S.O.S on Saving money?
I have been getting down to the wire on my money every month now that I live on my own. What are simple ways I can save money? What has worked for you?
Public Comments
- best way... Make a very, very detailed personal budget (down to the $1). See what you can eliminate/cut. A lot of times people will see daily morning coffees at a local coffee shop will pile up. Eliminating cable. Reducing cell phone rate (reducing minutes - can be harmful if you can't control how much you talk/when you talk). Carpooling A second job (you'd be surprised what an extra 80/week can do to eliminate debt) ATM Fees. I had one person notice they were spending 38/month on ATM Fees... that's ridiculous. When you do your budget you will most definitely find things you can cutback on or eliminate. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask. -Adam P. http://www.desertorchidlending.com P.S About half the things JF lists (few people below) I disagree with. Just be prudent, frugal, and attentive when spending. Don't try rewards gimmicks, balance transfers (you can end up hurting yourself that way, financially). Good luck
- go to Dave Ramsey's web site. (www.daveramsey.com) He is a wonder financial counselor. He has free budget sheets you can download. He has a book called Total Money Management. cut up all credit cards, live on cash only.
- First write down all of your expenses-- Mortgage, rent payment, car loan, etc. Then write down your monthly spending on non-necessities, like going to bars and spending $30 on 3 drinks, buying CD's, etc. Cross out anything you absolutely can't change, like housing, phone bills, etc. Then go through and decide what you can live without, maybe you don't need that $450 car payment, or you can live without cable, or you can save $100 a month by just eating less fast food. Organizing my expenses helped me a lot. Once you start saving money, there are lots of investment ideas to slowly grow your money, mutual funds, indices, etc. Good luck, you'll be happy to not have to live check to check!
- PLan AhEad....
- Have a separate account that you cannot access using an ATM. Every time you get paid before you do anything else move a acceptable amount of money into that account and forget about it. Make sure the amount of money you are putting into the account is something you can live without but even $20.00 or $50.00 a pay is great at first. As your pay increases remember to up your savings. Also if you work for a company that lets you buy into a 401K retirerment savings and has some percentage matching... do it... the sooner you start the better but just do amounts you can live without.
- glad you asked. There are lots of little ways to start saving money (like David Bach's Latte Factor), but you can also make a little money here and there without much effort to add to your income. Here are some of the techiniques found in a great book ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1600200400/ref=cm_arms_pdp_dp/104-1278559-6763943 ): 1. Stop paying interest on credit cards (transfer balances) 2. Actually make money on credit arbitrage 3. Start a business and start writing off everything 4. Only buy things from places that give you rewards 5. Get a rewards credit card and use it for everything (and pay it off every month) 6. Change banks if they're charging you monthly fees 7. Buy your car and house instead of rent (long term) There are a ton of other things you can do to save and earn extra cash in the book I linked to above- it's called "How to Take Advantage of the People Who Are Trying to Take Advantage of You" Good Luck!
- Make a budget of everything that is spent. You want to be able to account for every dollar that you spend. Open a high interest savings account, such as ING Direct. You can get started for $1 and there are no fees, no minimum balance requirements and they pay 4.50% interest on your money. http://www.ingorangesavingsaccount.net Once you get your budget figured out and find out what you can afford to save, have that amount direct depsoited in to your new savings account. You will not miss the money as much, if you do not see it. Also, Bank of America has Keep The Change. If you bank with them or are interested in switching, then here is how it works. Your savings and checking accounts are linked together. Everytime you make a purchase with your debit card, they deposit the change and round it up to the next dollar. Ex you make a purchase for $4.50, you round up the purchase in your check register to $5, they round up the purchase to $5 and deposit the .50 into your savings account. This is an easy way to save and while it does not seem like much it does add up quickly. I am not sure if they still do this, but they used to match the savings for the first 3 months.
- lets say u make 1000 a month but 100 dollars away each month and don't buy things u don't need..
- Some good tips are already listed. Do not eat out - this is a real money hog. Buy food at discount grocery stores or "fruit markets" as they are often called. Learn to cook and make your own dinners at home. Take leftovers for lunch. Cut out sodas, bottled waters, store-bought coffees, chips, cookies, snack stuffs, TV dinners. Drink tap water or kool-aid. Never spend more than $1.00 for shampoo/body wash/toothpaste. There are PLENTY of coupons out there, and if you find a place that doubles them, or offers a two-fer, you can often get these toiletries for pennies. Don't use credit cards. Carry cash, and not too much. Spend only what you have. If you have a cell phone & a land line, drop one. Adjust your thermostat a few degrees. Visit www.cheapsk8.com for LOTS of ideas, tips & tricks
