Ever dream of winning the lottery? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of people spend billions of dollars believing this is the only way they’ll ever achieve financial security.
The reality is that the odds of “hitting the big one” are about 13 million to one. You stand a better chance of getting struck by lightning than hitting the jackpot!
So how are you going to build your nest egg? Don’t bank on winning the lottery or beating the stock market or coming into a large inheritance. For most of us, the key to building savings is to begin one step at a time.
Fortunately, saving money is not something reserved for the privileged few (or the very lucky.) It’s a choice that each of us has. A new program from the Ellis County Extension Office can provide information and inspiration.
“Saving Dollars When You Don’t Have a Dime to Spare” will be offered at three locations in Ellis County in the coming weeks. The first presentation will be Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Victoria High School FCS Room in Victoria. Please register two days before at the Ellis County Extension office, (785) 628-9430. A minimum attendance is needed to hold this program.
Other programs are slated for Friday, Jan. 24, at noon at the Extension Office meeting room, 601 Main Street in Hays and on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Ellis Public Library meeting room in Ellis. Please pre-register two days before each presentation by calling the County Extension Office. A minimum number may be required for some locations.
Saving money begins in your brain, not your bank account. It’s not how much you make, but how you choose to spend and save that makes the difference.
This free Extension program will help you recognize how even small expenditures add up over time and will encourage money-saving changes so you can begin to save dollars, even when you think you don’t have a dime to spare.
You might be surprised to find out that many of America’s millionaires started out with very ordinary incomes.
So what did they do differently than the rest of us? They learned to save money on a regular basis, make sacrifices when possible and scrutinize expenditures carefully. For these folks, financial independence was more important than showing off expensive possessions.
Few people ever get rich from their wages alone, but by putting a few fundamental principles about money into action– along with patience and discipline– you can save thousands of dollars.
Resolve to make this the year you begin to build your own financial security. Call the Ellis County Extension office, (785) 628-9430, to register for one of the three free programs on “Saving Dollars When You Don’t Have a Dime to Spare.”
Linda Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences with Kansas State Research and Extension.