Investing For Students

Understanding The Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM

Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM

$1+ a day into the coffee can.
50% to 100% of frugal savings into the coffee can.
Tithe (10%) of your income into the coffee can.
50% of windfall money into the coffee can.
Profits from your investments.

1. $1+ A DAY INTO THE COFFEE CAN.

This is as simple and as effective as you can get. Get a coffee can, jar or plastic container and every day for the rest of your life put at least $1+ into that coffee can. By the way that + in the $l+ can be 0, pocket change, $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, or anything else that you want to put into your coffee can. Remember the $1 is mandatory. The + is optional. Once or twice a month all of the money in your coffee can gets deposited into the DRIPS in your DRIP ACCOUNT. The $1+ a day placed into your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM will not only guarantee you a minimum of $365+ a year for investment, but it will also serve as a daily affirmation that you are continuing with the InvestingForStudents.org Program. This becomes a lifelong hobby/habit. Question, when I am worth $20,000,000 do I have to continue putting $1+ into my coffee can? Answer yes, never forget how you got there. The $1+ put daily into your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM is one of the most important and central parts of the InvestingForStudents.org Program.

A thing that will amaze you after your first few months participation in the InvestingForStudents.org Program is how much money you can save in that coffee can between the dollar plus a day, frugal savings, grocery coupons, a second job deposits, tithing your income, 50% of windfall money, etc..

Get a second or part time job and use all or some of that money to fund your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM. This will make your GROWING BASE OF INVESTMENT MONEY grow much faster especially early in your program.

Another critical thing about the Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM is that a 2 year old child may not understand what a stock is, but he/she definitely will understand putting $1+ into a coffee can and get into the habit. This habit when learned early will stay with him/her for the rest of his/her life. He/She will learn the coffee can money is for investment and the piggy bank money is for ice cream, and you do not mix the two. An interesting note - many adults have never quite figured that out.

Very young children like to play and make a game out of putting money into a coffee can. This is a good habit to get them into. Be careful and watch them so they do not eat or swallow the money. Give your child the $1+ to put into their coffee can daily. They put the $1+ into the can daily themselves. They get into the lifelong hobby/habit of daily savings. Tell them if they do not put the $1+ a day into the coffee can that bad things, like poverty, will happen to them. This will be the best $1+ you ever spent.

2. FRUGAL SAVINGS AND INVESTING.

Learn to live a little frugally, below your means, and put all or part (50%) of this money saved into your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM. Teach you children to do the same thing.

Thus if you:
1. Shop in your grocery store and use some Sunday News Paper Coupons.
2. Shop in discount stores and discount club stores.
3. Buy items when they are on sale.
4. Shop for bargains.
5. Become a registered member of InvestingForStudents.org and enroll in DRIPS for a $20 commission rather than a $40 commission, then put that saved $20 into your coffee can.
6. Buy big ticket items like cars etc. used and at a bargain price.
7. Continue paying time payments such as automobile payments, mortgage payments, etc. into your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM when the items are paid off.

Depending on your lavish lifestyle spending habits following all or some of these (and there are a whole lot more) money saving frugal living tips can easily account for an annual saving and deposit into your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM of from $500 to $2000+ a year for students to $2000 to $20,000+ for adults per year. Live frugally, below your means, and put all or part (say 50%) of this money saved into your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM.

3. TITHE YOUR INCOME.

Pay yourself first. Tithe (10%) of your income into your coffee can. If you get a $20 a week allowence put $2 into your coffee can, then spend the other $18. If you have a part time job making $100 a week put $10 into your coffee can. If you make $30 baby sitting or cutting a lawn put $3 into your coffee can. If you have a job earning $1000 a week put $100 into your coffee can. The habit of tithing your coffee can will make you a multimillionaire. If 10% is too much put in less, put in 5%. Put in a fixed dollar amount, but put something from every paycheck into your coffee can. An adult who gets into the hobby/habit of tithing their income as a child and then continues that for the rest of their life, then makes $120,000 a year as an adult will save $12,000+ a year for investment for many years. That grows into serious money. The time to get into the habit of tithing is when you are as young as possible with small amounts of money. The habit is of critical importance, not the dollar amount. Don't plan to wait until you are making big money to start, you will not do it. The habit of tithing when learned early is critical and never forgotten. Start Now!

4. 50% OF WINDFALL MONEY.

Windfall money consists of things like bonuses, gifts, birthday money, report card money, graduation gifts, legal settlements, hitting the lottery, etc. Instead of putting 10% of windfall money into your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM, place 50% of windfall money into your Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM. It adds up very quickly.

5. PROFITS FROM YOUR INVESTMENTS.

Dividends get automatically reinvested with DRIP investing.

An expensive, painful and practical lesson that I learned the hard way about the Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM. You do not save large amounts of money in your coffee can. The purpose of the coffee can is to accumulate small amounts of money then transfer that money into your DRIPS once or twice a month. Do not use your coffee can as a bank and let large sums of money sit in the can. I was using my coffee can as a bank, had $5,000 in the coffee can and just before I had the opportunity to transfer it somebody stole the coffee can. The money was never recovered. Learn from my painful experience. Transfer the money 1 to 2 times a month from your coffee can into your DRIPS.

In closing, understanding the Coffee Can Savings Plan^SM, one very practical point. As an individual should not mail cash from the coffee can into the DRIP account, how do I get the money from my coffee can into my DRIP account?

There are three basic ways, and maybe a few more:

If you are over the age of 18, and no longer a minor, open a checking account at your bank. Then deposit the coffee can money into that account and write and mail checks to your DRIP accounts. If your bank has a "BILL PAY" program you can utilize that online service.
If you are a minor, under age 18, and cannot have a checking account, you can deposit the money into your parent's or legal guardian's checking account. Then have them write and mail (or you can mail) that check to your DRIP accounts. If that bank has a "BILL PAY" program then you can utilize that online service.
You can take the money out of your coffee can, buy a money order, and mail that money order.

A point to ponder - what is the difference between a rich man and a poor man? Aside from the obvious answer, money, a poor man works for his money, a rich man has his money work for him. Remember, the money that you work for will pay your bills (if you are lucky), the money you knowledgeably invest will make you rich. DRIP investing is knowledgeable investing.