I was thinking of some small ways to save up some spending cash.
Add yours to this thread.
-Make penny/small change jar, at the end of the day put change in, wait til it fills up then roll them.
-Make lunch and/or eat breakfast so you buy less at lunch
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Also leaving your cards at home when you don't want to spend.
I can't put anything on there unless I know for sure I can afford it. I guess because I wasn't lucky enough to have someone to bail me out if I needed it!
and it's significantly cheaper to purchase items off ebay. just. i'd spend ridiculous amounts of money on many items anyways. eitherway its a sinkhole for me.
1) If you drink coffee, brew your own. Tim Hortons large = 1.39. If you do that 5 days a week (let's say on the way to work/school), then you have just spent 6.95. I just brew my coffee when I take a shower in the morning and sip it on the way to school.
2) Have a change jar. I kept a change jar for a month, and came up with almost 40 bucks from loose change.
3) Make your own lunch. I bought a bulk pack of sausage, another one of chicken legs, and another one of beef. I cooked it all on Sunday, froze it, and brought them each day for lunch. Huge savings there. The meat and veggies cost me about $20 all together, while lunch at school would cost about $6, for less food.
4) Walk. It's free exercise, and saves you money on a gym membership. Who wants to pay to drive to a gym, run on a treadmill, and drive home?
5) You can get hot water for 10 cents from Simon C's or most of the other chartwell's places to use for Tea or Noodles
6) Mr. Noodles! You can get a 20 pack for $8 in some stores, and that's 20 lunches, for me at least. good for a snack if nothing else
7) If you like pop or juice, just buy a case, and bring it with you. A 12 pack is 3.25 at walmart, which breaks down to 27 cents a can. At the school? It costs $1.75 a bottle.
I think im obsessed with saving money now but its kinda fun...any other ideas people?
2) Learn to cook and prepare your own meals. You save more money this way and you gain skillz. It's also a lot healthier.
3) Shop for the cheap/generic shit at the grocery store. If they have food on sale, buy it bulk.
4) (Obtain) Microsoft Money to track your finances. Find out what is costing you the most and figure out how to reduce it.
5) Don't use credit cards. Ever. The only exception being to get your credit rating up by buying sticks of gum once a month with it and paying it off right away then forget it about it for a while.
6) Stop buying video games. Read a book. Stop watching TV. Get all your viewing entertainment from torrents or Netflix.
7) Buy textbooks online. If the class is easy and doesn't require the book, don't buy it at all.
8) Yea, no StarBucks coffee. I only drink the free coffee at work or I buy the cheapest cup to wake up my ass up in my weekly night class.
9) Rent an apartment with one or two friends. Split the rent/utilities. It's waaaaay cheaper.
10) Give yourself an entertainment budget each month. Set goals for yourself. On the weekends when there is nothing to do... stay inside, eat spaghetti-o's and study. On the weekends when there is a bunch of fun stuff going on, then you can splurge.
11) Walk and use public transportation. Cheaper than a car and you get some exercise.
There's more, but I'm out of ideas at the moment.
And once you've saved up all that money, but it in a high interest savings account at ING Direct. They give 3.5% interest on savings accounts, and you can take the money out whenever. There are also no fees! Let me know if you want a reference as it gets us both $13!
If you work or have some kind of income, why not create a financial strategy for yourself? All your methods are good.. if you want to always live below your means.. why not try to increase your means and learn how to make your money work for you? For me, I setup a financial strategy for myself that I would pay myself first, meaning that I have a consistent saving amount on a monthly basis. All this money goes in investment products that gives me at least a 7%+ return. And I have multiple plans for different purposes.. I'm starting to save for my retirement already and I have a mortgage to pay soon in 2008 because I just bought my own new apartment by Brentwood.
So, if you want to be smart.. make your money work for you! And yeah, I'm in the financial industry so I know how this works. If you are interested, I could help you find a solution. Just pm me.
And currently no income, sadly. Though your advice is very good and it sounds like you are doing well for yourself with it!