Personal Finance

Money, not as sticky as honey...

  • Last Updated:
  • Jul 30th, 2015 9:10 am
Newbie
Jul 27, 2015
4 posts
Toronto, ON

Money, not as sticky as honey...

Hey guys! please tell me, how are you managing to keep your personal budget on track? Saving money seems so hard... Any tips?
17 replies
Deal Addict
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Aug 2, 2007
2065 posts
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Springfield
First and most, close your account and leave this site immediately, it WILL ruin you :cry:
Member
Mar 21, 2008
240 posts
64 upvotes
Winnipeg
Stop buying things.

Did you need it today?
Will you need it tomorrow?
Will you die or become homeless without it?

Answer No to any of these? - You don't need it then.

It's only new and cool for the first few days, then its just an object that you have that no one cares you own and you're paying for it.

Sure there are exceptions to the rules. Don't starve yourself of entertainment, just budget it and stick to it. Be honest with your friends. "Sorry, I can't go with you this time, Its not part of the budget". Good freinds will understand.
Newbie
Jul 27, 2015
4 posts
Toronto, ON
Sadly I don't have a problem wasting time, saving money is my enemy :(
Newbie
Jul 27, 2015
4 posts
Toronto, ON
chuckp wrote: Don't starve yourself of entertainment, just budget it and stick to it.
Haha, no I don't have these problems, but I still can't manage with the budgeting part, I'm trying different methods but nothing really seems to help. Thanks for the tip, 'though!
Deal Fanatic
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Apr 29, 2008
8010 posts
4748 upvotes
Montreal
pay yourself first
- automatic deposits in savings accounts from your checking account
(emergency fund, downpayment fund, etc)

- automatic investments monthly or weekly

when you setup enough automatic ways to pay yourself (example 20% of net pay) you can spend the rest.
Banned
May 20, 2015
247 posts
39 upvotes
Scarborough, ON
Well, in our generation, saving means something else.
When you see something goes on sales for 50% off, that is saving lol.
Deal Addict
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Mar 31, 2009
1219 posts
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Buy what you need, not what you want. Don't buy things that have no lasting value. Most of the time, people who feel like they can't save are having problems because they're spending a lot of money on 'wants' that have no long-term value.

The killers are often restaurant food and other random crap that people let themselves waste money on, on a daily or weekly basis. Quite easily this stuff adds up to a huge proportion of your take home income. You cut out the random 'wants' that have no value beyond the day of the purchase, and suddenly you'll be amazed how much money you have.
Member
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Feb 24, 2004
392 posts
139 upvotes
AndraM13 wrote: Hey guys! please tell me, how are you managing to keep your personal budget on track? Saving money seems so hard... Any tips?
1, Get rid of the car if you have one. Right away you save a few k on monthly payments, insurance, parking, maintenance and repairs.
2, Buy clothes only if you really need it and if it goes on clearance.
3, Order from the dollar menus if you have to eat out.
4, Do free activities, biking, rollerblading, swimming, skating, hikes, etc...
5, Cut back on smoking and alcohol
6, Never ever buy drinks, always bring a bottle of water where ever you go
Deal Addict
Jan 2, 2015
1633 posts
639 upvotes
Toronto, ON
In my case I've cut major expenses and most minor recurring expenses, but still sometimes "splurge" on minor expenses. The biggest expense for me is rent. I live in a small apartment and split costs. Like the OP, I live in Toronto, and get by with transit. I could probably buy a cheap bike and helmet and spend a lot less on transit.

For instance, I used to pay $4.35 per day because I bought juice at a convenience store near work. Now I buy juice at the grocery store ($2-$4 per week), and saved enough money to buy a thermos so the juice stays cold at work. (I could drink free water, but the cost of not hydrating because I can't stand the lack of taste means I won't do it.) I did the same with lunch (about $9 per day), but now I bring food from home (probably $4 per meal).
Deal Addict
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Mar 16, 2010
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psyfer wrote: 1, Get rid of the car if you have one. Right away you save a few k on monthly payments, insurance, parking, maintenance and repairs.
2, Buy clothes only if you really need it and if it goes on clearance.
3, Order from the dollar menus if you have to eat out.
4, Do free activities, biking, rollerblading, swimming, skating, hikes, etc...
5, Cut back on smoking and alcohol
6, Never ever buy drinks, always bring a bottle of water where ever you go
Getting rid of the car will definitely cut back on any female interaction OP may have, which in turn will play into #7.

7, Women are a financial black hole if you wind up with the wrong one. Invest heavily in a fast internet connection.
Banned
May 20, 2015
247 posts
39 upvotes
Scarborough, ON
FoFai2015 wrote: I did the same with lunch (about $9 per day), but now I bring food from home (probably $4 per meal).
If you bring leftovers that's going to the garbage bin, that is free lol. You could save another $1,000 there.
Deal Addict
Oct 1, 2006
3249 posts
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Montreal
Budgeting is difficult. The best thing you can do is pay yourself first.
Sr. Member
Dec 26, 2011
909 posts
896 upvotes
I almost only buy things that are on sale other than urgent necessities. Even for necessities like food I plan around what is on sale (other than more staple items which are rarely on sale).
hopsoid wrote: First and most, close your account and leave this site immediately, it WILL ruin you :cry:
This site has actually had the opposite effect for me. I'm often running into the issue that something has been cheaper in the past by searching on RFD and so I hold off on the purchase and wait for the next deal instead.
Deal Fanatic
Oct 7, 2007
9404 posts
5374 upvotes
You could start by tracking where your money goes. Ideally, you could do this for a month and track every cent. No exception. I use Quicken to track my own expenses but if you don't have this, you could always use an Excel spreadsheet or worst case scenario, track it with pen & paper.

Create some categories for yourself like the following:
- Automobile (includes gas, service, car wash, insurance, etc.)
- Rent/mortgage
- Groceries
- Entertainment meals
- Travel
- Entertainment other (movies, sports events, etc.)
- Utilities
- Medical
- Professional/Education
- etc.

Then for a full month, make sure you get a receipt every time you spend any money and use the data to track your expenditures. If you can't get a receipt for some reason, track the expense in a pocket notebook or on your smartphone so that you can faithfully enter your expenses each day or so while they are still fresh in your head. After a month, you will have some idea of your monthly spend on most items that are not paid on an annual basis (e.g. property tax, car insurance, home insurance, memberships, etc.). You can then review the expenses in terms of discretionary (optional) versus non-discretionary (essential) and start to set goals for yourself on the discretionary spending. For example, the next month you could force yourself to stick to a budget on discretionary spending that is 50% of the first month and use only cash to pay for these items so you know exactly how much you have spent on this during the month. It is a bit of effort in the beginning but can be kind of fun to track and learn. Good luck!
Deal Guru
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Nov 6, 2010
10018 posts
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Montreal, QC
OP, do you have problems budgeting money or sticking to your budgets?
Newbie
Jul 27, 2015
4 posts
Toronto, ON
I tried some different money management apps,
like Manila, and Cashcontrol, and Cashcontrol seems to work pretty good,
it helped me a lot in the last days,
i actually saved money, i was surprised,
but it seems to work!
If you guys find yourself in the same situation as I did,
I honestly recomend it!
Deal Addict
Jan 8, 2006
1685 posts
998 upvotes
I would say if you can't keep track of your expense manually try https://www.mint.com/ to track expenses. It looks safe site. I don't use it as I keep track expense manually one credit card statement for all expenses.

Automobile insurance - turn out to be huge saving for me. Reduce almost 30% and now saving money. You can add another source of income.

---EDIT ---

“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” - Warren Buffet

---EDIT2---
[IMG]http://i2.wp.com/www.nephub.com/wp-cont ... =350%2C200[/IMG]

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