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I'm starting to save all my coins and dollar bills. What are your saving tips/techniques/ strategies?
Saving Tips
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In the last few months I have begun only paying with dollar bills and saving all my change. Of course, it's because I can cash in my change at a Coinstar and get an Amazon GC. I also work a free lance job and when those checks come I cash them and stow them away. I don't need them for my regular monthly budget.
deb
deb
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Hahaha....good one!Forster said:Spending less money than I make each month.
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Couple of things I have always done to help me spend less than I make.
1. I have always put 10% of my salary into my retirement account since I started my career. This has been non-negotiable for me even when times were tight and I won't take the money out till it's time to retire and I need it.
2. I have always gotten paid once a month after I deposit my check I immediately deducted all my fixed monthly expenses so I know exactly how much money I have left during that month for food, fun etc.
3. I do not buy big ticket items unless I have the cash for them this includes vacations, major home improvements, appliances etc. and now even cars.
4. I'm 43 and still haven't ever bought a brand new car. This alone has probably saved me more money than everything else I've done combined.
5. I've never bought a house that I could not comfortably afford with a 15 year loan which has kept me from being a slave to my house. Again finding inexpensive housing has saved me a lot of cash over the years.
1. I have always put 10% of my salary into my retirement account since I started my career. This has been non-negotiable for me even when times were tight and I won't take the money out till it's time to retire and I need it.
2. I have always gotten paid once a month after I deposit my check I immediately deducted all my fixed monthly expenses so I know exactly how much money I have left during that month for food, fun etc.
3. I do not buy big ticket items unless I have the cash for them this includes vacations, major home improvements, appliances etc. and now even cars.
4. I'm 43 and still haven't ever bought a brand new car. This alone has probably saved me more money than everything else I've done combined.
5. I've never bought a house that I could not comfortably afford with a 15 year loan which has kept me from being a slave to my house. Again finding inexpensive housing has saved me a lot of cash over the years.
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Any savings you can do via payroll deduction is great, in that you never actually have the money elsewhere, so you are never tempted to spend it instead of putting it into the savings account. Along that vein is making sure you take full advantage of the 401k plan where you work if they have one. If you don't at least allocate the max amount that your employer will match, then you aren't getting "paid" as much as you could be.
I used automatic monthly payments into a couple mutual funds until I had enough for a 20% down-payment on my house, which was about 2/3 the price that the realtor said I could afford (and wanted to sell me, of course), and then financed it with a 15-year mortgage. Four more years and I'll be free of that monthly payment!Forster said:
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Yep, IMO that is a good rule of thumb.NogDog said:I used automatic monthly payments into a couple mutual funds until I had enough for a 20% down-payment on my house, which was about 2/3 the price that the realtor said I could afford (and wanted to sell me, of course), and then financed it with a 15-year mortgage. Four more years and I'll be free of that monthly payment!
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Thanks for the tips! . I'm still in college and I'm only working part-time, but I just want to start saving now. Your tips are really helpful. I think I'm going to copy it and put it in my kindle (just to remind me from time to time).
. I'm still in college and I'm only working part-time, but I just want to start saving now. Your tips are really helpful. I think I'm going to copy it and put it in my kindle (just to remind me from time to time). 
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That one's pretty good, but a bit dry, IMO.Forster said:Here's a decent book on the subject, not on kindle yet though.
Here's one that I enjoyed and got a lot out of (also not on Kindle, although the author does have some of his available):
Yeah, it's actually two, for different stages in life. The actual financial information is pretty much the same, so probably no need to buy both.
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Thanks.
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After trying several things over the early years in our marriage, my wife and I found that a cash-only system for variable expenses works best for us.
Variable expenses are things like groceries, gasoline, household goods, and that all-important "miscellaneous" category.
Every Friday, we each get to withdraw a fixed amount of money, and we limit our spending to that. When the cash runs out, the spending stops.
It's the simplest way we've found to keep to a budget for those type of expenses. That allows us to stick to our savings plan for the other uses of our money.
Variable expenses are things like groceries, gasoline, household goods, and that all-important "miscellaneous" category.
Every Friday, we each get to withdraw a fixed amount of money, and we limit our spending to that. When the cash runs out, the spending stops.
It's the simplest way we've found to keep to a budget for those type of expenses. That allows us to stick to our savings plan for the other uses of our money.
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I do all those things too, except for the car, which I've never had because I don't need one in this city. I'm 57 and was laid off for first time ever in January, and I'm so glad I saved in an account separate from my 401(k) plan (since that took a tumbling). I've been in the same rental apartment since 1977. When I use a credit card, I pay it off same month and incur no interest. If I want something that's expensive, I save up for it if I don't already have the money.Forster said:
I didn't always do this. Had credit card balance almost constantly during the 1980s an part of the 90s. Felt like I was working for the credit card company. Put as much into paying them off as I could and have been debt free for 11 years.
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I read that one 12 years ago when I was just starting to manage my 401(k). Has lots of common sense in it. Shows us how we don't really need a lot of fancy stuff.Forster said:Pretty much it.
Here's a decent book on the subject, not on kindle yet though.
I've al read Suze Orman's books, starting with The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom.
I went through a phase in the late '90s of reading several financial books. They bore me to death now, but the ideas have stayed with me.
Marti
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Best tips I've used: pay yourself 10% of every pay check and put it in a savings or GIC or something that earns a bit of interest. Live with one one credit card and never buy a car new. There's plenty of good second hand vehicles that will save you thousands and thousands of dollars. And don't trade it in every three years. It's not about style, it's about money in the bank and peace of mind.
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