I spent enough in 2007 on dining out that I could have paid off my car loan.  Of course, I didn’t think of it like that until afterward.  I asked on Facebook how much people spent on alcohol and cigarettes each week, and a lot of people said their own answers surprised them.  How much do you spend each week on cigarettes, alcohol, soda, snacks, the energy drink, the morning latte, nail care, hair care?  This week, for each day you go without buying those items, put that amount in your savings account.  If you read the newspaper online, put the amount of a subscription in your savings account. Skip going to the movies for a week and put that amount in your savings account.  Include popcorn and soda costs, too. I’m not saying stop pouring money into the economy, I’m saying take a break from incidental expenditures like these, so you can make sure it’s something that is important to you, not just a mindless daily routine that is eating up your dollars.  It’s the little things that add up to surprise you later in life. Make them good surprises.  Like paying off your car loan with the money you saved this year on things you didn’t realize you were spending it on.  Going to the movies once a week and having a latte each day has never been my thing.  But paying off a debt?  Now that turns me on.

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