Steve Adcock, a 38 year old retiree who quit his job and retired at 35 recently shared his story. The former software developer quit his six figure job in software in 2016 and had his 31 year old wife join him in early retirement a year later.
He said they always contributed the annual limit for their retirement savings plans and invested tons of money in the stock market. His wife’s entire salary always went straight into their investment portfolio. But much of their success had to do with cutting back on spending. Initially, it was hard for them, like the masses, he was never the cautious type. Once he dropped his bad spending habits, their retirement savings began to shoot up.
A lot of people struggle to save and here is why, according to a report from a life insurance company, the average adult spend a lot monthly on things that aren’t important which is baffling considering how low the salaries are.
One of the very effective start to this solution for early retirement is cutting down on spending, however, Steve stated seven pointless things people should stop wasting their hard-earned cash on:
1. Eating out
A lot of people waste their money on dining out. And I get it: It’s nice to get out of the house and have someone else cook for you. But it’s not always cheap. You get to spend a lot on dinning out, ordering for pizza, paying for delivery and all that but to help control costs, don’t order beverages or drinks. Water with lemon is just as satisfying and it’s free. This reduces the bill,
And if you have left overs, don’t let it go wasted. Even if it’s just a few pieces of vegetables, you always find a way to reuse them the next day.
2. Phone upgrades
We know how crazy the urge is to upgrade your phones to the latest version, especially iPhone users. Now there’s iPhone max pro and you all want to show off. But the devices we have now are so advanced that they can function for years without a problem. And while the updated features are nice, they aren’t life-changing.
Truly, it only makes sense to get an upgrade if your current phone has major technical issues or stops working completely. But even then, taking it to a repair shop first can save you hundreds of dollars. Steve and Courtney kept their previous phones for over four years before finally getting new ones last year. For each year that they decide not to upgrade, they save up to $1,500. Rather than owning a piece of technology that depreciates each year, they figured they are better off putting that money into appreciating assets in the stock market.
3. Fashion
For the shopaholics, you all need to know that fast fashion doesn’t make shopping any less tempting, but remember that it only takes a few months for whatever clothes, shoes or accessories that is in vogue today to be replaced by some other contemporary trend. So before you make a purchase, ask yourself if you really need or have the room for it.
Steve clothes rules are: Vow to buy less. He just buys the essentials, and once he does, he’ll wear them until they’re stained, ripped or no longer fit. On average, he only step foot into a shopping mall two or three times each year and spend between $50 to $100 per trip.
4. Lottery tickets
Ditching this habit can save you a lot. We all know the chances of winning a lottery, especially a game like Baba Ijebu, they say you can’t win if you don’t play. But we all know that the chances of winning are minute. You need to stop wasting your money on this and save up.
5. Cable TV
The prices of owning a goes up almost every year, and it can be so annoying. But today, there are a lot of streaming services which you won’t even need to spend more on. Instead of paying a lot for DSTV and the rest, you can easily download and stream online and you get to pay less. Steve’s word of caution, he says too many people end up wasting hundreds of dollars per year on subscriptions they don’t use. So be mindful when deciding what to sign up for (and try to stick with just one service, if possible).
6. Impulse purchases
This is about things you don’t need, but are tempted to buy at that moment, like when you see a pack of gum in front of you at the supermarket checkout line. Truth is, the immediate satisfaction will wear off before you know it. Big purchases are the most dangerous. They mostly seem as a good investment but then they aren’t really. You can only get those things in bulk if you really need them, don’t just buy because there’s sales going on and at the end of the day; you get them and go dump them at the store without using them. You need to save and now is a good time to start
