As we come to the end of a year that has been difficult for many CEIRP members, we can look ahead to 2024 as a fresh start, especially when it comes to how we manage our money. With this in mind, here is a simple money hack that you can try that will help you save in small amounts.
The idea is to put away a set amount each week, or every two weeks, over a period of months. For example, start with $5 and then increase by five each time — i.e. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. If you pledge to yourself to follow this savings scheme for the first half of the year, you can expect to save $1500. If you follow the same course for the last half of the year, you’ll have $3000. Of course you can modify the plan so that you’re saving the same amount each quarter (or every three months). If you saved $390 each quarter, you would have $1560 at the end of the year.
The best part of this is that you can have fun with how much you save each week and how long your savings pattern will be before you start again at “Week 1”. For example you might choose to save an initial $2 and then increase it by two over 16 weeks. And so on. This could be the start of your emergency fund, general savings or an RESP savings plan. By this time next year, you may be amazed by how much you’ve accumulated.
