Anyone have creative ways to save with very little money?
We want to start building a "nest egg" for vacations, a house, emergencies, etc but are barely making it. Does anyone have creative ways to save? So far I have... *Pay for everything in whole dollars and put the change in a jar everynight; put change from bottle deposit refunds here too...at the end of every month, change gets rolled and deposited. *Take online surveys and put the money into savings *I can't get direct deposit, so every week I put the last amt in savings ex-$464.07 means $4.07 goes in the bank....twice a month I add $10 to this *Save at least half of any "windfalls" *Of course, there's the budget too, we cut unnecessary expenses, bring lunches and drinks from home to work, use coupons and bargin shop Anyone have any other good ideas? Thank you!
Public Comments
- You're off to a great start. As a mom with kids my biggest money saver is to NEVER eat out. I also like to eat healthy, so a garden in the back yard is a big help with grocery expenses. As an accounting major, I do my own taxes and take advantage of every tax break I come across.
- i would say check this out http://moneyandfriends.blogspot.com/
- Do you sew, do crafts, make things and have a garage sale. Try HGTV for ideas on things to craft from things you have or can recycle. Also have you considered doing mystery shopping. It can be a good source for adding to your income depending on how rural of an area you live in. Make sure you shop for a reputable company. If you are interested in some I have worked for email me and I will send you some links.
- Save. (Oh, you are already doing that.) But, seriously, save your money. There is no better way to get that nest egg started. Second. Get some cash into ING Direct or Emigrant Direct. Both are on-line only banks, have no minimum balance requirements, and pay out great rates. Leave the money there. (Added advantage, because they are on-line banks, it is just that much harder to get at your funds.) And, most importantly, cut the fat from your spending. For at least two months, record every penny you spend. Be consistent and most importantly HONEST. You will be amazed at how much you are actually spending on stuff. (I was amazed to find out that I was spending over $400 a month at the grocery store, and it was just me and my wife!) Then trim out the unnecessary stuff. Do you really need HDTV cable? Do you really need to be paying $69 a month on a cell phone? What about coffee? Is the $4.50 lattachinspresso a once in a while treat, or an everyday occurance? Stop buying prepared food, and microwave dinners. Ounce for ounce, they are MUCH more expensive then cooking them yourself. Stop the pizza delivery. Netflix is not a requirement. Do not buy season 6 of Seinfeld on DVD (what the 29 episodes a day in syndication are not enough for you?) As soon as I found out where my money was really going, I was able to save a TON by cutting out the unnecessary stuff. It is not the big bills (home, car, etc...) that hurt. It is the $5 to $10 stuff that really adds up.
- If you are married and don't have kids, both of you look for part-time jobs where you just work a Saturday or Sunday. If you are lucky, you'll both get the same day to work. Have that money deposited directly into an account that you don't touch. When you have enough money in the account, move the money to a higher interest bearing account. Just do this until you hit the limit where you can afford a down payment on a house. Also, consider moving into a large apartment at some point and getting a roommate! It might be cheaper for you.
- You've already got some great answers before you'll even get to mine, but I would add to cut coupons from the Sunday paper. If you use them and have time to pull them out, you'll pay for the paper itself and probably save anywhere from 2 to 20 dollars a trip. Mom always used an index card box with dividers for sorting the coupons alphabetically by the item they were for - 'T' for trash bags, tomato sauce, etc. That was how we afforded clothes for two growing boys - Mom's coupons.
