Saving Money

[Cedric]

Let's brighten up the mood shall we?

Now unless you are extremely fortunate, the incomes we rake in aren't nearly enough to live the desired lifestyle we prefer. Some of us don't even work, so we get even less money than those that do.

As a result, we've all had to find ways to save a little here and there just to keep on living life. (I'm not trying to make us sound destitute, but I don't know how to word it in any other way. So I wonder what we all do to save money on the side. Are we hardcore coupon hoarders? Do we get free food from working in a restaurant? Do you buy only used games/cars/etc. Do you carpool to save gas (and help the environment of course). Do you recycle?

I'm hoping we can all give each other ideas that may help one another out. It’s better to have a surplus of cash rather than not have enough of it.


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One idea my friend suggested to me (if you're in college) is to look for dorms that are selling furniture. There are times when schools gets funds and they use it to construct new buildings. If they're planning on rebuilding the dorms, then rest assured that they'll be getting new furniture too. They'd sell the old furniture for very cheap prices and you can get good bargains there.

As for college books, don't waste money buying them in school. See if you can find them in the public library (not in your school) for free. And if you really have to buy it, the best way to save cash is to buy them online at half.com and other places. In fact, I sold my old Organic Chemistry book for 120 dollars. I paid 100 dollars for that book, so that's a 20 dollar profit right there.
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[LordKratos]

I always end up spending more money then I make I've never been very good with money, I always have to buy something and I really wish I was better with my money... But there's so many good games that need to be bought!
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IN AMERICA!

[Rune hunter]

I think the best way to save money is to first distinguish between a need and a want.

Example: You need to eat. You want steak.

Well, im not very good at saving money but i try to make as concious a decision as possible. For example when i buy books i only buy paperback(i never buy hardcover) becouse paperbacks are cheaper and easier to take around with you.

Another way to save is to go on a DIET. You would be suprised at how much you can save by eating less fatty foods.

You can also save money by eating out less. You end up preparing healthier meals and at the same time you do more cheaply.

CREDIT CARD ARE EVIL!!!hehe just joking anyways you should try to avoid credit card debt(epecially if you might be able to pay for it)

[Phamex]

Yeah, I'd save a ridiculous amount of money if I just stopped eating out and buying junk food all the time (not to mention the pounds I'd lose XD) but I'd have to wean myself off of it slowly.

Another good idea if you happen to have a checking account: get a savings account and link them together. My bank automatically moves $20 from my checking to my savings every month (assuming it's there). The only problem I have is keeping my hands off my savings >.<

Money's just so hard to hold on to. Even if you make an attempt to save it you have to have a specific goal you're trying to reach, otherwise you'll just spend it at the first opportunity. And where I come from, it only takes a few minutes to lose an entire paycheck. That's Vegas for you :roll:
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[Urn]

Well, the obvious way to save money is not to spend money. But, we all know that this is simply not possible. So, the next best solution is to live within your means. This involves not spending more than you make. The next best thing to do is to invest. Start small, take advantage of government programs, look at various benefits your job may offer, if you are a student you can look into various grant programs.

The thing to do is control your money and make it work for you. Doing your proper research and being disciplined is the best way to take advantage of opportunities to make money. Also, being proactive and being an entrepeneur is another way to make money. Running your own business is an easy way to see returns on the fruits of your labor and there are various advantages you get from being your own boss. Mutual funds, stocks, bonds are all good ideas and places to start if you are looking to amass wealth.

Just know your limits, avoid credit card debt, and don't worry too much about student loans because that is perceived as good debt. Invest in yourself and cut back on frivolous spending and you will realize that you have amassed a crap-load in savings in no time.

If anyone is interested, I do have a google group that discusses investing, savings and being wealthy. PM me if you would like the link to the site.
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~ Humbly walk the path of death

KOOLUK SUPPORTS TINTO MINERS

[Ikano]

I save money by..........losing track of it
It's not even on purpose but when I get a large sum of money as a gift I either A) throw it in the bank or B) I stash it somewhere and forget about it for years only to find it later when I happen to be cleaning stuff...

I guess by doing that I don't really know how much money I have and I get stingy with the small amount that is left in my tiny wallet.

Also I rarely use my credit cards---which I hear is the common source of the problem with people who spend too much money (and end up falling into debt).
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[Goldy]

I have always been good at managing my money, no matter how little or how much i have! I save regularly, well on a weekly basis, and this always goes towards travelling!

[Sailor Sexy]

As long as I don't have credit cards, I'm good about saving money. Even my debit card I can be responsible with, probably because I know it's my money I'm spending, so that kind of curtails the spending a bit. When it's someone else's money, even knowing that I have to pay it back, it's so much easier to just go wild. So, get a debit card, burn the credit cards. There is no need for credit cards ever. If you don't have the cash, then you don't need it. Do note that this is in reference to things you'd normally put on credit. Obviously you'll need to go in debt to buy a house, unless you're filthy rich in which case you don't need to be in this thread!

I've been pretty good about saving up money lately. I don't leave the house very often, so I'm not tempted by shiny baubles. My one downfall is if I happen to head to eBay and find resin statues. I can't resist em. Luckily it's easy enough to just not go there.
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~Uguu!~

[Tullaryx]

I pretty much suck at trying to save money. The times when I do practice any sort of frugal spending habits is when I have a goal down the line for the money I'm saving. Usually, it's a big ticket item where I will need more than the usual month's worth of pay to cover for the purchase.

I stopped using credit cards years ago. This was partly due to the ease of debit card use and not having any form of willpower in credit card usage when I did have them. If I can't pay anything with what I have in my checking account then it's just foolish to think paying for it on credit would be any better.
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[Sage]

I have a part time job that brings in some money. It's a work study deal though so I have a limit and afterwards, I'm "encouraged" to volunteer my time since it deals with helping kids. Having an income does help.

I have the ability to eat the same thing(s) day after day for months on end. So, cheap foods help me save quite a bit of money. I spend less than $50 on food a month, while everyone everywhere here was saying "Oh, you'll be spending $200 easily on your own for food." Of course, half of that was dorm propaganda trying to get me to stay there.

I also have a natural distaste for spending money in the first place so even if I see something I feel I absolutely must have, I'll pass since it'll cost me money. So, a big part of saving money is not spending it in the first place.

Also, there are many events around town or campus that offer "free" food. I go to everything I can. I don't care if I have to listen to some old dude read his poetry about poodles, if I get free pizza, I'll go. I even went to listen to a job sales pitch because they offered to buy pizza from a rather good place in town. I didn't want to do the job at all, but I got food, so I went.

Textbooks are the bane of my existence. Generally, the books here are expensive, but they aren't that much better online and the bookstore here doesn't put out the books (or even the names of the books) the professors want for the class until you have little choice but to buy from them since you're supposed to have them by the first day for a lot of classes. Then again, I do sell/lend them out to friends and friends of friends since buying a book for $120 and selling it back to them for $5 (I ain't kidding) is outrageous.
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[Amyral]

[Sailor Sexy]

I rather forgot the one thing that saves me more money than anything I've ever been able to do prior, and that's my job. Sound strange? Well, consider that as a sailor I am gone from the house for 2 weeks per month. Half the month I have to spend $0 on food, $0 on gas, basically I live for free for half the month and my car isn't going anywhere. And it's not like I'm suffering when I'm out at sea. We tend to eat pretty darn good. Overall the $1000 we get for 6 guys for the 2 weeks might not seem like that much (it's only something like $12 a day) but if you know how to shop, you can do pretty well with it.

All this talk of saving money kinda got me to thinking that maybe I should start up a savings account as well and link it to my checking account. It's not very wise to have $10,000 in checking when I could be earning some interest, however paltry.

I remember back when I was in college part of my meal plan after I moved out of the dorms was to hit up the bars on Fridays. I'd buy one $2 beer, and then feast on the food that they had out for the customers. Also, my job in college was working for Schwans, a frozen food company, so I got to bring home a lot of damaged product. Since Red Baron, Freschetta, and Tony's pizza are all part of Schwans, I never had to pay for pizza since the drivers were always bringing home pizza with damaged boxes but that were otherwise fine. In most cases it was just something simple like the flap had come unglued, and while I seriously doubt any one of us would refuse to buy something because of that, it couldn't be sold in that condition, so it got damaged out of the inventory and put into mine :) I was also never at a shortage for ice cream. It got to the point where I just got real sick of the stuff and didn't eat ice cream for a couple years afterwards. Anyways, usually I'd only have to pay around $30 a month in food since I was getting so many freebies. I wasn't eating particularly healthy, but when you only make as much as I did back then, you take what you can get.
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~Uguu!~

[Amyral]

[Luceit]

Savings? What savings?
Basically, I'm horrible at saving money. My sister has so much more money in her bank and she's four years younger than me. However, I think I'm getting slightly better at this game, by making sure I calculate my expenses.
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[kuwaizair]

spendthrift, coupons and buying for nessisty and save save save is the key to saving? or pretending to be a bum and get pitty money to take home and tricking people into that is your other job.

I sometimes stress over purchaces, even If I had 6,000 dollars to spend willynilly I'd still freit over buying a 14 dollar thing. so yeh. I guess I could be good at saving. Then again if i keep with art I need to spend money, art supplys aren't cheap, kiddy pencils cost $10 for a set, good art pencils costs like $1.08 each or more
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few runes short of a set of 27