How I Saved $10,000 in Six Months
The journey to becoming a saver is a difficult one. For many, it takes years. For me, it has been a personal evolution and a major lifestyle transformation. Three years ago, I was a person who purchased everything that I wanted to. The fact that I never had cash was not a problem for me… that’s what I had credit cards for. It all changed when I made a decision to start living a different kind of life, one that was full of love, passion, and meaning. I stopped buying things just because I wanted to. I stopped lusting after material possessions. I learned to purchase only what I truly needed. Later, I got rid of much of the junk I had collected over a lifetime. Finally, I began to practice a truly minimalist lifestyle.
This month marked an important milestone for me. For the first time in my life, my savings account reached $10,000. Here’s how I did it & how you can do it, too.
1. Set goals & practice visualization. At the beginning of the year I set goals, including—for the first time in my life—some very specific financial goals. In addition to goal-setting, I also practiced visualization. I imagined myself living a lifestyle that would allow me to reach my goals with ease.
Visualization is imagining yourself once you have reached your goals. When we practice visualization, we must be extremely specific about details. Detail is the most important part of visualization. For example, it is not enough to imagine yourself, this time next year with $10,000 in the bank. Rather, you must get specific. What will you be doing exactly? What will your lifestyle look like when you reach that goal? What will you wear? What will you eat? What will you do with your free time? Who will you be surrounded by? These are just some examples of the sort of questions that will help you to get specific & imagine detail as you visualize reaching your goals. There are many more questions that you can ask yourself. Be creative. The more specific you get, the better.
The act of setting goals and visualizing your success will be a critical step in your journey. Your goals and your visualization will serve as your guide map as you journey forward.
2. Have an abundance mindset. Everyday I speak the following affirmations to myself: a. Money is flying at me from all directions. b. I always have more than enough money to live happily, comfortably, and passionately.
Believe me, if you are thinking that this sounds crazy, I understand. When I graduated college with nearly $50,000 in student loan debt and another $10,000 in credit card debt, telling myself that “money was flying at me from all directions” seemed like a certifiably insane sentiment. But I knew in my heart that I have always moved in the direction of my most dominant thoughts. When my thoughts consisted of scarcity (I don’t have enough money, I will never get out of debt, I am broke, and so on) that became my reality. But, when my thoughts became full of abundance, prosperity, and confidence, that became my reality.
3. Stop lying to yourself & making excuses. Excuses are the arch enemy of success. Every time you make a statement that starts with, “I need…”, you are making an excuse and lying to yourself. I need new jewelry to wear to my cousin’s wedding. I need a new suit to wear to the conference next month. I need a new grill because it’s a pain to start the one we have now. Instead of using “I need…” as an excuse, try telling yourself the truth: It would be nice to have this, that, or the other thing, but it would be nicer to pay off my debt. Practice saying, “It would be nice to have… but it would be nicer to pay off my debt” as often as you can. The more you practice saying this, the more easily it will come to you the next time you start to make an excuse or lie to yourself.
4. Cut out the excess. I never imagined what an enormous difference cutting out the excess would make to my monthly budget. We have no idea how much all of the “little things” add up until we stop spending on them. Before I started saving, impromptu shopping trips, dining out, and trips to the salon, were regular activities for me. If I went to the shopping mall to buy my nephew’s birthday gift and happened to spot a cute pair of shoes, I would purchase them. If I was flipping through a catalog and spotted a gorgeous pair of Gucci sunglasses, I would go online and order them. If I was having a craving for coconut shrimp, I would drive down to the Outback & spend $50.00 on takeout for me and Matthew.
The list goes on and on. I never stopped to consider the impact that my actions had on my finances. If I wanted something I bought it. It was so easy for me to justify my actions. “I work hard. I am a good person. I deserve to have what I want.” The problem with this was simple. In acquiring all of this crap that I “wanted”, I forgot to account for something else that I wanted even more: financial independence, the ability to live without debt hanging around my throat, the ability to travel, to live passionately, to be in touch with my true self.
When I cut out my excess spending, the rest began to fall into a place.
5. Make automatic deposits. When I first started researching debt-free lifestyles, I kept coming across information about automatic depositing. I read somewhere that “after awhile you will stop missing the automatic deposits from your paycheck into your savings account”. The idea was that because the debits happen automatically each month, eventually you will adjust your budget and stop “missing” the specified amount of money. I thought the idea was ridiculous! I thought that there was no way I could stop missing any amount of money, no matter how small!
But, six months later, here I am eating my words. I started out by depositing $500 a month into my ING Direct savings account. After a couple of months, I honestly stopped missing that money. It was particularly easy to adjust to the change in my budget because that was the same time that I started to cut the excess. The money that I saved by eliminating the excess crap flowed into my savings account seamlessly.
I also started to seek out other ways to lower my monthly expenses. I started packing my own lunches and we got rid of cable. (Side note: Netflix is a cheaper, excellent alternative without all the bullshit marketing!) As I found additional ways to cut spending, I was able to increase my savings deposit from $500 to $1,000 each month. Yes, currently I am putting $1,000 a month into savings. Yes, this is a huge chunk of my monthly income, but I know that this is the right thing for me to do at this time.
6. Use Mint. I absolutely adore Mint.com. I have been using Mint since last September to track my spending. It is so easy to use. All of my accounts are hooked up to Mint including my debit card & checking account, my credit card, my ING savings account, my car loan account, and all of my student loan accounts. Mint allows me to see the “big picture” at anytime. It also conveniently organizes my spending & savings in real-time. Because I use my debit card for almost everything (including utilities, loan payments, and day-to-day purchases) Mint allows me to monitor every purchase/payment that I make. Being able to visibly “see” where my money goes in graphs, pie charts, and bar charts (Mint puts these together) really allows me to understand how & where my money goes. It enables me to monitor my spending and locate additional areas where I can save.
7. Invest in long-term happiness. While I have saved $10,000 in six months by practicing the tips above, I’ve also made substantial purchases during this time. Getting out of debt does not mean that you have to make insane sacrifices, live like a pauper (though that helps), or even give up on your dreams. It simply means that you should spend responsibly and spend when it leads to long-term happiness instead of instant gratification. It’s alright to spend money if it leads to success and enables you to accomplish your dreams.
A couple of my recent substantial purchases were my Macbook (purchased in April) and my upcoming trip to Paris (booked earlier this month). Over the past six months, I have also spent money trading cash for experience.
8. Use extra money as extra savings, not extra spending. Around the time that I started saving, I also started to practice minimalism. I sold much of my jewelry & clothing on Etsy and to local thrift stores. Around that same time, I also started life coaching. All of the money that I made from selling my possessions and life coaching has gone into my savings account.
Often times, when we come into extra income, we think it’s a great time to celebrate and increase our spending. This is a grave mistake. If you continually increase your spending as your income increases, you will never get ahead. By taking my extra income and depositing into my savings account, I have been able to meet many of my financial goals for the year ahead of schedule. When I got my annual bonus in June, I separated out one quarter to buy my mom a birthday gift and to give Matthew money for our home improvements. I put the rest of the money right into my savings account.
I am no longer a fan of money or a slave to my debt. I once read that seeking happiness & fulfillment outside of yourself is insanity. In the end, all that we need exists within ourselves. The true wealth of the world lies within the vast, beautiful depths of our souls. Of course we need the basics—food, water, shelter—but beyond that, we need a lot less than we think.
I hope that these tips are helpful to you. I hope that at least one of these ideas will resonate with you and allow you to take the next steps in your journey toward financial freedom, passionate living, and creating the life of your dreams. If you have questions, ask away!
Wishing you prosperity, love, & light,
D.
. On the return flight, I finished it. It was my introduction to Seth Godin—no idea why I hadn’t found him sooner!—and what an introduction it was. The book blew me away. It is the best book on leadership and change management that I’ve ever read. While the content is sure to inspire change of the greatest sort within any organization—from business to church, non-profit to learning institution—it is also of incredible value to individuals.
generation.
Great post Dena. You’re so right when you start making the saving, instead of the spending, automatic it soon grows…and grows.
Very, very inspiring 🙂
@ Laura – Thank you so much for your kind words! Yes. After awhile saving becomes like an addiction. You can’t wait to see that number in your savings account growing & growing. I never though I would see ME become addicted to saving (and not spending)! But it is amazing what we can accomplish with some goal-setting & dedication.
Absolutely awesome Dena!!! What a story and what a how-to post!! I’ve learned to love the prospects of positive thinking, believing in yourself, and visualizing the reality that you want. It is those small steps that really transform a persons thought process. The negative thoughts people often have about themselves generally translate into reality because they start believing them. Once that happens the road to independence seems hopeless, therefore giving the person no reason to even try. One of the most important things I have learned about myself is that, often times, I am my own worst enemy. It is I, that limits my abilities and successes more than anyone else eve could. Once I learned that about myself, my life began to take a drastic and purposeful turn in the right direction. It was one of the most rewarding lessons EVER!!
Great post Dena! Keep inspiring others to take control and grow into something they never thought possible!! I LOVE IT!!
Evolution YOU-NIVERSITY baby!!! 🙂
@ Brad – Thank you so much for your incredible, inspirational comment! You are so wonderful. I have said it before & I will say it again: I am so grateful to have friends like you. Your story & wisdom have been beautiful guiding forces to me throughout my own journey.
I am so happy to hear that the power of positive thinking has been having such a profound impact on you, too. We are blessed to be creating these lives & to be helping other people get on their own paths. Thank you so very much — as always — for your support! 😉
Hey Dena I loved this post. I am working on getting my finances in order ad well I am working on paying off my credit card debt so I Amin a debt management right now. I am still in school so my student loans arenot going any where but I have found that I spend on fast-food and other things. I need to be more positive about what I want and stop being so pessimistic. I def loved your tips and congrats on having an abundant amount in your savings account I do not any savings and I need to realize that I need to save something and it will grow I had an ing direct account a very long time ago will have to open another one I will start to think differently about saving and my needs vs my wants
@ Michelle – Thank you for your comment. I am so happy to hear that you are working to get your finances in order. It is such an important part of out health & well-being. I am not saying that we have to be wealthy, but we shouldn’t have to live with debt hanging around our necks, or with compulsive spending habits.
You are right, taking a positive approach toward your situation will help you move forward. Visualize where you want to be and then take yourself there. You can do it! 🙂
This is an awesome post and one that is very encouraging to me as my wife and i seek to get rid of student loan debt.
Awesome post, (I know it’s old but i’m going through the archives for the first time ever) I was saving 1 thousand a month at one point too but somewhere along the way I lost control of my budget even though I just got a raise, I seem to feel like I have less money. I recently celebrated my first 10k saved, also!
I know how you feel. Sometimes, when you start to make more, you also start to SPEND more. It’s a difficult habit to break. The key (in my experience) has been to stick to a budget/lifestyle and don’t start over-spending just because of the salary increase.
Thanks so much for sifting through the archives, I really appreciate your presence. <3
Thank You. After evaluating my bank account, my spending habits, and my credit report…This is what I needed to push me forward. Change is good and at times, change is what necessary.
thanks for the encouragement – badly need to get saving and you articlecreally helped
I know this post is old but such an inspiration. But how can I have savings when I have so much date.
I will catch you in ten months… I am going on a cruise to Europe (my goal) and spending ONLY what I save from my 10,000 account. It is my one big dream purchase that I won’t apologize for, and I’m putting it out there so I am accountable to my dream (saving the money, and going on the cruise).
Curious, how did you start life coaching?
Hi Trina — I started life coaching after I overcame anxiety and depression. I wanted to help others to do the same. 🙂
Very inspiring just accidentally ran onto your blog and love it! By the dates of the first few comments I can tell this was written a few years back but i’m just wondering if you and your husband have kept this up. My wife and I started our savings journey and Mint.com is the best. We have reached the 10k mark but our ultimate goal is 100k!! Wish us luck!
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂 Yes, this was years ago. We are still saving. 🙂 Simple living has helped greatly over the years. Best of luck in your quest to 100K!
Hi i have seen your post a few weeks ago and it made me put some of your tips into practice and i must say that i feel much better for it, i have saved this in my favs and read it a couple of times a week ,thank you you have helped me get on the path to a better future.
Great post. I’m retired on a fixed income. I pay myself $10 to $20 a day from my checking account to my savings. It might sound silly but each of us have to discover our own way of managing, and with a click of a mouse it’s easy. If that money stays in my checking account, I’m going to spend it and I know it.
I absolutely LOVED reading this blog! It was very informing..each tip was very helpful. I took notes and plan on using each and everyone to my advantage to start saving and get on the road to financial freedom! I appreciate you taking the time out to write this blog!! I loved it! Thanks so much!!!!! I’ll be back in 6 months to let you know how your advice helped me save $10,000!!!!
xoxoxoxo
Mercedes!!! 🙂
Thank you for this post,.. while it will take me longer to reach my first goal of $10K+ (12 months @ $850 mo) This Post gave me the added enthusiasm I needed to get focused and start saving! I enjoy watching the account grow & also paying down CC debt. Once my credit cards are paid off i’ll fully fund my savings and can reach the next milestone ($25K) faster!!
I want to start saving money for a downpayment for a condo. This is just the encouragement I needed!
Thank you for this post!! Im currently attempting to save 10k in the same amount of time. I have 64k worth of loans and a 50k salary job. I wanted to know how did you manage to pay your loans and save at the same time?
Thank you in advance
Great work on this! I changed my lifestyle when I decided to be a stay at home parent with my LEO husband. Practicing minimalism like you mentioned was super important! I wish more people thought like this and realized that there are more important things in life like family and love in life! Have fun in Paris!
This doesn’t make any sense to me. I make less than $10,000 a year and you spend more than that in 6 months.
I’m not sure that I understand your line of reasoning here, but this advice certainly is only applicable given certain income ranges. Also, I don’t spend more than 10K in six months. That would definitely completely destroy my budget.
Great post!! All of these tips really works too! Its hard at first but totally worth it!
Hi! I am so glad to have found this 🙂 thank you for inspiring me to get my financial butt in shape! I agree with everything you’re suggesting. I do have a question – how did you manage paying off your credit cards and saving at the same time? I feel like this is where I get hung up the most. Thanks!
Thanks for the inspirational post on how to save your money. I got a job now and was thinking of buying the latest gadget again but I now I know what my needs and wants. So I think I’d rather save it for my future.
I am so happy that I stumbled upon this amazing article! I am 25 and I am finally at a point in my life where I am seeking financial freedom. I recently started a new job that pays pretty well so this is the perfect opportunity for me to pay off my debt and save like nobody’s business. I am A entrepreneur at heart so I took this job with a savings goal in mind so that I wont have to be stuck here for long but i refuse to leave without meeting my savings goal/ start up cost for my jewelry small business. Thank you for this beautiful insight! I feel Like I can do it after reading this 💗
-Sydney
I appreciate this so much great advice to follow I’m taking heed to it ASAP thanks again
This was such great advice! thank you so much for sharing your tips! “spend responsibly and spend when it leads to long-term happiness instead of instant gratification” is my new life motto! 🙂
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This was super helpful! Thank you so much for sharing your advice 🙂 “spend responsibly and spend when it leads to long-term happiness instead of instant gratification” is my new life motto now! 🙂
Thank you for reading! Glad it was helpful. ♥️
Seriously??? Visualization and thinking about abundance??? How about having a job… you neglect to even mention that as one of the steps… This is absurdly impractical. Not to mention the blatant sales attempt for Mint.
Haha. Thanks for reading. No sales attempt. I didn’t even collaborate with Mint on this post. It’s just a tool that I used to use and found helpful. Cheers, mate and happy new year.
This is a wonderful article. Thank you!