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Faced with an upcoming holiday at the end of the year, we were racking our brains at ways we could save money so that we didn’t have to play “Scrooge” while we were meant to be away enjoying ourselves. And we’ve come up with two ways that are super-easy, incredibly simple, and they work for all the family.

First idea was to get a cheap money-box for each family member (we used large empty glass jars with lids), and we each put our names on our “money-box”. Then, at the end of every day, we empty all the coins from our purses and wallets into our individual money-box. It’s amazing just how quickly the coins have added up. Between the four of us, in 4 months, we’ve saved over $350, and we really haven’t missed those few coins each day. We’ve even become a bit competitive, with trying to beat each others totals. And just to decrease the temptation to raid our “piggy banks”, we keep them on top of a cupboard in the kitchen, rather than in each of our rooms.

Second idea was something we saw on Facebook (so yes, Facebook can be used for good, as well as evil). It involved the relatively simple idea of putting a specific amount of money away each week, increasing the amount by $1 each week. So the first week of the year, put $1 in an envelope. Second week add $2, third week $3, and so on, until (if you can afford it) by week 52, you’re putting $52 in the envelope & you’ll have over $1,300 saved.

Now I knew that I wouldn’t be able to continue increasing the amount indefinitely because money is tight week to week. So I decided that once I reached $15 a week, that’s what I’d continue to put in the envelope each week, for the rest of the year. By week 15, when I’d reached putting away $15 a week, I already had $105 in the envelope, and if I continue to put away $15/week, I’ll have $525 by the end of the year.

And we’ll each have spending money so that we can treat ourselves on holiday, rather than having to watch every penny that we spend. You don’t have to start at the beginning of the year, you can start any time, so get to it, and watch your saving add up!

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Posted by no1ladydj, 2nd May 2014