[Till]

ok Guys im seriously into saving money for the next 4 months

like I CANT save any money what so ever!!! its a curse

I am going to stop that curse

But i need your guys help



How do you save money??

Im hoping to have around 4k in 4 months or a little under and am prob gonna buy another bike or just let it sit in there and know I have money incase of emergency


so ANY and ALL advice welcome but no flaming

like any tips, where to buy groceries or whatever
obviously im not going to go out to dinner or to the movies but I think i'll be renting from bloackbuster to keep me entertained

[Fluffy The Rhino]

Well... what happens when you don't budget is you have no idea how much if normally left over after paying bills. I wasn't aware of this number until a few weeks ago... Sat down and added up all the bills, subtracted 'em from my paycheck, and was shocked to see that I manage to piss away over $2k a month. Had no idea what I was spending money on.

Pay closer attention to what you buy. That's the best advice I can give.

Right now I'm working on getting rid of around $11k in credit card debt. It's going to take me at least 6 months. Had I not done the math, I would have no idea how much I could be paying on 'em, etc...

[BWAL]

+1 to fluffy

[Till]

thanks yeah Ill have to do that im sure im wasting alot of money as well

[coreysr5]

Originally Posted by FluffyTheRhino Well... what happens when you don't budget is you have no idea how much if normally left over after paying bills. I wasn't aware of this number until a few weeks ago... Sat down and added up all the bills, subtracted 'em from my paycheck, and was shocked to see that I manage to piss away over $2k a month. Had no idea what I was spending money on. Pay closer attention to what you buy. That's the best advice I can give. Right now I'm working on getting rid of around $11k in credit card debt. It's going to take me at least 6 months. Had I not done the math, I would have no idea how much I could be paying on 'em, etc...

man i just sat down and did the math and i manage to piss away 700-800 dollars a month! i had no idea i had so much extra cash! this is really eye opening lol i guess i just never took the time to sit down and add it all up.

i have a hard time saving money too, usually broke like 5 or 6 days after payday

[dr.gonzo!]

Get the sunday paper, see whats on sale and clip coupons, bulk up on that. A couple of weeks ago price chopper had a sale where you buy 4 things of ragu sauce for $5 you get 2 bags of spaghetti noodles free, then on the way home I stopped by hyvee where they had a 5 lb tube of hamburger for 1.59 a pound then I got a 10lb bag of potatoes for $1.88 and some milk and oj. I ate for 2 1/2 weeks on $20 of food.

I am still kicking myself for sleeping in Wednesday and missing the $.88 boneless chicken breast. There was no limit so I guarantee someone walked in there and bought all of them at once.

[BWAL]

+1 to gonzo, when you find a good deal, buy as much food as you can afford to/have room for and freeze it

[dequan80]

in order to save money one must not spend money.


the key to all your problems.

[XTCNAGT]

However, sometimes...to save money, you have to spend money...


I bought a big freezer for the garage. Was roughly ~$200.

Bought a vaccuum sealer from Sams Club. Again, roughly ~$200.

Me and my old roommate would buy all our meat and stuff from Sams, since you can get a shitload of it. Chicken...pork chops...steaks...ribs...fish, anything. As well as vegetables and other miscellaneous stuff. Buy all that shit in bulk, get it home, and seal all it all up in different packs (3 chicken breasts...4 pork chops etc etc etc). Initially it costs a good bit to stock the freezer, but it's worth it. We never emptied it out before we bought more, we would just buy less.

There has been a couple times that I was strapped for cash trying to get into a routine with the new roommate. I'd have like $40 to get me a week and half to my next payday.

I ate a LOT out of that freezer. And I'm not talking small little poor mans dinners.

I was marinating chicken, smoked a few ~3lb pork loins, grilled some pork chops, smoked salmon...GOOD stuff. That'll save you a lot of money in the long run, because depending on how many people you cook for, that food will last a LONG time, vaccuum sealed and frozen.

[Till]

awesome thanks guys

yes I am determined to save some money

[Fluffy The Rhino]

Originally Posted by XTCNAGT However, sometimes...to save money, you have to spend money... I bought a big freezer for the garage. Was roughly ~$200. Bought a vaccuum sealer from Sams Club. Again, roughly ~$200. Me and my old roommate would buy all our meat and stuff from Sams, since you can get a shitload of it. Chicken...pork chops...steaks...ribs...fish, anything. As well as vegetables and other miscellaneous stuff. Buy all that shit in bulk, get it home, and seal all it all up in different packs (3 chicken breasts...4 pork chops etc etc etc). Initially it costs a good bit to stock the freezer, but it's worth it. We never emptied it out before we bought more, we would just buy less. There has been a couple times that I was strapped for cash trying to get into a routine with the new roommate. I'd have like $40 to get me a week and half to my next payday. I ate a LOT out of that freezer. And I'm not talking small little poor mans dinners. I was marinating chicken, smoked a few ~3lb pork loins, grilled some pork chops, smoked salmon...GOOD stuff. That'll save you a lot of money in the long run, because depending on how many people you cook for, that food will last a LONG time, vaccuum sealed and frozen.

That's a damned good idea. I should get a freezer.

[TheUNZippee!]

Anytime you want to buy something, FORCE yourself to do this:


Take a big dick in the as- wait wrong thread.

Do THIS:

Walk away, and think about it. I promise you, by the time the next day rolls around, you will realize you really didn't need an underage electronic vibrating blow up sheep.

[93hatch]

everytime you save up 500 bucks put in a CD for 6 months so you forget its there

[Smoothgrandmama]

I cant save for crap. . . i keep buying cars too. . . .

[TheUNZippee!]

Originally Posted by 93hatch everytime you save up 500 bucks put in a CD for 6 months so you forget its there

Also an excellent idea.

[Till]

Ok so about the freezer I cant I live in a apt =(

also a CD, but in a CD I didnt think I got that back? Am I wrong?

Also with the economy the way it is could I lose it?

thanks

ps if I do, do the CD thing, how should I do it?
I get 500$ a month to just hold onto so should I do it every month or? also do I get back just my 500$ from that or more or?

thanks again sorry im young still learning

[XTCNAGT]

a CD is insured, so there's VERY little chance you could lose it.

You can do 3 months, 6 months or a year....maybe more options, not sure, and it is USUALLY a fixed interest. At the set time, you can withdraw the money you deposited along with the interest.


Do you not have a back porch or anything? Or even just a little 3'x4' area out of the way you could put it?

Seriously, after stocking it up good, and cooking for just me, or maybe a couple friends, I could have good dinners for like 2 months straight, just with stuff I pull from the freezer.

[Till]

No I really dont I wish I did im on the 2nd floor I have a balcony but the thing is kinda weak it makes me wonder how much it can hold lol

Like I would love to do that but eh no room

Also do I just talk to my bank about the CD and Interest %

[JASonic]

Tiller...send it to my Paypal! You can have it back in 6 months (it should still be there)LOL.

Seriously, the advice above is fantastic. I would give it to a family member or someone you really know and trust. Tell them DO NOT GIVE IT BACK UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES until you goal is reached.

Also, check out this link. I use this. I know, seems a little odd but what isnt? Read the details, its a great tool for saving toward a goal.

SmartyPig®: Simple. Smart. Savings.®

[Onemanzu]

the way i save money is by initiating my own petty cash system... I leave $500 in my checking account and when ever I get a pay check I try to take note of any bills coming up in the new 3-5 days and will go ahead and leave that little extra in the checking but move the rest to savings before it even sinks in that I have that money.

that way you will only see what you is in your checking account, $500 is enough to get you out of almost anything and with a few phone calls you can have the other $4000 that you have saved swapped to your checking for those moments when you need to bail a friend out of jail for murder

on top of that, go through your last two months expenses and add up all the bullshit numbers, get a grasp of how large that is and then eliminate it. For me i have $225-250 in bullshit such as food, music, games etc... and that lets me live comfortably so i can buy w.e i want... if i were to get rid of that I would have $350 to save each month instead of $100