millionaires are made by saving 100 bucks at a time

well , it’s true . all references to bucks below is Indian Rupees (INR) . but you can replace these costs with the cost of the respective items in your country.

you have to respect the humble 100 bucks – save it regularly and invest them at 10 % per year will earn you financial independence very fast

consider the ways to save on the following

movies and popcorn / soda – replace them with streaming services and microwave popcorn – savings per outing – at least 700 bucks – if you go for one movie per month – this saves 8400 bucks per year . the streaming services work for an entire year .

car insurance – don’t go with the one your dealer has a tie up with ( they have a commission priced in ) – compare it with other vendors on a site like policybazaar.com ( this is for india – for other countries , we are sure you can find something similar ) – savings per year – at least 5000 bucks . another trick to reduce your insurance premium – increase your deductible – the amount you pay before the insurance company steps in

replace your post paid phone plan with a pre-paid phone plan – they are cheaper – and you are not even using all your talk time minutes and internet data plans – savings – at least 400 bucks per month – 4800 bucks per year

pizza – home delivery – 600 bucks for two people – replace with a home cooked pizza – savings – 500 bucks – 6000 bucks per year ( assuming you order pizza once a month )

groceries – you can easily cut down on your food and grocery bills by planning your meals menu a week in advance – each adult needs 2000 calories per day – which can be obtained from various sources – it could be a combination of carbs , proteins , vitamin c , fruits . prospective savings – 2000 bucks per month – 24,000 bucks per year

gourmet coffee at the premium coffee shop – like starbucks , barista , costa coffee , mccafe , dunkin’ donuts , cafe coffee day , etc – 300 bucks per day – 6000 bucks per month – 72,000 bucks per year . replace this coffee with a local store brand coffee and brew your coffee at home and carry it with you to work – savings – around 65,000 per year

you could travel by the office bus or carpool to work instead of driving your own car – fuel costs savings , say , 3000 bucks per month or 36,000 per year.

switch to LED lamps in the house , switch off fans , air conditioning , cooling and heating when not in use – save on electricity – 300 bucks per month , 3600 bucks per year

total so far : 36,000 + 65,000 + 24,000 + 6,000 + 4,800 + 5,000 + 8,400 + 3600 = 80836 bucks per year or 6,736 per month

• invest this at 10 % returns for 15 years and you get INR 27.05 lakhs
• Over 30 years, it will be 1.4 crores INR

You can use a compounding interest calculator at:

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculators/compoundinterestcalculator.php

Here are some tips while shopping in grocery stores

• always have a list and stick to it
• don’t fall for the impulsive purchases – you see an item at some percentage off – but not in your list – just ignore it
• don’t shop on an empty stomach
• buy only what you need and how much you need – the extra items can get spoiled or rot in your home – it will be a waste of money

• If you have credit card debt , get rid of it as soon as you can . These can take up a lot of your money – they charge interest rate of 3 – 4 % per month .
• Build up an emergency reserve as well , so you never go into debt again ( you don’t have to use the credit cards for emergencies like car or house repair , etc )
• if you have leaky taps , faucets or showers , repair them or replace them . It will save you money on the water bill.
• put all your bills on automatic – link them with a bank account or a debit card – as soon as they are due , they get paid – so you don’t miss out on any payments – and this keeps your credit score good .
• for home broadband , go for the longer duration ( say a 1 year plan ) – you will get better rates.
• if you can live in an area which is within walking distance of your work and everything else ( groceries , shopping , entertainment , medical ) is within walking distances , it will be great – you will save money on transportation , and the walks will keep you healthy – physically and mentally . Real estate is all about three things – location , location , location . then you don’t need a car – even more savings