Save Thousands, No Sweat
Bill and Mary Staton, founders of The Staton Institute®, offer five simple steps for saving thousands each year. An interview with the Baton Rouge Business Report, January 2004
5 simple steps to keeping more money in your pocket
Reporter Sara Bongiorni interviewed Bill and Mary Staton on how to save $5,000 or more a year. Some excerpts from the story:
"We waste so much money, so there's a lot you can do to stop small leaks," said Bill Staton, co-author with his wife, Mary, of Worry-Free Family Finances. "But Ben Franklin said it's small leaks that will sink a financial ship"....
Switching to a bi-monthly payment schedule can shorten a standard 30-year loan to 23 years, even when homeowners make no extra payments, said Staton. The Statons pay a fee of about $7.50 a month to a firm that works with their lender to process their payments every 15 days, they said.
As with monthly overpayments, bi-monthly payments cut into principal at an accelerated rate. As a result, interest is calculated according to a smaller amount. Bill and Mary Staton figure they save about $2,500 a year on interest on their $300,000 mortgage.
"So that gets you half way to $5,000 in (annual) savings right off the bat," Mary Staton said.
Bill Staton said the practice has been around for years but that many consumers don't know about it. Although not all lenders offer it, Staton says homeowners should ask their bank or mortgage company about it as a first step.
Staton adds another note about the strategy: The automatic withdrawal from his checking account every 15 days means he doesn't need to summon the will power to stick with the money-saving strategy.
"You only have to make the decision once, rather than wrestle with it each time," he says.... The Statons likewise see lots of opportunities for plugging "small leaks" through savvier food-buying practices. Saving $5,000 a year means reducing spending by about $14 a day, says Mary Staton. Bringing lunch and snacks from home to the office can quickly get you close to that amount, she says.
"Just a couple of sodas a day can come to $3," she said.
Consumers who keep their $3-a-day soda money and make no other change will reap savings of more than $1,000 over the course of a year.
