Some Simple Tricks for Saving Money

[Big Wang Bandit]

Mike, as a kid, or even now, when you get your paychecks, did you ever divide them, for savings and spend money? Generally I try to only spend $50-100 dollars a paycheck and save the rest for whatever. I am basically debt free(no money owed to the bank) and financially secure living at home.

What is really the best way to save as much as possible.

 

[fixitman04]

one trick i have been using for years(now it is available at some banks) is rounding up all transactions on my checking register, i always have surplus at the end of the month

ie. if the transaction is for $5.05 i write it down as $6. and such if yu do this with all of your transactions it adds up quick

 

[NgoFcukinWay]

Depending on what "financial league" you are in, you can adjust that $1 to what suits you. If you're really just scrimping by, do it only with change. If you're doing very well, set it at $10 and drop the $5's and $1's into the jar. You'll be stunned by how much is in that jar a year later, and you won't miss it a bit.

I plan to start off with change and singles that I get from doing lunch runs for co-workers and have $5 as my stopping point.

I have a small refrigerator in my office I keep cans of Ultra Slim Fast chocolate shakes. That's all I eat for lunch anymore. It's saved me money, and I've dropped from 237 lbs down to 217 in a couple of months. It's better for my health and better for my wallet.

We have a mini fridge at work (I think a hair under 2 cu. ft.), but everyone at work crams their tupperware containers into it. However I'm ~5'7" @ ~135lbs, so I don't think I can afford to lose 20 lbs. lol I'll experiment around to see what works for me.

Take a look at this thread first. If you are debt free, then we can talk about savings. If you aren't that thread explains why saving money is a loser for you right now.

I read that and I thought it was pretty interesting because I have 2 credit cards under my name: a Wamu CC and one through Best Buy. The BB one has no interest for 18 months (got it back in March of this year when they were running a special on it) and has a remaining $180 balance that will be paid off by the end of the month for sure and will be canceled once it is. The Wamu card I've had for a little over a year and to be honest, I haven't had to pay any interest on it. When I signed up for it, they told me no interest for 9 months, but I haven't seen any of that with all of my purchases. I'm not sure if it's a good thing, but it seems to be so so far. I have a $500 balance remaining from a recent timing belt job on the daily, but that one will be paid off by Thanksgiving for sure as well. Both cards I pay off bi-weekly of $65 per card ($130 per card per month). I'm not sure if my no-interest thing with my two cards is a win-win thing for me wondering if it'll come back later to bite me in the ass or something.

 

[Zumtizzle]

RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE!

You'll be surprised how much it adds up to.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

dont cancel the cards, cut them up and let them sit idley by... having access to lots of money and not having debt will increase your credit score most of the time.

 

[Supracentral]

Mike, as a kid, or even now, when you get your paychecks, did you ever divide them, for savings and spend money? Generally I try to only spend $50-100 dollars a paycheck and save the rest for whatever. I am basically debt free(no money owed to the bank) and financially secure living at home.

What is really the best way to save as much as possible.

After you are debt free, the next step is to get 3 - 6 months of living expenses in savings. This helps isolate you from losing a job or other problems. This means you can continue to live normal, and stress free while looking for work. This helps, as desperation is something people can sense in you when you are interviewing, and it lowers your chances for getting a job. In general, most people can find a new job in 3 - 6 months. (If you're really paranoid, make it a years worth).

Once you've reached that level, it's time to look into real investing. At that point I'd suggest hiring a financial planner. One who you pay a flat fee to (not someone who gets a commission off your investments) and start setting up a long term financial plan.

CD's are the next step after savings, they generally offer a higher return on investment than a savings account, but they are "safe" and FDIC insured. Most of them tie your money up for 5 years or more, so you want to be sure you have that reserve (3-6-12 months) in savings before you do this. Taking money out of those things early has severe financial penalties.

After that it's stocks/bonds and other investments, but you should really enlist the help of a pro (or educate yourself to be your own pro) before you go down that road.

one trick i have been using for years(now it is available at some banks) is rounding up all transactions on my checking register, i always have surplus at the end of the month

ie. if the transaction is for $5.05 i write it down as $6. and such if yu do this with all of your transactions it adds up quick

Also a good idea, but it does throw your book keeping off. I prefer accuracy over hiding money from myself

dont cancel the cards, cut them up and let them sit idley by... having access to lots of money and not having debt will increase your credit score most of the time.

Or just do what Theresa and I do, keep them locked in the safe, that way you have them in an emergency, but they aren't in your wallet to tempt you.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

Or just do what Theresa and I do, keep them locked in the safe, that way you have them in an emergency, but they aren't in your wallet to tempt you.

That's what i was getting at. If, lets say, I go to best Buy and buy a washer/dryer w/ 0% interest for 18 months on a BB card, I do it. When the statement and cards come, I *personally* shred the cards and send in the payments (if it's $1800 and I have 18 months, I pay $125/mo, so I don't have to worry about having a balance of $2 and them throwing $1800 worth of interest back at me.)

If it was a credit card, I wouldn't shred it. never a bad idea to have a source for emergency funds.

 

[NgoFcukinWay]

Or just do what Theresa and I do, keep them locked in the safe, that way you have them in an emergency, but they aren't in your wallet to tempt you.

I've heard people literally freeze their CCs in a block of ice at the bottom of a large meat freezer.

 

[Supracentral]

I've heard people literally freeze their CCs in a block of ice at the bottom of a large meat freezer.

If we were less disciplined, I'd do something like that. But it's just a matter of self control. Ours are locked in a safe to keep them from being stolen, not to protect them from us. Just not having them in the wallet is the key.

 

[drunk_medic]

Years ago I had a CC with a zero balance on it, and it was canceled without notice for inactivity..

 

[Poodles]

That only works with credit cards that have no annual fee, and if they aren't used or paid off that same month (so not interest), it won't help your credit score.

As it seems everyone ignored my comment about Kurt Saxon... Yes, he was a bit "extreme," but his ways of cooking can cut hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month. His website is sadly down which sucks, and I can't seem to find the mirror of it I had saved.

 

[NgoFcukinWay]

Family Size Pasta-Roni: $1.35
4 Cheese Rice-A-Roni: $1.20
The satisfaction knowing that I saved $20 worth of lunch this week: Priceless + $20.

 

[drunk_medic]

Those shrimps look expensive.

That's a good idea, and I'm allergic so I'd save even more.
That is a bit of starch though. I gotta munch greens for my office job.

 

[greg88]

Family Size Pasta-Roni: $1.35
4 Cheese Rice-A-Roni: $1.20
The satisfaction knowing that I saved $20 worth of lunch this week: Priceless + $20.

Wow... that looks delicious. I guess I should go shopping for real food instead of cereal and milk.

ING Direct is a great way to save. It's a money market account, so it takes about two days to make a withdrawal. This makes it far less convenient to raid the savings account when things get tight.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

i have a rich gf....it helps alot

 

[NgoFcukinWay]

Those shrimps look expensive.

That's a good idea, and I'm allergic so I'd save even more.
That is a bit of starch though. I gotta munch greens for my office job.

I didn't have to buy the shrimp last night since we already had some in the freezer, so that saved me about $6. I forgot to gather supplies for a salad, so I'll do that for tomorrow.

 

[mobes]

On the food/shopping topic:

This one really only works well if you live alone. I try to go as long as possible without going to the store. That way, I tend to eat the stuff that might just sit in the cupboards untouched otherwise in lieu of tastier options, and I save gas because of fewer trips.

I also like to try to buy for a specific time range per trip (usually a week), then I can have a good idea of what a week (or 1/4 of a month) worth of food is costing me. Of course you could calculate it out, but I find that works well to get a rough estimate.

I usually combine the two, and end up eating for about 9-10 days on the food I bought for 7.

 

[labrat469]

I few years back I started to make my own cigarettes. I calculated that I was spending between $180 to $200 a month on smokes. I went to a tobacco store and bought one of those kits by TOPS for $25 bucks. It takes me about a half an hour to make a pack of cigarettes and now I probably spend around $50 a month on cigarettes. I took the money that I was saving on smokes and put it towards my bills and got them paid off quicker.

And now that I have extra money my Supra has found that out and now demands her share in repairs and modifications.