Games to Save Money by
May 26th, 2005 | by mbhunter |Jeffrey Strain, personal finance author of SavingAdvice.com fame, has started SaveMoneyGames.com. The principle of this site is to make saving money fun by encouraging you to save when things are going well.
Probably the best example of this is the Pay to Use Game. (I should start this one for my dryer — I’ve fixed it once and it’s already squeaking again!) The thing you’re paying to use (your clothes dryer, your car, whatever) works all right, but it won’t work all right forever. The money that you “paid” is in effect set aside to fix the thing or to buy a new one. And the 25 cents is hardly missed.
The Live a Raise Behind Game is another example. Hey, you just got a raise! Congratulations! Things are going well for you! But if you were doing all right before, then you can use this raise as a cushion and not alter your spending habits one iota. (Well, maybe go out to dinner to celebrate your raise … you’ve earned it!)





