The One-A-Day Money Mood Booster

I was recently thinking again of my fairly long journey from the depths of financial hell, and trying to think of some things that, if I had in my in my life at that time, might have made the journey a little shorter, or a little easier to stay focused on. Then it occurred to me. And I usually try to do this now. Maybe not on a daily basis, but at the very least on all of my off days. I try to come up with at least one good "money event" or "money mood booster" each day.

I'll get to the explanation of exactly what that is in a second. Going back to my journey--it was not the easiest thing in the world. And I have never said that it was. Most of the goals that I was trying to reach back then were very long term (because I was so far in debt). Therefore, there were a lot of days when it would have been easy to just give up, to forget about it all and go back to my old ways of spending money.

I can't imagine how much more motivated I would have been had I had a little "boost" at least every few days, if not every day. Just a little something that told me I was doing things right, I was making progress, and that I would reach my goals at some point in time.

This is what I'm talking about when I say a daily "money event" or "money mood booster". I'm not saying that every day you're going to be able to come up with a way to beat the stock market, with a way to cut your grocery bill in half, or any other major savings event. What I am saying is that you should try to identify some of the "little" ways that you have found to save money-and celebrate them. Give your conscience a little boost.

Some recent examples in my life.

--I recently found a different gas station to do my filling up. Its right near our home, and I save roughly 9 cents per gallon on gas. Is this huge savings on a daily or even weekly basis? No. But, stretch it out over a year, and it's about $125 in savings!

--The other day, I noticed the food we buy for our baby on sale at half price. So I went home, and got my "dollar off when you buy 10" coupons and stocked up. I got 40 little jars of baby food for the price of 16!

I buy motor oil somewhat in bulk for our two cars. Found a coupon online for $10 off a purchase of $25 for my auto parts store. Printed it out, bought my oil for about the next six months, and saved 40%!

It is these types of things that first of all, you should be trying to do in your life. It is these kinds of things that will lead to a more financially sound lifestyle. And second, you should celebrate them. Throw a party and have cake and ice cream? Of course not. But give your mind a little pat on the back every time you do these things. If you are currently in debt and trying to dig your way out, this will provide you additional motivation to help keep you on the right track. If you're already there and still trying to squeeze your dollars, celebrating these little things will keep you sharp and on the lookout for more ways to save.

As I see it, saving money is more about a state of mind than it is about sacrificing things in your life or how much money you make. Want to learn more tips and strategies on how to save money on your bills, how to spend less money in general and some great methods for generating income in your life? Visit me at my personal finance blog http://yourfinances101.com/blog.

There you can check out my recently published book, "Don't Be A Mule: A Common-sense Guide to Saving More, Spending Less, and Generating Extra Income in Your Everyday Life."

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