"It doesn't matter how much you earn, it is what you save that matters."
My grandfather is an extreme saver. He saves everything. I don't think he's ever thrown away anything. A few years ago, he gave me a watch that he bought when he was around 20 years old. That means my watch is about 70 years old.
Maybe it's because he grew up during The Great Depression. I have no idea how much money he saved, but I do know that he has been in retirement and hasn't worked in over 40 years. lol
Who are the world's best savers?
China wins hands down.
How about the worst?
Kiwis (New Zealand)
However, Europeans are the most consistent savers. As most would expect, Americans (The United States of Consumption) hardly save a dime. I didn't realize Aussies were so bad at saving. I thought the Japanese were better at saving... Koreans used to be incredible savers. What happened?
Here are the "Household Savings Rates" from the OECD 2007 Factbook:
1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2007 | |
2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.2 | -2.3 | -3.2 | -3.7 | 0.5 | |
8.2 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 9.1 | ||
11.1 | 11.1 | 9.7 | 11.6 | 11.9 | 10.4 | .. | ||
4.9 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.7 | ||
24.0 | ||||||||
4.1 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 3 | 2.4 | 0.2 | ||
- | -3.6 | -2 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 1.1 | ||
0.5 | 2.1 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 2.4 | ||
12.3 | 12 | 11.8 | 12.5 | 13.7 | 12.5 | 12.4 | 12.8 | |
10.2 | 9.5 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 10.1 | 10.4 | 10.6 | 10.4 | |
.. | .. | -4.1 | -5.6 | -7.4 | -6.3 | -5.8 | 7.3 | |
.. | 9.8 | 9 | 10.4 | 10.8 | 11 | 11.6 | ||
12.1 | 10.7 | 8.5 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 4 | 3.2 | 3.0 | |
24.8 | 17.4 | 10.7 | 6.4 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 6.3 | 4.0 | |
7.5 | 7.1 | 10.7 | 7.7 | 8.8 | .. | .. | ||
13.5 | 9.9 | 7.5 | 10.5 | 9.4 | 8.4 | 8.1 | ||
-4.2 | -5.3 | -3.8 | .. | .. | .. | .. | ||
5.9 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 9 | 10.1 | .. | ||
12 | 10.6 | 8.4 | 9.9 | 6 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 8.8 | |
.. | .. | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4 | .. | .. | ||
.. | .. | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 6 | 4.6 | 10.6 | |
3.1 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 8.6 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 8.7 | ||
12 | 11.2 | 13.2 | 13 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 9.1 | ||
2.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | -0.7 | 2.7 | |
4.5 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.7 | |
Euro area | 10.4 | 9.3 | 9 | 9.5 | 9.9 | 9.7 | .. |
I am not as frugal as my grandfather. So, I can't really give much saving advice.
Here are 5 things I do:
1. I avoid Starbucks/Coffee Bean. Why would I pay $5 for something that costs 10 cents?
Would you pay 50,000 won for one 김밥? That's what you're paying for coffee.
2. Eating at restaurants. I love eating at restaurants, but I only do it once or twice a week. Usually, I cook dinner at home. I can make a steak dinner for $7 as opposed to $22 at Outback Steakhouse. And my Italian food tastes better than the pasta at most Italian restaurants.
3. Buy online. I buy almost everything online because it costs less.
4. Clothes. I love clothes, especially brand names like Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, and Donna Karan. However, everything I buy is on sale or from an outlet. I never pay more than $30 for a shirt. My Calvin Klein and Levi's jeans cost $26. If you ever travel to the
5. Maximize your air miles. I like to travel, but I don't like paying for airplane tickets. I've had free tickets to the
How do you save money?
3 comments:
You're so frugal. I love Starbucks and enjoy eating at restaurants. However, I hardly spend money except that I pay for something to eat.
The U.S. is one of the best places for shopping. When I'm going to NY this summer, I'll focus on shopping at Independence Day holiday.
There will be a lot of bargains. Especially, with the slowing economy.
If you're going to NY, you should make a trip to this place:
http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=7
Of course, I'm planning to buy a few items at Woodbury. I might spend a lot of money if there will be good products at a reasonable price.
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