Cut Your Spending A Little So Your Investments Have More to Grow On

Pay attention to how you spend your money and you can find some easy ways to cut back so you have money left over each month to invest for the things that matter to you, like retirement, education and travel. Especially during the holidays, it is easy to get caught up in the glitter and advertising hype and to spend more than you need to. But, you can economize without lowering your enjoyment of life.

It may not be hard to find ways to trim the expense of some of your most cherished holiday traditions. Take, for example, sending Christmas cards to your family and friends. This is a great way to stay in touch with all of those people on your list that you don't get to see very often, but you can do a couple of things to minimize the expense of sending out cards every year.

First, buy greeting cards online and save a significant amount off of the retail price you will find in stores. Then, plan ahead to next year and shop in the days after Christmas for the huge markdowns as retailers try to unload their excess holiday inventory.

Second, split your holiday greeting card list into two groups: people you can email to, and people who still live in the stone age and don't use computers. Create your own Christmas card or holiday letter on your computer, complete with special photos of your family or your family dog. Then, email it to everyone you can and save the cost of postage and envelopes. For the snail-mail holdouts on your list, print it out and mail it and hope they send you an email address soon.

A good way to save significant pocket change all year round is to pay your bills using your bank's online bill pay service. This takes a little time to set up the first time around, but then you save the cost of postage, envelopes and check printing every time you pay your bills. If your bank charges for their online bill paying system, find another bank.

By paying most of your recurring bills online, you will not have to write nearly as many checks every year. But, when you do run out of checks, reorder your personal checks and business checks online to save money over the cost of reordering retail.

During the cold, dark months of winter, you can easily save some money just by paying more attention to your household energy use. Turn your thermostat down several degrees when you will be away from home and at night when you are sleeping. Keep your south facing window shades open during the day to allow the free sunlight in.

These tips may seem like insignificant ways to save money, but if you act on them and similar ideas you will discover that you are saving much more than just pocket change. Over the course of a working lifetime, it could make your retirement much more enjoyable than if you spend thirty or forty years not paying attention.