This is an article written by Gene Nail, former editor of the Palm Beach Post, I hope you enjoy it.
When this writer was a newspaper reporter in the mid-1970s, he had the occasion to meet wealthy insurance magnate John D. MacArthur at a luxury, ocean-front hotel which he built and owned. The real estate agent making the introductions ushered me into the restaurant of The Breakers Hotel and to a far corner of the near-empty restaurant during the middle of the afternoon when business was very slow. There, in the far corner of the room sat the billionaire at a table covered with partial catsup bottles, nonchalantly consolidating the bottles so that the catsup in the near-empty bottles would not be wasted. Obviously, the scene made an impression on me because I remember it as if it happened yesterday. And just as obviously, Mr. MacArthur had already learned one of the essential lessons of accumulating wealth: it takes pennies to make dollars to make millions.
You must think little to save big. You can create your own example of this principle by starting with something inexpensive that you spend money for every day. It could be a cup of coffee, a soda and a candy bar, or a pack of cigarettes. But if you spend a dollar on any item every day, that would come out to $30 a month, $364 dollars a year, and $36,400 in ten years. And if the money is invested as it’s saved rather than spent, at the end of those ten years, your kitty could amount to more than $70,000.
Too often people think that because their income is limited that they do not earn enough money to save anything, or they fail to recognize that accumulating resources through a regular savings plan is a state of mind. Not many years ago most families ate almost all their meals at home. And if someone didn’t, that person carried a prepared meal from home. No matter how often or how many meals you eat “out,” you can easily calculate how much money you can save by reducing eating out one or two times a week and instead put the $10 to $30 saved a week into your saving account.
For younger workers, that $30 saved a week could put as much as $80,000 to $100,000 into your retirement fund after interest is added. With a regular savings plan, it is easy to see how “possible” it is for almost anyone to save thousands of dollars towards their dream, or toward their retirement. All it takes is a commitment. If you are the type who needs help, do not fail to seek the assistance of professionals who can show you many plans that will help you reach your savings goal.
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