{"id":160512,"date":"2013-02-04T04:00:29","date_gmt":"2013-02-04T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=160512"},"modified":"2023-10-04T20:02:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T02:02:26","slug":"finding-money-to-invest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/finding-money-to-invest\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Save and Invest Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we decided that we were going to start investing more in 2013<\/a>, I didn’t know where we would find the money in our budget. My personality embraces risk\u2026 as long as all our other savings goals are met and our bills are paid. So, because I wanted to have fun investing (and not lose sleep at night), I knew I could not cut our retirement contributions or our savings deposits. What I hoped was that I would find “invisible” money in our budget; money that we spent mindlessly that would now have an investing job.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Our spending record<\/span><\/h2>\n

I have recorded our spending<\/a> for brief periods of time, especially when money was very tight, but I had never done it for a year. I knew it was a good thing to do, but it’s a pain. In 2012, however, I created a spreadsheet and faithfully entered every dollar that we made or were given. I tallied every purchase made by check, debit or credit card and most of the ones made with cash.<\/p>\n

I’ll spare you most of the gory details, but we weren’t as smart with our money as we thought we were. Granted, there were things out of our control: Our septic system needed to be replaced, and we had some unexpected medical bills. Most things, though, were in our control, including the ridiculous $36.75 I spent at the vending machine. Even though that’s not a lot of money, it’s more than I thought I spent on Wild Cherry Pepsi.<\/p>\n

The numbers didn’t lie. When I said, “We don’t eat out much,” it said, Oh yeah? Well, why don’t you take a look at this little category called “food”? Trim a little from this category and you might trim a lot from your waistline AND have leftovers to invest.<\/em><\/p>\n

Every minute staring at that spreadsheet was worth it. Just by spending consciously<\/a>, I can afford to invest $50 each month. I do<\/em> have some invisible money. So that’s my first tip to you. Keep a record of all the money coming in and all the money going out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>Cut expenses<\/span><\/h2>\n

I still have a landline. Actually, while I’m confessing, I may as well tell you that I still have a rotary phone with something called a cord. It doubles as entertainment for the kids who visit. Can anyone tell me why I am still paying for a phone I don’t answer? Yeah, I don’t know either. Canceling that service leaves me $30 a month to invest. And that’s my second tip. Stop spending money on something that isn’t necessary or isn’t important to you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>Extra money<\/span><\/h2>\n

When I tried to find extra money to invest, I didn’t want to tap my income from my two side gigs, my husband’s side gigs, or either one of our day jobs. We may be able to use those income sources in the future, but 2013 is bringing big changes to our family income and expenses<\/a>. I’m waiting to see what happens there before we make any investing decisions with that money.<\/p>\n

Because that income was safe from this new investing venture, I focused on other income. It was easy to find because, as I said, I kept track of every dime that came into our house. Our random bits of income included things like:<\/p>\n