I often hear young people say they want to retire early. When I ask them how they plan to do this, these same people will tell me that they need to invest to be able to do so, but they do not yet earn enough to be able to invest.
To me, you don’t need much to start, but you need to start. In an earlier blog post, I shared how even investing as little as $10 a month in dividend shares can give you a sizable passive income when compounded over time. Hence, it is my belief that we all earn enough to invest and it is our poor money habits that prevent us. With some thought and effort, we can easily plug these money leaks and “find” the money to invest.
SCAMPER is a brainstorming technique used to develop, or improve, products and services. It is also a technique everyday consumers like you and me can use to help reduce our monthly living expenses. An acronym, SCAMPER stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to Other Use, Eliminate, and Rearrange. Here are some examples of how you can SCAMPER your way to some investment money:
SUBSTITUTE. We all need our dose of coffee in the morning. While a cup of Starbucks at the local mall works wonders, it is not cheap and will set you back an average of $7 per cup. If you multiply that by 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month, your daily fix of caffeine will cost you $140 a month. You can however get a similar fix by substituting your morning coffee with three-in-ones. Or, if you really cannot give up on your Starbucks, then substitute for the capsules instead.
COMBINE. Bundling is a strategy that retailers use to sell more items while providing consumers with a discount at the same time. In a typical household, each individual will have their own mobile subscription plans. Some Telcos offer tiered discounts based on the number of subscribers linked to a household. So, if your family members are on different plans, combine them and reap the discounts. You can save as much as 25% of your subscription for a family of four, which can add up to a savings of $50 or more a month. Another example would be group buying.
