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Saving Money to Retire Early

My goal in life is to retire early,be comfortable and safe during hard times. To do this you have to treat your savings as a necessity like food and clothing.

First, aim to build a readily available emergency fund. It should be enough to cover groceries, mortgage, car payments and utility bills for at least three months.

Next, instead of relying on your self-discipline, enroll in your company's 401 or 403k and also arrange for your bank to automatically transfer a specific amount from your checking account to an interest bearing savings account. You can also open a short term certificate of deposit ( CD )with a decent interest rate.

You should also develop a "loose change" policy with you family. At the end of the day have all family members put all their loose change in a jar. Then, once a week, deposit the coins in a savings account.

If you get 26 paychecks a year use 24 of them which would be 2 a month for the family budget. Put the extra 2 paychecks in a savings account.

Also, try not supervise your children's saving and spending too strictly. Letting them learn small amounts will save them expensive lessons later in life.

If you are not a risk taker and are looking for a safe way to save money buy savings bonds. With this option you must realize that you can not use the money for a few years.

Now here are some real penny pinching tips.

1. Use cloth napkins instead of paper. They pay for themselves quickly.
2. Buy air conditioners in the winter when they are least expensive. You can actually do this with any seasonal items.
3. Take seconds. For example buy irregular bathroom towels, shower curtains and rugs.
4. Buy used exercise equipment.
5. Go to yard or tag sales.

By being creative you can add many more to the above.

Learn more about this author, Frank Donatone.
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