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The Power of Money Boxes
by Fiona Lippey
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Stashing small change in a sealed money box will mean that you can do and buy things your friends can't. How would you like to have enough money to go to a concert by a favourite group, to attend a big sporting event, or even to leave home? Imagine being able to afford a beautiful formal dress, forbidden make-up, a mobile phone, or modeling photos. You name it. It can be yours. All you need to do is set a few rules.
Being successful with your money box means putting a system in place.
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First, you will need a goal. What do you want more than anything else in the world? Write it down.
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Next, you will have to decide when you are going to open your money box. Will it be on a certain date, when it is full, or when you've saved a certain amount? Write this down.
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Now it is time to load your money box with cash. You will need to decide when you will deposit coins into the box. Will you do this every afternoon, every week, or every pay day? Will you deposit the change from your lunch money, the pocket money you've earned, or money you've received for your birthday, or all of the above? If you're really disciplined, you might decide to save a certain amount each week. Decide on your plan and then write it down.
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Store your money box in a safe place. It is something precious to you and that makes it a likely target for evil siblings.
- Keep your savings plan handy. Glance at it often, follow the rules and get ready to count your money.
You can save up money even faster if you ask your parents for help. There are two different requests you can make:
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Ask your parents to teach you about interest. Try and convince them that you will be encouraged to save money if they pay you interest each month. If there is $100 in your money box, they should give you $10 each month. Or, if your money box weighs 500 grams, they should give you $5. Thus as the money box grows heavier, your interest payments will keep getting bigger.
- If you're saving for something really big, such as holiday spending money or a stereo, ask your parents nicely if they will match the amount you've saved dollar for dollar. This is a fast way of doubling your money.
Creating a Money Box
It is important to use a sealed money box. This way, you are protecting it from secret raids by your siblings and parents. A cheap way of making a sealed money box is to recycle a Milo/coffee tin. (You might have to ask your dad or older brother to help you to create the coin slot.) Alternatively, you can buy a cheap money box from a discount shop for $2 to $3. To prevent someone from stealing your money box, you might want to deposit your money into an object that doesn't look like a money box, such as an old basketball with a secret opening. You can also keep multiple money boxes and label them for each purpose (make-up, hot date, movies, schoolies week).
Money boxes can help you to accomplish your dreams. All you need to do is put a savings system in place and then deposit a small amount of money into a secure money box on a regular basis. If you do this over a period of time, you will surprise yourself with how much money you can save. Just imagine what you could do with this big pile of money!
Fiona Lippey calls herself the Miser Extraordinaire and edits "The Secrets to Saving Money in Australia." 5100+ easy ways to reduce your living expenses. Go to www.simplesavings.com.au for your free newsletter
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