6 easy things you can do today to make you richer tomorrow

This year, you can make your life richer in many ways. You can take time to do yoga, run a half marathon, or take up journaling; each way will surely make you feel richer inside. Take these 6 easy steps to make you financially richer as well!

It’s crazy… but small changes can have HUGE impacts on the future. Like, if you can find a way to save just $5 a day by home cooking dinner every night, that’s $300 a month, or $3,600 a year – do this for 20 years and you could have $177,000 if you earned 8%. That’s probably enough to retire 3 or 4 years sooner… all from saving money on food. Crazy.

But that’s not the only simple way to become richer:

1. Make an extra loan payment.

Every year, make an extra mortgage or loan payment. This can be done all at once if you get a yearly bonus or with a tax refund. Another method is to take the amount of the payment, divide it by 12 and add that amount to each monthly payment. One extra payment each year can subtract thousands of dollars and years off the length of your loan.

Check out my mortgage loan calculator to model how making extra payments can drastically change the term of your loan and how much interest you pay!

2. Invest your raise.

Each year, when your pay increases you may be tempted to spend that money on something fun for yourself or plan a vacation you’ve been dreaming of taking. Instead, take the amount your paycheck increases and invest that money. This is especially true if you can max out a company match on your 401(k). You won’t notice it now but you certainly will in your retirement years when you are reaping the benefits.

I know someone who started her career this way. Every year, she received a pay increase and each time, she invested that money into an IRA or investment account. By the time she was 40, she was able to retire and live on her investment income.

3. Cook dinner at home every night this month.

Look at your budget from the past couple of months and determine how much you have spent on dining out. Now, challenge yourself to save that amount of money this month by cooking dinner at home every night this month. That money you would have spent should be added to your savings or investment account the next month.

Here’s a REALLY easy way to cook from home – meal plan! I’ve created several meal plans that will save you a ton of money and time. Check them out here!

Repeat 3 – 4 times a year to make yourself extra wealthy!

4. Bump up your 401K by 1%. (Or 2%, 3% or more.)

Head over to human resources tomorrow and ask them to deduct 1% additional from your paycheck for an additional investment in your 401K. You really won’t notice the deduction from your paycheck now and it will start working for you in the form of a larger investment account. You’ll be glad you invested more now when retirement comes around.

5. Sell something and buy stock with the money you make.

Take a walk through your garage, empty your closets, or sell off those collectibles that you no longer love. Find some items that are just taking up clutter and sell them online. Once you have extra cash on hand, use it to buy stock or add it as an extra deposit into your investment account. 

6. Cut out an expense.

Find an expense in your budget that you can do without. Reduce your cable bill, cut back on cell phone services, stop paying for the paper, or mow the lawn yourself. Use the money you would have paid out to increase your wealth.

BONUS – If you really need a boost in your finances, this The Financial Renovation will ROCK the way that you understand and deal with money – in a really good way. And regarding #5, I really go into detail here with how to make extra money 🙂

If you are interested in breaking that cycle, sign up for my Financial Renovation course.  I will be opening the course back up in a few weeks, so sign up to be alerted when I release it again here.

With these 6 steps, you are sure to find yourself wealthier both financially and emotionally. Which step can you take this month to get you there?