The Escape Hatch

Building your must fund part 2

So, you’ve decided to start building your must fund, but like most of us — you don’t have a pile of money just lying around to put towards your investment…here are some ideas of little ways you can curb your spending and put the savings immediately into your must fund. And make sure you set your must fund up in a higher yield interest bearing account such as ING Direct, or E-trade.

***Added bonus…something that benefits one part of your life will most often benefit other parts of your life…dual and exponential benefits are the icing on the cake or the little crumbles on top of the ice cream sundae — they make it extra special, you can use this handy key to see what other nice benefits await! These added benefits can include the environment, your relationships, your waistline, you soul…and so on it goes. Get out there are start benefiting your dream and the other areas of your life.

mf=must fund
r=relationships
s=soul
e=environment
w=waistline

We’ll start with one area of your life and as the blogs go by – we’ll add to these and explore others…if you have a great money saving must fund tip – please e-mail me and let me know…susan@escapehatcher.com

Transportation
#1 If possible walk/ride bike/car pool to work/store/classes, etc. you save gas money(and who doesn’t need that in times like these), the environment and gives you much needed exercise. Benefits: mf, e, w

#2 Park further away from store entrances — you save gas (by not circling looking for parking) and the aggravation of getting caught up in parking disputes.
Benefits: mf, e, w, s

#3 Don’t pay for valet parking — (if you don’t live in a major metropolitan area you’re laughing right about now, but for those of us in big cities this is a major fund nabber)…always leave a bit earlier so you have time to look for parking in neighborhoods (obviously if its a sketchy hood, this need not apply).
Benefits: mf, e, w

#4 Consider taking public transportation — subway or bus instead of driving. Benefits: mf, e, s (you get to know other people)

#5 In NYC take the subway over cab. Benefits: mf, e, s (again you get to meet and relate to other people you might not otherwise).