Does anyone have any money saving tips?

[Annie Modesty]

My boyfriend works while I am in school. Money is not good but at the same time it is not all that bad. We both live at our parents homes. We are trying to save up money for our own place together. Does anyone have any money saving tips?

[jennifer888]

I think that many of us have been your your same situation. The fact the housing cost are much more inflated than your parents generation makes it even harder to make it on your own!

Cut out all unnecessary spending like going out to eat, entertainment splurges, and mall shopping. Try to find what you need used at second-hand stores or garage sales. You will be amazed at what you can find if you look!

Lastly, negotiate what you can. If you have credit card debt, or other bills with interest, call the company you owe and negotiate for a lower rate.

[benzaiten]

Annie, to actively help increase your savings you can try the following. I've done all of them with great success! :)
1) Increase your active income (job, contract work, etc)
2) Develop passive income (start a business, rentals, dividends)
3) Eliminate unnecessary entertainment like cable and mall hanging out/shopping.
4) Leverage free or discount items/services (library for entertainment (dvds/books/music); participate in local community orgs for fun activities/networking & try meetup.com for diverse low cost activities; look at craigslist for the free stuff people are giving away (amazing deals).
5) Reduce eating out (make shopping/cooking at home healthy, afforable & fun) entertain in or at the park or beaches (potlucks, picnics)
6) Begin to shop for the place you realistically can afford. build a budget goal to track how close you are and how much more you need. doing so will help bring you closer to the goal! And this is essential SET a date you want to achieve this goal by.
7) If you possess existing debt (credit cards, student loans, car loans, personal, etc) work to pay off completely the credit card debts first. if needed consolidate or work with your company to get a solid payment plan. autopay may help you pay your essential bills and help with tracking.
8) With the excess income you save after paying essential bills/overhead which should be low b/c you live with parents... SAVE. If you can set up direct deposit asap if you don't have it already. Link the deposit to an online savings account with a competitive rate like EmigrantDirect or HSBC. Make this account your savings account NOT your checking. The checking should be just for paying bills. Eventually you want to build up six to nine months of savings b/c you want a cushion in case emergencies happen.

Try these first. If you got questions send me a PM. Cheers!

[urvi88]

Don't eat outside food and find some extra source of income will help you to save more money.

[benzaiten]

*bump* for annie (triplicate topic post)

[benzaiten]

@ Annie, this is a great article by the Wall Street Journal on how to save.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203803904574428832893728894.html

[MichaelMartin25]

A great way to get some extra money each month to...

Change you phone contract.....so many people are on contracts paying £40 p/m

I just got a sim only deal were i got 1300 mins and unlimited texts for £20 p/m

an extra £20 per month

[janie_super@yahoo.com]

dont go into debt! but if you MUST..

the good debt is:
buying a suit for an interview,
getting your hair done for an interview
buying nice clothes to go to work
internet so you can look for a job or educate yourself
books and supplies for education
buying a vehicle so you can go to school or work

bad debt is:
restuarants
gym membership
consumable "stuff"
furniture and linens and anything you might think of as a "nesting" item. what i mean is dont start buying for your new place which doesnt yet exist, until you actually move there. take it SLOOWWWWW

because if you go to debt, you will be paying the interest, and the more debt you have, the more interest you pay, until the cost of interest exceeds the original purchase price of your stuff, and in that case, you will never get ahead.

if you must use a credit card, get one with cash back incentives, and PAY OFF every month! but i dont recommend this for young people, as it takes alot of discipline to make sure you pay it off every month!!

keep your credit score above 700!! this will give you the best interest rates should you need to get a car or house loan later on.

use websites like this http://gasbuddy.com/ to save on gas

use grocery store coupons and only buy clothes on sale 10-50% off

finally.. be really nice to your family and show them you appreciate their help, and they will let you live there as long as it takes

[Lesley Annis]

I only have a few. If you have credit cards, do not use them. Everytime you charge an item, it is like getting a mini-loan and loans cost interest for using their money. Apply for a debit card at your bank - no interest, as it is your money you are using, not the company's money. When you write checks, round up to the next whole dollar amount. At the end of the year (or the beginning of the year), you will be surprised on the amount there is. Take that money out of checking and put it into savings. Eat at home as much as possible. What it costs for two to eat out will buy you a week's worth of groceries, especially if you shop at a discount grocery. In my town, we have a Save-A-Lot, which carries the majority of item I use. Shop for items at a thrift store (clothing, furniture, etc). Many things are in good to very good condition.

[optwizard]

10 Steps to Good Money Management

1 – Pay bills on time to avoid late fees.
Organize your bills and keep track of all due dates. Avoid the penalty punch of paying your bills late.

2 – Pay more than the minimum on your credit cards.
Don’t listen to the person who told you that paying the minimum on your credit cards is a smart thing to do. Paying the minimum is probably the worst thing you can do besides paying late. Do yourself a favor and pay as much as you can. Paying the minimum will just about cover the finance charges and not put much of a dent towards your principal balance.

3 – Read your bank statements thoroughly.
Yes banks do make mistakes! Read over all your statements to ensure that you aren’t being charged any unusual fees. Also, check to see that you were credited for the full amount of your payment on your credit card statements. Check your balances, payments, transactions etc. Yes, it may take a little time but it could save you some money!

4 – Build an emergency fund with at least 3 months of living expenses.
You should really try and save about 10 percent of your paycheck every week. Yeah you would probably rather spend the money on a new DVD player but you have to plan for the future. What would happen if you lost your job? Wouldn’t it be comforting to know that you had enough money to get by while you searched for a new job? What if the car needed a new engine? The money would have to come from somewhere and it shouldn’t be from a credit card! Always have extra cash saved for an emergency!

5 – Shop around for the best insurance rates and coverage.
Don’t take the first rate you get for insurance. Insurance companies compete with one another so shop around to find yourself the best rate. It could end up saving you hundreds of dollars a year!

6 – Look around for and switch to credit cards with lower rates.
Before you jump right into that new credit card, be sure and check out the rates that you will be charged. Credit card companies make a lot of money off of your money! Be wise and shop around for the card that is right for you with the lowest rate.

7 – Follow a monthly budget.
Develop your own spending plan. Make a list of all your expenses and any source of income you may have. Determine what you need to spend your money on and set limits. Stick to it!

8 – Check your credit report annually for accuracy.
Checking your credit report from all three credit bureaus is for your own good. It is important to know and understand what is on them. Keep in mind that it is not untypical for errors to appear on credit reports. For all you know, you could be denied for a loan from a creditor because somebody else’s negative information is on your credit report. Credit reports should be taken seriously, if you find an error on yours, make sure that you dispute it.

9 – Contribute to a retirement account.
Find out information about 401(k) s and IRAs. Contributing a comfortable amount of money every week into one of these plans can be a tremendous benefit to you. This is a safe way to invest your money and less of a risk than stocks.

10 – Comparison shop for the best deal on your mortgage or refinancing.
Don’t take the first offer you get. Shop around to find the best rate! One bank may charge 15 percent whereas another may charge only 12 percent. This will save you lots of money!

[Kim_Mango]

When I was in debt it was so tough to ever think I would have a life of being debt free. It took me close to 10 years to finally get out of debt. I had a lot of debt!

It sounds as though you are early in your career and doing the best you can to make ends meet. I spent a lot of my precious free time taking on freelance work. Sometimes it would be a day working through a temporary agency or a project I found through friends, colleagues, and family members.

Looking back at that time, my advice to you is to stick to it. All the suggestions posted in this thread are very helpful but you have to be consistent for a long period of time. The freedom it affords you will be worth it!

Hang in there, you will achieve your goal with consistent action!

[idjohnson]

My boyfriend works while I am in school. Money is not good but at the same time it is not all that bad. We both live at our parents homes. We are trying to save up money for our own place together. Does anyone have any money saving tips?a little factual Knowledge goes much further than a lot of idle knowledge. Knowledge being the keyword.!

[mtdewqueen]

Annie-
I am not sure if you have a credit card or not- You can always at least try to get your interest rate lowered. Better yet you can get a card and then make sure that you pay it all off by the end of the month. Many cards offer money back, airline miles, even some gift cards. If you have a card like that you are using your money for things that you would normally buy but get a bonus offer back that if you didn't have the card would just be tossed out the window- Good luck to you - You might find some other information on this site:
http://credit-card.CreditCards-and-Loans.com/find_personal_credit_card__back_to_basics_.html

[BenedictBaldwin]

You need to work as full or part timer in order to earn more money then you can save more money. In addition, you must do something with your expenses. Try to trim down your expenses. Only spend your money to support your needs. Also, try to eliminate your want.

[kittelsoncarpo]

Avoid going shopping, eating at restaurant, buy foods for the whole week to minimize transportation expenses. Buy things that is important.

[#Stanford2010#]

easy saving tips, is stop using credit card and saving more money to the bank, do extra work in weekend and bring food from home

[jeffjohnvol]

I had a friend who would make an extra $50-$75 here and there by becoming a Notary Public and signing up with a service that online mortgage companies use to go to people's homes and close deals.

It may be risky for a young woman (although probably not), but your BF could do it.

[kittelsoncarpo]

As much as possible, never go to malls that offers big discounts because, although all the items are discounted, you tend to buy more things not knowing, some of it you really don't need. You were just blinded by their promo.

[Xanthia Alysha]

Some things one can do are:
-Plan your spending ahead
-Avoid impulsive purchases
-Don't go after brands
-Reduce eat outs
-Find ways to earn more

[alice005]

When I was in debt it was so tough to ever think I would have a life of being debt free. It took me close to 10 years to finally get out of debt. I had a lot of debt!

It sounds as though you are early in your career and doing the best you can to make ends meet. I spent a lot of my precious free time taking on freelance work. Sometimes it would be a day working through a temporary agency or a project I found through friends, colleagues, and family members.

Looking back at that time, my advice to you is to stick to it. All the suggestions posted in this thread are very helpful but you have to be consistent for a long period of time. The freedom it affords you will be worth it!

Hang in there, you will achieve your goal with consistent action!

your information is useful

[itsshanks]

As mentioned in other post - I don't consider gym membership as bad expense. You might be able to get a good deal by looking around or by paying upfront for a couple of years. Or you can be active outside (which is not possible all the time, read bad weather etc.). But I do consider gym membership as an investment to your good health.

You can also save some $$ by going prepaid instead of monthly contracted monthly phone service and cutting off those extra cable channels which you don't watch anyway. Internet is pretty much a necessity these days, and you can find your favorite shows online....

[kittelsoncarpo]

A good way to save money is buying objects you need but not to buy objects you don't need. When you buy your things try and buy cheaper brands. It is a good idea not to borrow money because you might not be able to pay it back to he person. If you want to save money on fuel for your car only go on necessary journeys that you need to take or travel places by walking or on your bicycle. Do not spend your money on foolish things. Open a savings account. Get a part time job and put part on your pay in the account.