July Money Challenge: Upgrade and Save
Last month we got you to bargain on everything and some of you have saved hundreds. We’re impressed. We have a guest this month. Wallet Hacks’ Jim Wan joins us and we urge you to use his “Update and Save” strategy.
We’ve told you about this strategy before , but let Wang explain how it works:
It is very easy to update and save. Sometimes you save more by upgrading something instead of cutting back on money. We have been taught to think that if we want to save, we must cut, save, or get by with less. Sometimes it’s worth spending more on better quality products so that you change less often or make better decisions more conveniently to avoid bad financial choices.
A classic example: renting an internal modem. Many ISPs charge you a monthly fee to rent their modem, and as Wang points out in his original post, the modem is not very good. You can buy it yourself and save some money over time. Wang gives some more examples in his original blog post , but the idea is the same. Instead of looking for things to cut back on ( which we’ve already done ), try looking at costs you can “invest in” to save money over time.
However, there is a big caveat here . Some people may use this method as an excuse to spend money on things. So keep in mind: the goal is still to save money. The update is just icing.
You can get started by taking a look at your budget and expenses to see where you can save with an upgrade. Are you in business? If so, please let us know how you plan to upgrade to the new version and how much you plan to save by the end of the year. We will be back at the end of the month.