yourself
If you have the discipline to use a credit card and pay off the
bill every month, use one that promises a cash reward and bank the
money. Jones and her family used a card for groceries last year
and recouped $150, a nice windfall for anyone's rainy day fund.
10. Start a change jar
Chances are your parents or grandparents had
one. The concept is simple: When you empty your pockets at the end
of the night -- or any time you clean out your purse -- all the
change goes into the jar. Not only will you feel about five pounds
lighter, but your spare change adds up a lot faster than you think.
Turbo-charge it by adding at least one paper dollar
a day to the pile, says O'Neill. That should add up to at least
$50 a month, she says. And who wouldn't want to have an extra $600
padding in the savings account for a rainy day?
11. Convert a bad habit into a good one
Give up cigarettes -- or even cut your habit by half -- and put
that money in the savings drawer, says O'Neill. If you drop a pack-a-day
habit by half, you could easily bank well over $100 by spring.
12. Employ the "Dollar Bill Savings Plan"
This is a souped-up version of the change jar concept, but this
time you're saving dollar bills.
"It works," says Neal Boortz, a nationally
syndicated radio host, who first heard the idea from a ski buddy
more than 15 years ago and has been touting it ever since.
Here's how it works: When you leave the house in the
morning, you don't carry anything smaller than a $5 bill. When you
get change, don't spend the singles. The only exception would be
tips, says Boortz. At the end of the day, any dollar bills go into
your cash stash.
"The lesson is that you can save a lot of money,
dollar by dollar by dollar," Boortz says.
Boortz says his daughter always used to laugh at the
savings plan -- until he presented her "with a brick of 2,000
$1 bills on her graduation day," he remembers. "She stopped
laughing."
13. Coin-operated laundry
Put a jar on top of the washer and put in a quarter -- or two --
every time you throw a load in the washer or dryer. Get your finances
in order while you clean.
14. Stop the (movie) madness!
When you return your movies on time, pay yourself the late fee.
If you rent a movie or two every week, you'll be surprised how quickly
that $1.50 to $4 can add up.
15. Diet for dollars
Trying to lose weight this season? Who isn't? So every time you
go without dessert -- or that mid-afternoon candy bar break -- put
the cost of your forgone goody into your savings jar. You shed weight
and gain some green at the same time.
16. Use the pay phone
Do you make a lot of calls? Pop a quarter in a jar by the phone
every time you dial a long-distance number.
Bonus money: Shop your calling plan and find a better
deal. Put the difference into the phone jar each month, too.
17. Bank "extra" paychecks
Get paid weekly or bi-weekly? This tip is for you. Most people set
up their budgets to accommodate two to four paychecks every month,
depending on their pay schedule. But several times a year, you get
an extra paycheck in the month. (Hurray!) So instead of heading
to the mall, pretend you never saw it. Put it in a savings account
or put it in your rainy-day jar.
Having a fund with a few extra checks has really helped
over the years, says Jones, also a mother of four, who's been using
the trick for 18 years to pay for everything from unforeseen car
repairs to emergency doctor and dental visits.
"Emergencies always come up," she says.
"That's guaranteed."
-- Dana Dratch is a freelance writer
based in Atlanta
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