What can you do to save more money?
Lack of money at this point in my life (19) is depressing. What small things can I do in order to save money. I feel when I get money I spend it too fast and when times come that I really do need the money i.e. hanging out with friends I dont have it. -Someone with good credit please help
Public Comments
- Head to your local library, and check out "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. It lays out a simple plan to live on a budget, control your spending, and pay off debts. Once you have a budget, the next step is to increase your income and/or reduce your spending. To dig out of debt at any speed, generally extra work and/or cutting luxuries. Ramsey often uses biblical references to reinforce his points ... Not my style, but the points are valid either way. Notice that I haven't told you to buy anything ... or to go and get a loan [borrowing your way to wealth is a common theme here on Y! Answers] ... Ramsey worked for me, and with some discipline & responsibility, his plan should work for anyone capable of holding a job.
- Stopping and thinking will save you more money than anything else. What do you really need vs. what do you just want? A need is something you must have to live and and a want only feels like a need most times. Also start think about the future now. What would you like to have then? Your own home? A decent car? No debt? If so then hanging out with friends eating out buying clothes and cd's and junk you don't need won't get you there. Spend some time reading up on money management.. maybe look into Dave Ramsey...
- spend less and spend more time working... the more you work the less time you will have to spend
- Come up with a plan and stick to it. Figure out what your financial needs/goals are, and create a plan. For example: Spending 10% Clothes 25% Tuition 55% Vacation 10% Apply this to every paycheque, and don't make a purchase if you don't have funds in the corresponding account.
- Open a savinggs account and every time you get paid, treat it like a bill and pay it. My wife and I have been doing this for 35 years and it still works fine.
- One of the secrets to saving is that you need to pay yourself first. This is actually quite easy to do. Go to your bank and set up another bank account -- a passbook is ideal, because it's harder to access and it usually gets better interest. Then, go to your employer and have 10% of your income transferred into this account. The employer doing the transferring saves you bank fees. Gradually you'll get used to having less disposable income. In a couple of weeks it'll be 'normal' and you won't think about it. Having the money put aside in another account means that you actually need to think about it before going into the bank and withdrawing it over the counter. However, this money isn't for spending on socialising. This is your emergency savings, and it'll protect you when things get tough, like you can't work for a few months, or you need a new second hand car, or you need to move towns to work. It's to stop you going into debt on credit cards, which is the WORST kind of debt, when you have an emergency. Now, for the spending. You just need to change a few of your little routines. We all have routines. If you get a coffee on the way to work, that'll cost you about $3 a day, or $15 a week, or $780 a year. Making a coffee at work, or taking it in a travel mug from home, will save you that expense. You like hanging out with friends, so you need an allowance for this. Anita Bell (she wrote the book "Your mortgage and how to pay it off in 5 years by someone who did it in 3") calls this the 'sanity allowance'. It's money you're allowed to waste on stuff. Make it a small amount (say $10-$20 for instance) and have it in a plastic snaplock bag in your wallet for this purpose. Never ever take money from bills and other necessities for this. This is just a little trick to make budgeting easier. Always pay your bills first. That way you know what you're working with. I like to keep the bill stubs in my handbag and I pay a bit off them every week or so. Even $10 a week on each bill means that when that bill finally is due, it's half paid already, making it easier to budget. ALWAYS deal in cash. Just go to your bank account, get the whole lot out in cash on payday, and then you have a concrete amount of money, and you can literally see where it is going. Pay essentials like rent/mortgage, and bills first on or soon after payday. A few little things you can do to save money regularly include: Car pooling with a friend or colleague to work or school, and getting them to give you fuel money. You can grow your own vegies in pots. Even a pot of silver beet or spinach will save you money. ALWAYS make your own lunch and take it with you to work/school. I make sandwiches and freeze them, then take them out the night before so they thaw out. This saves me absolutely THOUSANDS of dollars a year, compared to buying my lunch. Plan your shopping trips. If you're likely to spend money, avoild malls and shopping centres. Have a list of 'alternative' activities you can do. Go for a walk, wash the car, go to a pub and have a beer, get on the internet, or read a book, instead of going to the shopping centre and allowing yourself to be tempted. Deal in cash, and if you must go out, take a small amount of cash. That way, you can only spend that money. It's harm minimisation. If you can get a little money together as savings, consider putting it in a term deposit. That way you can't access it to buy crap. You are forced to wait. This trains you to reconsider your purchases. Do not ever get a credit card. I do not think it is a wise move for someone in your situation. These are all just tricks to help you control your money, but really it's up to you. If you want to change your ways bad enough, you'll be able to control your spending. No trick or strategy can prevent you from spending if you really want to. Best wishes.
- This site has some great tips for saving money: http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Save_Money
- Get a job, even minimum wage is good don't spend money by not having any don't have money? then don't get a CC. A debit card is fine And FREELOAD. get familiar with the concept of FREELOADing. examples of freeloading: napkins: Wendy's- go in there, buy the cheapest thing they got, and take 500 napkins with you. do it 5 times in one day and you hace 12 boxes of napkins free. Ketchup, condiments: get the cheapest salt/pepper shaker. freeload on several fast food places, you can get more than 30$ of salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and sugar in 3 days effort. can't afford silverware? take 100 of every utensil you need from a random restaurant when its real busy. if they got it free, take it. They can call you an a$$hole, and a b4st4rd for taking it, but its not illegal if you buy something or don't get caught.
