Saving Money

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Its come to my realization that I need to start saving my money and stop buying useless items, but im having a hard problem doing that. I just cant keep motivated to save and not buy things I see and randomly want. Im 19 years old, a student, and dont work that much.

I generally spend:

$15 a day in food/candy/vending machines
$40 a week gas
$200 a month on skiing and other activites
$100+ on random stuff I probably dont need

Totalling around: $750+ a month

I usually make around $500 a month

I had $4500 saved up at the beginning of October, now I have about $1600. I have spent around $2000 in the past month on turbo items and stuff for my car. $900 of savings is gone, but also around $1000 of pay and $1500 of birthday/christmas money. $3400 has randomly escaped me, and I have little idea what I have to show for it.

How do you guys keep motivated to save your money/use it on more important things?

I figure I shall just take my lunch to school from now on and hopefully save some coin.

TIA.

James

[ExtraSlow]

if you are having a hard time keeping track of where your money goes, stray keeping a spending diary. Write down every dime you spend, and once a week, or once a month, add it all up, and break it down into categories. It's amazing how much you can spend at the bar, or on lunches and snacks.
Saving money is like making money, it takes hard work and discipline.

Good luck!

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

I guess I could also try and drive "more economically" as well, drive my car instead of the truck. I might as well sell some stuff im never going to use as well.

[Rat Fink]

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[broken_legs]

Originally posted by Rat Fink
Holy fuck...you got 1500 cash for christmas/birthday? Seems like your parents blow mad cash all the time too.

thats more than most people get on a paycheck yo

[calgarys_finest]

What got me motivated was to show everyone around me that i could do it(plus a breakup). If you really dont want to save you never will. Ask your parents for help show them you want to save, set a budget and give them cash to put in a account just for you if you cant trust yourself. I used to drive a 81 chevy pickup and a skyline since i went to my accent my gas bill and insurance are way down. I was amazed at how much it changed.

[broken_legs]

Originally posted by calgarys_finest
What got me motivated was to show everyone around me that i could do it(plus a breakup). If you really dont want to save you never will. Ask your parents for help show them you want to save, set a budget and give them cash to put in a account just for you if you cant trust yourself. I used to drive a 81 chevy pickup and a skyline since i went to my accent my gas bill and insurance are way down. I was amazed at how much it changed.

Yeah but how much more money do you have to spend on drinks to bag a girl at the bar now that you drive a hyundai?

[Supa Dexta]

Any girl you needa impress with money isn't a girl worth having.

[max_boost]

Saving money is a lifestyle. Comes down to spending only on your needs and spending as little as possible. Yeah it sucks but if you are spending more than you make, nothing will add up faster than debt.

Solution is simple, either spend less or make more money. Your choice. :D

[Eibbus]

Use only your debit card for everything other than bills that reoccur.

Setup a second account at your bank that isn't linked to your card.
Then get your bank to setup an automatic deduction every paycheque of whatever you think you can afford ouside of your monthly bills and purchases. Could be $250, $500, $1000 etc etc.

Worked for me when I was younger. Next thing you know you'll be sitting on a pile of cash, and you wont spend it unless you have no self control and actually go down to the bank and transfer that money from one account to the other because you didnt budget properly.

[TC2002]

Originally posted by Eibbus
Use only your debit card for everything other than bills that reoccur.



I use my credit card for essentially everything that I can, but I ensure that I pay off the entire balance each month to avoid interest. It gives me a record of what I've spent it on as opposed to having only money in the wallet and forgetting where it all went, and I also collect points out of it. :) So far it's been working for me in this way. Debit cards also give you a record, so I agree with Eibbus here. I think it's better if you have a harder time ensuring that you pay off your credit card bills every month (self control or whatever).

From there, you can see where you spend most of your money and re-evaluate your lifestyle and budget accordingly. I usually have a yearly budget (e.g. if I'm saving up to buy a house, annual house and car insurance, property taxes, etc.) so that I don't forget that some months will certainly add up more expenses than others, and then keep to a monthly budget as well. It's all about goal setting for me.

[eblend]

Savings is awesome, once I started I got addicted myself, it feels great to have money should you decide to splurge once in a while. For me, I rather buy 1 super expensive item than bunch of useless shit. Last week I spend like 10k just to furnish the new house I just bought, felt great to do it on my savings vs having to go into further dept. Another trick I use is to save in 500 dollar shunks, say you get paid 700 every two weeks, put 500 into savings and 200 into chequing, so you have 200 to spend. Next time you get paid 900, transfer 500 into savings, and you have 400 to spend. If you didn't spend your initial 200 yet from previous paycheque, then you might be able to take 100 from it, add it to the 400 that is left from this month and whola, another 500 into savings. I used this approach exclusively, I almost never have any money in chequeing account at all. I use CC for everything as well and pay off fully at the end of the month.

[no_joke]

Make a budget for yourself and stick to it. Cut out that $100 that you're spending on random crap. Say, budget $30 for random crap and save the remaining $70. Set savings goals, like if you want a new exhaust then figure how much you need to save every month so that you can afford it without dipping too much into your existing savings. Keep a spending diary like someone already said. I keep an Excel spreadsheet but there are also programs that are more specialized for this. Start small so that it doesn't get too daunting or annoying to do and you will be fine.

[rockanrepublic]

Originally posted by TC2002



I use my credit card for essentially everything that I can, but I ensure that I pay off the entire balance each month to avoid interest. It gives me a record of what I've spent it on as opposed to having only money in the wallet and forgetting where it all went, and I also collect points out of it. :) So far it's been working for me in this way. Debit cards also give you a record, so I agree with Eibbus here. I think it's better if you have a harder time ensuring that you pay off your credit card bills every month (self control or whatever).

From there, you can see where you spend most of your money and re-evaluate your lifestyle and budget accordingly. I usually have a yearly budget (e.g. if I'm saving up to buy a house, annual house and car insurance, property taxes, etc.) so that I don't forget that some months will certainly add up more expenses than others, and then keep to a monthly budget as well. It's all about goal setting for me.

im the exact same got rebate rewards so i get money back on everything.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Lots of good advice thanks guys. I plan on cutting the random crap budget down to $10 a month. Going to start bringing my lunch to class and spend $5 or less on food a day. I think im going to start writing down everything that I spend, and make some budgets. I would really like to import another car sometime in the next few years, maybe when I graduate, so thats something big I can save for.

I am very lucky to be able to live rent free with my parents for the time being. I do have a credit card right now, but the limit is only $1000, and I always pay it off in full every month.

I am lucky to have realized I need tochange before I got myself into debt.

[calgarys_finest]

Originally posted by broken_legs


Yeah but how much more money do you have to spend on drinks to bag a girl at the bar now that you drive a hyundai?

Haha if you need your car to pick up girls you have alot of other questions you should be asking first.

[TomcoPDR]

I save money by aimming for high maintenance unobtainable chicks.

You see, hear me out boys and girls... this is true...

I figure (and yes, this method works)... I'm about a 5.32 out of 10 to the woman's scale... so I figure if I aim for 9+ chicks, this would save me money.

Why?

Well, everytime I try hooking up with a 9 (who's not a hooker, or gold digger).. under normal circumstances I'd get rejected or better yet, stood-up, correct?

Well, let's say the average cost of dates (double occupancy events) are $300. ($120 for meal, $80-100 for event, $50 for nick-nack such as condoms)

So everytime I get stood up, instead of spending $300 for the night, I'm only spending $150 on myself; that's an instant savings of 50%...

So in 1 week, you ask out 3-4 knock outs, that's $600 in savings/week, 52weeks/yr, that's $31,200/yr... multiple that by 8-10 years... (at your young age now)... that's $312,000 by the time before you hit 30 yo...

And that boys and girls is how I'm able to save for my shop warehouse... in case people were wondering.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Tomco you are crazy lol.

Im also lucky I dont smoke, drink, party, or have a gf to waste more money.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR
I save money by aimming for high maintenance unobtainable chicks.

You see, hear me out boys and girls... this is true...

I figure (and yes, this method works)... I'm about a 5.32 out of 10 to the woman's scale... so I figure if I aim for 9+ chicks, this would save me money.

Why?

Well, everytime I try hooking up with a 9 (who's not a hooker, or gold digger).. under normal circumstances I'd get rejected or better yet, stood-up, correct?

Well, let's say the average cost of dates (double occupancy events) are $300. ($120 for meal, $80-100 for event, $50 for nick-nics such as condoms)

So everytime I get stood up, instead of spending $300 for the night, I'm only spending $150 on myself; that's an instant savings of 50%...

So in 1 week, you ask out 3-4 knock outs, that's $600 in savings/week, 52weeks/yr, that's $31,200/yr... multiple that by 8-10 years... (at your young age now)... that's $312,000 by the time before you hit 30 yo...

And that boys and girls is how I'm able to save for my shop warehouse... in case people were wondering.

Awesome.

I thought you were going to share your methods about jacking stuff from local hotels/motels, shampoo/soap/toilet paper etc. so you never have to buy any of your own etc. haha

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by max_boost


Awesome.

I thought you were going to share your methods about jacking stuff from local hotels/motels, shampoo/soap/toilet paper etc. so you never have to buy any of your own etc. haha

That's the advance class, and it's a closely guarded secret how I become friends with the housekeepers to score more from their actual supply room.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR


That's the advance class, and it's a closely guarded secret how I become friends with the housekeepers to score more from their actual supply room.

Seeing how most house keepers are not in the 9 range, do you slay them too? LOL

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by max_boost


Seeing how most house keepers are not in the 9 range, do you slay them too? LOL

oh you'd be surprise... just because a car isn't "blinged out" on the outside doesn't mean it doesn't have potential as a sleeper

[TC2002]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR
I save money by aimming for high maintenance unobtainable chicks.

You see, hear me out boys and girls... this is true...

I figure (and yes, this method works)... I'm about a 5.32 out of 10 to the woman's scale... so I figure if I aim for 9+ chicks, this would save me money.

Why?

Well, everytime I try hooking up with a 9 (who's not a hooker, or gold digger).. under normal circumstances I'd get rejected or better yet, stood-up, correct?

Well, let's say the average cost of dates (double occupancy events) are $300. ($120 for meal, $80-100 for event, $50 for nick-nack such as condoms)

So everytime I get stood up, instead of spending $300 for the night, I'm only spending $150 on myself; that's an instant savings of 50%...

So in 1 week, you ask out 3-4 knock outs, that's $600 in savings/week, 52weeks/yr, that's $31,200/yr... multiple that by 8-10 years... (at your young age now)... that's $312,000 by the time before you hit 30 yo...

And that boys and girls is how I'm able to save for my shop warehouse... in case people were wondering.


LOL. :rofl:

Sounds like you really thought this through. Ha ha. :nut:

[reiRei]

I posted this a while back in another "Money saving thread" I was just over $10,000 in debt (credit line, 2 credit cards) in November of 2008, in June of 2009... I became officially debt free, no credit card, no credit line.. and no car payment.


Originally posted by reiRei
I've been saving money and cutting down on expenses as well, I've been doing decently. I don't make a million dollars like the Beyond Ballers, but I have paid down over half my debt ($5000) in 4 months and saved up enough money to pay for another trip to Vegas..

1) Keep a detailed budget. - I keep my budget in Google Documents so I can access it at any point in time as long as I have an internet connection. I have a spreadsheet logging my current amounts owed for debt (IE Credit Cards, loans and lines of credit), and constant monthly payments (Car expenses, Gas, Phone Bill). I have a spreadsheet set up for every month, and on each one I have a budget set up for each payday. I do a budget before payday as a projection, and when my money comes in, the first thing I do is refer to my budget.. plug in the numbers and pay the bills.

2) Keep a spending log - Be very diligent in the beginning. Ask for receipts even just for a bottle of water and log everything you spent at night, do it for a few weeks and see where the money is going. You'll realize that most of your money ends up in food or trivial products and from there you can adjust yourself accordingly.

3) Pay for everything in Cash - I know some people won't agree with me on this one, but I have found that paying for everything in cash helps me greatly. At this point I can leave my debit card at home and live with the cash I have in my pocket. After you've paid your bills and put money away in savings, take out the cash you've allotted yourself for the week and put your debit card away. Once you see the cash leaving your hands and your wallet getting thinner you will find that you think harder about what you want to be spending your money on. Swiping plastic is far different from handing over a $20 dollar bill

4) Save your Change - At the end of the day, if you pay in cash, you'll have tonnes of change. I have 3 different bottles set up at home... one for Loonies, Toonies and Quarters, one for pennies, and one for Nickles and dimes. You would be surprised as to how much you can save in pocket change, every few months I clean out the bottles and I have about $100-$200 extra, just from saving my change.

5) Pay yourself - Every pay day, even before I give myself spending money, I pay myself. I put $100 or so into a High Interest Savings account in a different bank altogether. Any extra money that I have come in to me goes into this savings account (I put my money that I received from Christmas and Birthdays into this account) I've saved up enough since November to pay for another trip to Las Vegas. :thumbsup:

6) Shop at the dollarstore - I LOVE the dollar store. Some people may think that only poor people shop there, but you're missing out. You can find housewares, craft items, food.. pretty much anything at the dollar store. (Dollarama on 32nd st NE is my favorite one)

7) Find a hobby - Something that will distract you, something that you will want to stay home for and work on. I make cards and scrapbook, but you could take up photography or RC Cars and use the money you have saved to work on that hobby.

8) Scour Ebay and Kijiji and Craigslist - Lots of money can be saved just buying things you want used. I don't personally scour ebay, but my boyfriend does and there have been many a time where he will find a great deal for me on something that I've wanted.

9) Have a goal - Most importantly, have a reason to save. Don't just save money for the sake of saving money. Have a goal to reach for and it will provide you with motivation to stick to a plan.

.. those are just a few ways I try to do better financially, I hope that helps..

Edit: Lol, I just realized you wanted just food tips.. oh well, hope this helps someone...

I've attained most of the financial goals I have set out for myself in 2009, I paid off my debt, saved money, went on a vacation.. and the biggest goal, of moving out of my parents house... I'm still saving away, as I now have a wedding to save for (and man, are weddings expensive...)

hope this helps!

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Originally posted by reiRei
I posted this a while back in another "Money saving thread" I was just over $10,000 in debt (credit line, 2 credit cards) in November of 2008, in June of 2009... I became officially debt free, no credit card, no credit line.. and no car payment.



I've attained most of the financial goals I have set out for myself in 2009, I paid off my debt, saved money, went on a vacation.. and the biggest goal, of moving out of my parents house... I'm still saving away, as I now have a wedding to save for (and man, are weddings expensive...)

hope this helps!

Lots of good things in there I can use.

Number 7 is fucking me over though =(

[dj_rice]

For those caucasians that aren't loaded and are struggling, its because of the way you are raised. My Nammer parents taught me you earn $1, you put 75 cents in the bank and spend maybe 25 cents if you have to. Thats why most asians have paid off cars, houses,etc. Save up and pay off all at once, no need to pay interest to the man.

But then white boys, earn $1, spend $2. Always no money.

[eblend]

Originally posted by dj_rice
For those caucasians that aren't loaded and are struggling, its because of the way you are raised. My Nammer parents taught me you earn $1, you put 75 cents in the bank and spend maybe 25 cents if you have to. Thats why most asians have paid off cars, houses,etc. Save up and pay off all at once, no need to pay interest to the man.



But then white boys, earn $1, spend $2. Always no money.

that's funny, i heard the exact opposite. Most asians buy up the nice cars and houses just to keep up with their pals, and are heavely in dept

[dj_rice]

Originally posted by eblend


that's funny, i heard the exact opposite. Most asians buy up the nice cars and houses just to keep up with their pals, and are heavely in dept


Those are the Chinese, Nammer no problem with money

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Originally posted by dj_rice
For those caucasians that aren't loaded and are struggling, its because of the way you are raised. My Nammer parents taught me you earn $1, you put 75 cents in the bank and spend maybe 25 cents if you have to. Thats why most asians have paid off cars, houses,etc. Save up and pay off all at once, no need to pay interest to the man.

But then white boys, earn $1, spend $2. Always no money.

I havent gotten myself onto debt, however I was for a while spending more than I make. I dont plan on getting into debt for small things. My parents always taught me to save up and buy only when I had the money which is good. I can see my parents only buy something if they have the money too.

[Johny]

Race has nothing to do with it. I live in Vancouver where status is everything to asians. I am Korean and you should see how retarded my asian friends get with money. They just need to have the nicest clothes, cars, man purses, and the most useless crap.
and a lot of them are in debt too.....very few of them have rich daddies and mommies to bail them out.

In fact, its most of my caucasian friends who have decent cars (not crazy tricked out) and are doing fine even while supporting themselves, even paying for their own schooling.

like i said before:
RACE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!

just hard work

[mr2mike]

Figure out what it costs to survive on a paycheck. Then get your pay check, toss a percentage into savings or a TFSA (I would recommend the TFSA) regardless, DO THIS and don't touch it.

Then pull out a certain amount of cash for the week or two weeks, whatever you want. Keep it at home but only keep like $40 in your wallet for the day to spend.

You'll physically see your cash deminish and realize, you should budget the rest of the week for food, entertainment, gas, etc.

You'll then have a growing account in your bank account, your savings account and then when you're after a turbo kit, etc. Just pull from the bank account and don't touch the savings shit.

[saywhaaaat]

Originally posted by Twin_Cam_Turbo
Tomco you are crazy lol.

Im also lucky I dont smoke, drink, party, or have a gf to waste more money.
This is going to sound off, but bear with me...

I used to spend roughly $500 a week on random crap, like dinners out, stuff I didn't need, etc. I came from the fact that I was always out and about doing things. So, I started finding inexpensive ways to have a good time on a weekend (ie- get drunk or equivilant) and came up with something that most people are gonna thing is demented. And it is.

I started smoking weed. I'll buy $50 worth of weed and it'll last me two months. I get high once a week maybe (the same night that I would have gone out and gotten wasted/spent tons at the bar) with some buddies and play video games. Instead of spending $500/week on crap, I now spend maybe $50.

Since the majority of my spending occurred in a night or two, getting baked has really curtailed that spending. It's actually pretty funny.

But, then again, I also don't have an addictive personality and don't need to constantly get high.

Just something to think about :)

[BrknFngrs]

I would be willing to bet that the $3,400 you aren't able to tie to a specific purchase would fall into the "candy/food" and "Useless Crap" categories.

I've helped others with these types of situations in the past and it's almost always the small purchases that kill you because a person doesn't think about them too much. $5 is nothing on it's own, but you can easily do it a few hundred times without much thought and it becomes significant.

Structure your accounts a little bit different; have only one credit card, one chequings account (attached to your debit card) and one savings account (not attached to your debit card). Have your paychecks move into your savings account directly each pay period and shuffle any money you need into your chequings for use on a bi-weekly basis. If you can keep to bi-weekly transfers you wont get service charges from most savings accounts. If you do it this way you'll find you start to pay close attention to how often you are shuffling money and you'll realize that snack foods and candy type purchases become very expensive if you need to be transferring money more often to purchase them (ie: incurring transaction costs)

[JfuckinC]

FML
i spend at least like 2g's a month on nothing.
its absolutely horrendous. i should have a house and a brand new car, instead i have a fucked up liver and a reputation for partying haha..

i sweara 2010 will be different though. Time to grow up. love the advice in this thread, should help me get a start to not being so fucking stupid. I need to re-structure my banking so i dont have access to all my money. I have zero self control. I need to stop boozing and being so generous to friends at the bar, stop eating out, and stop saying "oh its just money"...
It's really does make me sad to not have anything to show from my great career.. just cant help but party though :(

[Rat Fink]

.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by JfuckinC
FML
i spend at least like 2g's a month on nothing.
its absolutely horrendous. i should have a house and a brand new car, instead i have a fucked up liver and a reputation for partying haha..

i sweara 2010 will be different though. Time to grow up. love the advice in this thread, should help me get a start to not being so fucking stupid. I need to re-structure my banking so i dont have access to all my money. I have zero self control. I need to stop boozing and being so generous to friends at the bar, stop eating out, and stop saying "oh its just money"...
It's really does make me sad to not have anything to show from my great career.. just cant help but party though :(

LOL!

At least you are enjoying life. Saving money, staying at home can get pretty damn boring haha

The way I look at it, as long as you aren't driving yourself into debt, it's OK haha

Again, the solution is simple, spend less or make more. I prefer the latter :D

[Pahnda]

Originally posted by Rat Fink
I made an excel spreadsheet I use to track my monthly expenses and I make a game out of trying to slim it down every month. When I started doing it I was up around 3500/mo and managed to bring my monthly expenses to under 1500/mo which aint bad at all...

I'm all for this as well, don't make it complicated, just have a simple IN, OUT, BALANCE type setup so you can see it at a glance.

It's great even just for motivation if you look at it every week or so.

Another thing I'm anal about is putting all my receipts on my desk and at the end of the month I go through my credit card and bank statements online looking at the shit I bought. Sometimes you'll find you bought some really useless POS that you used maybe once in the month and just end up returning it, haha.

[Rat Fink]

.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Originally posted by BrknFngrs
I would be willing to bet that the $3,400 you aren't able to tie to a specific purchase would fall into the "candy/food" and "Useless Crap" categories.

I've helped others with these types of situations in the past and it's almost always the small purchases that kill you because a person doesn't think about them too much. $5 is nothing on it's own, but you can easily do it a few hundred times without much thought and it becomes significant.

Structure your accounts a little bit different; have only one credit card, one chequings account (attached to your debit card) and one savings account (not attached to your debit card). Have your paychecks move into your savings account directly each pay period and shuffle any money you need into your chequings for use on a bi-weekly basis. If you can keep to bi-weekly transfers you wont get service charges from most savings accounts. If you do it this way you'll find you start to pay close attention to how often you are shuffling money and you'll realize that snack foods and candy type purchases become very expensive if you need to be transferring money more often to purchase them (ie: incurring transaction costs)

Right now I have just one low-limit credit card, and my savings account tied to debit.

I am unable to have paychecks directly deposited into my account, as they are hand written, and I am payed monthly as a contractor.

I have set up an app on my iPhone to track everything I spend and keep budgets, should help me undertsand where the money is going.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Originally posted by Rat Fink
I made an excel spreadsheet I use to track my monthly expenses and I make a game out of trying to slim it down every month. When I started doing it I was up around 3500/mo and managed to bring my monthly expenses to under 1500/mo which aint bad at all.

When buying groceries, go on discount days and load up on discounted items (2 for 1, etc). I bring a bag lunch to work (rye bread sandwiches so they are more filling). I bring a large 1.5L bottle of water to work that I refill every morning with a water cooler to save money.

When I cook I cook enough to last me a few days with leftovers. Buying and cooking in bulk saves money. You can ration it out into tupperware containers and freeze them to use later, etc. Pasta is cheap. For 10 bucks you can make enough pasta and meat sauce from scratch to last you a few days.

Like others mentioned, start a hobby.....especially one that has potential to make you money. I buy stuff for cheap and sell it on ebay, trade stocks, work on cars for friends, etc. They have all made me money and beats the hell out of partying and blowing cash on booze.

Unfortunately my hobbys are where a lot of my money goes to. I never party and have spent maybe $50 in my whole life on alchohol, and I want it to stay that way for now.

[stevieo]

Originally posted by dj_rice



Those are the Chinese, Nammer no problem with money
hahaha fuck man you so damn racist. hahah its cool though cause thats how we were taught.

my parents taught me to save money cause you never know when you need it and when you have it you can buy whatever you want.

gone on a few binges where you just buy a bunch of shit you want. but now its time to save up for a house..

i find the best way is like reirei said, watch your spendings and pick a hobby/something to do and keep at it. right now it helps that you live at home with no rent. i just play xbox/watch movies in my house, and when i hang with my gf we try to stay in most the time and just relax...
oh ya, maybe pick a sport or somethign to play you know something to burn your time/calories helps keep spending down.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Originally posted by stevieo

hahaha fuck man you so damn racist. hahah its cool though cause thats how we were taught.

my parents taught me to save money cause you never know when you need it and when you have it you can buy whatever you want.

gone on a few binges where you just buy a bunch of shit you want. but now its time to save up for a house..

i find the best way is like reirei said, watch your spendings and pick a hobby/something to do and keep at it. right now it helps that you live at home with no rent. i just play xbox/watch movies in my house, and when i hang with my gf we try to stay in most the time and just relax...
oh ya, maybe pick a sport or somethign to play you know something to burn your time/calories helps keep spending down.

My job is coaching skiing, so I burn lots of calories there. My hobby is my car(s) which is where lots of my money goes, and im fine with that because I enjoy it, but I want to cut down elsewear.

[canadian_hustla]

Originally posted by eblend
Savings is awesome, once I started I got addicted myself, it feels great to have money should you decide to splurge once in a while. For me, I rather buy 1 super expensive item than bunch of useless shit. Last week I spend like 10k just to furnish the new house I just bought, felt great to do it on my savings vs having to go into further dept. Another trick I use is to save in 500 dollar shunks, say you get paid 700 every two weeks, put 500 into savings and 200 into chequing, so you have 200 to spend. Next time you get paid 900, transfer 500 into savings, and you have 400 to spend. If you didn't spend your initial 200 yet from previous paycheque, then you might be able to take 100 from it, add it to the 400 that is left from this month and whola, another 500 into savings. I used this approach exclusively, I almost never have any money in chequeing account at all. I use CC for everything as well and pay off fully at the end of the month.


^ This. You nailed it. I save $400 a paycheck and it builds up quick

[Kobe]

Originally posted by max_boost


Awesome.

I thought you were going to share your methods about jacking stuff from local hotels/motels, shampoo/soap/toilet paper etc. so you never have to buy any of your own etc. haha

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Nizmo_GTR]

Originally posted by reiRei
I posted this a while back in another "Money saving thread" I was just over $10,000 in debt (credit line, 2 credit cards) in November of 2008, in June of 2009... I became officially debt free, no credit card, no credit line.. and no car payment.



I've attained most of the financial goals I have set out for myself in 2009, I paid off my debt, saved money, went on a vacation.. and the biggest goal, of moving out of my parents house... I'm still saving away, as I now have a wedding to save for (and man, are weddings expensive...)

hope this helps!

I like this.
Keeping a detailed budget is a great motivator and it tells you in black and white how you're doing. I've created an Excel spreadsheet and have been keeping track of every penny that I've spent for the last 3 years. The spreadsheet tells me how much I can afford and where all the leaky holes are. It was really good at telling me how much I could realistically afford for my mortgage, which has saved me thousands. Also don't sign up for the default 25yr ammortization mortgage. A shorter mortgage will bring your retirement date much earlier.

However I challenge #3. Pay everything with credit cards ....... if you can pay off 100% of the bill each month. My new favorite tool is the MBNA Smart Cash Platinum card. $0 annual fee but up to 5% return on Gas and Groceries. That's free money.

Obvious but I don't think many people follow through with this ..... pay off debt first and pay off as much as you possibly can as frequently as you can. Especially cc debt. At 20% interest, you can't afford not to pay it off. Also not sure how many people know this but lump sum payments onto your mortgages goes 100% to your principle. Run that in a mortgage calculator and you will realize that instead of dropping $2000 on your turbo, that $2k in a mortgage will buy you much more.

Having a goal is extremely important. You need something to strive for so that you know when you have obtained it. For example mine was reducing my mortgage ammortization period from xx yrs to x yrs.

[no_joke]

MSN Money:
A simpler way to save: The 60% Solution

Twenty years of complex budget calculations have led me to a simple conclusion: If you limit essential spending to 60% of total income, your savings will soar.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/LearnToBudget/ASimplerWayToSaveThe60Solution.aspx

What do you guys think of this? 60% of gross income towards housing, food, bills, and taxes. Assuming this guy is American, is 60% realistic for living in Canada with our higher taxes? If not, what is a better target? As an example, I think I pay ~35% of my gross to prov/fed tax, CPP, and EI. So remaining 25% for the other essentials?

[masoncgy]

I found that the easiest way to get me to start saving money was to start with a larger sum.

I got a $1,000 bonus at work a few years back... put it away... that amount has since been increased substantially... and grows every check. It's a psychological matter... the more you have, the easier it is to guard it/add to it.

- Cut out the expenses, especially the unnecessary ones. Make things last longer. Example: sure, I might not have a huge plasma TV, but the 32" tube I've had for 5 years works perfect, and in the end, I get the same result as any other TV. I don't stare at the screen, I watch the content like everybody else. ;)

- If your mortgage/rent is too costly, take in a renter or two, or move somewhere cheaper if you want to be on your own.

- If you don't need a truck/SUV/expensive car for any purpose other than looks/attention/etc, get rid of it and drive something economical.

- Pay cash for everything... or use your CC to get the perks and pay it off in full each month.

- Buy groceries and plan your meals. You can stretch out the food budget so much further and eat better at the same time.

- SHOP AROUND! This means for anything and everything. Sometimes you can buy the things you need used, or new but at a big discount. Same with home renos/etc... it pays to research and look around for the best deals.

Manage your money well. Open a high interest savings account (even though they pay almost nothing at the moment) and move all of your money into that account, save for the mandatory withdrawals (mortgage/rent, etc)...

...and lastly... the most important piece... learn to separate the 'needs' from the 'wants'... they are two incredibly different terms. Buy want you 'need', save for what you 'want'... and scrutinize those 'wants'... ie: do I REALLY want this?

With the way our dollar keeps buying less and less as time goes on, we all need more and more money in our accounts to get by... so think & plan ahead!

[hands..off]

I started a "30 Day List".
Basically, you see something on day 1 and write it down but dont buy it. On Day 30 if I still absoutely have to have the item, Ill consider going back to buy it(thinking about warming the car up, trudging through snow, dealing with people at the mall.....)
Typically, 9/10 things have stayed on my 30 Day List.

Has saved me a TON of money!

Good luck!

[KandabashiDevil]

Originally posted by dj_rice
For those caucasians that aren't loaded and are struggling, its because of the way you are raised. My Nammer parents taught me you earn $1, you put 75 cents in the bank and spend maybe 25 cents if you have to. Thats why most asians have paid off cars, houses,etc. Save up and pay off all at once, no need to pay interest to the man.

But then white boys, earn $1, spend $2. Always no money.

haha!
Took me 2 minutes to find you on Facebook
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/dwilz/nigo1.jpg
NAMMER AZN STYLZ YO

[reiRei]

Originally posted by Nizmo_GTR



However I challenge #3. Pay everything with credit cards ....... if you can pay off 100% of the bill each month. My new favorite tool is the MBNA Smart Cash Platinum card. $0 annual fee but up to 5% return on Gas and Groceries. That's free money.


I can see the benefit to paying for everything with your credit card, that's what my fiancee does, but there is the chance to lose control with the credit card, whereas with cash, once it's gone, it's gone.

I wrote that original post in the midst of being in massive debt, so using a credit card to pay for everything extraneous (IE food, going out, gas, hobbies) was a no go.

[bmw2010]

Originally posted by dj_rice
For those caucasians that aren't loaded and are struggling, its because of the way you are raised. My Nammer parents taught me you earn $1, you put 75 cents in the bank and spend maybe 25 cents if you have to. Thats why most asians have paid off cars, houses,etc. Save up and pay off all at once, no need to pay interest to the man.

But then white boys, earn $1, spend $2. Always no money.

some of u asians have parents that saved n shit and then spoil their kids. i feel sorry 4 the spoiled asian kids drivin around in moms bmw w/ moms credit card. buyin louis vuitton n shit n rice.

[Danny Meehan]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR


oh you'd be surprise... just because a car isn't "blinged out" on the outside doesn't mean it doesn't have potential as a sleeper
you know, cause real beauty is on the ... insisde ...

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Right now my goals are to finish working on my car (I dont know how far I want to take it yet), and possibly import/buy another car in around 1.5 years. When I finish class this semster, im looking forward to going back to a 40+ hour work week and saving lots of money.