Baby-steps to savings

With all the blah-blah-blah about maxing RRSP and TFSA limits, many folks think you have to take giant steps in order to be a good saver.

Some people just aren’t there. Yet. In fact, if you’re one of the guys or dolls that doesn’t save a cent, a tip-toe forward may be as much as you can manage.

Don’t even bother trying to come up with an excuse for why you can’t save a dollar a day. It’ll be lame. Not worth the time it’ll take to voice the pathetic whine you’ve come up with. Instead, take your loonies and slip ‘em in a can created so you can’t get the money back out without blowing the gig.

Soup cans work great. Any can you can empty and wash out after you’ve cut the little slot across the top will do. You don’t even have to take the label off so you can keep your money hidden amongst the other canned goods in your larder.

Every day slip a loonie in the can. At the end of the month you’ll have your first $30. By the time you take the can opener to the sucker, you’ll have a very healthy deposit for your TFSA, RRSP, or high-interest savings account.

Six months later, once you’re used to sliding away a loonie each day, up the ante. Now you’ll do a toonie, which means you’re saving $60 a month. See, not so hard. From there you’ll set up an automatic savings account to have the $60 transferred to your savings account without having to give it a second thought. Now you’re rockin’ and rollin’.

Six months later, up the ante again: $90 then $120 …. And so on, and so on, and so on. As your money makes more money you’ll wonder why it took you so long to get started and how much more you might have if you had. Don’t bother looking back. Keep looking forward. You tip-toed your way into saving and that’s all that matters.