One of the best ways to save money is to save 10% of your income. Every time you get a paycheck, put 10% of that into your savings account. Most of us are earning more than we need, even if we don't think so. Rearrange the rest of your budget and you'll find there are things you don't need to spend your money on. Maybe spend less on clothes, going to the movies, eating out, etc. Try canceling your cable tv and watching tv on your laptop instead. Try to save on your electric bill by instilling energy efficient ways of living into your household. Drive less. It's funny how we can save money and save the environment at the same time.
Pretend you don't have money and you won't spend it. When we think we have the money to buy that $5 T-shirt, or we think we have the money to spend $10 on a meal instead of just $5. It all adds up quickly over time.
So get to saving that 10% and you'll be less likely to worry about money. You never know when an accident may happen, or your car breaks down, or you need to visit the hospital. You'll have the back up money you'll need for those unexpected expenses. Not to mention, you'll be on track for retirement!
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Saturday, August 20, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
How to Save Money on Gas
There are many ways to save money on gas. For instance, you should never take a special trip to get gas. You’re wasting gas going to and from the gas station. You should always get gas on the way to where you are already going. My mom and grandma both leave home and drive to the gas station to get gas, then drive back home. It boggles my mind so much. I always tell them, get it on the way, you’ll save money. You’re wasting gas to go get gas. It doesn’t make any sense.
One way to never worry about purchasing overpriced gas is to always fill up before you get to ¼ tank full. Always plan ahead. Check your gas gauge every time you get in the car. It should be the first thing you do when you start the engine (besides putting on your seatbelt).
When gas prices are going up, fill up often. When gas prices are going down, just get enough gas to last a couple more trips. For example, if gas is going down, I’ll fill it up all the way. That may cost about $40. When gas is going down, I put $20 in instead. I may have to fill up more often, but I will be getting a cheaper price later. So in the long run, as long as I’m not making special trips to the gas station, and I’m getting gas directly on the way to where I’m already going, it is worth it.
The other way to save money on gas is to pay attention to gas prices everywhere you go. If the gas stations are cheaper near work, get gas there. If gas is cheaper near home, make sure you have enough gas to make it home so you don’t have to fill up at the expensive place near work. Sometimes you can even see the gas prices from the freeway. If you know of a place that is the cheapest just off the freeway halfway between home and work, that is where you should stop to fill up.
I know that when I go visit my mom an hour away, the gas will be more expensive there, so I fill up near home.
There are websites that tell you the current gas prices at all the gas stations. You can even enter gas prices on the website yourself if you’d like. One great website to learn where the cheapest gas stations are is www.gasbuddy.com. Just enter your zip code and it will give you a list of the cheapest gas in your area. You can also use this as a tool when going on a road trip. If you can calculate about when you’ll need gas throughout your journey, you can figure out which towns (and which specific gas station in that town) would be the best place to stop to save money on gas. Just make sure you never go too far out of your way to get cheaper gas. If you are going an extra mile out of your way, it needs to be worth it. If you are saving 10 cents a gallon, going an extra mile is worth it, and the more gas you have to get, the more savings. For just 1 cent difference per gallon, it’s not worth it. Do the math and you’ll be well on your way to saving lots of money on gas.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
How to Save Money on Groceries Without Clipping Coupons
Most people don’t have time to clip coupons to save money on groceries. If you spend an hour clipping coupons, and you save $20, you have to think about whether $20 is worth an hour to you. To some people, $20 is great savings for an hour’s work. To others, wasting that time is like wasting way more money. I don’t think it is a waste of time to clip coupons, but some people feel that way, so this article is for those of you who feel it is a waste of time to clip coupons.
If you haven’t already, you need to figure out which stores will have the best deals on which things. Write out a list of groceries and home supplies that you would normally purchase on an average trip to the grocery store.
Milk, butter, bread, toothpaste, paper towels, meat, cheese, eggs, chips, shampoo, razors, etc. Make the list relevant to your usual shopping experience.
First you need to compare grocery stores. Go to each of the grocery stores and stores like Walmart and Target around your neighborhood and write down how much all of these things cost when they’re not on sale. Figure out which store is the best place to buy milk and which store is the best place to buy paper towels, etc.
Around my house, I buy most grocery items like vegetables, fruits, meat, and milk at Vons because that is the cheapest grocery store. Albertson’s is too expensive. Albertson’s may sometimes have things that are cheaper, but on average, I save more money at Vons. I buy things like soap, cereal, chips, cream cheese, and canned items at Walmart. As for the things I can’t find at Walmart, I go to Target. We don’t have Super Walmarts in my county, so the items are limited.
Find the stores that are right for you for the specific items and brands you prefer to purchase.
Another great choice for produce are stores like Henry’s. They are usually cheaper than grocery stores like Vons. But again, I don’t have one close by, so I go to Vons. If you do have a store like Henry’s near you, check that out when you want to buy fruits and vegetables.
When you do decide which main grocery store you prefer (like Vons), do look at the ad you get in the mail for that store. Yes, there are coupons in there that you may actually want to use, and it only takes about 5 minutes to scan one grocery store’s ad paper. This way you are not spending an hour or so clipping coupons, but you are maximizing on savings while also maximizing your time. Sometimes the regular grocery store will have a sale and a coupon on an item, making it even cheaper than what you’d normally pay for that same item at some place like Walmart.
I spend about 5-10 minutes a week deciding where to go to get what. Other than that, I have learned over the years from experience and simply taking mental notes of how much things cost at all the different stores.
Happy Savings!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Worried About Money? Live Within Your Means
When I run into people with financial troubles, I am at first sympathetic. I hate to see people struggling. But once I get to know more about the spending habits of those people, I start to understand how they got ino their predicament.
If you are worried about money, and you could take just one piece of advice from me, it would be to live within your means.
What does it mean to live within your means?
Living within your means is spending less money than you earn. If you earn $2000 a month, and you want to live within your means, you will not spend more than $2000. In fact, if you really want to live within your means, you will spend LESS than $2000.
If you are struggling with debt, you will never be happy. If you are constantly wondering how you're going to pay your bills, worrying that you don't make enough money, you need to change your lifestyle.
There are a lot of people who are doing the best they can. Single parents. People earning minimum wage in an expensive location. Unemployed people. But for even these people there is a solution. You have to change your lifestyle.
If your income changes, you must change. If you lose your job, you may have to sell your house, move to a cheaper apartment, move to a cheaper location, stop going to the movies, stop eating out, go the extra mile to buy the gas that's 10 cents cheaper per gallon, stop buying clothes and technology, cancel your cable.
There are plenty of ways to save money, or spend less.
My husband and I were spending $1700 a month on a 3 bedroom house and we don't even have any kids. Two months ago (June 2011) we sold our house for $50,000 more than we paid for it in 2008 and moved into a one bedroom apartment just 5 minutes from our old house. Now we're only spending $795 a month and we don't have to pay for water or trash (about another $100 savings). We are saving $1000 a month because of this move.
I used to lease a Toyota Corolla for $250 a month. This was because my 1997 Saturn SL2 was costing me $500 in repairs every month. So, switching from a breaking down car that was costing me $500 a month to a brand new reliable car for $250 a month was definitely a smart decision at that time, in my situation. However, my husband and I bought a '93 Ford Ranger for $1800 as a work truck a couple years ago, and when my Toyota lease ended, the truck became my main form of transportation. So we make no payments on any vehicle. Our Ranger has no air conditioning and it will eventually reach 100 degrees in the summer where we live, but I take a spray bottle in my truck with me on those days and spray myself with water and let the wind cool me down. No problem.
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to survive. I get satisfaction out of these types of sacrifices, because when I really want to treat myself, I can. Because I am not living a luxurious lifestyle all the time, I don't ever have to worry about money, and sometimes I do go to the movies or eat at Red Lobster.
I am going to give you a scenario and tell you how I would live my life if I were this person. I am unmarried and I make minimum wage, which is $8/hr in California. That means I take home about $1224. I would rent out a 2 bedroom apartment somewhere east of the ocean (i.e. not by the beach), which could cost as low as $850 in cheaper locations. I would rent out one of those bedrooms to someone for $450. So I spend $400 on rent. That is about 1/3 of my income. I will save 10% of the money I make, which is about $120. The electric bill would be spilt between my roommate and I. I would implement energy saving strategies and request that my roommate do the same, or I will have to find a new roommate because, let's face it, I just wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. Electric bill should not be more than $70 month, so that would be about $35 for me. If I have to live 20 miles from work (which happens often in California if you need to save money) it will on average cost me about 15 cents per mile, so going to work and back will cost me about $6 a day. 5 days a week, that's $125 a month on gas, and anywhere else I drive is pleasure, because if I need to go to the grocery store, I will do it on the way home from work, saving time and gas money. I will spend $8 per day on food, so that is about $240 a month. Normal cheaper cell phone plans are $45.
$400 Rent
$120 Savings
$35 Electric Bill
$125 Gas
$240 Food
$45 Phone
$965 TOTAL
That leaves me with about $259 extra to do whatever else I want to do with my money. Have cable/internet. Netflix. Go to the movies. Go out to eat. Have a student loan.
I personally spend $240 per month on my student loans, so that would take up almost all of my extra money. I would spend my extra $20 on internet because you can watch almost anything on tv with the internet, and the internet has so much more function than cable tv, plus it can make me money. TV can't make me money.
By living this way, after a year, I will have saved up $1440 and I never would have to worry about money all along the way, because I know in my mind that I cannot afford any extras. That is just the way it goes. But I would be happier than material things could make me, because I will not be driving myself into debt by using credit cards to afford a luxurious lifestyle.
If you are worried about money, and you could take just one piece of advice from me, it would be to live within your means.
What does it mean to live within your means?
Living within your means is spending less money than you earn. If you earn $2000 a month, and you want to live within your means, you will not spend more than $2000. In fact, if you really want to live within your means, you will spend LESS than $2000.
If you are struggling with debt, you will never be happy. If you are constantly wondering how you're going to pay your bills, worrying that you don't make enough money, you need to change your lifestyle.
There are a lot of people who are doing the best they can. Single parents. People earning minimum wage in an expensive location. Unemployed people. But for even these people there is a solution. You have to change your lifestyle.
If your income changes, you must change. If you lose your job, you may have to sell your house, move to a cheaper apartment, move to a cheaper location, stop going to the movies, stop eating out, go the extra mile to buy the gas that's 10 cents cheaper per gallon, stop buying clothes and technology, cancel your cable.
There are plenty of ways to save money, or spend less.
My husband and I were spending $1700 a month on a 3 bedroom house and we don't even have any kids. Two months ago (June 2011) we sold our house for $50,000 more than we paid for it in 2008 and moved into a one bedroom apartment just 5 minutes from our old house. Now we're only spending $795 a month and we don't have to pay for water or trash (about another $100 savings). We are saving $1000 a month because of this move.
I used to lease a Toyota Corolla for $250 a month. This was because my 1997 Saturn SL2 was costing me $500 in repairs every month. So, switching from a breaking down car that was costing me $500 a month to a brand new reliable car for $250 a month was definitely a smart decision at that time, in my situation. However, my husband and I bought a '93 Ford Ranger for $1800 as a work truck a couple years ago, and when my Toyota lease ended, the truck became my main form of transportation. So we make no payments on any vehicle. Our Ranger has no air conditioning and it will eventually reach 100 degrees in the summer where we live, but I take a spray bottle in my truck with me on those days and spray myself with water and let the wind cool me down. No problem.
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to survive. I get satisfaction out of these types of sacrifices, because when I really want to treat myself, I can. Because I am not living a luxurious lifestyle all the time, I don't ever have to worry about money, and sometimes I do go to the movies or eat at Red Lobster.
I am going to give you a scenario and tell you how I would live my life if I were this person. I am unmarried and I make minimum wage, which is $8/hr in California. That means I take home about $1224. I would rent out a 2 bedroom apartment somewhere east of the ocean (i.e. not by the beach), which could cost as low as $850 in cheaper locations. I would rent out one of those bedrooms to someone for $450. So I spend $400 on rent. That is about 1/3 of my income. I will save 10% of the money I make, which is about $120. The electric bill would be spilt between my roommate and I. I would implement energy saving strategies and request that my roommate do the same, or I will have to find a new roommate because, let's face it, I just wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. Electric bill should not be more than $70 month, so that would be about $35 for me. If I have to live 20 miles from work (which happens often in California if you need to save money) it will on average cost me about 15 cents per mile, so going to work and back will cost me about $6 a day. 5 days a week, that's $125 a month on gas, and anywhere else I drive is pleasure, because if I need to go to the grocery store, I will do it on the way home from work, saving time and gas money. I will spend $8 per day on food, so that is about $240 a month. Normal cheaper cell phone plans are $45.
$400 Rent
$120 Savings
$35 Electric Bill
$125 Gas
$240 Food
$45 Phone
$965 TOTAL
That leaves me with about $259 extra to do whatever else I want to do with my money. Have cable/internet. Netflix. Go to the movies. Go out to eat. Have a student loan.
I personally spend $240 per month on my student loans, so that would take up almost all of my extra money. I would spend my extra $20 on internet because you can watch almost anything on tv with the internet, and the internet has so much more function than cable tv, plus it can make me money. TV can't make me money.
By living this way, after a year, I will have saved up $1440 and I never would have to worry about money all along the way, because I know in my mind that I cannot afford any extras. That is just the way it goes. But I would be happier than material things could make me, because I will not be driving myself into debt by using credit cards to afford a luxurious lifestyle.
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