Cracking the Code of Saving Money...

[stomachgrowls]

We all want to save money, but it's not always easy.
There are so many things that tempt us to spend, unexpected bills that pop up, and it can be hard to make ends meet.
How do you manage to save in a world that encourages spending? Let's talk about it.
Share your ideas, tips, and stories about saving money, and together, we can figure out how to get better at it. (We will also draw valuable lessons from the mistakes and experiences of others.)

My savings tips: I divide my money into other accounts so I have 2 accounts, one account, money goes in and out every day, the second is a savings account that can't be disturbed, so if I get paid on the 5th, I will transfer my money to a savings account with the remaining money. in the first account, it is for my daily needs. If the money runs out before I get paid, I will not take the money from my savings account. The point is that we have to be consistent in saving, there are many obstacles and trials, remember to be consistent.

Ive done the same and it does works and you do really have the money on the time that emergency comes and it was really that made for that sole purpose. So it would really be that something that needing
that extreme dedication and really have that self control when it comes to savings since not all would really be having that kind of discipline in towards savings and this is why they do really end up on
having no savings just because they are really that confident that there's nothing that would happen something like problems or emergencies in the future. This is why this kind of confidence would really be leading into disaster on the time that you would be able to experience this.

There's no need for any technique or code because having getting some allocation like 10% per salary or pay which are really that saved up for emergency or savings purposes.
If you do fail on doing so then it would really be that a disaster. We do know that life cant really be perfect on which there would really be times
that you would really be needing that financial back up.

[oktana]

I think what we should ask ourselves first is “how disciplined am I?” Because this is what determines what you will do when you start saving. There are people who would never ever spend their savings because they have a mission and they won’t let their hunger for anything get in the way. That mindset is what you need to learn to have. Along with that, you need to learn different saving techniques/strategies. Also, avoid both credit/debit cards because they make payment easy, which means they equally make spending of money easy. Lastly, it doesn’t matter if you’re saving one cent a day, the consistency is one of the magic workers.

In my opinion increasing income is more viable way than saving money, when you want to save up money that it doesn't matter you might went into hunger spree for few days, thats will be problematic because then you are giving yourself a burden of having disease that might empty your wallet in the future like GERD for example, saving normally while not being in hunger is the more ideal way, even more ideal if increasing income by striving for higher position in your job if you have a career for example then you wouldn't even sweat about saving since you will have so much money left if your living style doesn't change.
I guess like the saying offensive is the best form of defend, increasing income is the best form of saving money I guess but thats just my 2 cents.

Definitely everyone wants to increase their income. Right? But let me ask; what do you do while still looking for a way to increase your income? Wouldn’t you save or would you spend carelessly? And btw, someone who doesn’t have discipline wouldn’t still save even though they are earning a lot of money. So, while you’re trying to increase your income, you still need to save. Even when you have that dream job, you’ll have bigger wishes that’ll require you to save.

[franky1]

to put aside $10k a year
is /365 = $27.40 a day(7day week) $38 a day(5day week)

if someone can find a part time job for 3 hours for $10-15/h. or do some over time you can more then afford to save $10k a year
if you waste $28 a day on fast food, retail sold coffee, frivolous spending each day. stop. you can more then afford to save $10k a year

working just 40 hours a week for 52 weeks = 2080hours. means you need to ask for $5 an hour pay rise to get $10k a year saved
asking for $5/hr payrise is sometimes harder to convince your boss, compared to getting overtime/side hustle or save on frivolous things


find a combination to try to find $28 a day(every weekday) $38(5days a week)
it can be saving $19 on frivolous and earning $19 doing a couple extra hours work
maybe a second job or a side hustle like food delivery

[Betwrong]

~even switching out a couple brands of groceries can save more then a couple £$ a week, add in having one or two less luxuries here and there you can save a small amount every month for a year, and next year able to tell yourself you have enough savings to cover a month or two of expenses

even small steps are still steps moving forward
~

That is very true. People who don't run their own households don't know that a lot can be saved with switching out groceries' brands. And that doesn't necessarily imply switching to worse food, by the way. Sometimes cheaper food is healthier and more delicious than what you're used to buying in expensive shops just because you didn't have time for looking for better options.

[nara1892]

~even switching out a couple brands of groceries can save more then a couple £$ a week, add in having one or two less luxuries here and there you can save a small amount every month for a year, and next year able to tell yourself you have enough savings to cover a month or two of expenses

even small steps are still steps moving forward
~

That is very true. People who don't run their own households don't know that a lot can be saved with switching out groceries' brands. And that doesn't necessarily imply switching to worse food, by the way. Sometimes cheaper food is healthier and more delicious than what you're used to buying in expensive shops just because you didn't have time for looking for better options.

Yes it is obvious, people will only know about anything when they have experienced it, as you said in the household problem, when someone who has not entered the household phase then obviously they will not know how to manage very well especially in terms of finance and make savings, at first glance in terms of food it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem and we usually don't emphasize too much in terms of choosing whether it's from the type of food or from the matter of price per food that we will buy, for example, we usually always put a budget of $200 for the cost of basic food needs but by doing research first we can actually still save and lower that cost to be lower but still with food products that are not much different in terms of efficacy and health.

Honestly, I prefer shopping at the market rather than going to the mall because obviously like the discussion you said above, by going to the market I can save more budget for my monthly shopping because the market price with the price in some stores or like in the mall is very much different but on the other hand it does not reduce the quality of the product. So the point is there are still several ways that we can do to be able to save more money in any case as long as we want to do it.

[franky1]

alot of people see their paycheque and think "wow i got X.y thousand this month".. they then spend without planning. and halfway through the month when their card gets declined at the shop. they wonder where their money went

the code to saving is simple
audit yourself. look at the last 3 months of spending and actually note every amount. categorise it
work out your fixed bills. taxes and rent/mortgage
and have the main income account with that amount ready to pay bills on due date(s)

many people surprising think nothing about having 6 credit cards and doing 6x balance transfers a month. but dont think about having 6 debit cards

so after organising your bills, then with the excess after bills have 5 other accounts (total 6)
a. being your savings. (set an amount first you want to put aside BEFORE spending the excess)
then with the remaining amount after bills and savings
b. being the BUDGET for groceries
c. being the BUDGET for clothes
d. being the BUDGET for kids toys, hobbies, activities, needs
e. being the excess BUDGET for novelty, surprises

when you go grocery shopping dont bring your bills card, nor savings, clothes, kids cards with you
know your grocery budget before you enter the store. use an app(calculator) to total up what you put into your cart/basket so before you reach the cashier desk you know how much the total is.. and obviously if you are getting near the total you can decide what you can swap/replace/go without

by knowing where the money is going before you spend it. and locking it off into budgets. you can then control your spending

[Inwestour]

Yes it is obvious, people will only know about anything when they have experienced it, as you said in the household problem, when someone who has not entered the household phase then obviously they will not know how to manage very well especially in terms of finance and make savings, at first glance in terms of food it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem and we usually don't emphasize too much in terms of choosing whether it's from the type of food or from the matter of price per food that we will buy, for example, we usually always put a budget of $200 for the cost of basic food needs but by doing research first we can actually still save and lower that cost to be lower but still with food products that are not much different in terms of efficacy and health.

Honestly, I prefer shopping at the market rather than going to the mall because obviously like the discussion you said above, by going to the market I can save more budget for my monthly shopping because the market price with the price in some stores or like in the mall is very much different but on the other hand it does not reduce the quality of the product. So the point is there are still several ways that we can do to be able to save more money in any case as long as we want to do it.

Some people try to be too meticulous when it comes to creating their budget, perhaps this is more true during your student years, or when you are just starting an independent life, and it is important for you to pay attention to every dollar you save, but doing so all the time is tiring.

You need to strive to increase your earnings, at least a little, then you won’t have to save on food or anything else in your daily expenses. You need to be able to please yourself with some little things, and not to think every time about saving somewhere. When you manage to earn a little more, you definitely no need to save this entire amount. You can allocate part of it to budget expenses and use it to improve your quality of life. This is also a very important aspect to see the result of your work.

[franky1]

You need to strive to increase your earnings, at least a little, then you won’t have to save on food or anything else in your daily expenses. You need to be able to please yourself with some little things, and not to think every time about saving somewhere. When you manage to earn a little more, you definitely no need to save this entire amount. You can allocate part of it to budget expenses and use it to improve your quality of life. This is also a very important aspect to see the result of your work.

its not about going fully anal on frugality. its simply looking at the last 3 months of spending and averaging out an amount to prevent you over spending. wher you recognise the wasteful spending to set a rational budget.

by setting a limit by using a card that only holds that budget amount still allows you to enjoy your food, but not blow your entire paycheque buying nonsense food your not going to eat (most people throw away XX% of food)
once you set a budget its not "tiring" because you get into a habit where its not even something you think about. you instead live within your means instead of over indulging beyond what you get paid

of course as your pay increases, you can increase budgets. but having a budget atleast stops you from over spending

atleast writing down all your spending for last 3 months shows you visually where your money went. you can then ONCE look at where your wasteful spending is and where you would prefer your enjoyable spending

EG if you dont care about 7-up or sprite soda. but you find one is cheaper by $1 you may think if you save $1 here you can spend $1 elsewhere such as better coffee

but first you need to atleast look at where previous spending went to make these decisions. and once you made the decisions you lock it in. that way you dont have to keep doing it every week. because the budget is then set and you know what you are dealing with

[ndutndut]

We all want to save money, but it's not always easy.
There are so many things that tempt us to spend, unexpected bills that pop up, and it can be hard to make ends meet.
How do you manage to save in a world that encourages spending? Let's talk about it.
Share your ideas, tips, and stories about saving money, and together, we can figure out how to get better at it. (We will also draw valuable lessons from the mistakes and experiences of others.)

One of the challenges for most of us is the difficulty of holding back or stopping our lifestyle, especially the lower middle class. Many are willing to go into debt with credit cards for the sake of a luxurious lifestyle. Until now I have never used a credit card, because for me credit cards make us unable to control our desires so it is difficult to save, maybe this is my advice, don't use a credit card

The key if you want to save is to suppress your desires. No need to buy things you don't need, smart at managing finances, smart at seeing business opportunities that generate income. Because for me, if we want to become rich, our mindset must change not how much money we can make, but how much money we manage to save or use for productive things.

[nara1892]

Yes it is obvious, people will only know about anything when they have experienced it, as you said in the household problem, when someone who has not entered the household phase then obviously they will not know how to manage very well especially in terms of finance and make savings, at first glance in terms of food it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem and we usually don't emphasize too much in terms of choosing whether it's from the type of food or from the matter of price per food that we will buy, for example, we usually always put a budget of $200 for the cost of basic food needs but by doing research first we can actually still save and lower that cost to be lower but still with food products that are not much different in terms of efficacy and health.

Honestly, I prefer shopping at the market rather than going to the mall because obviously like the discussion you said above, by going to the market I can save more budget for my monthly shopping because the market price with the price in some stores or like in the mall is very much different but on the other hand it does not reduce the quality of the product. So the point is there are still several ways that we can do to be able to save more money in any case as long as we want to do it.

Some people try to be too meticulous when it comes to creating their budget, perhaps this is more true during your student years, or when you are just starting an independent life, and it is important for you to pay attention to every dollar you save, but doing so all the time is tiring.

You need to strive to increase your earnings, at least a little, then you won’t have to save on food or anything else in your daily expenses. You need to be able to please yourself with some little things, and not to think every time about saving somewhere. When you manage to earn a little more, you definitely no need to save this entire amount. You can allocate part of it to budget expenses and use it to improve your quality of life. This is also a very important aspect to see the result of your work.

In any case saving will always be a good action when indeed your circumstances and conditions are not good - okay especially in terms of personal finance, to be honest I do not always advocate that we should always do it all the time because as you say that it is tiring, it is natural and I understand but I prefer that advice when the situation really tells us to act as an adjustment, but it cannot be denied that sometimes people who have a good income or even above average also take actions like this and apply frugality to their lives.

This method is mostly done by people who are in a situation and situation that is not good - well, it's a common thing and maybe most of us will also do the same. And on the other hand for people who have a good income but still apply such methods, it is their own choice, maybe they feel comfortable with always saving money or there are some encouragement from other things that require them to do so. On the other hand it is true, as you said, not only do we save but we also have to take other actions such as always trying to add jobs to increase our income at the same time, and if we have been able to reach a pretty good situation then obviously as a form of appreciation for the hard work we have done then at least we have to please ourselves by for example buying something that can give us pleasure, it's allowed but still there are certain times to do things like that occasionally, because if you continue to overdo it like that then obviously the situation will return to the way it used to be where financial difficulties will come back.

[Fuso.hp]

Every month before getting salary I plan to spend part of salary for family and keep part for personal expenses and save the rest but at the end of the month I don't see the amount of my savings. I managed to figure out the reason why I can't save but even after finding the reason I can't improve in that area. I have a habit of overspending as well as eating out and traveling a lot, which is why I can't save a certain amount at the end of the month even when I plan. Since saving for the future is very important, I try to limit my spending and avoid the extra expenses that I have. Since I was able to find the reason I will be able to save even if it takes time.

[franky1]

Every month before getting salary I plan to spend part of salary for family and keep part for personal expenses and save the rest but at the end of the month I don't see the amount of my savings. I managed to figure out the reason why I can't save but even after finding the reason I can't improve in that area. I have a habit of overspending as well as eating out and traveling a lot, which is why I can't save a certain amount at the end of the month even when I plan. Since saving for the future is very important, I try to limit my spending and avoid the extra expenses that I have. Since I was able to find the reason I will be able to save even if it takes time.

the problem is you are SPENDING FIRST and THEN SAVING at the end of the month
instead: when you get paid . first put money aside for savings
this will then cause you to need to change your habit of over spending

you will start to plan what to do with spending money.
EG not simply book travel, but use price comparison sites to get better deals on travel
EG look at last 3 months of spending. put items into categories and total it up in excel
then think about a TRUE budget for each category thats less than the average of the last few months but still an amount to enjoy each category

then get more then one debit card account and put the budgets of each category into each debit card to properly separate the budgets so your not borrowing/stealing money from one budget to feed the other


be organised at the start of the month.. dont wait until the end of the month to then see what you have left to divide up

[tread93]

It's honestly constantly on my mind. How do I provide for my family pay all of my bills and still show them a good time and entertain them give them the best holidays and vacations AND STILL manage to save money and invest. I am at the point in my life where I am racking my brain trying to figure this out. I am not rich I basically live paycheck to paycheck at this point but I know that if I work hard and still take chances on my business ventures that I will one day be successful. Even if right now up until this point I have had a heck of a lot of failures and few success but I am lucky to have time on my side and just left my 20s. I am honestly really putting a lot of faith in Bitcoin that's for sure!  Even if it has to be penny by penny and scraping for dollars always have your end goal and vision in mind.

[passwordnow]

Give yourself a percentage or an exact amount on how much you will save per salary you receive. Actually, it's not the amount that counts but it is the strictness of control that you are implementing to yourself. Regardless of how big or small it will be as long as you're setting side every time you receive money, that's what seems to be the important thing.

You can do that every time you earn money from your business, from your salary or anything that you receive as a gift. That's what you need to do and don't think of where you'll spend them quickly because thinking those are very easy to do so and what you have to do is to mind yourself in saving first and then investing next.

[franky1]

question:

I am at the point in my life where I am racking my brain trying to figure this out. I am not rich I basically live paycheck to paycheck at this point

answer:

show them a good time and entertain them give them the best holidays and vacations

solution:
dont just randomly make entertainment, vacation decisions.. instead be strategic
look at last 3 years worth of bank statements and list all the "entertainment" "good times" "vacations"
list the costs per year. and actually design great experiences for less, plan it and budget it

even do extra steps if you like, things like set a yearly budget. then divide it by 52 for a weekly budget.
then set your kids household chores where they can earn upto their weekly budget(pocket money) for funstuff.. that way you give them control of how often they have fun time. obviously you keep the funds on a "fun stuff account" so they dont then waste it on candy. but atleast it get your kids involved in deciding how much they want fun stuff and teaches them about savings

be creative.
you dont need to go to the movies every month costing $42 for a family of 4
instead, dont just sitting on a sofa at home. make it a event at home. get some candy and popcorn and theme the night on the sofa into a experience, its way cheaper then the movies
instead look at local playparks(free swings, slides climbing frames)
instead of going to disneyworld look at other adventure parks

[tread93]

question:

I am at the point in my life where I am racking my brain trying to figure this out. I am not rich I basically live paycheck to paycheck at this point

answer:

show them a good time and entertain them give them the best holidays and vacations

solution:
dont just randomly make entertainment, vacation decisions.. instead be strategic
look at last 3 years worth of bank statements and list all the "entertainment" "good times" "vacations"
list the costs per year. and actually design great experiences for less, plan it and budget it

even do extra steps if you like, things like set a yearly budget. then divide it by 52 for a weekly budget.
then set your kids household chores where they can earn upto their weekly budget(pocket money) for funstuff.. that way you give them control of how often they have fun time. obviously you keep the funds on a "fun stuff account" so they dont then waste it on candy. but atleast it get your kids involved in deciding how much they want fun stuff and teaches them about savings

be creative.
you dont need to go to the movies every month costing $42 for a family of 4
instead, dont just sitting on a sofa at home. make it a event at home. get some candy and popcorn and theme the night on the sofa into a experience, its way cheaper then the movies
instead look at local playparks(free swings, slides climbing frames)
instead of going to disneyworld look at other adventure parks

Agreed! These are all fantastic recommendations and many of which I have enployed but not regularly, except for the parks which I am very fond of, nature is also the best playground in my opinion and the kids love to learn cool things about it. Sadly even I can't escape the Disney desire or take it away from my children, Disney magic is contagious amongst young and old evidently no matter how much I hate it and hate their high godforsaken prices. I regrettably try to treat my family to that part once every 2 years if I can help it. I always root for SeaWorld though I've got to say I am actually quite a fan of that place.

The budgeting retroactively isn't a bad idea either and something I haven't really tracked historically on those specific items or cost items that have been outside of budget.

Being creative and enthusiastic is definitely free and I would argue leads to much more fun so thank you for the inspiration to reinvigorate and reinvent in this area!

[franky1]

explore the creativity. you will be surprised where it may lead
also know that kids grow up, surprisingly by 2 years every 2 years. so its not much longer before they are bored of mickeymouse and princesses, maybe one more vacation and they will want something different

the other thing about the pocketmoney/chore thing. is if you explain the math in kid-speak that if they want disney in 2024 they need to do 5out of 6 chores per week. it lets them decide if they really want disney.. or you can give them other options. if they only do 4outof6 then they can have disney in 2025 or they can go to local themepark in 2024

let them motivate themselves to do chores. even if its simple kindergarden age kids. like dressing themselves or brushing teeth or making bed.. it doesnt have to be yardwork or cooking a family meal (leave more complex chores as they grow up)

but by budgeting an amount for a vacation and putting the money aside per week/month doesnt shock the system next year. you can even make it fun. like earning bonuses(if they skip chores) if they do good things with the family like make a hand drawn mothers/fathers day card or if they win a game of hide-n-seek

yep playing hide-n-seek around the house is free. but can be fun to make kids earn their vacation weekly goldstar/points.. by doing free fun things that save you money/time

it can change the mood of the family too.. instead of "go to your room and clean it or else your not going to see mickey" it becomes 'hey kids did you do todays disney gold stars"

things like "instead of going to seaworld this weekend do you want to earn xx disney stars by going to a nature park instead this weekend"

[Hewlet]

Give yourself a percentage or an exact amount on how much you will save per salary you receive. Actually, it's not the amount that counts but it is the strictness of control that you are implementing to yourself. Regardless of how big or small it will be as long as you're setting side every time you receive money, that's what seems to be the important thing.

You can do that every time you earn money from your business, from your salary or anything that you receive as a gift. That's what you need to do and don't think of where you'll spend them quickly because thinking those are very easy to do so and what you have to do is to mind yourself in saving first and then investing next.

true! The main issue isn't even the amount you are putting saving, consistency matters a lot when it comes to dealing with your saving habit.

You can even decide to be saving a small percentage of your monthly or weekly earnings like 30% and no matter what happens, you know you must save that amount and after you've saved that you can now decide to save the an additional amount in cases when the amount remaining exceeds what you've planned to use it for.

The issue with most people is that they budget a huge percentage of their monthly early as the one they will be saving but at the end of the day, they aren't consistent with their saving because of unplanned demands theat might come along the way.

[YUriy1991]

The issue with most people is that they budget a huge percentage of their monthly early as the one they will be saving but at the end of the day, they aren't consistent with their saving because of unplanned demands theat might come along the way.

I don't think that's the problem, but daily cost needs are higher than a person's income so it becomes an inhibiting factor and if you try to break down the average it will be seen that covering monthly costs is still not maximally accommodated.

I see intelligent people always making calculations or calculations to see which points are weak and need to be improved.

Well, if you find it, it will be easy to allocate some extra funds for savings. If you are forced to save first, wait a minute, then what arises is the potential for being in debt again.

[slashz9]

It's actually easy, if you don't buy things for their own satisfaction, do it continuously, you won't be addicted to buying things that you will only regret later.