- First off I put between $700-$1000 into savings each month depending on my pay checks that month.
- I bought a reliable used car that was in good condition for cash that I keep well maintained and should last me for many years to come.
- I switched my work schedule to 10am-6pm to save gas by avoiding major freeway traffic.
- I avoid uneccesary monthly bills by not having a cell phone or other luxuries that I do not need.
- I do not make insignificant or frequent computer upgrades (ie if it's below a 200% performance gain I really don't need to even consider it)
- I rarely eat fast food, I usually make my lunch to bring to work.
- I don't go to movies after 5pm unless it's the B run theatre.
- I'm not a fashion whore and don't buy name brand everything.
- I research heavily any major purchase.
- I don't use credit cards; only cash or bank (check) cards.
- I don't have TV since we don't really watch it
- I bought a reliable used car that was in good condition for cash that I keep well maintained and should last me for many years to come.
- I switched my work schedule to 10am-6pm to save gas by avoiding major freeway traffic.
- I avoid uneccesary monthly bills by not having a cell phone or other luxuries that I do not need.
- I do not make insignificant or frequent computer upgrades (ie if it's below a 200% performance gain I really don't need to even consider it)
- I rarely eat fast food, I usually make my lunch to bring to work.
- I don't go to movies after 5pm unless it's the B run theatre.
- I'm not a fashion whore and don't buy name brand everything.
- I research heavily any major purchase.
- I don't use credit cards; only cash or bank (check) cards.
- I don't have TV since we don't really watch it
Good thread!
We shop at a few local supermarkets and stock up on non-perishable stuff when they run great sales.
Stuff like:
paper towels
soap
deodorant
paper plates
toilet paper
shampoo
laundry bleach
AA batteries for the kids toys
etc.
We shop at a few local supermarkets and stock up on non-perishable stuff when they run great sales.
Stuff like:
paper towels
soap
deodorant
paper plates
toilet paper
shampoo
laundry bleach
AA batteries for the kids toys
etc.
Dulanic
Diamond Member
- Oct 27, 2000
- 9,969
- 592
- 136
It can be tough... first thing I did was cut off anything I didn't need... NetFlix etc... stuff that has montly charges. Alone they arent much but they add up. Eat cheap... I make myself sandwhiches for work everyday, no going to wendys etc... every day on lunch break. PAY BILLS ON TIME to the best of your ability, late fees often can crush you when your already hurting. It's all common sense... if you dont need it dont buy it. And catch the sales... sales on food can save you a decent amount of money a month. It may be a slight hassle to go store to store to get things at different places, but if the sales are good its what Im going to do to save myself the money.
The MOST expensive purchase you'll ever make is your home. That's where to cut the greatest expense. Next largest purchase is your vehicles. Everything after that is pretty small potatoes.
We purchased a home that we could afford to live in on one income. That way one of us (my wife) could stay home and raise the kids. Lost my job last year, but was in no hurry to find another one. Didn't need to with such a low mortgage and no car payments. We've only ever purchased used vehicles, and we drive those till the wheels are square. I try to buy vehicles that have swappable parts, like batteries and tires etc..
We purchased a home that we could afford to live in on one income. That way one of us (my wife) could stay home and raise the kids. Lost my job last year, but was in no hurry to find another one. Didn't need to with such a low mortgage and no car payments. We've only ever purchased used vehicles, and we drive those till the wheels are square. I try to buy vehicles that have swappable parts, like batteries and tires etc..
FeathersMcGraw
Diamond Member
- Oct 17, 2001
- 4,041
- 1
- 0
Particularly when people think they're amassing savings while clipping coupons to shave $20 off their weekly grocery bill while carrying hundreds of dollars in high-interest credit card debt.
Not that I'm knocking looking for ways to scrimp, but that's not saving money. Not spending money is. Put money in your 401(k) (and if you're not taking full advantage of employer match, you need to rethink your entire financial strategy), then skim another 5% to 10% off each paycheck before you start writing out your monthly budget.
- Oct 28, 1999
- 62,484
- 8,345
- 126
Well, if I do save $20 a week from coupons, that's over $40 a month. Assume I hit some clearance sales for clothes that I need and save myself another $40. Figure in that I buy used CD's/Videos/Games for half to 1/3 the price and I have another $20 a month. Now also include some coupons for "buy one get one free" meals and I just saved another $20.
Before you know it, those small things just added up to my monthly contribution for a Roth IRA.
You could look at the purchase of a VERY expensive home as an investment for the future. We thought about that, but weren't too keen on having our kids in day care, or burdening our parents with them. Lots of other expenses come with larger homes too. Taxes is one and furnishings is another. Utility bills are higher as well as repair bills for roofing and HVAC. Not to mention yard maintenance and landscaping. The list goes on and on...
I also try to save as much as I can by using coupons, not drinking alcohol, not going out to eat or party much, cutting back on needless bills, etc... However all the money i save is dumped into hardware anyways.
i don't like buying in bulk. what good is it if you buy all this food for cheap then have to throw out half of it because you're unable to consume it before the due date. buy what you need as you need it.
pay bills asap to avoid interest charges.
choose a cheap cell phone plan, i opt for prepaid cards to avoid all the taxes, monthly system access fee, etc etc.
make a mug of coffee and bring it with you instead of buying it at a shop.
treat yourself in little ways that are free, e.g. making a great dinner, quiet time reading (trust me, even that is extremely hard to do).
allow yourself a splurge item each paycheque.
more importantly, spend less than what you make. that is a concept some people don't grasp.
pay bills asap to avoid interest charges.
choose a cheap cell phone plan, i opt for prepaid cards to avoid all the taxes, monthly system access fee, etc etc.
make a mug of coffee and bring it with you instead of buying it at a shop.
treat yourself in little ways that are free, e.g. making a great dinner, quiet time reading (trust me, even that is extremely hard to do).
allow yourself a splurge item each paycheque.
more importantly, spend less than what you make. that is a concept some people don't grasp.
FeathersMcGraw
Diamond Member
- Oct 17, 2001
- 4,041
- 1
- 0
While this is all true, it's still a very different mindset from saving. Coupons are designed to get consumers to spend on items that they might not ordinarily buy. While you might be saving $20 a week, you have to consider if some of those savings were on items that you might have ordinarily purchased. For example, I note that a lot of stores that have "Buy 1, get one free" specials literally give you the second item free, instead of charging each at half price. If you don't need the second item, you're effectively paying full price (even though you'll doubtless get utility from the second item).
In those cases where you may have unexpected expenses, you're relying on your bargain-hunting skills to provide the shortfall, whereas if you'd simply budgeted the savings ahead of time, you'd already have them.
I'm not trying to discourage you from your financial plans, but I'm just pointing out that while the ends are the same, the "save first" method is less-heavily leveraged than the "save while spending" approach.
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
- Feb 15, 2000
- 20,551
- 2
- 81
Step #1: treat debts as something that MUST be paid off early.
Step #2: setup a part of your budget as "expendable".
Step #3: schedule "unexpected" items like car registration and tires (this cost me over $1000 last month)
Step #4: view savings as something that is a one way street, and MUST be paid into. Do not treat it as play money.
Step #5: get a 401k and don't look at it. Looking at it may make you want to reduce what you're paying into it.
Step #6: quit caring about what your friends have vs. what you have.
Step #7: notice that pr0n can be found free on the internet, quit going to pay sites.
Step #8: spaghetti can be made easily for under $10 for the entire family, and be very good. (this includes meat, premade sauce, and garlic bread). If you have people over, it's not a bad option.
Step #9: view entertainment expenses as $/hour of entertainment, the lower the better, note that rentals have a lower $/hour than purchases unless you watch the movie alot.
Step #10: A major league game may cost $100 for 4 hours of entertainment, a minor league game however costs about $20 and you get something that I've found is more entertaining.
Step #11: when getting a car, look at what you DO NOT need, and don't get it. 4WD is a $3000 option, costs money in gas, and costs more in maintenance. If you don't need it, don't get it.
You don't have to skimp to live below your means, just take a look at what you're getting from your cash.
Step #2: setup a part of your budget as "expendable".
Step #3: schedule "unexpected" items like car registration and tires (this cost me over $1000 last month)
Step #4: view savings as something that is a one way street, and MUST be paid into. Do not treat it as play money.
Step #5: get a 401k and don't look at it. Looking at it may make you want to reduce what you're paying into it.
Step #6: quit caring about what your friends have vs. what you have.
Step #7: notice that pr0n can be found free on the internet, quit going to pay sites.
Step #8: spaghetti can be made easily for under $10 for the entire family, and be very good. (this includes meat, premade sauce, and garlic bread). If you have people over, it's not a bad option.
Step #9: view entertainment expenses as $/hour of entertainment, the lower the better, note that rentals have a lower $/hour than purchases unless you watch the movie alot.
Step #10: A major league game may cost $100 for 4 hours of entertainment, a minor league game however costs about $20 and you get something that I've found is more entertaining.
Step #11: when getting a car, look at what you DO NOT need, and don't get it. 4WD is a $3000 option, costs money in gas, and costs more in maintenance. If you don't need it, don't get it.
You don't have to skimp to live below your means, just take a look at what you're getting from your cash.
- Oct 28, 1999
- 62,484
- 8,345
- 126
It's all in how dedicated you are. Just shy of 30% of our(wife and I) combined income goes automatically into retirement plans (401k's). We don't carry credit card debt, and only have one car payment which will be paid off in January. We purchased our home when I was 23, and my wife was 20. We already have close to $15,000 in equity in it. And this was on a purchase price of $120,000. Besides the one car payment and mortgage, all we have for debt is my student loans that have just recently dipped below the 5 digit mark. We'll have them paid off in a year.
The interesting part is that my wife gets out of school in 3 years and will raise our annual income about 125% what it is right now.
Everything we save from cutting expenses is pretty much money in the bank and/or gets put twords the car or student loans. We also keep a 3 month "emergency" buffer in an easily liquidible account.
I rarely buy stuff that's not on sale. Further, I buy what I need. By using a coupon on top of a buy one get one free saves a fair bit of money, on items I ordinarily need. I buy staples when they are on sale, so I have a good pantry full of staples we use all the time. I would say that on any given shopping trip, I average a savings of 40-60% from shelf prices. My kids are used to hearing me say "maybe when it goes on sale" for items they see at the store that they want. If I didn't shop carefully, my typical $400 per month grocery bill would be double that. That is $400 that can be saved or invested. Sure, homes and autos are the big lifetime purchases, but $1200/year/family member adds up to a large chunk of change over a lifetime too.
BTW, here's another thread with good ideas on saving money. I already made a rather lengthy post there, so I won't bore everyone with it here. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=38&threadid=1129698&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=
BD
Another thing I do is use MS Money, then put as many expenses on credit cards as possible (paid off in full each month of course 
). Then the software downloads the transactions, and everything is automatically categorized for you. At the end of the month it's very easy to see where your money is going and where your best opportunities are to cut spending.
). Then the software downloads the transactions, and everything is automatically categorized for you. At the end of the month it's very easy to see where your money is going and where your best opportunities are to cut spending.A big thing is to PROPERLY break down monthly expenses. Many people just think about the big things and then wonder why, at the end of the month, there's still no money.
A sample list:
Rent/Mortgage
Car Payment
Gas/Oil/Tires (I typical budget about 30% over my monthly gas expenditure to account for oil changes and eventual tire replacment)
Groceries
Utilities
Water
Cable/Satellite
Internet
Phone
Clothes
Entertainment (movie rentals/going out to eat/vending machines...be sure to track those expenses when they occur!)
Cell Phone
Pet Care
Car Insurance
Renter's Insurance (or homeowner's)
Haircuts
School Supplies (your own or your kids)
Charities
Personal care items
Then, account for the once-a-year items:
Christmas gifts/decorations
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Other holidays (Valentine's, Halloween, etc.)
Car taxes/registration
Property taxes
A sample list:
Rent/Mortgage
Car Payment
Gas/Oil/Tires (I typical budget about 30% over my monthly gas expenditure to account for oil changes and eventual tire replacment)
Groceries
Utilities
Water
Cable/Satellite
Internet
Phone
Clothes
Entertainment (movie rentals/going out to eat/vending machines...be sure to track those expenses when they occur!)
Cell Phone
Pet Care
Car Insurance
Renter's Insurance (or homeowner's)
Haircuts
School Supplies (your own or your kids
)Charities
Personal care items
Then, account for the once-a-year items:
Christmas gifts/decorations
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Other holidays (Valentine's, Halloween, etc.)
Car taxes/registration
Property taxes
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
- Feb 15, 2000
- 20,551
- 2
- 81
...can someone please explain to me what "Kraft Dinner" is? I've been wondering that for about 10% of my life now.
i rarely order drinks when im out--usually only water (its better for you too).
also--double coupons. you save a bundle stacking them with sale items.
i believe the best week i had was ~$30 in groceries for ~$6.
also--double coupons. you save a bundle stacking them with sale items.
i believe the best week i had was ~$30 in groceries for ~$6.
its a dinner made from food marketed by Kraft Food Corp.
also, go college-style food. waffles and canned soup, three meals a day.
The biggest things we try to do:
-Eat in whenever possible (this is a tough one to manage sometimes)
-SAVE UP FOR BIG PURCHASES AND PAY FOR THEM IN FULL AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE INSTEAD OF FINANCING EVERYTHING. That's probably the biggest single reason people get in a downward cycle of 'living beyond their means.' Financing makes it easy to buy things you can't really afford. With the exception of our house and our cars (which we will not buy if we can't easily pay them off in 3 years or less) we try to payoff every major purchase immediately. Furniture, vacations, electronics, etc. I'll put them on the credit card to get points, but we then turn around and pay the credit car off in full each month. If you have to take the time to save up for it instead of just getting stuck in a cycle of making payments you have to be more choosey in selecting between your wants and needs.
-Eat in whenever possible (this is a tough one to manage sometimes)
-SAVE UP FOR BIG PURCHASES AND PAY FOR THEM IN FULL AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE INSTEAD OF FINANCING EVERYTHING. That's probably the biggest single reason people get in a downward cycle of 'living beyond their means.' Financing makes it easy to buy things you can't really afford. With the exception of our house and our cars (which we will not buy if we can't easily pay them off in 3 years or less) we try to payoff every major purchase immediately. Furniture, vacations, electronics, etc. I'll put them on the credit card to get points, but we then turn around and pay the credit car off in full each month. If you have to take the time to save up for it instead of just getting stuck in a cycle of making payments you have to be more choosey in selecting between your wants and needs.
I just financed a mountain bike. I try to think of things as an economist, "in the long run." In the long run, the miles/gas I save from biking to school and friend's homes will pay off the bike, easily.
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