It's not easy to do, but what worked for me was cutting back on things I don't need. Another was cutting out going out to eat for lunch. I started putting money in 401k when I was 25, and always put enough for company match at the very least. I'm almost 40 now and have 6 figures in the account. When you sit down and start adding up how much you spend on things like going out to lunch 5 days a week at work, you realize you're spending at least $100 a month, probably closer to $200. Same with going out to dinner a few nights a week. I started bringing my lunches, usually leftovers from what I'd cooked for supper. If you smoke, that's probably another $150 a month you spend. Drink a lot of beer? Probably another $100 a month, and so on.
I actually had to sit my brother down and explain this to him because he was always complaining about being broke when he made more money than me. We calculated he was wasting $500-600 a month on crap like that.
I actually had to sit my brother down and explain this to him because he was always complaining about being broke when he made more money than me. We calculated he was wasting $500-600 a month on crap like that.