Saving money and budgets

[RobinAnna]

Hello all I am currently on the path of a debt free life and it is extremely hard for me to be honest. I am starting to budget and save money for rainy days. I also use coupons to save money on everyday items to stretch my money even more. Any tips for a newbie? 

[snaketownpatina]

RobinAnna

It is very difficult to save, especially when one doesn't know where to begin. I can only tell you what works for me. When payday comes, I pay the house, utilities other monthly payments due that day, and put aside savings. Every penny has a place in a written budget.

I only need about $50 for groceries for the month; however, I worked up to that point by buying in bulk years ago. When eggs were on sale at their cheapest, bought 35 cartons and microwaved them until dehydrated. After grinding them, I put them in a can with a lid. Now when I need an egg. I don't spend  8 cents (regular price), I spend 4 cents (the sale price). I buy wheat berries in bulk at .30 cents a pound and canned poke leaves with reusable lids. I regrow green onion tops in my living room window. All cooking is done outside over a fire in the summer. Not counting soy sauce, spices, and vegetable oil, I can spend 30 cents and make a delicious meal. It is possible to eat in 2018 in the United States for $1.00 a day.

When it comes to cooling, I use my clothes drier to suck hot air from the attic and blow it out of the house. The dryer both cools the house a little by getting rid of attic heat and also doesn't use the dryer element to heat at all in the summer and less in the winter. Ceiling fans circulate the air. In my younger days, I had a heck of a trench dug in the yard, 8 feet deep. I have a 10-inch pipe that is accordioned up and down that pipes in cool air as long as I have that vent open. There are unpleasant days, but I put up with it. But then, I never use the air conditioning in my car to save gas.

There are a million and one ways to save, mostly it takes a driving desire to see how cheap you can be. There are many people in this world who live on almost nothing. Find out what they do. Your goal shouldn't be to see how rich you can live on your money, but how much you can keep.

 

[wjswindell]

There is one I just thought about, packing for road trips.  I'm due to start classes next month and was stressing about nearby restaurants.  Then I realized that I can make a sandwich just as good as any Starbucks.  Most cold sandwiches keep for a while and there are compact devices (along with freezing a small bottle of water or clear drink) that will keep food cold for a few hours.  Freezing a cup of yogurt is good also.

[napash25]

Starting to save can be difficult at first. But when it becomes a habit, it can be addicting. First, I had to change my mindset that to save is not to deprieve oneself. Practice the concept of delayed gratification, which is to delay for a certain time your purchases. By delaying, you have more time to think if it's really a need or just another impulsive decision. If you really need it, you can be creative in the way you can buy it. You can compare rates on stores or online. Also, their are purchases where you can save more if you use your credit card. It needs some common sense and mathematics to work on the numbers, but the tedious process will make you an intelligent consumer.

[Rachoor Shamarao]

I do not know what all the methods you have adopted in order to save money, anyway, I can give you an idea to be frugal and try to save money in the following manner.

Being frugal doesn’t mean either to becoming stingy or niggardly. It only asks to be economical or pennywise. And in addition, it calls for avoiding of unnecessary spending, and to save money.

The saying says, ‘Money saved is money earned’, which means, the money saved in the above manner will still be in form of currency and it can be used for any purpose at any time in future.

Of course, it is inevitable that you have to forgo some comforts in the process, because it is the rule of nature, which reads, ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’.

There are several ways to save money without being niggardly. Some of the ways are discussed here below for the benefit of all the readers.

    bargaining while shopping.

    Purchasing costly items, when shoppers announce discounts during festival seasons, shop anniversary and on any special occasions like Independence Day or Republic day etc.

    many shopping malls allow discounts on grocery and other items during some fixed dates in a month to facilitate salaried people.

    Savings over food can be done by cooking the food to the right quantity only.

    You can save on transport expenses, if you cut short unnecessary trips by completing 2 or 3 errands in a single trip.

    You can save by doing DIY instead of paying money to a laborer.

    Last but not the least (because considerable savings could be done), if you are working in any Government department, you can save money by fully utilizing the particular facility offered by your department. For example, Railways is issuing a free pass to their employees, or KSRTC bus is allowing free travel to their staff members etc.

It is not sufficient if you save money, but, you must make safekeeping of the money saved, either in a bank or in any such reliable place.

Beware! There are cheaters and conmen, who are advertising to pay, too good to be true, the rate of interest over public money, and trying to swallow the depositor’s entire money.

 

**3

 

 

[kcarve177]

     First things first, the basic necessities of life are the most important. Roof over your head, light/electricity in your home, and food in your belly. These are always the most important when it comes to saving and budgeting. Also, there is a certain mentality that really helps when going down this path. My husband and I see saving as almost a fun thing, and budgeting. We try and almost challenge ourselves financially. We just moved into a new place and decided this month and the next to be more conscious of our spending and saving. Here are some ways we are not only saving, but increasing our monthly income:

1. Get creative.
There's only bread, some tomatoes, and potatoes in the kitchen. First thought is to go out and get some food. Instead, I would look at this as a (huge) creative challenge. How can I feed myself (and husband) and get a good meal out of this without having to make the trip out to get more food? Another person might see an empty fridge, but I see mashed potatoes, tomato soup, and toast.

 

2. Why waste time?
Instead of scrolling through your Facebook feed or Twitter or any other form of time consumption, why not do something that you can monetize? Write, paint, babysit, create crafts to sell online, take surveys, post on a forum (wink wink). The possibilities are endless. Making money and having this mentality is just as important as saving money.

 

3.  Make it fun, make it organized.
Sit down with a piece of paper and organize your expenses. My husband and I do this over a glass of wine, and we have fun with it. Neither of us eat too much, so we know our monthly expenses may go more towards going out with friends rather than groceries. It's sometimes fun to do it together, almost like a puzzle. If you see you have a little extra income, you can put some aside for maybe a nice trip together or a new watch.

 

 

Hope this helped!