How Do You Save Money?
By candygurl24
@candygurl24 (1880)
Canada
January 19, 2007 12:45pm CST
There are many methods out there to save money, but this discussion is not about how to save it while shopping etc. It is about that little change jar in the corner, the methods that you have to save up extra cash that you already have around. Feel free to share your ideas and I will do the same.
Here are two of the main things I do and I save up over 1500.00 a year just doing one of them...
1- Save up all change into a jar, and don't spend any of it while you are out. Always pay with bills only..this way you get more to save :)
and 2- When you shop, some places let you know exactly how much you saved during that shopping trip. Take that money and throw it directly into your jar.
I have also read alot of tips, and some people decide to save all of their "old" bills. In Canada I know that we are always producing newer, safer bills, and there are alot of the "older" bills still floating around. When you get one, put it aside..maybe start off with just 5's, then work up to 20's...all this of course depends on your level of income, but do what you can afford and you'll be surprised what you can save!
11 people like this
106 responses
@dangerdvd (320)
• Italy
20 Jan 07
In my case, I use money box with image of a pork ihihih that classical thing ihih when i want money ,, will broke it and give it ihihi
@joshua_77 (612)
• India
19 Jan 07
Greeting, I save money by using walking near by places instead of using bike,so i save money as well as walking is good for our health,also I save petrol and help to control the air pollution.In my country petrol price is high rate so saving petrol is help me to save some money and petrol.
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
19 Jan 07
Great idea. Anything that saves you money and can help our world is A+ in my books :)
@kavilpuppi (163)
• India
20 Jan 07
a very good motive.it not only improves our health but also saves petrol.
1 person likes this
@raikarraviraj (353)
• India
20 Jan 07
well it is the toughest thing to do i feel.. really difficult to save monhey in this era.. where prices of products are soaring high.. difficult to manage money..
2 people like this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
That it is. We all try, and some succeed, and some don't. But hey, trying is a good thing too :)
1 person likes this
@sassymoon (28)
• New Zealand
20 Jan 07
Nice topic.
I save money by "trying not to save money". I'll explain. I used to think that if I went to sales (midnight madness sales, weekend sales, payday sales in the mall) that I could save money like that. Well, I always ended up buying things I didn't really need "just because they were discounted, or they were 70% off". Well, it was years later when I realized that I could have truly saved 100% of the money by just not buying them at all, since a lot of the stuff I got weren't really necessities, just wants.
And that's another way I save money: I try to be honest about whether an item that I plan on buying is a "want" or a "need".
Also, every payday, I set aside a certain percentage of the money for savings. That amount is untouchable and goes directly to the bank. That way, I can make sure that I'm saving regularly.
@ntejani17 (742)
• Pakistan
19 Jan 07
I usually save money for the future. I made a money saving box in which i deposit or put some of money daily . by this i am able to save a large amount of money in the whole month and use it for the personal motive.
It is a good habbit to save money.
wat do u think
2 people like this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
19 Jan 07
I think it is a fantastic habit to save, and also to teach our children to save. Financial freedom is one of my goals in life, and while saving up my extra change etc. won't quite get me there, it surely doesn't hurt :)
1 person likes this
@kavilpuppi (163)
• India
20 Jan 07
yes you are totally correct.putting daily money in a saving box is a very good idea.At the end of the month saving quite a bit of amount is a very good habit
1 person likes this
@ntejani17 (742)
• Pakistan
19 Jan 07
I usually save money for the future. I made a money saving box in which i deposit or put some of money daily . by this i am able to save a large amount of money in the whole month and use it for the personal motive.
It is a good habbit to save money.
wat do u think
2 people like this
@andre3a (85)
• Romania
20 Jan 07
hello.all my friends told me that saving money it's a stupid thing,but i told them that not everybody has money to spend like they have.i like to save my money,i'll never know what tomorow brings me and i have to be prepared.it is hard to make them but very easy to spend them.so take care of your money and spend them wisely.good luck all of u
@lazywalt99 (177)
• United States
25 Feb 07
May I suggest using index funds? They offer comparable (if not better) returns as mutual funds, without the high loads (management expenses), and are just as safe.
@kodeshkodashim (925)
• United States
20 Jan 07
The best advise I got from a man who had millions told me"Never pay fullprice for anything"And "watch what the poor people do and don't do it".This advise has put a lot of $$$ in my pocket over the years.
1 person likes this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Never pay fullprice for anything..great motto but sometimes non negotiable. I can't see walking into the grocery store and having that bag of potatoes any lower than their marked price, or anything else for that matter unless it is sold in a market, so if you know how this is done, please let us all know.
@suchasucker (206)
• United States
20 Jan 07
I've been trying to put my change into my "piggy" bank, whenever I get a bunch collected in my wallet. I haven't been able to save much that way though, cause I always need change for the vending machines at work.
Here's what I've thought about doing though... Everytime I get the urge to buy Starbucks ($4.00 a coffee), instead of spending the money on coffee, setting it aside. I'm sure I'd have $100 or so in a few months.
1 person likes this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Hmmmm..just as an idea for you with the vending machine problem, you could always buy a couple rolls of change from the bank and use that only for the vending machines. set them into your purse and leave the other change alone...just a suggestion :)
@treeoflife43 (118)
• United States
3 Mar 07
Oh that starbucks gets me every time!! LOL You are right though...buying coffee adds up, especially if you are a coffee addict like me! I still treat myself to starbucks once in awhile, but I invested in a few to go mugs and have began making coffee at home. I'm sure it saves a lot of money-but I haven't really kept track and put aside that money. It's ok though, because I'm sure I'm spending it on more practical things now.
@tentons40 (34)
• India
21 Jan 07
Well, saving means speding less, this is wat is generally understood, so lets go along that path.....
I wud prefer to save it in my purse, but in the inner pocket of the purse, also another thing is collect the money and keep it with ur frnd whom u trust a lot.......
nice methods I guess
1 person likes this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
21 Jan 07
Thank you for the response. I used to give my grandmother my money to save for me, and that way if I saw anything that I wanted to buy, I sure wasn't going to ask her for it..lol She asks alot of questions when you ask for your money back unless you are getting what you are saving for. It just seemed easier not to get that shirt/dress/pair of jeans than to deal with all of her questions..lol. :)
@sj_chaudhry (1537)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Thanks alot for posting such a useful discussion... I also safe lots of coin... and uptill now i save 60$ by just saving coins in 3 weeks. where bys aving bills me myself saved 200$ in just 1 month. So, it is really worth saving money...
You've suggest really good ideas and i really gonna implement them soon too. Thanx again sweety.
1 person likes this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Thanks so much for responding. I'm glad that you find my ideas useful..all the best with your savings! :)
@coolcatzz (1587)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Great topic and hello from a fellow Canadian. For starters I hope you get the LIFE channel because there is a show on there called Til Debt do us Part. It is about a financial expert Gail something who goes into a couples home and makes up a plan with them. She shows them how to reduce debt and also shows them what they would owe in 5 years if they stayed on the same path. She gives them a few tasks to complete and if they do them she rewards them with 5000.00. I absolutely love this show. I have learned so much from her.
I am a single Mom and I've been spending money carelessly and I have started 2007 off on the right track. I had a friend send me this excel spreadsheet which I use every month. I am trying to pay down any debt that I have and get some money in the bank. I hate living pay check to pay check. I want to have money in the bank and not worry when a bill comes in. So I've turned over a new leaf for 2007.
Best of Luck to you and if you can catch that show watch it you'll love it.
1 person likes this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
I have indeed watched the show and I love it as well. Another thing for people to do for debt is the Debt Diet on oprah.com. It's really worth while to check out. Great ideas and printable sheets on there to work with.
@treeoflife43 (118)
• United States
3 Mar 07
Good luck on your 2007 financial goals! I also recently became more serious about financial matters and have successfully began to pay down debt and even save some money. It's been a long process but it is worth it!
@butterflygirl (498)
•
20 Jan 07
I've really enjoyed reading the many interesting replies to this post. I try and save money in many different ways. Each month I put a percentage of my wages into a savings account which I do not allow myself to touch, I also put a small amount into a 'rainy day' account which I allow myself to dip into if i'm a bit strapped for cash one month this stops me from taking money out of my savings account. I also put any change I get into a change jar.
Other ways I try to cut down on spending is by taking my own lunch to work and cutting down on the amount of takeaway's I buy in a month - so far I haven't had one takeaway this year so it seems to be working.
1 person likes this
@butterflygirl (498)
•
20 Jan 07
Oh I know, I dread to think what they put in the stuff you eat sometimes. I stopped eating Mac Donalds over a year ago, even though they are delicious because I dreaded to think what they put in them to make them able to produce them so cheaply. I've also stooped buying the 29p meat pies I used to buy for the same reason.
1 person likes this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
I too am anti McDonalds because of the nasty crap that is in there.
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Great idea, not to mention that by bringing your own lunch, you know what you are eating instead of not having a clue what is really in that burger/sandwich that you might buy somewhere else :)
@RxONE1 (495)
• United States
20 Jan 07
the way that's i am saving the money with is by doing this:
first i take ride off my created card (i don't close my bank account just in case in case)
after that i save my money by cooking and eating at home thats really save me a lots of money (you can imagine how much i saved by doing this)
and i am using too much cuopons they are really good and save me few bucks (don't count how much you save in one day , see how much you save in one YEAR!)
and i have anther few ways off saving like buying gold coins each year one time (i am sure they will get much valuable in future) {and i am not sure if anyone is doing like me) ;)
and i dont buy useless stuff :}
@Metallion (2227)
• United States
20 Jan 07
We do the same, we keep a small platic file filder case that is decent size in the bedroom. Any time we have change in our pockets from shopping we put it in the platic container. But, we plan with it differently. We use that money for vacation.
1 person likes this
@alaaeldinalex (48)
• Egypt
20 Jan 07
I put my money in a drawer and another drawer for the change. I usually never put money except when I get some good deal of money (more than 20LE)
I have saved 300LE till now, not bad
1 person likes this
@lazywalt99 (177)
• United States
25 Feb 07
Forgive me, but just out of curiousity, what currency is the LE?
@inflamation (866)
• Pakistan
20 Jan 07
The two methids which you aplly in your life are also applied by me but I also apply few more to save more like I demand my pocket money more then my expenses and from there I can save and like I always try to be a rational consumer like when ever I want to purchase any thing for example a shirt, I see its brand name and then I search the price of that brand in the whole market and I compare the price and if the shopkeeper is ruquesting for higher price I bargain and in this manner I save few more and there are many more small things which I do apply in life to make savings and from that saved I purchase some thing expensive and big like I purchased a motor bike few months before.
1 person likes this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Well done. It's always great to hear what people save up for in these discussions as well as how they do it. Thanks. :)
@ajinomoto23 (1057)
• Philippines
20 Jan 07
I save money by reducing the household expenses, or by reducing my trip to the shopping mall or grocery store.
I eat more vegetables than meat products and I take my breakfast at 10 am so it breakfast and lunch together. I do not open the electric fan at night. Some habits has to be changed so I can save money. I finds ways to ask my relative to give me things I need so i do not have to buy them. I also save money on dress. If someone gave me a new dress this month then i will shop for a dress next month. In my younger years, my officemate will go for a coffe break at the canteen. I will refrain from taking my snack or I just take a drink with powdered milk or chocolate. I save a lot than buying a drink in the coffe shop. With my savings I have buy a piece of land and later built a house. My mother has taught us how to save, she gave us a piggy bank. Later my father gave us 500 pesos and open a bank account for each of us.
1 person likes this
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Very nice! A piece of land and a house is definitely a great reward for saving!
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Thank you so much for breaking it all down. It seems so much easier when you think of only 3.50 a day.
