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Save 10K this year with a new money mindset, and that’s just the beginning
By Vittorio Mena, OD, MS
Jan. 22, 2026
It’s a new year, so it is time for a new you—and a new money mindset. As we are diving into our New Year’s resolutions, looking to improve ourselves mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally or financially, I’m always a fan of taking the offensive side. Let’s explore how we can be proactive financially and mentally!
WHAT IT TAKES TO SAVE
The sad truth is that most Americans cannot even save $1,000 a month, which is $12,000 a year. Have you ever considered how much it would take for you to spend only $10,000 in an entire year? The answer is about $27.40 a day on miscellaneous spending for various items.
Interestingly enough, it is not the big purchases that keep people broke. It really boils down to the small ones that people may think do not make a difference. It is also the small amount of money you invest that can turn into a huge profit.
As optometrists, I can assume we have the ability to save at least $1,000 a month. If you’re not doing this already, I challenge you to.
SAVING WITH A NEW MONEY MINDSET
In 2026, let’s pretend you are 35 years old—sorry to the older ones reading this! You realize you have very little cash and only $20,000 saved for retirement. As I mentioned, it is hard for most people to save $1,000 a month. For this example, let’s aim for just $10,000 a year instead.
Since we are doctors, let’s round up 60 cents and start saving $28 a day. This is less than a half hour on your paycheck for the day.
If you were to start putting in $28 in your draw at home after one year you would have just over $10,220 in cash accumulated, unless you got robbed or your home/apartment burned down
If you found a bank that gave you 1% return on that amount then your savings would have returned you an extra $55 in interest. What if you were to put it into an emergency fund instead, which was liquid? Then it earned you 3% on that money you would have gotten an extra $167 in interest.
Now you could also grow your retirement if you were to invest $28 per day in the stock market using a traditional brokerage account. I mention this because it’s important to at least have $10,000 saved away as an emergency fund first. You never know when a rainy day is going to happen where an unexpected bill will come up and you do not want to get into credit card debt.
10K IS THE BEGINNING
Now that you have at least $10,000 saved somewhere for that rainy day fund, it is time for us to grow our money. Here’s how it may look if you stay disciplined and even double your savings amount from $28 a day to $56 a day—still less than 1 hour of your paycheck in a day.
If you invested $56 a day (approximately $1,703 per month) for 30 years, you would have about $3,141,139 at the age of 65, assuming a 9% rate of return. With the original $28 investment following this same investment pattern, you would have about $1,569,647.
Of course, you have to pay taxes on the gains when you are ready to retire. But consider this when you look at those amounts: the average American typically has less than $650,000 during retirement. According to the federal reserve in 2022 on a survey of consumer finances “the mean and median retirement amount for people ages 65-75 had a median retirement savings of $200,000 and a mean retirement savings of $609,000.”1
If you retire at 67 years old or later, those amounts will be even higher. Don’t forget to add that anything extra you already had in retirement before you started.
If you are older than 35 years old, you would have to put away more than just $28 or $56 a day to get to those numbers I showed. When we break it down this way, it shows that this is an easy way to break down savings, while many of us still do not do it.
TIME AND REFLECTION
Remember your biggest asset is not only time, but also your mind and how you control it! Invest in yourself, your business (if you own one), the stock market and in a healthy mind. These steps can help you potentially win the game from a financial perspective.
I’m particularly appreciative of the gift of time at the start of 2026. I recently was in a car accident where I could have passed away or could have been severely injured. God willing, I am still alive and healthy today. It drives home the importance of the three-part series I wrote last year on how we can protect ourselves financially with defensive measures put in place. Here’s the first part where you can read on to the rest.
I want to wish you all a happy and healthy new year! I’m grateful to be here. Stay tuned for my article next month.
There is always risk with any type of investment. This column is for informational purposes only. Please seek a professional financial advisor when embarking on any type of investment journey.
References
Read another column by Dr. Mena here.
Read more insights from our editors here.
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Vittorio Mena, OD, MS, is the sports vision director with Optical Academy. Dr. Mena is also an optometric financial coach/fiduciary with Series 6 and 63 investment licenses and Series 2-14 life and variable annuity licenses. To contact him: menavitt@gmail.com |
