OPPORTUNITIES TO SAVE

"Reach for every opportunity to save money. No matter how small, save; it will add up"

You don't have to think about saving money in gigantic sums. Actually, savers who save small amounts, but consistently over time, are more likely to keep saving money.

Becoming aware of your spending habits is the first step. Take the time on the Follow page and learn about spending plans. Really think about what you need versus what you want.

Here are 4 money saving areas to help you spend less money while in college and have a few extra cents here and there to put in a jar until you have enough to open a savings account!

1) Savings Tips - easy, ordinary, everyday things you can do to save money.

2) Money-wasters - consider these UTSA policies that can cost you money and time to graduation if you don't pay attention to them.

3) A College Money Plan - plan to complete your degree in least amount of time.

4) Mid-term money blues - proper budgeting and saving will keep you from running out of money by the middle of the semester.

What kind of saver are you? Check this video

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An Opportunity Less Taken

It's difficult enough to think about your needs and wants for tomorrow much less 40-50 years from now. Now is the time to think about your retirement, not at age 30, 40, or 50 because time is on your side for saving and growing money in an IRA (Individual Retirement Account). There are many different types of savings vehicles for IRAs, see Types of Saving Accounts. You are not too young to start this type of account, as long as you have earned wages equal to or greater than the contribution amount.

For a single individual filing taxes, $2000 is the current maximum contribution. Now that seems like a lot of money to come up with!! But most types of IRA accounts will let you open the account with only $50 or $100. Then you add $150 or so every month by automatic transfer. Then the beauty of compound interest starts adding up!

The Value of Compound Interest is emphasized in the chart below. It shows what a difference it makes to have time on your side.

Student Student	Age IRA Opened	Annual Contribution	Years Contributed to IRA	Average Interest Rate Over Life of IRA	Balance of IRA at a Retirement Age of 65
Ricardo	20	$2000	45	10%	$1,635,372
Megan	25	$2000	40	10%	$1,064,222
Joe	45	$2000	20	10%	$126,678

Consider this...

Ricardo is 20 and a junior in college. He's a good saver and manages his money well. He opens an IRA account with $100 and adds to it monthly to reach $2000. He maintains this IRA and level of saving for 45 years. His investment averaged 10% annually over the 45 years.

At age 65, Ricardo has an account balance of $1,635,372. Compound interest made up 95% of this balance while his annual contributions made up 5%. He should live reasonably well for the rest of his life.

Megan is 20 and a junior in college, too. She isn't quite so good about budgeting and spends a lot of her money on cool stuff rather than saving. So she doesn't start saving in an IRA until about 5 years after Ricardo. She opens the account with $100 and adds monthly to reach $2000. She does continue with saving and contributing to an IRA at this level for 40 years. Her investment averaged 10% annually over 40 years.

At age 65, Megan has an account balance of $1,064,222. Again compund interest made up 92% of this balance while her annual contributions made up 8%. She should live reasonably, as long as she can keep her spending under control!

Look at how much that balance goes down for waiting until later to contribute. For example, Joe waits until he is 45 to open an IRA account. He contributes $2000 per year for 20 years. The annual average interest rate is 10%.

Joe retires at age 65 with an IRA balance of $126,678. It's a nice nest egg but there better be more eggs in the nest for him to live reasonably.

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I'll sing the Rolling Stones song, "Time is on my side, yes it is", and start saving now!