Saving Money.......

[MisterTinkles]

Not all of us make enough money to save, as the economy has pretty much collapsed, and is steadily getting worse (no matter what the "professionals" say).

If you are one of the few who are able to save money, how do you do it?
Do you cut corners?
Do you go without?

Do you save every little penny?
Do you invest in some type of special account?
Do you have stock in something?

Do you have any "tricks" or "secrets" to saving money without sacrificing your wants?

Are there any "tricks" or "secrets" to saving money when you live from paycheck to paycheck?

[Joshular]

I live at home with my mum. She pretty much buys everything I could need for a mare fiddy bux a week!
Cha Ching!
Tho now that I only two shifts a week that money goes to mum and alcohol -.-

[Undreamt]

Everytime i withdraw cash I take an extra $20 and hide it in the back of my wallet, when i get home I put it in my safe.

[findingmyway]

The soynuts at my local grocery store are $1.39 per pound. So, just live on that forever.

[Lilitu]

Don't eat out.


Buy cheap vegetables from a market.

[PenguinPecker]

Bring on more tips please!
I am living at home with parents but I drive an SUV. -.-
My only money issue it's gas.

I like the idea of taking am extra $20!

I've been eating Mr. Noodles for ages. Not complaining; they're yummy.

[PenguinPecker]

Bring on more tips please!
I am living at home with parents but I drive an SUV. -.-
My only money issue it's gas.

I like the idea of taking am extra $20!

I've been eating Mr. Noodles for ages. Not complaining; they're yummy.

[CellarDweller]

Don't eat out, no fast food.

Restrict yourself to what you need, and not ALL you want.

If you are paid by direct deposit, have your check deposited to a savings account, and move funds to a checking account to pay bills, leaving what's left in the savings account.

Open a Christmas Club, and put as much as you can into it. When Christmas comes, use that money for holiday shopping. Any left over put into savings.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

Stop eating high on the hog. beans are good - beans with rice is complete protein.

Start a vegetable garden. You get more for your money and if you learn how to preserve food you can carry a large amount of your food bill on very little land.

Conversely, if you are surround by rural land (farmland) go out and find produce stands. One can get bushels of bruised and overripe foods for $5 or less a bushel (that's like tens of pounds of food). Sure there may be a wee bit of mold/spoilage - but that is why God made knives. I can dozens of quarts of peaches from fruit that no one else wants.

Things to ask yourself:
* Do you really need a 100 gigabyte connection.... ?
* Or the latest application, or all of those bought musics, DVD's, and other nickle and
dimeing stuff that drains the wallet.
* Do you really need HBO, Cinmax and all of those other stations?
* Netflix/Hulu and all of this other movie rental things... really need that?
* Do you really need the latest iphone with internet access and all of that? one thing
certain about the flip phone - it is cheap.
* Do you need to dine out as often?
* Can't you take a lunch to work instead of buying fast food or whatever at work?

Instead of buying something cheap because you save money right now, look at everything as a long term investment, thus be willing to lay out the extra cash for a thing that will last longer thus save money in the long term.

Switch out the incandescent with CLF - or turn of the fucking light when not in use...

There are many ways to save a penny here, a nickle there, hundreds of dollars on your car insure with 7.4 minutes at E-surance or 15 minutes with the Geicko....

ATM card purchases. STOP IT! - seriously all of these people buying a cup of coffee on a card - what can't carry a couple of dollars - too heavy? A lot of those places charge 50 cents to a dollar extra when you use the ATM Card.

Credit Cards - seriously?

Speaking of coffee - Starbuck ain't all that and a bag of chips - $4.50 for a cup of coffee were you can make the same coffee at home for 25 cents.... Yet people are doing this buy coffee from Starbucks, Dunken Dognuts and all of these other places paying out the nose. Invest in a thermos - brew your own at home.

It is these little purchases that really eat up the funds.

[sillyboy86]

I try to save my money, definitely I don't waste it, but sometimes (like now...) I'm jobless and I must use what I saved etc.
I buy economic food, economic clothes if I can (in Italy we don't have places like Primark... Oh Primark I love you LOL) and also I don't spend money in things like shopping. I don't watch tv and I don't spend loads on money on a mobile or a phone. I don't even have a car only for myself (pollutes so much...)
I need: to pay bills, to eat and pay the public transport. Those 3 things are at least the 70-80% of what I spend.
I need: a decent computer with a decent internet connection, cause I do a lot of things with that, a little of money to have a social life cause I like go around with my friends, and the money to buy things to do my art, like paper, pencils watercolors etc.
Another extra, if I can is spend some money to travel a bit.

----

Also, like this morning I have the annual update-statement about my investment... And: "shit". I know the economy is collapsed, but my investment is now worth less that what I invested and also I have some things like 'you cannot take this money before blahblah, if you change something you will pay an additional fee blahblah...' So is this supposed to be an investment?
But honestly I wasn't upset, I do not believe in banks and I always try to stay away from them... So this is my only true investment, I prefer invest on myself and my life, with biggest risks maybe, but...