Real Live Woman
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I have some advice..
1- When recording your expenditures in your checkbook, round up to the nearest dollar, or 5 dollar increment, even if its only 1.98 that you spend. This makes balancing your checkbook easier, and also leaves your account with a little extra money in it.. A fast and easy way to actually save money, without thinking or worrying too much about it.
2- Buy generic brands, whenever possible. Especially when it comes to buying food- you can get the expensive spaghetti noodles, or the cheap ones. They both have about the same stuff in them, and taste the same, so save a buck and get the cheaper store brand. I get a 16 oz box of thin spaghetti from publix for 70c, about once or twice a month. The name brand, on the other hand, costs almost 2 bucks. Ridiculous!!
3- Cook at home.. Even if you are a "bad cook", you can buy a recipe book. There are loads of recipes out there that any fool can make, that dont take much time or preparation, or even ingredients. It also might help you to watch cooking shows sometimes, to get tips on how to amplify the flavor in your food, without amplifying the calories and fat. Cooking your own food will save you a fortune! Set one day of the week that you go out to eat, and spoil yourself that day, even if it is all day long. All these things will help your finances, and maybe even your shape.
4- Track your spending. Every time you spend money, write it down on a little pad of paper, what you bought and how much it cost, how much time you spent at the place, etc. This can help you to see where you spend the most time and money, and you might be able to give yourself more financial structure by only allowing a certain amount of time per week at any given place. (like if you go to the bar.. leave home later, and leave the bar earlier. That can save a person hundreds of dollars a month, if they are big drinkers)
5. Plan on saving close to the equivalent of every big occassional expense, every month. So, if you buy a new I-Pod, be sure that you have the same amount of dollars to put into savings too, or at least half. You will need to open a savings account, if you haven't already. Another good idea, is to use a Roth IRA. That kind of retirement plan is hard to withdraw from, until youre 55, and you can plan on putting a set amount every month into it. Oh and dont buy anything that you cant pay off on the credit card the following month. Those fees really add up.
6- Drive used cars, not new ones.. A new car loses its value at something like 10 miles, so basically driving it home, it loses thousands of dollars in worth. Imagine having a car accident just months after buying a new car.. then youre upside down on the payments. No fun. Just buy a certified pre owned car, instead, and save your hard earned dinero for the gas!! Gas is up next...
7- Gas- Well gas is not cheap. There are ways of curbing your fuel expenses.. if you can carpool, do it at least once a week. Take the bus, or even ride a bicycle to work, sometimes, if you can do this. If you go to the convenience store, and it is close, try walking or rollerblading over there. Just saving 20 dollars or 30 dollars a month on fuel will add up over a year.. 30 dollars multiplied by 12 is 360 bucks. Thats a lot of money!!! You could buy a reasonably nice suit with that! You could go on a mini vacation with that kind of money.
8- Have a garage sale, before you chuck all that stuff out. If you cant sell it, or its not sellable, post an ad on craigslist.com or freecycle (yahoo groups) and give it to someone in need. Joining groups like that is really great because you give the crap you dont like and cant sell, away to people who want it, and can use it, and you can also get all kinds of freebies, too, from other participants.
9- Eco-friendly your home. Weather stripping, tinting your windows, planting trees, rain cystines, putting a pond or fountain in the yard, all can help to curb your utility bills. There is even a way of getting free power, if you arent too close to sea level- by the use of large copper coils in the ground- and those cost less than it would cost to power your home for 5 years, so its totally worth it. You would be amazed how much money you can save by simply doing some cheapie stuff around the house. Storm windows and doors are also great to have, too!
10- Above all else- work to live, dont live to work. Dont let money run your life. Let your money be the passageway TO a healthy and happy life. All the best!! |
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