By Sonia Booker The Wealthbuilder
Although this article was written years ago, the advice and tips shared by this wealth building expert still applies today.
I’m always saying instead of buying a cup of coffee, save that $5 bucks and watch it add up, and it adds up big! With 
just this daily savings of $5 in 365 days you would have a whopping $1825 in one year. In case you’re still not convinced that this is a big deal, think of it this way. If I saved $5.00 a day for 30 years, with a most annual return, I would have set aside $180,000! Okay, I’m sure I have your attention now. Wealth building starts with making daily decisions that begin to add up. Once you master this daily discipline and start to watch your money grow, it becomes a part of your lifestyle. You’re no longer willing to throw away your wealth and your money relationship with money improves drastically.
Here are some simple ideas to turn that $5 a day into $25 a day.
1. Stop Getting Breakfast on the Go
Brown bagging your lunch can help avoid blowing several dollars a day on fast food or restaurant meals. But a growing number of consumers are seeking convenience for the first meal of the day, said Kendal Perez, a money-saving expert with Coupon Sherpa. Visits to restaurants grew 5 percent from June 2014 to June 2015, according to The NPD Group, a research company.
Considering that the average cost of a restaurant breakfast is about $5, according to a CBS News report, you’ll save by eating at home or creating a stockpile of breakfast items at work. Perez recommended storing low-cost items such as bread, peanut butter, granola bars or even frozen breakfast sandwiches at the office so you won’t be tempted to buy a pricey breakfast on your way to work.
2. Adjust Your Tax Withholding
If you usually get a big tax refund, you could easily save more than $5 a day by adjusting your tax withholding. That refund means you’re letting Uncle Sam hang onto too much from your paycheck each month.
File a new W-4 form with your employer to claim more allowances — the more you claim, the less tax that is withheld. IRS.gov has a withholding calculator you can use to figure out how many allowances to claim. If you received the average refund of $2,700, you could get an extra $225 in your paycheck each month — or about $7 a day — by adjusting your withholding.
3. Skip Sodas
If you dine out for lunch or dinner, you can lower the cost of those meals by ordering water instead of soda. At a fast-food joint or restaurant, you’ll pay $1 to $2 (or more) for a soda. If you order a soft drink at both lunch and dinner, you could easily approach the $5 mark.
Cutting out sodas at home as well — and opting for water instead — also could help you save money. A 12-pack of brand-name soda costs about $5. If you currently drink two cans a day and go through five 12-packs a month, you could save another $25 a month by eliminating your soda habit.
4. Take Advantage of Supermarket Sales
One of the best ways to lower your grocery bill is to stock up on items that are nonperishable or can be frozen when they are on sale rather than buying just what you need for the week. Once you have a stockpile, you can plan weekly meals around what you have and around perishable items that are on sale at the supermarket. Gault said that TheGroceryGame.com members report average savings of $523 a month for a family of four by stockpiling sale items and using coupons. That amounts to about $17 a day in savings.
5. Stop Buying Bottled Water
The average cost of one bottle of water is $1.45, according to Statistic Brain Research Institute. If you or your family members drink several bottles a day, you could easily be blowing $5 a day on water that you could get for a fraction of the cost from the tap. In fact, bottled water costs 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
These are 5 practical steps. Begin to challenge yourself to find other ways by thinking of how you can modify some of spending that has become second nature to you. For more ideas on saving $5 a day and other wealth building information visit my website at www.soniabooker.com/blogs.
About Sonia
Sonia is among the nation’s top ‘Go To’ thought-leaders on wealth creation and real estate investing. She is also one of the most sought-after speakers and real estate coaches.
Sonia’s passion to equip everyday people with the blueprint to build wealth, “one dollar at a time,” is her unique and distinct brand. It has resonated with the public and inspired a wealth building movement centered not just on building a better life, but a building a lasting legacy.
Sonia is the author of “Real Estate and Wealth: Investing in the American Dream.” This bestseller is a simple, step-by-step guide to purchasing real estate as a form of wealth building.
