Tips & ways for Saving money

[AnonymouslyIndebted]

Can anyone give me some Tips & ways for Saving money?

[jolla]

In order to stop the bleeding, you have to identify it first by tracking all of your spending. For instance I was certain I had to find a cheaper apt to save money; then I tracked my spending and saw that I was spending far more on dining out.

 

Manually track your spending (by writing down every single expenditure) or use free software like mint.com, quickenonline.com, or yodlee.com. After a month or so, you'll see where your money is really going.

 

Once you know where you are wasting money, make an effort to curtail it; take the money you were wasting on lattes/lotto tickets/taxis/whatever and save it.

 

A good way to save is to set up a savings account at INGDirect.com and set up an automatic deposit from your main checking account (ING calls it an Automatic Savings Plan). I have mine set up to take from my checking account one day after payday (so I really don't have the money long enough to spend or miss it).

 

If you get in a jam and have to get the money from ING, it takes just a few days. Good delay for a car repair, too long of a wait for shoe shopping.

 

Regarding credit cards, you simply have to make the decision to never carry a balance and don't.

[GEORGE]

Can anyone give me some Tips & ways for Saving money?

"IF" you are paying interest...PAY THE MOST TO THE HIGHEST APR FIRST

[Operation_Home_Ownership]

Join site like Yodlee.com, track your spending atleast for a 30 day period to identify where the overspending areas are. I think accounts entered once loaded will populate 3 months history. So wait time may not be a month.

 

I would also do a search on CB member 'powers64' hands down she provides great saving tips when first compiling & maintaining a budget.

 

Its a marathon not a race, no magic pill. Ask, ask, ask, learn, implement.

Edited January 10, 2010 by Operation_Home_Ownership

[jolla]

Can anyone give me some Tips & ways for Saving money?

"IF" you are paying interest...PAY THE MOST TO THE HIGHEST APR FIRST

Always. Anything else is wasting, not saving money.

[jolla]

In order of spending: Needs, Savings, Wants

 

 

First priority is Needs: housing, food, heat, etc.

 

Second priority is Savings: emergency savings, retirement savings, down payment savings, etc.

 

Third priority is Wants: cool clothes, manicures, eating out, services you can do yourself, etc.

 

If your Needs take up more than 50% of your income, then you have to scale back on your Wants or find a cheaper way to meet the Needs (move to lower rent area, cut back on heat, buy food in bulk, etc.).

Edited January 10, 2010 by jolla

[GEORGE]

In order of spending: Needs, Savings, Wants

 

 

First priority is Needs: housing, food, heat, etc.

 

Second priority is Savings: emergency savings, retirement savings, down payment savings, etc.

 

Third priority is Wants: cool clothes, manicures, eating out, services you can do yourself, etc.

 

If your Needs take up more than 50% of your income, then you have to scale back on your Wants or find a cheaper way to meet the Needs (move to lower rent area, cut back on heat, buy food in bulk, etc.).

In my world cool clothes, manicures come after I give $100 bill to the bum on the corner

[PlatinumPreferred]

Spend less than you make...then it will be easy to save some.

[squirrelgirl]

I had to treat "saving" just like any other bill... it comes out automatically. Money goes to my ROTH and my ING savings on a regular basis. Treating it like a bill doesn't give me the "option" to save. It is what it is.

 

It helps putting money in an account where I can't easily access the cash.

[TroyP]

I also treat savings like an expense. I'm paid on the 1st and 15th, savings is diverted the next day into different accounts. The bulk of my savings is being accumulated for a down payment on a home, so the savings account (for now anyway) is a one way street. I never ever touch it for anything.

[AnonymouslyIndebted]

Thanks for giving out these magnificent tips.

[AnonymouslyIndebted]

If you are considering creating a nice flower garden area, shopping for plants even on sale, can be expensive. Before you go out and start spending, look around to see if you have other plants that can be split from your existing flowers. Additionally, if you have a good relationship with any of your neighbors, you might ask them if they have any plants you could use as a starter. Another great idea is the next time you are in the market to buy a lawnmower, purchase one that mulches leaves. This way, rather than buy mulch for your flowerbeds every year, you can simply use the mulch you make.

[sillyviolet]

You all are full of great advice. Thanks. I had never heard of Yoodle.com, but I love it.

[MB82x]

Started fresh with a CU in Dec. 2010. With BOA, I had very little savings.

 

I set up my direct deposit to automatically put $150/wk into my savings.

 

Taking my meager savings, the $150 a week, and some other cash I had stashed aside, I currently have $1200 in my savings account.

 

There are 50 more paydays for me in 2010, which amounts to another $7500.

 

If I put my federal tax return into my savings, that's another $1150. One of my New Years resolutions was to save $10,000 in 2010. I think I can easily squeak out another $150 over the course of the year to meet that quota.

 

The funny thing is, before I direct deposited funds into my savings account, I seldom saved up any money... I'd add up my purchases and expenses, and would come up with a $200 to $700 shortfall every month. That is, there would be anywhere from $200 to $700 that I'm not sure what it was spent on. Since changing to $150/wk direct deposit into savings, I have not missed that money or felt at all restricted in any way.

 

I am having some dental work done this month and next. After that, I think I might be able to save $200/wk, or maybe even more.

 

Here's a quick outline of my expenses/income:

 

Hourly Pay: $13.75/hr... $20.63/hr on Sunday and Holidays... I ALWAYS try to work 9 hours minimum on Sunday and holidays. The exceptions are Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day. My mom would kill me. I work anywhere from 37 to 45 hours (don't tell my DM I went over 40!) per week.

 

5% of that immediately goes to my 401K, which is company matched.

 

~$21/wk for health insurance, ~$2/wk for dental and a buck and change a week for eye insurance...

 

$150 a week into my savings...

 

$0 on transportation... I don't own a car - and therefore don't need auto insurance... I also don't need to pay for gas or repairs and maintenance...

 

I use public transportation... a monthly pass is $59, but my employer reimburses me for it.... so it's still a $0 expense....

 

The house I'm renting is $1650/mo, but I have four roommates, so I only pay $330/mo

 

No cell phone... hate 'em... I have a cable/internet/phone package with Comcast... my share is $38/mo...

 

$50/mo to pay off my school loan... there's only about $200 left on it anyway...

 

$200/mo to pay off my credit card bill of $1700... (only carrying a balance because my mattress and iPod both needed to be replaced at the same time)

 

Heat/Electric aren't too bad at all, since split five ways... maybe $60/mo... it varies...

 

$22/mo to the child I sponsor...

 

The rest goes towards food, video games (somewhat rarely), and movies/music... clothing too, as I need it (not so common... I'm 28 and I still have some clothes from when I was 16...)

[bullthistle]

MB82x you are spot on. You might want to open a Roth account. It is after tax which means after 59 1/2 you can withdraw with no taxing. It seems that you work for a good employer who pays for your transportation and working overtime is a plus. If people cannot work overtime they should find a part-time job and they can do what you do. A fine example of America's thriftiness. Congrats!

[MB82x]

I'm holding off a bit on Roth accounts, I think.

 

I'm 28 and single, but I'm realizing that I'll eventually (maybe soon, who knows?) get engaged, need to buy a ring, need to pay for a wedding and honeymoon, it wouldn't hurt to have a lot of cash handy for a downpayment on a home if needed...

 

I'm 28 - and have VERY LITTLE on my "needs list". That could change drastically in a year or two.

 

I have a co-worker, also 28 years old - who bragged how great she is at saving cash. She has $7000 in her savings, which took her seven years. We have a childish "who is more responsible" rivalry of sorts - so I made it my New Year's Resolution to save $10,000 this year. A little tight when you make 32,000 pre-tax, but definitely doable if my expenses stay the same.

 

My employer is actually a BIG retail chain (drug store type). It is NOT policy for us to get reimbursed for transportation, but one of my co-workers had an "understanding" with our DM, and got reimbursed. My store manager declared it "unfair", and gave the reimbursement to every member of management. That's an extra $708 a year!

[MikeVQ]

I'm holding off a bit on Roth accounts, I think.

 

I'm 28 and single, but I'm realizing that I'll eventually (maybe soon, who knows?) get engaged, need to buy a ring, need to pay for a wedding and honeymoon, it wouldn't hurt to have a lot of cash handy for a downpayment on a home if needed...

 

I'm 28 - and have VERY LITTLE on my "needs list". That could change drastically in a year or two.

 

I have a co-worker, also 28 years old - who bragged how great she is at saving cash. She has $7000 in her savings, which took her seven years. We have a childish "who is more responsible" rivalry of sorts - so I made it my New Year's Resolution to save $10,000 this year. A little tight when you make 32,000 pre-tax, but definitely doable if my expenses stay the same.

 

My employer is actually a BIG retail chain (drug store type). It is NOT policy for us to get reimbursed for transportation, but one of my co-workers had an "understanding" with our DM, and got reimbursed. My store manager declared it "unfair", and gave the reimbursement to every member of management. That's an extra $708 a year!

 

$7000 over 7 years is better than nothing, but it's nothing to brag about. I don't want to turn this into a ding-a-ling waving contest but my wife and I were able to save close to $25,000 in 2009 and we were still able to take a trip to Mexico for a week and a 3 day trip to vegas and paid cash for all of it AND we bought a house as well. Take home pay is about $4600 per month(not counting additional bonuses and commission checks(those are banked right away).

[DharmaDog]

I copied this from a post I made on the same subject about a year ago.

 

Here are some general tips:

 

* Make a list of all your debts, plus the interest rates, balances and min payments for each

* Find a way to lower your interest rates. Call the creditors and ask for a lower rate, transfer balance to a lower rate card

* If you feel you can be responsible with credit cards, take advantage of reward cards. I'm in a family of 4, so it's not just my spending that goes on these cards, but my family earned right about $2000 last year in cash back on AMEX, Discover and Chase cards. We paid in full every month though. And we did have our set backs last year. My dog swallowed a corncob and it cost $4k to remove it. And my youngest daughter was in the hospital and had many tests before determining what was wrong. Insurance paid most of it of course, but we still had a high deductible to pay.

* Shop around your car insurance: I saved ~$400 this year doing that.

* Reduce your phone and cable packages. Disconnect what you can. This is saving me about $1000 this year.

* Do your own yardwork; fire the landscaper. I used $300 from my rewards cards to buy a lawnmower. I'll save about $1100 this year.

* I've started letting my wife cut my hair at home. I'll save about $200 this year.

* Make sure you take advantage of any flexible spending account your employer offers to pay for eyeglasses, prescriptions, OTC meds and other medical expenses.

* Keep your home a few degrees warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter. Turn down the temp on the water heater. Wrap the water heater in an insulative blanket made for it.

* CFL bulbs are getting cheaper, look into using those when current bulbs die.

* If you own a home, now might be a great time to refinance for substantial savings. We already have a decent rate on our mortgage, but think we can do much better and save hundreds per month.

* Make sure you're getting any tax reductions you can using the homestead exemption as an example. Same goes for federal tax deductions, don't overlook anything.

* Do as much of your own car maintenance as you're comfortable with.

* Stop eating out (as much). When you do, find places that are running specials that day, particularly "kids eat free" if you have kids.

* Use coupons and learn to shop smarter. Buy store brands. Buy things you use frequently (and that won't perish) in bulk when they're on sale.

* Drop the gym membership and pickup something else, like running, biking (if you have a bicycle), etc.

* Go through you home and consider selling anything that you just don't use.

[MB82x]

Question on the flex spending accounts:

 

How does this work? Is it a tax deductible taking from your paycheck each week? I'm honestly confused the exact benefits of this... but it usually comes off a card, right?

 

I work for a major pharmacy/retailer (think Walgreens/CVS type)... so you'd think we'd have that option... but I'm not sure we do... and we do, I'm not sure it's worthwhile (I use less than a bottle of Advil a year, rarely get sick, I have eye insurance, don't even need anti-acids... the only thing I "take" is a multi-vitamin...)

[hegemony]

Question on the flex spending accounts:

 

How does this work? Is it a tax deductible taking from your paycheck each week? I'm honestly confused the exact benefits of this... but it usually comes off a card, right?

 

I work for a major pharmacy/retailer (think Walgreens/CVS type)... so you'd think we'd have that option... but I'm not sure we do... and we do, I'm not sure it's worthwhile (I use less than a bottle of Advil a year, rarely get sick, I have eye insurance, don't even need anti-acids... the only thing I "take" is a multi-vitamin...)

 

 

the money is taken out pretax and you submit receipts to the plan administrator and are reimbursed the after tax expense. these funds can usually be used for eye glasses, contacts, dental work, etc. in addition to the things one might think it can be used for.

 

using this type of plan is like getting a discount on qualified items equal to your marginal federal tax rate. so for us that is a 35% discount.

Edited January 30, 2010 by hegemony

[AnonymouslyIndebted]

Wow, those are long lists of saving tips. Times like this, every tip you can share is valuable.

[Jen23514]

Wow, those are long lists of saving tips. Times like this, every tip you can share is valuable.

 

time like this?

 

IMO if people put as much care into worrying about their nickles and dimes in the "good times" as they do in "times like this", the times like this wouldn't be as stressful as it has been on some

[hegemony]

in the "good times"

DYN-O-MITE!!!!!!

[Operation_Home_Ownership]

in the "good times"

DYN-O-MITE!!!!!!

 

*singin* Aint [pause] we [pause] luck-key we got'em!

 

Gosh loved that show, dont make 'em that funny anymore.

[MB82x]

On the Flex, you can only take out what you have put in, right?

 

What if you're on a monthly payment plan for a medical bill?