As bartenders, we deal in cash, and cash disappears fast. You’ve probably developed some habits to handle your necessities, but I’ve disciplined myself to follow some guidelines to turn my tip money, into the adventures of traveling the world.
Here are a few of the ways I have saved tip money to help fund my trips.
Never spend a five.
My buddy Mark introduced me to this method over a whiskey and a pint of Smithwicks.
Don’t ever spend a $5 bill.
If you get 3 in your tips save them. You bought something with that $10 bill and you get $6 back? If there is a $5 bill in the change, save it. The main power of this savings plan is that it forces you to honestly question where that $5 is worth most.
This makes you more conscious of where small frequent spending adds up.
$20+ a week plan
My initial savings plan was to make a weekly payment of $20 into my travel fund.
It is an easy savings tip for beginners and I found that after the first few weeks, I had adjusted my spending habits to where it was practically unnoticeable.
After a few months I began trying to cut an extra $20 in miscellaneous expenses just to save $100 per month.
These days, I use most of these methods simultaneously and use this particular strategy of saving for extra spending cash when on the road or a safety net for return bills.
$20s pay the bills, $10s and $1s are for fun
After developing more discipline with my weekly savings I was able to create a monthly savings plan in addition to saving $20 a week.
I did this by budgeting with a coupon book with tabs labeled for my bills.
(Rent, electric, insurance, credit card, travel, etc.)
I filled up the slots according to due date and tried to race myself to do it faster each month.
This fund became self sustaining by making me unwilling to spend a $20 note that I received in tip money until I paid my expenses.
If you feel the need to cheat from time to time, its best to make a savings slot for fun so you can budget your expenses better.
I then like to use $10 and $1 notes as spending money, and the rest of my $20 bills I began paying off my credit card debt, or I moved it into my bank account to save for the next months bills
$50s and $100s
I began to become more successful with my savings habits and I found that at times I had several months worth of my bills saved for a nice safety net and finally got my credit cards payed off.
This opened up a new option for me in which I utilized $50 and $100 bills.
If one is in your tip share, it goes direct to saving for travel or paying debt, nothing else.
These denominations quickly become a very powerful and pleasant surprises if you have your finances together.
Save that change
Change can feel like a nuisance and sometimes demeaning to those in a tipped based industry, but get a jar and save it at all times.
Once I put together that $100 in saved change could become a few days if not weeks of lodging in a hostel. I began realizing the power a few coins had when saved over time.
So save your change kids, the world awaits!
