{"id":5851,"date":"2015-06-19T10:13:35","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T14:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aspire-canada.com\/?p=5851"},"modified":"2017-02-19T11:45:55","modified_gmt":"2017-02-19T16:45:55","slug":"how-i-managed-to-save-money-while-earning-minimum-wage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aspire-canada.com\/?p=5851","title":{"rendered":"How I Managed to Save Money While Earning Minimum Wage"},"content":{"rendered":"

How I Managed to Save Money While Earning Minimum Wage<\/h2>\n
\n

\"How<\/p>\n

A lot of money-saving advice is aimed at people making middle-class incomes. But for those trying to save on a low income, the savings tips they can actually apply are few and far between. It can be difficult to find examples of low-income saving success and get ideas on how to start<\/a> saving in a meaningful way when your paychecks are puny to begin with.<\/p>\n

But one woman, Lidia Shong, found a way to make it work while earning close to minimum wage; she saved 15 percent of her paycheck while earning just $19,000 a year to start her own retirement fund (at the current $7.25 federal minimum wage, full-time workers today gross $15,080 in a year). So just how did she manage to save so much while making so little? Here are the details of Shong\u2019s savings journey, and tips for minimum-wage earners to replicate her success.<\/p>\n

Read: The Slackers Guide t Saving for Retirement<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Low-Wage Job With a 401(k) Match<\/h2>\n

In 2000, Lidia Shong was a 25-year old recent college grad with a degree in marketing. She was young, smart and ambitious and ready to hit the ground running. Unfortunately, her career plans were stalled by a hiccup in the economy: \u201cRight after the Dotcom bubble burst, there were no jobs \u2014\u00a0especially in marketing,\u201d Shong told GOBankingRates.<\/p>\n

Shong knew she wouldn\u2019t last long in the San Francisco Bay area with no job, however. Retail was the only sector that hiring, so Lidia got a full-time job at Williams-Sonoma making $9.25 an hour. Fortunately, the company offered money-saving work benefits, including a 401(k) with an employer match. Lidia\u2019s boyfriend at the time worked for mutual fund company Franklin Templeton, and being familiar with the importance of retirement savings, he pushed Lidia to start investing and saving. Initially, however, Lidia wasn\u2019t interested in contributing; she wasn\u2019t making very much money in the first place and didn\u2019t see the value in reducing her take-home pay even further.<\/p>\n

How She Started Saving 15% of Her Paychecks<\/h2>\n

\u201cYou better save now or it will be much harder later,\u201d Lidia remembers her boyfriend told her. She asked, \u201cWhat if I don\u2019t live that long?\u201d Lidia\u2019s boyfriend explained that saving for retirement isn\u2019t just about putting money away for yourself \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s also about taking care of your future family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hated the conversation, but he convinced me to start contributing 15 percent of my paycheck into the 401(k) plan,\u201d Lidia said. He taught her some of the basics, like managing risk based off her current age and retirement goals, and she dived into managing investments for the first time in her life.<\/p>\n

Living on so little wasn\u2019t easy. Even though Lidia and her boyfriend were lucky enough to share a studio for $700 a month (this was San Francisco after all), they still couldn\u2019t afford many luxuries. \u201cA lot of people ask me how I liked living in the city, but the truth is I didn\u2019t like it at all,\u201d Lidia said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t afford anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Retirement by 40: Is it Doable…<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Saving $3,450 for retirement in just one year<\/h3>\n

As the balance of her 401(k) slowly grew, Lidia started to change her attitude toward saving. Though her contributions varied from month to month, she always paid the minimum to get the employer 401(k) match. \u201cIt really was a total shift in my mindset,\u201d Lidia said. \u201cOnce I saw the free money growing, it was a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lidia\u2019s savings rate ended up averaging 12 percent of her income (around $2,300), which combined with her employer match ($1,150) added up to $3,450 by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know, and you don\u2019t see what you don\u2019t see,\u201d Lidia said. \u201cBut once I saw the big picture, I saw big money.\u201d And she\u2019s right: that $3,450 she saved will get an impressive four decades or longer to grow, and will be worth more than $40,000 by the time Lidia reaches retirement age (assuming an average annual growth of 6.5 percent).<\/p>\n

New Opportunities and Continued Saving Add Up to $400K<\/h2>\n

Not only did Lidia manage to save $3,450, she also used her low-wage job as an on-ramp to better opportunities and higher incomes. After just a year of working for $9.25 an hour, Lidia was promoted within Williams-Sonoma to a corporate position that doubled her annual income. While she continued to work hard and earn raises over the years, it all started with her near-minimum-wage retail job.<\/p>\n

As her income increased, Lidia never stopped contributing to her retirement funds<\/a>, even when she was investing while on a tight budget<\/a>. Her contribution rates fluctuated between 10 percent and 17 percent \u201cdepending on what was going on in life,\u201d she said. \u201cI cut back on my contribution rate when I was saving for a goal, like going on a trip or buying a car, and then I increased it as soon as I reached that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 15 years since she started her low-wage job, Lidia\u2019s steady savings habit and wage growth opportunities have built her a nest egg that \u201cadds up to more than $400,000, which also includes the full company match that I always made sure I\u2019d get,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But even if she\u2019d never gotten a raise and had simply continued to save 12 percent and get the employer match with her original $19,000 annual income, Lidia estimates that she would still have over $100,000 worth of retirement savings\u00a0today, and by 65 would have saved $937,000 \u2014 close to a million dollars.<\/p>\n

Read: How to Become a Millionaire Using Your TFSAs<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Adopting a \u2018Spend Now, or Spend Later\u2019 Mantra<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s been 15 years since Lidia was a struggling college grad, but the experience had lasting effects on how she views her finances. \u201cI\u2019ve always been pretty frugal, but now I think, \u2018I can spend now, or spend later,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a mind trick I play on myself. It helps me set a goal and stick to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also mastered the art of bargain shopping, she said: \u201cI wait to buy something until I can get a discount. For example, if I need a dress for a wedding, I\u2019ll find it and then wait until I can score a discount or coupon.\u201d When asked about her passion for scoring a deal, Lidia laughed and said, \u201cThe older I get, the worse I get\u201d \u2014 or better, some might say.<\/p>\n

Lidia also avoids the mall because, as she put it, \u201cThere\u2019s too much I don\u2019t really need and I\u2019ll just end up shopping more.\u201d Instead, she prefers to shop online \u2014 but \u201conly when I need something, and I always search for a coupon on Coupons.com or RetailMeNot.com before buying.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to managing her finances, she isn\u2019t about to let a professional take over anytime soon. \u201cI\u2019m \u00a0a cheapskate when it comes to managing my retirement accounts,\u201d Lidia said. \u201cI\u2019m not paying someone else to do it. I\u2019ve educated myself over the years through seminars or employer-sponsored sessions about managing 401(k)s.\u201d This helps her avoid management fees and keep more of her savings for her future, she said. \u201cI work hard for this money and I want to protect it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now She Helps Others Figure Out How to Save for Retirement<\/h2>\n

Things have come full-circle for Lidia, and she is now the Head of Marketing for aboutLife<\/a>, a company that provides free online financial planning services. \u201cI get to help people that were just like me,\u201d she said. \u201cI understand exactly where they are coming from and it feels good to pass along what I\u2019ve learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

We asked Lidia what she would share with readers who are in her same situation \u2014\u00a0here\u2019s what she had to say.<\/p>\n

1. Start saving for retirement as soon as you can.<\/h3>\n

\u201cStart putting money away for retirement as soon as you get your first job. Save as much as you can and get a feel for how little you really need to live on. Remember: You can always scale back on savings if things get too tight, but it\u2019s harder to start small and then ramp up your savings later. You\u2019ll have to give up luxuri<\/em>es like drinks with friends, or your daily coffee and muffin. It\u2019s just easier to go without from the start.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2. Don\u2019t pass up on free money.<\/h3>\n

\u201cGetting an employer 401(k) match makes a huge difference in your returns \u2014 huge.\u00a0<\/em>I almost doubled the money I had in my 401(k) because of employer contributions. Think of a 401(k) as part of your salary. Would you say \u2018no\u2019 to free money? I hope not!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. Even if you\u2019re unsure, start saving anyway.<\/h3>\n

\u201cYour retirement contributions aren\u2019t set in stone, and you can always make changes. It\u2019s your money and you can do whatever you want with it, so don\u2019t be afraid. You have to start somewhere!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lidia\u2019s story truly is remarkable and shows that no matter how low your income might be, if you start small, stay focused and keep your eye on the big picture, you truly can change your financial future.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How I Managed to Save Money While Earning Minimum Wage.<\/p>\n

This article by Morganquinn first appeared on GoBankingRates.com and was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How I Managed to Save Money While Earning Minimum Wage A lot of money-saving advice is aimed at people making middle-class incomes. But for those trying to save on a low income, the savings tips they can actually apply are few and far between. It can be difficult to find examples of low-income saving success…<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3301,"featured_media":5852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","pmpro_default_level":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nHow I Managed to Save Money While Earning Minimum Wage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How I Managed to Save Money While Earning Minimum Wage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aspire-canada.com\/?p=5851\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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