For a few people, saving comes easily. They squirrel away money as if they are completely oblivious to the glaring consumerism in the world today. Unfortunately, I have never been one of those people. My fellow Gen-Xers and I have adopted the "I want it and I have to have it now" attitude. So to combat this I'm actually going to start saving for my summer vacation now.
As to not feel deprived, I'm going to use a method of saving that's a little unorthodox. Having the money directly withdrawn from the paycheck or heaven forbid actually withdrawing the money from my bank account directly has never worked for me. Instead I'm going to combine my love of shopping with my desire to save for a vacation.
I recently read in article in Real Simple magazine where the author said that he saved for his vacation by saving every $5 bill he received. Every time he got a $5 bill, he just tucked it away. While I think that's really cool, I tend not to carry cash.
I am going to save for my vacation by using a variation of that method. Every time I use my debit card at the grocery store, discount store, or any other place I can get cash back, I'm going to take out $5 in cash. Assuming I visit 5 stores a week that will let me get cash back (very realistic because I have 4 kids and I'm constantly at the grocery store or Target) that's $25 a week in savings. If we take our summer vacation the last week in July, that's 9 months or 36 weeks (keep up with me people) of savings.
36x25=$900 IN CASH!
So $900 isn't going to get me, my husband, and four children to Rome, Paris, or Buenos Aires, it will definitely pay for a week at the beach. As the weather turns colder and the holiday obligations start piling up, a week of playing in the surf and laying on the sand sounds pretty amazing.
Maybe I'll be so excited as the money adds up, that I'll be inspired to save more. Even if I just stick to my original plan, I'll be proving to myself that I CAN save and my family will get to take a vacation!
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