How do YOU save money?>>>How can I save money???

[jared6180]

Heres the deal. I am 25, and I make around $25k/year, and bring home about $1200-$1400/m depending on my commisions. I pay $600/month in child support, and that comes directly out of my pay so I never see it, so I moved out of my apartment, and live back at the house with mom and dad, because of the child support I can't afford to live alone anymore, and save for a Mustang. Beyond that I have about $3500 in debt such as credit cards that needs to be paid off, and I pay about $75/m for a cell phone. I spend probably $200/m for food. I pay about $65/m for insurance on my little Neon, and I use about $100/m in gas. I am just trying to figure how to structure when I pay my bills to help me save money better, and quicker. I want to buy a GT or Cobra soon, and I want to put 50% down. I want to buy a 96-98 Car just because I like the body style alot. I am thinking in order to get a 96-98 GT that is NICE, and under 75k miles I will need to have about $3500-4000 on my end. PLEASE HELP!!! I am TERRIBLE at saving money!!!
Thanks,
Jared

 

[PowerWheels]

Your 25, get a good education, then work your way up. You're simply not going to be able to afford crap on 25k. Think long term and put in the work.

 

[mjzilinski]

200 a month in food, you can cut that down a little bit probably, I've saved some by making my own lunches instead of eating out for lunch. Also try to make some extra money by selling things on ebay or whatever.

 

[05 Roush]

Get rid of your cell phone. A car is also not a good idea at this time.

Look for a job that will double your income before considering a new car.

 

[jared6180]

Telling me what I can't do is not what I put this post up for. I think that I may need to explain that 25k in Kansas is actually a good job, my job in NYC, or the Left Coast would probably pay closer to $38k-$40k to be honest, so I guess geography plays a HUGE role. I know I probably won't start off in a Cobra, but I do want a GT with less then 100k miles. Come September my income will double as I will start to get my GI BILL money, thats $1200/m TAX FREE right there!!!

 

[blackfang]

I make rouhgly 60k and try to force myself to save/invest 60% of my pay. I pay no more than 75 bucks a month for food.

 

[PowerWheels]

I make rouhgly 60k and try to force myself to save/invest 60% of my pay. I pay no more than 75 bucks a month for food.

My dog eat more than that. :bs:

 

[blackfang]

Oh well. I usually eat like once a day.

 

[King$nake]

Get rid of your cell phone. A car is also not a good idea at this time.

Look for a job that will double your income before considering a new car.

He didnt ask anyone on what to do, and he especially doesnt need anyone telling him what he cant do either. And most people that have friends need a cell phone, and he probably needs one for work anyway. Quit trying to run your post count up and stop getting involved in every thread just to be part of it, the guy asked for advice, give it.

 

[King$nake]

Heres the deal. I am 25, and I make around $25k/year, and bring home about $1200-$1400/m depending on my commisions. I pay $600/month in child support, and that comes directly out of my pay so I never see it, so I moved out of my apartment, and live back at the house with mom and dad, because of the child support I can't afford to live alone anymore, and save for a Mustang. Beyond that I have about $3500 in debt such as credit cards that needs to be paid off, and I pay about $75/m for a cell phone. I spend probably $200/m for food. I pay about $65/m for insurance on my little Neon, and I use about $100/m in gas. I am just trying to figure how to structure when I pay my bills to help me save money better, and quicker. I want to buy a GT or Cobra soon, and I want to put 50% down. I want to buy a 96-98 Car just because I like the body style alot. I am thinking in order to get a 96-98 GT that is NICE, and under 75k miles I will need to have about $3500-4000 on my end. PLEASE HELP!!! I am TERRIBLE at saving money!!!
Thanks,
Jared

Thats a tough one man. If I was you I would try to get side-job going on the weekend, like I am a professional auto detailer, I and I get regular business, and charge about $175 a car. Do a couple of those a weekend and youve doubled your income! Start up cost is low as well. If you want more info, PM me, or try to find some outside source of income...
Hope that helps!
-Joe

 

[CobraG]

Heres the deal. I am 25, and I make around $25k/year, and bring home about $1200-$1400/m depending on my commisions. I pay $600/month in child support, and that comes directly out of my pay so I never see it, so I moved out of my apartment, and live back at the house with mom and dad, because of the child support I can't afford to live alone anymore, and save for a Mustang. Beyond that I have about $3500 in debt such as credit cards that needs to be paid off, and I pay about $75/m for a cell phone. I spend probably $200/m for food. I pay about $65/m for insurance on my little Neon, and I use about $100/m in gas. I am just trying to figure how to structure when I pay my bills to help me save money better, and quicker. I want to buy a GT or Cobra soon, and I want to put 50% down. I want to buy a 96-98 Car just because I like the body style alot. I am thinking in order to get a 96-98 GT that is NICE, and under 75k miles I will need to have about $3500-4000 on my end. PLEASE HELP!!! I am TERRIBLE at saving money!!!
Thanks,
Jared

Have you setup an allotment to go into a savings account? If not, try that, open a savings account with no debit card and no way to touch the money without actually walking in during business hours.
Also, $600 a month in child support, that seems high, is that for more than one child? Have you tried to negoiate with the childs mother? That seems like a lot. How old is your child? If he/she is still an infant, I know daycare can be expensive plus expenses. But maybe the mother will work with you and drop it some, at least for a little while, it doesn't have to be perminent.
The cc debit, pay over every month by at least $25 if you can afford it.
Good luck

 

[05 Roush]

He didnt ask anyone on what to do, and he especially doesnt need anyone telling him what he cant do either. And most people that have friends need a cell phone, and he probably needs one for work anyway. Quit trying to run your post count up and stop getting involved in every thread just to be part of it, the guy asked for advice, give it.

Oh, I get it. You want the answer to "I'm spending frivolously on items I can't afford while paying for child support and want to put myself even more into debt by buying more depreciating assets" sugar-coated answers. :rollseyes

I gave advice you and he didn't want to hear. Get rid of the excessive items, like expensive monthly cell service (or reduce it), video games, going out to bars, and other thriftless "goodies", and that's how you save up for larger items, like vehicles and homes.

How else do you rack up 3-4K on credit cards with $25K income living at home? I wasn't born yesterday.

 

[Ripper]

Put 300 dollars in an Ameritrade account. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

[stmoney11]

My advice is to stop buying things that aren't a necessity to your everyday life. $200 a month for food could easily be cut down as well, but like another poster said, open up a savings account where you can't easily touch the money. Also pay off your CC debt ASAP.

 

[bssmith1220]

I'm not real good at saving money either, but if I were you I would me more worried about getting out of your folks house at 25 years old. I had rather drive a beater and have my own place than a 8 year old mustang living with my parent. But, its your call. By the way if your living on your income now, just wait until the GI money starts coming in and save that.......thats my advice.

 

[SVTkel]

The method I have used for over 10 years including while I was in University, is simple but it works for me and our family. In fact I started using it in University while on a work term b/c I could never save any money. A girl in my Engineering class told me how she saved money over the course of 4 months, while at the same time I had a 1/4 of what she did and we got paid the same. The next 4 months I used the system and ended up saving almost triple what I did in the first 4 months.

It isn't easy to use but if you are disciplined it will work for anyone. It is tough to explain but I will lay out the basics and if you want more info then PM me.

Method / system:
I have 2 bank accounts (both are no fee or service charges). All of my company pay cheques, and the wife's in my case now, go directly auto deposit into the main account. We call this account the "the bank". All bills like groceries, gas, mortgage, power, water, registered savings (401K or whatever you call it in the US) and essential payments come out the "bank" account. You DON't buy beer, crap for the car, movies, restaurant trips etc out of the bank. In your case you "bank" would be covering around $500 / month for your expenses not counting the child suport as it is drawn direct from your work. Things look not too bad as this is a really low amount.

Every pay period (2 weeks) we each take a set amount of money we call an "allowance". For us it started out too high and we have cut it back over the years b/c we ended up with thousands in our personal allowance accounts. In your case, and based upon what information I can gather from your post should be around $150 every 2 weeks or $300 per month. You can take a bonus on birthdays, Christmas. Do not exceed this amount, unless you get another job or get a raise. If you want to buy something you like if you do not have the money then your SOL, after all these are not essential items we are taking about b/c those are covered under the "banks" account. You want to take a girl out on a date then your allowance covers it. If you want to rent a movie like "Beaches" or something then it comes out of the allowance - just kidding.

So unless I misread your info then you should breakdown as follows:

Income = $1400 / month (take home)
Bank = $500 / month
Allowance = $300 / month

Balance = $600 / month

At the end of every month you take the $600 and either put a portion in the 401K or you get a GIC and contribute to it monthly. In a year you should have $5000 put away.

In the long term you need to find a way to increase your income.

It worked for me, so let me know if you can make it work for you.

 

[madmatt]

The method I have used for over 10 years including while I was in University, is simple but it works for me and our family. In fact I started using it in University while on a work term b/c I could never save any money. A girl in my Engineering class told me how she saved money over the course of 4 months, while at the same time I had a 1/4 of what she did and we got paid the same. The next 4 months I used the system and ended up saving almost triple what I did in the first 4 months.

It isn't easy to use but if you are disciplined it will work for anyone. It is tough to explain but I will lay out the basics and if you want more info then PM me.

Method / system:
I have 2 bank accounts (both are no fee or service charges). All of my company pay cheques, and the wife's in my case now, go directly auto deposit into the main account. We call this account the "the bank". All bills like groceries, gas, mortgage, power, water, registered savings (401K or whatever you call it in the US) and essential payments come out the "bank" account. You DON't buy beer, crap for the car, movies, restaurant trips etc out of the bank. In your case you "bank" would be covering around $500 / month for your expenses not counting the child suport as it is drawn direct from your work. Things look not too bad as this is a really low amount.

Every pay period (2 weeks) we each take a set amount of money we call an "allowance". For us it started out too high and we have cut it back over the years b/c we ended up with thousands in our personal allowance accounts. In your case, and based upon what information I can gather from your post should be around $150 every 2 weeks or $300 per month. You can take a bonus on birthdays, Christmas. Do not exceed this amount, unless you get another job or get a raise. If you want to buy something you like if you do not have the money then your SOL, after all these are not essential items we are taking about b/c those are covered under the "banks" account. You want to take a girl out on a date then your allowance covers it. If you want to rent a movie like "Beaches" or something then it comes out of the allowance - just kidding.

So unless I misread your info then you should breakdown as follows:

Income = $1400 / month (take home)
Bank = $500 / month
Allowance = $300 / month

Balance = $600 / month

At the end of every month you take the $600 and either put a portion in the 401K or you get a GIC and contribute to it monthly. In a year you should have $5000 put away.

In the long term you need to find a way to increase your income.

It worked for me, so let me know if you can make it work for you.

That is some great advice my friend. Im going to put that into use.

Ok, now, Ill give some quick tips.
First off, what you DONT want to hear. DO NOT BUY A MUSTANG until you pay off your credit card debt. The only way to build wealth (savings) is to eliminate debt, ESPECIALLY high interest debt. Once you pay the cards off, cut them up and throw them away. My idea is that if you dont have the cash for it, you cant afford it, UNLESS this is like a 0 percent interest thing. Ok, now that Im done "preaching," heres some ideas I got. Capital One has a high interest savings account that pays an interest rate of 4.25 percent. Start an account, and have it linked to whatever account you want. When you get paid, pay your bills, and all that, save a little for allowance like the plan above, and put the rest INTO THIS ACCOUNT. 4.25 percent is WAY more than any regular savings account will pay. Also, save aluminum cans, or go to garage sales and buy stuff, and sell it on ebay. Also, like someone said, take your lunch to work versus going out to eat, and possibly look into getting a membership at a wholesale club like Sams, costco, etc. Buy in bulk and maybe save some money that way. Hope Ive helped, and havent made you mad about telling you not to get the mustang, but honestly, get yourself outta the credit card debt and THEN get the mustang.

 

[2003 Silver]

Does your employer offer some type of savings vehicle (ie. 401k), if so, that will be your best bet. They will take it directly out of your pay...out of site..out of mind. If not, set up a direct deposit account with a bank or credit union and have money directly deposited out of every check into a savings account.

 

[vegaspackerfan]

What I am going to say is alot like what others have told you. You need to find out what works for you and just do it.

Pay yourself first. What is ment by that is this. Put as much money as you can in your 401K or what ever your compnay offers. Esp if they match any amount of cash you put in. By not doing that you are passing up free money.

It is also tax free and like the child support you never see it. This is a long term savings though. Not a, I am going to buy a car in the next year type of savings.

Short term I wouls suggest these moves.

1. Get a cell plan is not $75 a month. No neeed for all the fancy crap they push on people. Cameras are for taking pictures, Video recorders are for making movies, Etc. A phone is just that a phone.

2. Make double or tripple payments on the credit card. That $3,500 at the minimum monthly payment will cost you around $9,000 to pay it off. And that is if you stop using it.

3. Budget yourself. I used to put $150 a a check in an envelope every time I got paid. This money was for partying and blowing, when the money was gone I was done spending money until next pay day. Bring a chicken sandwich to work and eat it. Don't go to Carls Jr and buy one for lunch.

4. Your parents seem cool. Ask them for some help "if" they can afford it. AND PAY THEM BACK ASAP!!!!!

Building your networth at a young age will do wonders for you, any amount. You may not think about it now, but it does. Roush is correct on the car. And remeber this...you have to live at about 60% of what you can afford. It sucks at first but very very well worth it in the long run.

What you "want" now and what you "want" and "will need" in 10 years are totaly diffrent.

Hope that helps

VPF

 

[ESVEETEE]

25,000/year equates to about $12 an hour... you can do better than that with a highschool diploma.... infact i can make that the day i turn 18.

you need to get educated in something.

do you know anything of computers? thats a good way to get somewhere, and you dont have to go to school, all youve gotta do is study and take some tests (CompTIA and things like that)

but ok... putting that aside, you're getting raped on your cell phone... you shouldnt pay more than 55/month for a cell phone. id look around if you arent caught in a contract, and get a better deal, you may have to limit your phone time, but it beats payin what you are.


the child support deal is going to eat you alive. how old is your child? you need to figure out how long you're going to be burdened by that (im guessing a good 15+ years?) and budget for that time.


long story short you've gotten yourself into a hole, and its not going to be an easy climb out, figure out what you're exceptional at, and see if you can get paid accordingly for it, because 25,000/year isnt going to cut it.