You know what I do? Although it's harder now because I use my credit card a ton more, but I don't spend change. The change I accumulate each day goes into the bank. And I never miss it. So if I buy lunch at McDonalds and it costs $5.25, then $.75 goes into the bank. Last year we were able to put $300 into our long-term savings account just from the change we didn't spend.
I've noticed on occasion that I'll have to spend a lot of money to avoid spending more money. For example, I have no home access to the internet, which means that I have to spend money at an internet cafe. My husband just bought me a tablet so that I could stop spending that money. The irony is that the tablet was much more expensive than a couple hours at the internet cafe, but over the long run, I imagine that if I save those few dollars every day instead of spending them at the internet cafe, the amount saved will far exceed the cost of the tablet in just a few months or so. Maybe you should go ahead and buy that tablet, haha!
I do this too. I have accumulated over 3 jars worth of change and am now planning to deposit them in the bank. It's amazing how much you can save just by sparing a few pennies at the end of the day. 20% of my monthly income goes to savings. This after setting aside a few months' worth of emergency money, just in case I lose my job or someone in the family gets sick (I do hope that none of these would happen, but I like to play safe). It's better to have a safety net, just in case. And I don't like to use credit cards that much. All the fees are killing me.
Being in college, putting money away is not too easy... But I try as hard as I can to properly budget my money and make sure I have enough of a cushion for emergencies. Even $10 here and there makes a big difference... Trust me.
You have to find a no-fee credit card. On top of that you have to also find a credit card that gives you rewards back. I use the Chase Freedom card, the fees are low (and the fees are none if you pay it off every night) and they give you anywhere from 1-5% back on every purchase.
Setting aside 10% is a good idea. Except that I never get round to doing it. There's always some special offer that would put a dent in my savings program.
I am a student and at the same time a free lancer in the net. I have been earning good amounts as being a free lancer. I earn about 150-$200 a month and I out this in my bank. I am not withdrawing any amount because my parents still pays for my tuition fees and gives me more than enough allowance.
Do you transfer the money you earn to your bank account? Don't you spend even a penny? This is an impressive way to save up some money! I really look up to you!
It really fluctuates for me. Some months I save more while some I don't. It's been inconsistent since my work hasn't been so secure. But now that I am a permanent worker at my job I will be able to save more every month. I'm hoping to put aside a few hundreds dollars a month. I'll just start off small and work my way up.
Starting this month I plan to begin doing this. I really need to start saving up my money to buy things I want like a brand new MacBook Pro 2012. I highly recommend doing it because there will be a day when you'll wish you have saved up money! So, why not start now?
I wish I could put money away every month. Some months are better than others. They say that you are supposed to have 3 months salary in a rainy day fund. Lol... I wish.
I try to put away at least 15% of my income per month but this is not always possible and even when it is sometimes I do have to dip in to the funds when an emergency or something comes up. It is a great idea though, if you have a chance read the book the Automatic Millionaire, it teaches you a lot of simple valuable things like this.
I have a small piggy bank with me. Every day i put some money in it - whether it is left over change from my lunch or money saved from weekend shopping. Or if my mom gave something to me. Then at the end of the month I go and deposit that into my bank account. I have created a separate new bank account only for this purpose with auto FD. So, I keep on depositing this money in that account and never withdraw. I call this my retirement account. I now get a benefit of cumulative interest on this and may be this could help me to buy a house someday
I heard a REALLY good idea that a friend of mine does. But it would be hard. She uses coupons for all of the shopping she does. But, instead of saving money with the coupons she pays herself with the coupons. So if she cashes in a .50 off coupon, she puts .50 into her long term savings account. If you don't already use coupons, you should start and then do this savings plan. That way you would be spending the same $$ out of pocket each month tha tyou are used to but you could get a few dollars into a savings account too. I'm going to try this!
Each month? Heck, I do that almost every day. I make sure that I overlook all the money I've made during the day. And at the end of the night, I set aside a portion of it just to put it into one of my accounts when I get a chance.
I try setting aside 10% in savings each week. This is much easier said than done since I am expecting and we recently moved so we are spending on everything pretty much but I don't let a week go by where I don't put away atleast $20 in savings. I pretend I never had it and just let it stay in savings. It really comes in handy when you have an emergency
I've even heard you should be putting 15% away, if you can afford it. I do put aside some money, but I make so little it is hard to really make a dent or afford much. My priority for savings right now is buying property vs retirement.
It does! That ten bucks you use to buy your lunches everyday could be set aside and add up at the end of the month. Its hard to notice or make a change until you finally start doing it, and I promise you will not be disappointed! The first step to start saving is always the hardest, but after you start seeing results you just keep going and going!
I respect that and I need to take another look at my budget and see if I can afford to put away a little money every day. I'm one of those people that needs to see results to stay motivated, so maybe seeing my savings balance go up daily or almost daily would help me to keep my enthusiasm and forward momentum.
