- NEW!
by Prime wants the old AB back on January 4th, 2008
Thebyannhill gave a great piece of advice, credit cards are really bad news.
The other ABers covered the other bases really well too.
The only thing I can add is: Potatoes!
My wife and I lived on them in college; cheap and a billion ways to make them.
by APACHEmeansENEMY on January 4th, 2008
Don't eat out.
by Blargiantoast on January 4th, 2008
Take your own food to work so you dont have to buy anything. Drive conservatively so you use less petrol.
by Snowman on January 4th, 2008
How to double your money: fold it in half and put it in your pocket.
by Theby on January 4th, 2008
Only one - throw away your credit cards.
by Jane on January 4th, 2008
i have money automatically sent to a savings accont on the first of every month. Also remember, "Pay yourself first" you should take the first hour you work and save that. So if you make $20 and hour and you work 8 hours, five times a week then save $100 a week. dont touch it have it go to a Roth IRA or a 401K...or some sort of mutual fund. If you are saving $5200 a year and investing it then you can make up to 20% or 30% on your money rather than saving which is a fraction of a percent..
by Mequel on January 5th, 2008
I have to say, it matters not how meagre the savings are but that you are saving.
The hardest part is actually doing it, and doing it regularly.
Saving involves a change of mindset from living in a pay-for-it-later credit world, to living in a pay-as-you-go savings world.
As others have said, ditch the credit cards. You can still get a debit/credit card that spends your money. It is amazing how quickly your spending will plummit when it is your money in the account.
In saying that, there is 'GOOD' debt and 'BAD' debt.
An example of bad debt is a car. They cost a fortune and depreciate faster than you can say 'whereditgo?'.
If you own your car, stick with it. If you don't own it, consider downtrading to something that you do own. Yes a car is a status symbol, but I would prefer the status in my bank account that constantly being in debt to keep up with the Jonses.
Two examples of Good debt is a mortgage and borrowing for investment purposes.
That's how the big boys do it. They borrow at 9% and invest at 25-20%. Thats smart. As long as you can service the loan it is a practical way of creating wealth.
Three last pieces of advice.
1. Give a portion of your money away. If you give from the heart it will come back to you in some good way.
2. Find a GREAT financial advisor that charges a FLAT fee for service. If you go to a commission agent, they CAN be unethical in their advice because they are paid a commission for their work from investment companies.
You pay the fee and get the advice without the bias.
3. Even if its $20 per week, put it away in an account and FORGET about it. Setup a direct transfer to an account with no card and a penalty for withdrawing.
I won't say 'good luck' because there is no luck involved. It takes resolve and a change of mindset!
by Azraff on January 4th, 2008
Re-use plastic sandwich bags and aluminum foil
several times if they are not too messy. Only buy
enough clothes per season to last from wash to wash,
because you will usually want to buy something new, no
matter how many clothes you have and sometimes size
fluctuates and special occasions present themselves.
by Takei-Shihan on January 4th, 2008
Start some sort of a home based business (look into MLMs, but be carefull which, if you try one). If you run a business from your home, then half of your rent or mortgage becomes a business expense and is now tax deductable ... likewise with all home bills like telephone, electricity, etc., as long as you make or recieve at least one call that is business related per month, then half that month's phone bill becomes a business expense. Then, instead of paying your kids an allowance, list them as employees and have them earn a "wage" by doing little things for your business, then the money you give them will be taxed as their income tax, but if the amount is low enough, their tax will still be zero, and you get to deduct that amount as a salary expense. Also, if your kids are employees, then everything you spend on their education becomes deductable as employee training expense in preparation of them taking over the family business someday.
Even if your home business never earns its first dollar, the savings will be vast.
by Doggie S on January 4th, 2008
I save about 20 percent of my salary. It goes straight to a not-so-near, not-so-far bank. With my meager salary I should learn how to save.
by Jes Baby on January 4th, 2008
sure......each time you get paid put aside 5 or 10 dollars somewhere.....it adds up pretty quick
by wildthorn on November 22nd, 2008
When you need to buy something check out online sites to get an idea of price. Pricegrabber.com is a good one and nextag.com is as well.
I really like www.fatwallet.com. If you find a good buy through them, they will return a certain portion of your money. You can see in advance which merchants belong to the plan.
by Scrappy on August 12th, 2008
I save all my coins except quarters (laundry). Takes a while to save but it adds up. is this what you were asking or are you asking how to cut down on expenses
by taxigringo on January 26th, 2008
Don't spend money on things that you don't need and don't hang around people who have a lot more money than you; they will spend you into the ground. Avoid friends who always let you pick up the tab. It might be lonely for awhile but soon you will realize that you didn't give up anything you can't do without. Let your happiness come from the things that are free like a walk in the park or reading a book. by taxigringo.
by Jack wears love COAT on January 5th, 2008
This is what I follow- Dont spend on anything unless it is absolutely necessary
by Nelson - Jetpacking from bed on January 4th, 2008
My wife and I both travel for work. One thing we both do is bring home the soaps, shampoos and conditioners. So we have a stack of small soaps and shampoos that we use.
by ChandaDiane - est. 1975 on January 4th, 2008
When you put money in your savings account, don't touch it. I have a hard time doing that one, especially as holidays and birthdays come along.
by Anonomous on January 4th, 2008
Clip coupons and shop store adds.
by khammer on January 4th, 2008
Save ketchup packets and taco sauce packets.
by BRG on May 22nd, 2009
` Drive within the speed limit....coast when you can..the less you use your brakes, the more mileage you will get...
` use those coupons, but only for stuff you will actually eat...
` take your lunch to work!! every day!! not just 1 or 2 times a week!!!....
``eat more fresh fruits and vegetables...in the long run, it's cheaper than going to the doctor "You're either going to pay the grocer or the pharmacist" an old French saying I dearly love!!..
` cut WAY back on refined foods, and candy, cakes, etc....
.` Drink nothing but water and one other beverage, and no POP!! or soda pop, depending on where you live!!!!!!!....you will save money and calories!!!!!!!
` walk whenever you can, move whenever you can......create walking opportunities for yourself - park as far away from the store as you can when out shopping.....
walk the circumference of the store before you do your actual shopping......`
`if you live in an apt., park as far away as you can from the entrance to your part of the bldg.!! in a year's time,these 'walking opportunities' will have given you thousands more steps, and every little bit helps!!!
Allow at least 10% of your take home pay to spend on what you want....DO NOT deprive yourself of little things, just stay within a certain percentage; 10% or 5% doesnt matter, just DO IT....you will then never feel 'cheated' out of enjoying the things you like...most important, be thankful every day for all the things you have!!!!!!! think about it....what you think about you bring about......
by lisc998 on January 19th, 2009
Read "The Money Secret" by Rob Parsons and do everything he suggests. I have a few thousand in the bank and owe nothing on credit cards all because of this book. I kid you not. This is not a get rich quick scheme, it's the stuff our grand-parents knew that we forgot in the 80s!
Here's an example. You might say that you've had a bad month because your car broke down and needed fixing, it cost you $400. You weren't expecting that to happen this month, so you put the bill on a credit card.
But surely when you bought the car you had to have known that it would break down at some point. So you have to put the money aside each month for the day it happens, not borrow the cash on credit cards when it happens. It's called Enveloping, and it's exactly how people lived their lives before credit cards.
I have an 'envelope' for school trips too. My kids could come home at any point and say 'can I have £50 to go to The Tower of London' or where-ever the teachers decide to take them. I know that will happen, I don't know what or when, but it will. So I put cash aside in an 'envelope for that, and maybe a dozen of eventualities.
Hope this is of some help to someone.
by marsha in n.s. on August 12th, 2008
You can save money by using coupons and points. Recently, we rented a cottage for a weeks vacation.At the garage I cashed in my Petro-points and received $50 of free gas. Weeks before the trip all of us cashed in our grocery points so we had $340 to use towards groceries. Money that I received back from using the $20 grocery certificates when I didn't spend the whole amount we used for takeout pizza.So as you can see, these few things can really add up to quite a big saving.
by MrBLT needs to be contained on July 10th, 2008
My tip would be to save your 'money' in something other than dollars. Inflation is so rampant in the US that saving paper money is a losing game. Consider this: The dollar has lost 20% of it's value in the last 10 years, so if you had saved $1000, it could only purchase $800 worth of goods today. Saving actually cost you 20%! I recommend saving by converting your dollars into physical gold or silver and keeping it in a safe in your home :) That protects you against the falling dollar :)
by single mommie of 2 on June 29th, 2008
What works for me, since my employer doesnt have any program where they can deduct from my check for me. I pay my bills with online bill pay. I signed up for a credit union that is a couple towns away. I have no card to use if i need money. The only way to get money out is if i go down there. Very inconveinent for me. I do use my bill pay and pay into my credit union account like its a BILL. It gets paid every payday, and its hard for me to get any money out.
by rustyrazor on June 19th, 2008
For one month straight keep track of all the money you recieve and spend. Keep all of the reciepts. This is pretty much book keeping.
At the end of the month categorize everything ie. food, clothes, bills, gas etc. Now you can use this as a budget of your actual spending. Just doing this alone will probably make it obvious where you're over spending. Then you can modify the budget and focus on areas where you know you can save money.
As for specific money saving tips.
Focus more on paying off loans than putting money into savings. Make payments on the principle of the loans with the highest interest rate and/or most amount owing first.
The interest you pay on dept is almost always higher than the interest you will get from savings. Saving all of your money when you have debt is like adding water into a bucket that has a hole in the bottom.
Make it a goal to be debt free. Once you pay off one loan start adding the payment amounts from that loan onto the principal of the next loan.
by TwiceShy on April 7th, 2008
I used to have $50 per paycheck automatically deducted and put into the credit union. Pretty soon you don't even notice not having that money. You get used to it. And it adds up fast. Just don't touch it and don't keep checking on it. Consider it untouchable. Hope this helps you. It helped me save up for a down payment on my first house!
by Roger Kovaciny on March 7th, 2008
Consumer Reports once said that the sale of used items (cars, clothing, appliances and so forth) are a superhighway of wealth-transfer from the rich to the poor. Well, you don't have to be poor to go to a thrift store! I have gotten some of the most incredible bargains there--like a three-piece suit in my favorite that didn't even need tailoring, all for ten bucks!
by rosario on January 24th, 2009
whenever you got the increment don't spend it save it. many people whenever they got promoted or pay raised they start to buy "luxury things"
by shady on January 19th, 2009
at the end of the day put your 5 dollar bills back in a jar
by Jose_Thomson on November 21st, 2008
Follow the below mentioned activities, and i am sure that by the end of the year you will end up saving a huge sum of money:
1. Slash the incidentals.
2. Pay yourself first.
3. Decide where to put that ‘payment’.
4. Pay ahead on your mortgage.
5. Shed credit-card debt.
6. Say goodbye to late fees.
7. Take your last puff.
8. Max out your retirement savings.
9. Review your estate plan.
10. Analyze your workday expenses.
I hope the information will be useful to you
by coolboy on March 7th, 2008
Yes. Every time you break a dollar, just save the change. Then soon you will have more money to spend.
by Chaysgirl24 on January 4th, 2008
Don't spend it! ;o)
by Ditto on April 6th, 2009
Define needs versus wants. Consider the cost of your wants versus the benefits. I'm in a bit of a tussle with my s/o over a boat that is costing me $300 a month... That's $75 a week, 52 weeks a year. We used it 6 times last summer. With the payment and the costs associated with it I figure it costs us about $800 a day when we use it. It's disgusting and financially destructive. I gave in to that a few years ago. I was an idiot.
by Yarnlady is happy every day on February 1st, 2009
I went to the "How to Articles" at the bottom of this page and found these tips in various articles there.
The most effective way to save money is by careful planning.
Evaluate spending habits. Track monthly expenses and income to see how much you are spending and where it's all going. This information is necessary as you are learning to save money.
Cook small meals in a toaster oven instead of heating the full size oven.
Do not over heat or over cool your house. Turn off the furnace and air conditioner when you are not home.
Shop second hand for clothes, books and household items -- one of my favorite ways to save money.
Save money with a rewards credit card rewards program - those credit cards that offer cash back, reward points are best. You must pay off your balance every month to save a lot.
Save money with coupon sites such as:
www.fatwallet.com
www.ebates.com
Don't pay full price for anything, do without if you can't find it on sale.
Don't buy just because something is on sale, make sure you really need it.
Instead of buying yourself little "reward" presents, give yourself a day in the park, or the garden.
by Timjon on May 19th, 2009
Simply don't spend it. You'll save the most that way.
by Forbidden Snowflake on June 11th, 2009
* I buy my wrapping paper and cards from those $2/reject shop stores - they're really nice and really cheap: cards = $1, small wrap. paper = 50c
* also, after xmas sales are good for buying 'xmas wrap' and other xmas stuff in bulk - metres of xmas wrap for $1-$2!
* regifting -LOL - if you get given a gift you don't need or like, give it to someone else as a gift (as long as it's new and nice) make sure you don't forget who gave it to you and accidently give it to them as a gift! LOL
* if someone gives you a gift voucher for something you don't need, buy gifts for other people with that voucher
* $2 stores, markets, vinnies, garage sales - you find all kinds of awesome random for awesome prices - some things are still new too!
that's my 2c for today :)
by JennyJoy on February 26th, 2010
Grow a garden, buy your food in bulk, cook from scratch, eat on sale foods, stay out of the store, eat at home, use reusable products instead of disposables. Ten Money Saving Ideas
by kimy08 on June 3rd, 2009
15% of my earnings monthly goes straight to my savings.
How do I compare bank CD rates?
by Answerbag Staff on June 9th, 2010
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Comments
lol, Thanks :)
by Cyndi Ninja on January 4th, 2008