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While many of us are either in school or just entering the Real World, the end goal of retirement is always out there and the reality is the sooner you start saving for it, the better off you are. Consider the following: If you are 30 years old and set aside $448/month for the next 35 years at an 8% annualized return you’ll be a millionaire by 65. I don’t know about you, but I could certainly live comfortably off that kind of money for long, long time (which is precisely the idea behind saving for retirement!). The only problem is how to get that money in the here and now to set aside.

Thanks to Yahoo! Finance, here are some great places in your monthly budgets where you can find some of that extra cash to squirrel away for your golden years.

1.    Save $100 a month on food.

As I mentioned here awhile back, not bringing a bag lunch to work with you can get costly in a hurry. Considering an average meal at McDonald’s runs about $5, a large coffee from Dunking Donuts or Starbucks can cost $2 or more each and the savings rapidly add up.

2.    Save $80 a month on entertainment

By cutting out one dinner and a movie nights each month you can save $80 right there. The article bases this on the $33 per person average at a restaurant, according to Zagat and the $7 each people spend on tickets at the theater, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. While I think the $33 a head is a bit high, especially for us recent grads, when you factor in gas traveling to and from dinner and a movie I think this is a pretty accurate figure.

3.    Save $8 a month on a well maintained car

By keeping your engine tuned and your tires properly inflated you can save a reasonable amount of money on gas. Over the course of a year those savings add up to around $100.  I know I personally keep a milk crate in my trunk with oil, transmission fluid, anti-freeze, washer fluid, a rag and a tire pressure gauge just to make sure I keep my car running smoothly and save trips to the mechanic.

There are several other helpful money savings tips in the Yahoo! Article, which you can read in its entirety here. While the savings are geared towards retirement, you can certainly use them for paying down student loans, credit cards or other bills to climb out of debt as well. And if you are one of the many people who struggle to keep to a budget every month, try one of the various online budgeting tools like Mint.com.

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