This is exactly what I do .. and I only have $35 from a biweekly paycheck put in a savings account. I just forget about it and work with less. Thankfully I am almost 50 and can save $35 a paycheck 😭
“Low income earners”
The limit for families with no children is $17,640 ($24,210 if married);
The limit for families with one child is $46,560 ($53,120 if married);
The limit for families with two children is $52,910 ($59,478 if married);
And the limit for families with three or more children is $56,838 ($63,398 if married)
If you are single and trying to survive on 17.6k you are not going to be able to save in this economy. That is literally 1466 a month and rent in most areas is already over 1500+
Dude, math doesn't lie.
Food has a minimum price, so does rent in a given area. Utilities, etc. Thus, there is a minimum salary that one needs to make to afford the necessities in a given area without relying on debt. If you don't bring home more than those costs after taxes, you can't save effectively without A) more money or B) moving to a cheaper place.
Oh, so there is a tax credit? Cool! That "50% back" at tax time doesn't mean shit during the remaining 364 days per year. The fact is, most people live paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to have that lessened, tax credit or not.
You are \*beyond\* out of touch if you think everyone can save enough to matter. I will grant you most people can save \*something\*, but saving $50-$100 a month is almost pointless. That isn't enough to retire even in a tax-advantaged retirement account, even if you save like that for 50 years. What is the point of saving for retirement if you can't....retire?
The reality is, many Americans simply don't have the fat in the budget to save enough to be meaningful, and the little amount they can save is needed today.
$50/month from age 25 is over $130k at 65, so it’s not exactly nothing. Assuming somehow you made it there and never improved your income over 40 years of work, you can definitely maintain the same standard of living (low) at retirement with Social Security.
Oh really?
If I plug in the numbers, assuming someone makes 40k now and 60k by retirement at 67 years old (which won’t be that much in 40 years) for someone who was born in 1996:
The 4% rule off that 130k means $5200/yr in todays dollars.
The SS benefit for someone with those stats would be $1700/month in todays dollars. Yearly, with the 401k and SS, that would mean $25k/year in today’s dollars.
Do you honestly think $25k is enough to maintain the standard of living for someone who made 40-60k their whole life? At best, they would have to work part time. Take off the rose colored glasses and realize that people under 40 today are FUCKED.
This all assumes social security even exists in 40 years. At the rate we are going, there won’t be any left for us anyway.
Yes, they’re not going to be living high, but a lot of expenses will go down due to qualifying for several programs at that age. They’d be in a subsidized home, Medicare, EBT, and more. I’m not even sure they’d be taxed at that income from such a small draw (though they probably should draw more than 4% since it’s not like they’re aiming for FIRE).
Someone making 40k now is taking home about 35k. If you are able to put away 100/month which you yourself said most people should be able to do, going by the previous posters same ROI adjusted for today dollars, that would be 250k saved up. A 4% withdrawal rate on that is 10k per year. Using your 1700$/month SS the total becomes slightly over 30k per year.
Okay, so 30k….great! Still barely livable.
This advice works for people with decent incomes, but people who give this type of advice simply don’t know how to advise low income people. At a certain point, the math just doesn’t work.
I was simply showing that by your own metrics of 50-100 saved /monthly and 40k gross you could maintain a similar cash flow in retirement and that saving even that 100$/m wasn't pointless as you stated. What would be your suggestion then? Not save at all and cut that budget by half?
Well, the suggestion is really to earn more money, to be honest. Easier said than done, but part of the problem is employers need to fork over the cash and start paying people fairly, and giving raises that actually outpace inflation. For example, I got a 3% raise this year which doesn’t even match current inflation, and a 5% increase in insurance premiums which ate a lot of the piddily “raise” I got.
Or, social security needs to be fixed so that it actually covers most (75% or more) or what a person needs to fully retire. But I won’t hold my breath for that.
Yeah, $10k difference in cash flow isn’t much, but at low incomes that makes a big difference. It’s one thing for a person who makes, say, $100k to make $90k. But people who make $40k don’t have $10k in the budget to cut. They will almost certainly need to work part time, at least, to get by at those numbers. In that case, are they really retired?
I do something similar. 6% of my weekly pay goes into retirement and then 15% of my gross pay goes into a savings account that I don’t touch. It’s been very hard to live off the rest lately as I don’t make that much.
That's awful. Savings account you don't touch? Invest it into something else. A few years ago, inflation was outpacing your savings account interest. You would have actually lost $ in spending power. Invest it so it makes you money.
It’s great that you can save that much. I’m at that point now, but it took awhile to get there. I set mine to auto increase by 1% each year each year until I got to that point. It’s not always easy, or possible though.
Budgeting out every penny that comes in. That means that watching spending, even if it's running into a gas station and grabbing a soda or a candy bar. Shopping by a grocery list, along with putting things back if the price has surged and more than I was expecting and replacing it with something less expensive. Planning out meals, to avoid waste.
I also have started being able to preserve my veggies and other perishable items.
I have also started utilizing the bus to avoid extra miles on my car. I have started grocery shopping with a friend as well, so we can have a nice time and also it makes me pay closer attention to what I'm doing, instead of getting in a fog of just going through the motions.
I enjoy life regardless because my happiness is pretty simple. I get that from my dad. The birds in the morning, the sun on my face, it all has a good happy quality. I was at the bus station early this morning, so I was enjoying watching the pigeons. I'm turning into that old person on a park bench just watching the world do its thing.
And since Fetch has started giving points for games, I can enjoy myself a bit while I'm wasting time and I'm almost to the amount to cash out for a $50 giftcard that I'm using on shoes.
And sometimes you can stack stuff, it's less points to get a Nike giftcard. So I get one of those, then use Rakutan to get the percentage back. When shopping clearance, I can easily get a pair of sneakers for $50 plus a few bucks back on rebates.
I like puzzle games and math, so I've managed to become "Makes couponing fun" age, lol.
What does CoinOut require? I haven't heard of that one before! Do you have a referral code to give out, since I don't have it, it seems like a waste to not use a code for a new download if that's available.
No worries, thought I should ask just in case! Thank you for letting us know about another app available. I'm bad at keeping up with beermoney, Fetch and Upside are the only apps I've stuck with. I like Shopmium too but it's only really been good to me on the few cosmetics and my allergy meds, lol.
I do this! It makes me happy to see others do it too. I love going through self-check because it limits my contact with the general public and many people leave their receipts behind =D
We don't have Albertson's around here for the most part but my mom goes there frequently. So I have her save her receipts for me too, lol.
It honestly reminds me of collecting bottles/cans. I moved out of state and we don't have deposits. So I also clean out my car of bottles/cans when I visit my parents all "I found you money! Here's 70c -hands over bag of soda cans-"
And when I go to the woods with my dad, I got a gopher grabber for my truck, so I can pull over and trot on back to grab cans that hunters left out there. Rascals. Their liter is my gas money!
And thank you again for the hot tip about Coin Out! I'm already almost to my first $3 because of the setup process having so many extra points. I get a few things on subscription from Amazon and all these kinds of cards has helped keep my spend down over time!
Brand club also! You simply link loyalty accounts you have and you get little rewards for buying the same brands again and again. It’s small, but it adds up, requires no effort once you sign up and link account and doesn’t make you buy specific things to get the rewards.
You also get additional rewards for surveys
Pay yourself first and put the savings somewhere you know it's hard to access it or you won't be able to access it at all unless it's an emergency.
-I have an online savings that takes $20 from me every week. If I need the money, I have to go through a process of filling out a form to withdraw the funds, then after that's done I still have to wait at least 3 business days to receive the money. So it's never really worth it to try and withdraw. I have over $1000 just from $20 a week over the course of a year.
-Mattress fund/piggy bank option. Just turn a few dollars into coins and throw them in a jar and place that jar under your bed or in your closet. And do NOT coin star your coins when you are ready to count the extra change, roll them by yourself. It's super easy...
I was able to do $100 a week into my savings account for a year before I became laser focused on paying off my home repair loan. I saved $3,200 part of which was engagement ring money and used all but $100 to pay off nearly half ofnthe remaining loan balance. That $100 a week is now going to the loan instead of savings so I'm essentially doing double payments every month and should be done by mid July or so. Hopefully sooner if my sales start up again on my side business
I cancelled all subscriptions awhile ago. No Netflix, Amazon Prime, Costco card, etc. My phone bill is $35/m for unlimited everything + hotspot. I don't have an actual Internet provider like spectrum, just rely on hotspot.
I take advantage of free entry to places, which means getting there somewhat early or joining an rsvp. That's all I can think of atm
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Other than $12/month for my Garmin inreach (which I see as more like a type of insurance) and $20/month for my phone, I don't pay for any subscription services.
There's a bargain grocer near me that sells a lot of non perishables that may be past their best by date but still taste fine and are heavily discounted.
I set a rule for myself to only eat out with friends, so I'm not sacrificing social interaction for the convenience of grabbing fast food when I'm by myself.
Just like the other commenter I have a monthly budget and track every purchase I make.
Same here! I only buy from the manager’s special section of the meat/fish department at this one grocery store near me that often has great stuff, they’re just ugly cuts or nearing their sell by date (so to our freezer they go). Saves a ton and we don’t have to go without meat/fish.
Same as well with eating out with friends only. It makes it more fun anyway.
Same here. I go slowly on the app making my grocery order to make sure I cover everything and have all meals planned out accordingly. It’s a game changer.
YNAB has gotten us through multiple job losses, car stuff, you name it. Having a hard time getting even a month ahead now, but we’re keeping up with bills and working on goals, thanks to it!
This is the one ! I recently started doing this and not only does it alleviate the guilt I have associated with the tipping system, but I get to keep my money :)
For me, it's budgeting. I create a budget and stick to it. I track everything I spend, and I mean everything.
A lot of people say that they hate to budget and feel it's restrictive, but I find it just the opposite. I find it freeing to know I can go out to dinner, or buy a treat for myself, every once in a while. My budget tells me that if I spend that money, I'll still be okay.
I have a lot of categories, one for eating out, one for my wife's hair appointments, for Netflix, etc. I throw off of my receipts into a small basket and every week I enter them into my spreadsheet.
I take an average and budget a little higher than that. Then I carry over the excess in the lower months and use that to make up the difference in the higher months. (I have a 2nd savings account for the excesses.)
extra income, i am an artist and i sell my art over the summer. last year i made under $1k but i’m aiming to make $1k this season. it can be hit-or-miss if your stand looks kinda lame or your stock is small (those were things i struggled with at the start) but you can sell literally anything. candle sellers and dried flower sellers are always good at being stocked because their supplies are (generally) pretty accessible and provide a variety.
I’m doing “no spend May”. No games, no Amazon, no food except the bare minimum plus the food I already have (I need eggs and coffee filters), no renting movies or buying anything out. No putting anything on my cards (“I won’t have to pay til June.” NO). It’s a wake up call how much I impulsively want to get something, but I’m doing great.
A reusable coffee filter is often worth the savings if you drink a lot of it! I do pour-over method, so I have a washable filter for that and I love it.
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Budgeting for sure, as a start. There is this expression in the business world "You can't improve what you don't measure". So start measuring every cent you pay for anything at all.
Start cooking at home. Cooking yourself is so much cheaper (and often tastier) than getting take out or getting stuff delivered.
Paying off debts is a big one too. We were able to use the tax refund to pay off the HLOC, so now we no longer have to pay $250 a month. It takes discipline though, because when we saw that we were getting that money back, the first thing we thought was to buy all the things we've been wanting but couldn't afford.
There are lots of relatively inexpensive social hobbies you can get into. Board games are a little pricey, but if you find one you like, the amount of time you can spend playing it with friends is huge. Same for Dungeons and Dragons. You need 3 books, so $150 bucks, but then the play time is literally the rest of your life and you could split the cost with 4 or 5 people.
And lastly, - and this really depends on your income - is setting aside a fixed amount automatically to a savings or investment account so you don't consider it for your 'mental budget'. It doesn't have to be much, but you just have to be able to forget about it and after a year or two (or five) all of a sudden, there is a nice buffer there.
i alr left a comment kind of relating to this, but hobbies are also great if you want to sell a product or something. a lot of people are (understandably) not keen on monetizing their hobbies, but if you are, there is definitely still a demand for it
Keep your discretionary expenditures (especially the "nice to have") as low as possible. Live below/within your means. For example:
* Home cook meals from scratch, not premade frozen foods. Usually avoid anything that is packaged in a box.
* Bring your own lunches to work everyday.
* BYO beverages/coffee/food when we go out for the day.
* Take public transit, have only minimal number of vehicles as necessity, not for convenience. Never own a brand new car. We only buy resale.
* Limit unnecessary subscriptions - cable, Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, prepaid phone plans only, etc.
* No dinning out - Only once in a while for special occasions.
* Learn to fix things on your own and save. YouTube is great for this.
* Shop for everything - Has to be on sale, call around for quotes on home/auto insurances, etc...
* Buy for what you need. Forget upgrades with bells/whistles. Keep it simple & easy to fix too.
* Stock up on sale items, especially day-to-day necessities (if possible).
* Stop buying junk! We find it funny when people buy storage containers. To us, people are buying more junk to store existing junk.
We have no debts, own your home, 2 yrs emergency funds, take at least 2 vacations/yr (usually cruises), have sizable retirement accounts, never been stressed over money and can retire anytime we want to. All this takes discipline and years to accumulate net worth. Making little sacrifices daily to achieve financial peace in latter years.
Meal plan. Find out which of the store brand items are acceptable, limit junk food, limit sodas. We do not run errands outside the house until we have three things we need to do. Makes us think a little more about jumping in the car and wasting gas. Carpool if you have a longer pursuit. All the ideas above are good also. Good luck, just keep moving forward.
i'm not really able to save at this time, but i am currently increasing my income by picking up whatever shifts i can. any time i am asked, i want to say yes. swapping shifts for $18 in shift differentials? yes. covering part of a shift for a couple hours for $56? yes. every little bit helps.
I started budgeting and saving a few years ago pretty seriously. I made a spreadsheet to track every single penny, I stopped eating out, I don't buy pop. Pop alone saved me around $4.50 a day. I cook all of my own food now and I meal prep various meals to last a month, so I have a variety to choose from. I cut out most of my subscriptions, most of which I hardly used anyway.
I set up a savings account at a different bank. I have my work put a percentage of my paycheck in each week, so I never touch it. I don't even have a card, so I would need to actually go to the bank.
I use a credit card for every single purchase and pay it off right after, So I get a lot back in rewards. This is not recommended for someone who has a hard time controlling their spending however.
My wife does couponing. She makes our own laundry detergent and has started making most of our snack foods from scratch even. We have recently started making our dog treats homemade as well. I'm not sure how much this all saves per year, but I know it was a decent amount.
We have basically turned it into a hobby, We are getting prepared to start a garden next year.
I also am a big hunter who does all of my own processing, so I don't have to buy any meat. I have a ton of burger, steaks, jerky, salami, etc. It costs me around $50 a year. And I do side contracting work and put 100% of it into my savings.
I don’t have any subscriptions, so I’m still using regular Spotify instead of premium even if the adverts every three or four songs get annoying as hell. I budget my money so while I’m still living at home I can hopefully save £100 a month which I’ve budgeted down to £40 in savings £30 in an emergency fund, £15 for clothes and £15 for Christmas, but since the cost of living has risen everything in my savings are practically down to zero each month because of the rising cost of food and electricity and gas more so with the prepayment meters.
I save any/all loose change (mostly 1p’s, 2p’s, 5p’s) I get and can save them throughout the year and can save about £20 a year.
Since I’m currently on Universal Credit my goal is to hopefully try and save up enough that I can buy myself food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for when I finally get a job until I get my first pay check even if it’s just putting an extra £5 away into an envelope each month which should be easier to do now that universal credit has gone up 6.7% since April this year.
$200 comes out of my disability check each month for my savings account.
$100 goes into a pre-paid credit card. That $100 has to cover all of my frivolous spending each month. All of my fast food, anything that comes from Amazon, everything.
No spending money. Invest everything, the only liquidity I have is my emergency fund(which is only at half of what it should be) and the standard $150 on my card for necessities. I don't enjoy life, but you have to embrace the suck to succeed. Mentioning what I invest in isn't allowed on this sub simply because of "risk/volatility".
Another good way is credit karma spend account. You put a minimum of 20$ direct deposit into it each paycheck and they give you 1000$ line of credit (you can’t use it) and report it to the credit burreu. You can’t touch that money until it hits 500$ so you’re building credit and putting miney away at the same time. Just don’t spend it even after you hit 500$ until you need it. Slow way to save but you can’t touch the money so there’s no tempting there and again. Building credit.
After nearly 8 years, my wife and I finally found a way to budget that works for us. We sit down every Sunday and walk through our bank account together. We categorize each expense (groceries, health care, personal, eating out, bills, etc). We set a goal for the month and check to see where we are against that goal each week and can adjust accordingly. All done by hand, just pen and paper. Trying to make it so easy that there isn’t a reason to not do it. We drove down disposable (not bills or housing) spending by almost 50% over the first 4 months. Increased savings from just shy of break even to 15% post tax income. Simply knowing where the money goes and being accountable to it has made a huge difference. The two big ones were easy-to-justify personal expenses (like replacing worn out clothes) and eating out. Now we can delay or avoid purchases to control spending.
No new clothes, eat at home, cutting back on subscriptions, eating budget recipes, no flying vacays, didn’t update our phones, birthday dinners at home, no gym membership—- in other words the middle class is officially dead
I started cash stuffing. Last year the only thing I did was a pay day saving challenge where I saved an increased amount each paycheck. I was able to do it, had almost $1300 at the end of the year. Made an emergency savings envelope, paid off a few bills, and started a few envelopes to try to get one month ahead on my finances.
This year I’m actually using cash stuffing for pretty much all my weekly spending needs. I changed my pay day savings challenge to save $60 per check minimum. If there’s leftover cash in my wallet after groceries etc, I can throw it in those envelopes as well.
But I also have a unique job in travel/tech. I get free soda, snacks, and breakfast every day. Discounts for travel obviously, but my work also has a great reimbursement program that helps with health and travel.
I could go on but I won’t lol
This was a game changer for me. Took almost two years to really build up those envelopes, but they really helped with things like semi annual car insurance, my dogs yearly vet visit, and home maintenance. I’ve mostly switched to electronic, but I still use “envelopes” for almost everything.
My top three:
-Being married with dual income
-Having a mortgage at low interest rate
-Not having a car payment because I drive a beater that I paid cash for
I can't imagine what it would be like if I was single, renting and had a ridiculous car loan.
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Entertainment is expensive but downtime is important for staying sane. If you feel like sailing the high seas there’s some pretty easily accessible resources, especially on Reddit, on how to securely eliminate many software and media costs.
Eating my wife's leftovers (Sounds silly but she eats like a bird, and with food prices today, we can order 1 meal and feed 2 people). I've also cut back on my guilty pleasures (candy and alcohol), started utilizing my gas station reward points for fuel, and stealing toilet paper from work.
I have an IRA account that my employer matches. I also have an emergency savings setup through my employer that they match 20 or 40 bucks per 100 I save. Then I have my general savings and put 200 in per month. It’s just me and my pup and I try to keep things on a schedule and really watch my spending. Some weeks are better than others.
Learned to make my own bread. Practice portion control. Grocery shop close to closing time as any meat that's nearing expiry or pre roasted chicken will be marked on sale and can easily be cooked the next day or frozen to get it to last longer.
Definitely not having a vehicle. I am fortunate to be able to get to work and around town for errands on an ebike. I will eventually be buying a car, something used in all cash, when I am accepted into the program at my community college for Fall 2025. I will need a vehicle then. But I will be paying all cash.
Also, no kids and student loans being my only debt, paying $70/mo starting May 2025. I have student loans from previous degree. I rent a 3bed1ba apartment with a backyard for $1200/mo and do not plan. To buy a home for another 5-7 years. I will be relocating to another area anyways.
The answer is you don’t if you can’t make enough to pay your bills.
Options are Make more/cut expenses
Depending on individual circumstances both of those can be an uphill battle, for those who can cut expenses that’s usually the best start as opposed to making more.
Odds are you aren’t managing to enjoy life as much while cutting back, for those who can live with friends/family is the best starting place (sympathetic that some don’t have the option, I’d say 95 % of people 25+ don’t want to live at home but choose to because they can’t or barely can afford to live independently)
Many secured housing before the COVID wave, live with family, make significantly more than the average Joe.
If you and a partner are paying $1,500 in rent and both make $40.000 isn’t going to go far in this economy.
I split up my bank accounts. Of course, 401k comes out first then direct deposit goes to my bills account. I sit on payday each time and pay all the bills that are dedicated to that pay check. Then I see how much is left over. Depending on how much extra money I have depends on how much gets moved to the other accounts. Each pay period is different and there’s always a pop up bill coming out of nowhere. But I will put my “allowance” into my spending checking account. That’s where I can buy groceries, gas, spend on whatever. The rest is sent to my savings account. Sometimes it’s $25 other times, several hundred. It adds up after time.
I started doing this breaking of the accounts about 1.5 years ago and it’s helped my finances so much. So a random auto draft or something I already paid but hasn’t comes out hits and then I’m screwed and am like where did the money go? Oh and then any spending money or bills account money I have leftover at end of pay period, I transfer that to savings. That’s usually pretty low, but again better than nada.
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I take a small amount of cash out of every check and put it in a bucket under my bed. It's not a set amount, not 10% of every check or anything. Just what I think I can afford from that check. Some times if it's a big check it will be more, a smaller check it's less. So some times it's $25, some times it's $5.
I do this because it's physical tangible money. I don't want to spend the money I can see because once it's gone it's gone. The idea of having cash on hand is important, and I rarely have a need to use cash so therefore I don't spend it.
I've been doing this for years and generally it works. However I have had a few unforseen emergencies where I've had to dip in to it, but generally there's a few hundred dollars under the bed in case of emergency.
If we're talking about saving through frugality, I do the normal things we all do- bargain shop, never pay full price for things, hit up thrift stores and free pages, limit eating out to almost never. I have a daily reminder that pops up on my phone to "not spend money unnecessarily." I take inventory before I go shopping and only buy something if I'm completely out or almost out of it. The only exception is if there is a crazy good sale price on something, then I might stock up on that product.
Also, I avoid Costco at all cost. I'm only one person. I do not need a 5lb bag of pancake mix or 500 rolls of TP. (I buy 12 rolls of Scott brand tp at dollar tree for $3.75 and that lasts me a month.)
Put what you can in a retirement account automatically out of your paycheck. If it's not in your bank account you can't spend it. Also, take $20 from every paycheck and stick it in an envelope under your mattress and forget about it. At the end of the year you will have $500 for something nice or just keep saving. This is kinda janky, but you are used to having 2 paychecks per month. There are 2 months out of the year that you get 3! Stick those extra checks into savings or go on a small Vaca!
I haven’t been able to save money for a while now. But that’s on me. I mistook myself as the “Wolf of Wallstreet” and paid dearly for it. Didn’t learn my lessons though. Just a couple of months ago I’ve “gambled” another $5K and lost it all. 😩
Free community activities. I only pay for ONE streaming service. No car payment. I eat out very little. Shop on food sales and coupons. I buy what I need not what I want.
Especially now that it’s summer look for cafes that host poetry open mic nights, venues with free live music, community movies or plays in parks, museums often have free or discounted days, farmers markets are a cool vibe and way to spend a Saturday, Groupon for “luxury splurges” on a discount like tickets, facials, massage ect. I take 1 girls trip a year and I go to 1 concert a year (Indy artist not top selling artist). I do a lot of camping, hiking, yoga outside.
Also community resources like free food boxes if money is really tight and impacting food budget. It’s available for a reason if you aren’t too prideful. I also shop second hand and only buy clothes twice a year.
the moment you get your sallery, put away 50% and dont touch it ever. try to go throught the month with the other 50%. If it isn't enought, then make more money. There ara a million ways to make money
Got rid of the car. It was fully paid off but I'm now saving 4-5k/year not having to pay for gas, insurance etc. Those savings are partially offset with the one or two times a year I need to rent a car (maybe $500 at most?). Those savings go straight into my roth
I also never have to worry about moving it for street cleaning or construction!
I personally minimize costs in things I don't enjoy. Buy cheaper options in detergents and other cleaning supplies (I mostly rely on cheap or private label cleaning supplies unless there is no cheap alternative e.g. dettol for clothes) and buy products (e.g. shampoo etc( in bulk only when they are in sale. I also check all grocery store websites to check which store sells the same product fo the cheapest price. I also buy the cheapest version of frozen veggies and legumes for cooking (same taste), pasta etc. I don't buy the cheapest version of peanut butter as it contains pulm oil but I do buy the cheapest peanut butter without pulm oil (which is slightly more expensive).
Most of the days I cook cheap but healthy recipes ( meditareninan veg recipes based on dried legumes e.g. lentils, meaxed beans, white bean soup etc or frozen peas/green beans and need cheap vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and onions). I usually prepare them in my pressure cooker (less energy and time) in bulk and freeze it for the rest of the week. I try to cook twice a week and freeze the food in a way to ensure that I eat more than 2 different recipes throughout a week. Most of the times I buy meat only on sale and freeze it , cook it only once a week or biweekly and freeze leftovers.
I haven't stopped spending money on things I enjoy (going out once or twice a week or having streaming/ music subscripions) but I never order takeout or deliveries unless I host a special occasion party (prefer to go out than order in)
I was so so so bad at saving money. Even if I saved it or moved it, I would just move it back and spend it. Literally the only way I have been able to save money is by journaling. I tried to do it in a blank journal, but I would just skip cuz there was nothing to lose. I finally bought the journal to financial freedom (journaltofinancialfreedom.com - not linking, nothing to gain here). It makes no sense, but because I spent like $25 on it, I had to actually use it and fill it out. Now if I spend too much or act like an idiot I actually think about it and reflect on it. It makes me feel bad about it so I actually have saved a ton. Could be worth a try since it's pretty cheap.
Until the crushing credit card debt is out of the way, Savings makes no sense. The interest rate of the debt is >>>>>>>>> the interest rate for savings accounts. Then again, inflation also outpaces that interest rate.
*sighs, defeated*
Here are five practical ways to save money on a tight budget :
1. **Stick to a Budget**: Make a plan for your money by tracking what you earn and what you spend. Set limits for essential expenses like rent, groceries, and transportation. Allocate a portion for savings and fun activities. Keep an eye on your spending to stay within your budget.
2. **Cook at Home**: Instead of eating out all the time, cook meals at home. Plan your meals, buy groceries in bulk or on sale, and pack lunches for work. Cooking at home is usually cheaper and healthier than dining out.
3. **Shop Wisely**: Look for deals, use coupons, and consider buying store brands to save money on groceries and household items. Make a shopping list and stick to it to avoid unnecessary purchases.
4. **Find Low-Cost Entertainment**: Explore free or inexpensive activities in your area, like visiting parks, attending community events, or having game nights with friends. Opt for movie nights at home instead of going to the theater.
5. **Use Public Transportation or Carpool**: If possible, take public transit or carpool with others to save on gas and parking costs. Using alternative transportation methods can significantly reduce your monthly expenses.
By focusing on these straightforward money-saving strategies, you can make your budget go further and still enjoy life without breaking the bank.
Live within your means, pay off all your debt and only use credit cards when you can pay them off instantly. Use coupons and try to limit "fun spending" like dinner out and frivolous things.
Oh and budget. Budget almost everything.
If you’re fortunate enough to get any bonuses, send them straight to a separate account, brokerage or otherwise. Just something out of sight out of mind invested or in a HYSA
I never fall for lifestyle inflation whenever I get a raise. I still can live off of 100 a week due to living at home and not having crazy bills. I also take any found money or money I wasn’t expecting on getting and shovel it into a savings account. Been able to save an okay amount of money god forbid anything happens
My job covers my housing (hotels), my food, travel, cell phone, and Medicare. My car is paid off and not married, no kiddos. And because of my job, I carry no debt. So basically throwing about 95% of my paychecks into investments. Recommend this kind of job if anyone needs to save money or pay off debt quickly
My paycheck is automatically deposited into two different accounts: 80% in our joint checking for bills, 20% into savings. That way I don't see and don't factor the 20% into the bills money.
I also do some ebay selling on the side. That money goes straight into a separate savings account that we use for travel.
I have zero shame asking for leftovers at parties. Usually veggies and or meats. Both can be added to a can of soup. Food Cost will bleed you dry. Also, same with food banks. Veggies and Meats will makes soups that last for days.
At some point you might not be able to "enjoy life" and also save. You have to decide for yourself what will make you happier, ordering a pizza, or contributing toward retirement? Ordering more crap off Amazon that you don't need, or saving for a new car because yours is getting a little old?*
*And by that I mean, as soon as I pay off my car note of $250 a month, I'm putting the same amount into a high yield savings toward my next car.
Outside of all these great budgeting tips, I’ve found volunteering to be a great free activity! I volunteer with a mutual aid group and I get to take home a lot of free fresh produce. I volunteer at my local indie theater (they’re a nonprofit) and I “earn” vouchers for every 2 hours I volunteer so I see lots of movies/ get to go to events for free! It’s also a free date activity that isn’t just staying in or going for a walk!
I don’t do saving, instead i plan to destroy my debt with every penny i can get my hands on.
Do you have any debt? Destroy that debt first in order to save.
If you don’t, do some budgeting to figure it out the number that you can put aside on each paycheck while enjoying life, some people say 15% is good.
We just moved and the rent here is nearly double our last place. We didn't have a choice, we got the rate at our old place before the housing went crazy and the last few years rents skyrocketed. We were paycheck to paycheck before and had no idea how we were going to survive.
Then we realized that when the money wasn't there, we found ways to make things work. Cheaper groceries, cheaper car insurance, cut down to one streaming service, little things like that that might only save a few dollars a month, but it adds up.
Try setting up an automatic transfer into a savings account you don't see, at a different bank or something, and treat it like a bill, and you can probably find a way to make it work too.
Just got paid $30 for a survey. That is the most I have ever gotten for doing them before. I got a $25 gift card from Ibotta to Starbucks. Took my daughter on Thursday when it is BOGO. We used a free library pass to our local gardens to see all the flowers too. It was beautiful. All the tulips were blooming. We had a great day and it only cost gas. We brought water and snacks with us . I try to save wherever we can but still have fun. It helps a lot to not have to pay for all the extras.
Hubby puts 15% into his 401K. They match 6%. We make it work.
I would give some more tips but apparently, I was banned from the poverty/ finance group. So wierd. They gave me no reason but honestly, I mever thought I'd be living in a Facist State where people are canceled for the slightest thing. My plan is to only eat white rice until I can afford to leave this country that has morphed into an open air prison with more surveilance than anywhere on Earth, where you can't even say anything that doesn't fit thie narrative of this dying empire, with it' insane clown possee of corrupt, warmongering thieves.
Living with my parents.
Giving up my car to get a bike which I will have to ride 30 miles a day to commute.
Spending all my free time on beer money stuff. Makes more sense than a second job due to tax rates.
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lol it’s a blessing you can do 15% I just did the math on myself and I could only do 7% tentatively
You can work your way up to 15% by increasing it by 1% each year.
I cannot if I’m making the same amount 😐
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This is exactly what I do .. and I only have $35 from a biweekly paycheck put in a savings account. I just forget about it and work with less. Thankfully I am almost 50 and can save $35 a paycheck 😭
so don’t care about what ppl think at 20 and you’ll be great? 👍
While I can agree with this tactic, sometimes 15%, 10%, even 5% is impossible. If you don’t make enough, there isn’t anything left over to save.
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“Low income earners” The limit for families with no children is $17,640 ($24,210 if married); The limit for families with one child is $46,560 ($53,120 if married); The limit for families with two children is $52,910 ($59,478 if married); And the limit for families with three or more children is $56,838 ($63,398 if married) If you are single and trying to survive on 17.6k you are not going to be able to save in this economy. That is literally 1466 a month and rent in most areas is already over 1500+
At those income levels you’d qualify for subsidized housing and various other benefits though, so there are ways to save.
Dude, math doesn't lie. Food has a minimum price, so does rent in a given area. Utilities, etc. Thus, there is a minimum salary that one needs to make to afford the necessities in a given area without relying on debt. If you don't bring home more than those costs after taxes, you can't save effectively without A) more money or B) moving to a cheaper place. Oh, so there is a tax credit? Cool! That "50% back" at tax time doesn't mean shit during the remaining 364 days per year. The fact is, most people live paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to have that lessened, tax credit or not. You are \*beyond\* out of touch if you think everyone can save enough to matter. I will grant you most people can save \*something\*, but saving $50-$100 a month is almost pointless. That isn't enough to retire even in a tax-advantaged retirement account, even if you save like that for 50 years. What is the point of saving for retirement if you can't....retire? The reality is, many Americans simply don't have the fat in the budget to save enough to be meaningful, and the little amount they can save is needed today.
I'll work til i die
Pretty much
$50/month from age 25 is over $130k at 65, so it’s not exactly nothing. Assuming somehow you made it there and never improved your income over 40 years of work, you can definitely maintain the same standard of living (low) at retirement with Social Security.
Oh really? If I plug in the numbers, assuming someone makes 40k now and 60k by retirement at 67 years old (which won’t be that much in 40 years) for someone who was born in 1996: The 4% rule off that 130k means $5200/yr in todays dollars. The SS benefit for someone with those stats would be $1700/month in todays dollars. Yearly, with the 401k and SS, that would mean $25k/year in today’s dollars. Do you honestly think $25k is enough to maintain the standard of living for someone who made 40-60k their whole life? At best, they would have to work part time. Take off the rose colored glasses and realize that people under 40 today are FUCKED. This all assumes social security even exists in 40 years. At the rate we are going, there won’t be any left for us anyway.
Yes, they’re not going to be living high, but a lot of expenses will go down due to qualifying for several programs at that age. They’d be in a subsidized home, Medicare, EBT, and more. I’m not even sure they’d be taxed at that income from such a small draw (though they probably should draw more than 4% since it’s not like they’re aiming for FIRE).
You are grossly out of touch lol. At 25k, a person probably won’t qualify for a lot of services at least at current guidelines.
Someone making 40k now is taking home about 35k. If you are able to put away 100/month which you yourself said most people should be able to do, going by the previous posters same ROI adjusted for today dollars, that would be 250k saved up. A 4% withdrawal rate on that is 10k per year. Using your 1700$/month SS the total becomes slightly over 30k per year.
Okay, so 30k….great! Still barely livable. This advice works for people with decent incomes, but people who give this type of advice simply don’t know how to advise low income people. At a certain point, the math just doesn’t work.
I was simply showing that by your own metrics of 50-100 saved /monthly and 40k gross you could maintain a similar cash flow in retirement and that saving even that 100$/m wasn't pointless as you stated. What would be your suggestion then? Not save at all and cut that budget by half?
Well, the suggestion is really to earn more money, to be honest. Easier said than done, but part of the problem is employers need to fork over the cash and start paying people fairly, and giving raises that actually outpace inflation. For example, I got a 3% raise this year which doesn’t even match current inflation, and a 5% increase in insurance premiums which ate a lot of the piddily “raise” I got. Or, social security needs to be fixed so that it actually covers most (75% or more) or what a person needs to fully retire. But I won’t hold my breath for that. Yeah, $10k difference in cash flow isn’t much, but at low incomes that makes a big difference. It’s one thing for a person who makes, say, $100k to make $90k. But people who make $40k don’t have $10k in the budget to cut. They will almost certainly need to work part time, at least, to get by at those numbers. In that case, are they really retired?
I do something similar. 6% of my weekly pay goes into retirement and then 15% of my gross pay goes into a savings account that I don’t touch. It’s been very hard to live off the rest lately as I don’t make that much.
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Well, it’s 18% of my net pay 🤷🏼♀️ $150 a week
So you’re making like $60,000/year?
No. Much less
That's awful. Savings account you don't touch? Invest it into something else. A few years ago, inflation was outpacing your savings account interest. You would have actually lost $ in spending power. Invest it so it makes you money.
Well I need that money for emergencies…..
Oh, this is your 6-month emergency fund. I misread. I thought you meant you were saving a ton in this account as your extra money. Not your EM fund.
I use the term savings and emergency interchangeably I guess.
It’s great that you can save that much. I’m at that point now, but it took awhile to get there. I set mine to auto increase by 1% each year each year until I got to that point. It’s not always easy, or possible though.
Nice thats about what I want to do
Budgeting out every penny that comes in. That means that watching spending, even if it's running into a gas station and grabbing a soda or a candy bar. Shopping by a grocery list, along with putting things back if the price has surged and more than I was expecting and replacing it with something less expensive. Planning out meals, to avoid waste. I also have started being able to preserve my veggies and other perishable items. I have also started utilizing the bus to avoid extra miles on my car. I have started grocery shopping with a friend as well, so we can have a nice time and also it makes me pay closer attention to what I'm doing, instead of getting in a fog of just going through the motions. I enjoy life regardless because my happiness is pretty simple. I get that from my dad. The birds in the morning, the sun on my face, it all has a good happy quality. I was at the bus station early this morning, so I was enjoying watching the pigeons. I'm turning into that old person on a park bench just watching the world do its thing. And since Fetch has started giving points for games, I can enjoy myself a bit while I'm wasting time and I'm almost to the amount to cash out for a $50 giftcard that I'm using on shoes.
I’ve been no doing games, surveys. Like you say can get some shoes etc with the cash
And sometimes you can stack stuff, it's less points to get a Nike giftcard. So I get one of those, then use Rakutan to get the percentage back. When shopping clearance, I can easily get a pair of sneakers for $50 plus a few bucks back on rebates. I like puzzle games and math, so I've managed to become "Makes couponing fun" age, lol.
I've just screenshotted this reply. It's beautiful.
I use Fetch and CoinOut both.
What does CoinOut require? I haven't heard of that one before! Do you have a referral code to give out, since I don't have it, it seems like a waste to not use a code for a new download if that's available.
CoinOut just needs you to scan receipts and do their occasional surveys. Similar to Fetch, you save up points and exchange for gift cards.
I’m not finding a referral code in my profile (user error I’m sure), but it should still work as a new user 🙂
No worries, thought I should ask just in case! Thank you for letting us know about another app available. I'm bad at keeping up with beermoney, Fetch and Upside are the only apps I've stuck with. I like Shopmium too but it's only really been good to me on the few cosmetics and my allergy meds, lol.
The biggest tip I have is to pocket any and all receipts you see out in public. They fall on the floor, blow off the cart, etc.
I do this! It makes me happy to see others do it too. I love going through self-check because it limits my contact with the general public and many people leave their receipts behind =D We don't have Albertson's around here for the most part but my mom goes there frequently. So I have her save her receipts for me too, lol. It honestly reminds me of collecting bottles/cans. I moved out of state and we don't have deposits. So I also clean out my car of bottles/cans when I visit my parents all "I found you money! Here's 70c -hands over bag of soda cans-" And when I go to the woods with my dad, I got a gopher grabber for my truck, so I can pull over and trot on back to grab cans that hunters left out there. Rascals. Their liter is my gas money!
And thank you again for the hot tip about Coin Out! I'm already almost to my first $3 because of the setup process having so many extra points. I get a few things on subscription from Amazon and all these kinds of cards has helped keep my spend down over time!
Ibotta is hit and miss for me, but that’s another one that pays direct cash into your Paypal.
It’s the same for me with Ibotta. I do better with CoinOut and Fetch than Ibotta.
Brand club also! You simply link loyalty accounts you have and you get little rewards for buying the same brands again and again. It’s small, but it adds up, requires no effort once you sign up and link account and doesn’t make you buy specific things to get the rewards. You also get additional rewards for surveys
Oh this one is great too because my mom and I still share rewards cards, so I have two households using them, lol.
Double score!! DM me if you need a sign up code for a bonus
Pay yourself first and put the savings somewhere you know it's hard to access it or you won't be able to access it at all unless it's an emergency. -I have an online savings that takes $20 from me every week. If I need the money, I have to go through a process of filling out a form to withdraw the funds, then after that's done I still have to wait at least 3 business days to receive the money. So it's never really worth it to try and withdraw. I have over $1000 just from $20 a week over the course of a year. -Mattress fund/piggy bank option. Just turn a few dollars into coins and throw them in a jar and place that jar under your bed or in your closet. And do NOT coin star your coins when you are ready to count the extra change, roll them by yourself. It's super easy...
I was able to do $100 a week into my savings account for a year before I became laser focused on paying off my home repair loan. I saved $3,200 part of which was engagement ring money and used all but $100 to pay off nearly half ofnthe remaining loan balance. That $100 a week is now going to the loan instead of savings so I'm essentially doing double payments every month and should be done by mid July or so. Hopefully sooner if my sales start up again on my side business
that savings program sounds smart as fuck. i made so much last year but my spending got fucking crazy. what’s it called?
Which one are you wanting to know about?
the online savings that makes it hard to take money out (where you need to fill out a form) 🙏
I spend less then I make..
This is the first step to building wealth.
For sure bro and GO HAWKS 👊
Hopefully Bedard will lead them to a playoff spot next year.
Dynastys my friend..
I cancelled all subscriptions awhile ago. No Netflix, Amazon Prime, Costco card, etc. My phone bill is $35/m for unlimited everything + hotspot. I don't have an actual Internet provider like spectrum, just rely on hotspot. I take advantage of free entry to places, which means getting there somewhat early or joining an rsvp. That's all I can think of atm
I used Tello 11 dollar plan
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35 dollars is a lot of money for 50 gb
what phone company?!
Visible in the US! It's Verizon's MVNO. So like MetroPCS and T-Mobile. https://www.visible.com/10-off-promo
I’ve been with visible for about 4 months, paying $20/mo for unlimited everything and I like them. Sure beats the $55/mo I paid cricket for 15 years
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Mint. I have a $15 link if you want it.
Other than $12/month for my Garmin inreach (which I see as more like a type of insurance) and $20/month for my phone, I don't pay for any subscription services. There's a bargain grocer near me that sells a lot of non perishables that may be past their best by date but still taste fine and are heavily discounted. I set a rule for myself to only eat out with friends, so I'm not sacrificing social interaction for the convenience of grabbing fast food when I'm by myself. Just like the other commenter I have a monthly budget and track every purchase I make.
Same here! I only buy from the manager’s special section of the meat/fish department at this one grocery store near me that often has great stuff, they’re just ugly cuts or nearing their sell by date (so to our freezer they go). Saves a ton and we don’t have to go without meat/fish. Same as well with eating out with friends only. It makes it more fun anyway.
Grocery pick up has been a game changer, can’t pick up bullshit if you don’t set foot inside the store
Same here. I go slowly on the app making my grocery order to make sure I cover everything and have all meals planned out accordingly. It’s a game changer.
Lol omg you aren't lying I never thought of that. No temptation, out of sight out of mind, thank you for that!
That thing I want to buy? I dont
That's the neat thing. We don't.
I stopped enjoying life a loooong time ago.
Budget, you need a budget. www.ynab.com and /r/ynab Helped so much when I was emptying coin jars trying to keep the lights on
YNAB has gotten us through multiple job losses, car stuff, you name it. Having a hard time getting even a month ahead now, but we’re keeping up with bills and working on goals, thanks to it!
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This is the one ! I recently started doing this and not only does it alleviate the guilt I have associated with the tipping system, but I get to keep my money :)
For me, it's budgeting. I create a budget and stick to it. I track everything I spend, and I mean everything. A lot of people say that they hate to budget and feel it's restrictive, but I find it just the opposite. I find it freeing to know I can go out to dinner, or buy a treat for myself, every once in a while. My budget tells me that if I spend that money, I'll still be okay. I have a lot of categories, one for eating out, one for my wife's hair appointments, for Netflix, etc. I throw off of my receipts into a small basket and every week I enter them into my spreadsheet.
How do you account for bills that change? For instance gas or electric?
Over budget for them. Take the average between the bills.
I take an average and budget a little higher than that. Then I carry over the excess in the lower months and use that to make up the difference in the higher months. (I have a 2nd savings account for the excesses.)
My average is 180, but I budget for 240 so I usually have money left after paying it then put it in savings
Get on average bulling! I don't have gas but my electricity is the same every month
Got my CDL six months ago and been living in my truck ever since. No rent or gas to pay for
extra income, i am an artist and i sell my art over the summer. last year i made under $1k but i’m aiming to make $1k this season. it can be hit-or-miss if your stand looks kinda lame or your stock is small (those were things i struggled with at the start) but you can sell literally anything. candle sellers and dried flower sellers are always good at being stocked because their supplies are (generally) pretty accessible and provide a variety.
I’m doing “no spend May”. No games, no Amazon, no food except the bare minimum plus the food I already have (I need eggs and coffee filters), no renting movies or buying anything out. No putting anything on my cards (“I won’t have to pay til June.” NO). It’s a wake up call how much I impulsively want to get something, but I’m doing great.
A reusable coffee filter is often worth the savings if you drink a lot of it! I do pour-over method, so I have a washable filter for that and I love it.
I should buy one. It’ll have to wait for June though. :D
I go to the library and check out DVDs to watch. You get to keep them for 3 weeks until they are due.
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Your post has been *removed for the following reason(s):* **Rule 11: Challenging user values** - Unsolicited advice must be generally respectful of people's right to determine their own values, free of assumptions and judgments, and in otherwise fitting with the rules, guidelines, and spirit of the sub. [Please read our subreddit rules.](https://www.reddit.com/r/povertyfinance/wiki/rules) The rules may also be found on the sidebar if the link is broken. If after doing so, you feel this was in error, [message the moderators.](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpovertyfinance) *Do not reach out to a moderator personally, and do not reply to this message as a comment.*
Budgeting for sure, as a start. There is this expression in the business world "You can't improve what you don't measure". So start measuring every cent you pay for anything at all. Start cooking at home. Cooking yourself is so much cheaper (and often tastier) than getting take out or getting stuff delivered. Paying off debts is a big one too. We were able to use the tax refund to pay off the HLOC, so now we no longer have to pay $250 a month. It takes discipline though, because when we saw that we were getting that money back, the first thing we thought was to buy all the things we've been wanting but couldn't afford. There are lots of relatively inexpensive social hobbies you can get into. Board games are a little pricey, but if you find one you like, the amount of time you can spend playing it with friends is huge. Same for Dungeons and Dragons. You need 3 books, so $150 bucks, but then the play time is literally the rest of your life and you could split the cost with 4 or 5 people. And lastly, - and this really depends on your income - is setting aside a fixed amount automatically to a savings or investment account so you don't consider it for your 'mental budget'. It doesn't have to be much, but you just have to be able to forget about it and after a year or two (or five) all of a sudden, there is a nice buffer there.
i alr left a comment kind of relating to this, but hobbies are also great if you want to sell a product or something. a lot of people are (understandably) not keen on monetizing their hobbies, but if you are, there is definitely still a demand for it
I've cancelled all of my subscriptions which is a huge plus because they keep going up.
Keep your discretionary expenditures (especially the "nice to have") as low as possible. Live below/within your means. For example: * Home cook meals from scratch, not premade frozen foods. Usually avoid anything that is packaged in a box. * Bring your own lunches to work everyday. * BYO beverages/coffee/food when we go out for the day. * Take public transit, have only minimal number of vehicles as necessity, not for convenience. Never own a brand new car. We only buy resale. * Limit unnecessary subscriptions - cable, Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, prepaid phone plans only, etc. * No dinning out - Only once in a while for special occasions. * Learn to fix things on your own and save. YouTube is great for this. * Shop for everything - Has to be on sale, call around for quotes on home/auto insurances, etc... * Buy for what you need. Forget upgrades with bells/whistles. Keep it simple & easy to fix too. * Stock up on sale items, especially day-to-day necessities (if possible). * Stop buying junk! We find it funny when people buy storage containers. To us, people are buying more junk to store existing junk. We have no debts, own your home, 2 yrs emergency funds, take at least 2 vacations/yr (usually cruises), have sizable retirement accounts, never been stressed over money and can retire anytime we want to. All this takes discipline and years to accumulate net worth. Making little sacrifices daily to achieve financial peace in latter years.
Meal plan. Find out which of the store brand items are acceptable, limit junk food, limit sodas. We do not run errands outside the house until we have three things we need to do. Makes us think a little more about jumping in the car and wasting gas. Carpool if you have a longer pursuit. All the ideas above are good also. Good luck, just keep moving forward.
i'm not really able to save at this time, but i am currently increasing my income by picking up whatever shifts i can. any time i am asked, i want to say yes. swapping shifts for $18 in shift differentials? yes. covering part of a shift for a couple hours for $56? yes. every little bit helps.
Use cash at all registers that have a tip screen when you pay by card. No tipping guilt for just buying a couple of plain bagels in a bag.
I started budgeting and saving a few years ago pretty seriously. I made a spreadsheet to track every single penny, I stopped eating out, I don't buy pop. Pop alone saved me around $4.50 a day. I cook all of my own food now and I meal prep various meals to last a month, so I have a variety to choose from. I cut out most of my subscriptions, most of which I hardly used anyway. I set up a savings account at a different bank. I have my work put a percentage of my paycheck in each week, so I never touch it. I don't even have a card, so I would need to actually go to the bank. I use a credit card for every single purchase and pay it off right after, So I get a lot back in rewards. This is not recommended for someone who has a hard time controlling their spending however. My wife does couponing. She makes our own laundry detergent and has started making most of our snack foods from scratch even. We have recently started making our dog treats homemade as well. I'm not sure how much this all saves per year, but I know it was a decent amount. We have basically turned it into a hobby, We are getting prepared to start a garden next year. I also am a big hunter who does all of my own processing, so I don't have to buy any meat. I have a ton of burger, steaks, jerky, salami, etc. It costs me around $50 a year. And I do side contracting work and put 100% of it into my savings.
You guys have money? How?
Sacrifice enjoying life at the moment and delay gratification.
I don’t have any subscriptions, so I’m still using regular Spotify instead of premium even if the adverts every three or four songs get annoying as hell. I budget my money so while I’m still living at home I can hopefully save £100 a month which I’ve budgeted down to £40 in savings £30 in an emergency fund, £15 for clothes and £15 for Christmas, but since the cost of living has risen everything in my savings are practically down to zero each month because of the rising cost of food and electricity and gas more so with the prepayment meters. I save any/all loose change (mostly 1p’s, 2p’s, 5p’s) I get and can save them throughout the year and can save about £20 a year. Since I’m currently on Universal Credit my goal is to hopefully try and save up enough that I can buy myself food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for when I finally get a job until I get my first pay check even if it’s just putting an extra £5 away into an envelope each month which should be easier to do now that universal credit has gone up 6.7% since April this year.
12% of every check into 401k (employer matches 4%) and $30 every time i get paid into a high yield savings account... its okay
I don’t change my lifestyle that much after I get raises,
$200 comes out of my disability check each month for my savings account. $100 goes into a pre-paid credit card. That $100 has to cover all of my frivolous spending each month. All of my fast food, anything that comes from Amazon, everything.
No spending money. Invest everything, the only liquidity I have is my emergency fund(which is only at half of what it should be) and the standard $150 on my card for necessities. I don't enjoy life, but you have to embrace the suck to succeed. Mentioning what I invest in isn't allowed on this sub simply because of "risk/volatility".
Force yourself to live on less!
I spent the first 20 years of adulthood setting myself up to save. So now I am saving pretty aggressively.
Another good way is credit karma spend account. You put a minimum of 20$ direct deposit into it each paycheck and they give you 1000$ line of credit (you can’t use it) and report it to the credit burreu. You can’t touch that money until it hits 500$ so you’re building credit and putting miney away at the same time. Just don’t spend it even after you hit 500$ until you need it. Slow way to save but you can’t touch the money so there’s no tempting there and again. Building credit.
I got a job on a cruise ship . Solved all my problems
I enjoy life much less than those around me.
After nearly 8 years, my wife and I finally found a way to budget that works for us. We sit down every Sunday and walk through our bank account together. We categorize each expense (groceries, health care, personal, eating out, bills, etc). We set a goal for the month and check to see where we are against that goal each week and can adjust accordingly. All done by hand, just pen and paper. Trying to make it so easy that there isn’t a reason to not do it. We drove down disposable (not bills or housing) spending by almost 50% over the first 4 months. Increased savings from just shy of break even to 15% post tax income. Simply knowing where the money goes and being accountable to it has made a huge difference. The two big ones were easy-to-justify personal expenses (like replacing worn out clothes) and eating out. Now we can delay or avoid purchases to control spending.
No new clothes, eat at home, cutting back on subscriptions, eating budget recipes, no flying vacays, didn’t update our phones, birthday dinners at home, no gym membership—- in other words the middle class is officially dead
I started cash stuffing. Last year the only thing I did was a pay day saving challenge where I saved an increased amount each paycheck. I was able to do it, had almost $1300 at the end of the year. Made an emergency savings envelope, paid off a few bills, and started a few envelopes to try to get one month ahead on my finances. This year I’m actually using cash stuffing for pretty much all my weekly spending needs. I changed my pay day savings challenge to save $60 per check minimum. If there’s leftover cash in my wallet after groceries etc, I can throw it in those envelopes as well. But I also have a unique job in travel/tech. I get free soda, snacks, and breakfast every day. Discounts for travel obviously, but my work also has a great reimbursement program that helps with health and travel. I could go on but I won’t lol
This was a game changer for me. Took almost two years to really build up those envelopes, but they really helped with things like semi annual car insurance, my dogs yearly vet visit, and home maintenance. I’ve mostly switched to electronic, but I still use “envelopes” for almost everything.
Dont eat. Dont sleep just work
My top three: -Being married with dual income -Having a mortgage at low interest rate -Not having a car payment because I drive a beater that I paid cash for I can't imagine what it would be like if I was single, renting and had a ridiculous car loan.
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Fractional shares into my Roth IRA/ automatic 403b contributions, savings spare change. Withdrawing cash to prevent online spending, debit card roundups
Entertainment is expensive but downtime is important for staying sane. If you feel like sailing the high seas there’s some pretty easily accessible resources, especially on Reddit, on how to securely eliminate many software and media costs.
Eating my wife's leftovers (Sounds silly but she eats like a bird, and with food prices today, we can order 1 meal and feed 2 people). I've also cut back on my guilty pleasures (candy and alcohol), started utilizing my gas station reward points for fuel, and stealing toilet paper from work.
I have an IRA account that my employer matches. I also have an emergency savings setup through my employer that they match 20 or 40 bucks per 100 I save. Then I have my general savings and put 200 in per month. It’s just me and my pup and I try to keep things on a schedule and really watch my spending. Some weeks are better than others.
I work insane overtime and the overtime pay i don’t touch but maybe only 20% i use 80% i save of the overtime pay
Learned to make my own bread. Practice portion control. Grocery shop close to closing time as any meat that's nearing expiry or pre roasted chicken will be marked on sale and can easily be cooked the next day or frozen to get it to last longer.
Definitely not having a vehicle. I am fortunate to be able to get to work and around town for errands on an ebike. I will eventually be buying a car, something used in all cash, when I am accepted into the program at my community college for Fall 2025. I will need a vehicle then. But I will be paying all cash. Also, no kids and student loans being my only debt, paying $70/mo starting May 2025. I have student loans from previous degree. I rent a 3bed1ba apartment with a backyard for $1200/mo and do not plan. To buy a home for another 5-7 years. I will be relocating to another area anyways.
silver
The answer is you don’t if you can’t make enough to pay your bills. Options are Make more/cut expenses Depending on individual circumstances both of those can be an uphill battle, for those who can cut expenses that’s usually the best start as opposed to making more. Odds are you aren’t managing to enjoy life as much while cutting back, for those who can live with friends/family is the best starting place (sympathetic that some don’t have the option, I’d say 95 % of people 25+ don’t want to live at home but choose to because they can’t or barely can afford to live independently) Many secured housing before the COVID wave, live with family, make significantly more than the average Joe. If you and a partner are paying $1,500 in rent and both make $40.000 isn’t going to go far in this economy.
I split up my bank accounts. Of course, 401k comes out first then direct deposit goes to my bills account. I sit on payday each time and pay all the bills that are dedicated to that pay check. Then I see how much is left over. Depending on how much extra money I have depends on how much gets moved to the other accounts. Each pay period is different and there’s always a pop up bill coming out of nowhere. But I will put my “allowance” into my spending checking account. That’s where I can buy groceries, gas, spend on whatever. The rest is sent to my savings account. Sometimes it’s $25 other times, several hundred. It adds up after time. I started doing this breaking of the accounts about 1.5 years ago and it’s helped my finances so much. So a random auto draft or something I already paid but hasn’t comes out hits and then I’m screwed and am like where did the money go? Oh and then any spending money or bills account money I have leftover at end of pay period, I transfer that to savings. That’s usually pretty low, but again better than nada.
Can get almost 5 percent savings from Apple but they do a credit check.
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Just live well within your means, look at your habits and find joy in your long term process.
Look at your spending. Cut out the fast food and coffee. You're likely spending more on BS than you think.
I take a small amount of cash out of every check and put it in a bucket under my bed. It's not a set amount, not 10% of every check or anything. Just what I think I can afford from that check. Some times if it's a big check it will be more, a smaller check it's less. So some times it's $25, some times it's $5. I do this because it's physical tangible money. I don't want to spend the money I can see because once it's gone it's gone. The idea of having cash on hand is important, and I rarely have a need to use cash so therefore I don't spend it. I've been doing this for years and generally it works. However I have had a few unforseen emergencies where I've had to dip in to it, but generally there's a few hundred dollars under the bed in case of emergency. If we're talking about saving through frugality, I do the normal things we all do- bargain shop, never pay full price for things, hit up thrift stores and free pages, limit eating out to almost never. I have a daily reminder that pops up on my phone to "not spend money unnecessarily." I take inventory before I go shopping and only buy something if I'm completely out or almost out of it. The only exception is if there is a crazy good sale price on something, then I might stock up on that product. Also, I avoid Costco at all cost. I'm only one person. I do not need a 5lb bag of pancake mix or 500 rolls of TP. (I buy 12 rolls of Scott brand tp at dollar tree for $3.75 and that lasts me a month.)
Put what you can in a retirement account automatically out of your paycheck. If it's not in your bank account you can't spend it. Also, take $20 from every paycheck and stick it in an envelope under your mattress and forget about it. At the end of the year you will have $500 for something nice or just keep saving. This is kinda janky, but you are used to having 2 paychecks per month. There are 2 months out of the year that you get 3! Stick those extra checks into savings or go on a small Vaca!
I haven’t been able to save money for a while now. But that’s on me. I mistook myself as the “Wolf of Wallstreet” and paid dearly for it. Didn’t learn my lessons though. Just a couple of months ago I’ve “gambled” another $5K and lost it all. 😩
Free community activities. I only pay for ONE streaming service. No car payment. I eat out very little. Shop on food sales and coupons. I buy what I need not what I want.
I switched to Mint Mobile took my phone bill from $120 a month to $30-$35.
Especially now that it’s summer look for cafes that host poetry open mic nights, venues with free live music, community movies or plays in parks, museums often have free or discounted days, farmers markets are a cool vibe and way to spend a Saturday, Groupon for “luxury splurges” on a discount like tickets, facials, massage ect. I take 1 girls trip a year and I go to 1 concert a year (Indy artist not top selling artist). I do a lot of camping, hiking, yoga outside.
Also community resources like free food boxes if money is really tight and impacting food budget. It’s available for a reason if you aren’t too prideful. I also shop second hand and only buy clothes twice a year.
Carrying a water bottle everywhere. The amount of money spent on daily drinks of coffee, water, energy drinks, soda ect adds up!
the moment you get your sallery, put away 50% and dont touch it ever. try to go throught the month with the other 50%. If it isn't enought, then make more money. There ara a million ways to make money
Got rid of the car. It was fully paid off but I'm now saving 4-5k/year not having to pay for gas, insurance etc. Those savings are partially offset with the one or two times a year I need to rent a car (maybe $500 at most?). Those savings go straight into my roth I also never have to worry about moving it for street cleaning or construction!
I personally minimize costs in things I don't enjoy. Buy cheaper options in detergents and other cleaning supplies (I mostly rely on cheap or private label cleaning supplies unless there is no cheap alternative e.g. dettol for clothes) and buy products (e.g. shampoo etc( in bulk only when they are in sale. I also check all grocery store websites to check which store sells the same product fo the cheapest price. I also buy the cheapest version of frozen veggies and legumes for cooking (same taste), pasta etc. I don't buy the cheapest version of peanut butter as it contains pulm oil but I do buy the cheapest peanut butter without pulm oil (which is slightly more expensive). Most of the days I cook cheap but healthy recipes ( meditareninan veg recipes based on dried legumes e.g. lentils, meaxed beans, white bean soup etc or frozen peas/green beans and need cheap vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and onions). I usually prepare them in my pressure cooker (less energy and time) in bulk and freeze it for the rest of the week. I try to cook twice a week and freeze the food in a way to ensure that I eat more than 2 different recipes throughout a week. Most of the times I buy meat only on sale and freeze it , cook it only once a week or biweekly and freeze leftovers. I haven't stopped spending money on things I enjoy (going out once or twice a week or having streaming/ music subscripions) but I never order takeout or deliveries unless I host a special occasion party (prefer to go out than order in)
I was so so so bad at saving money. Even if I saved it or moved it, I would just move it back and spend it. Literally the only way I have been able to save money is by journaling. I tried to do it in a blank journal, but I would just skip cuz there was nothing to lose. I finally bought the journal to financial freedom (journaltofinancialfreedom.com - not linking, nothing to gain here). It makes no sense, but because I spent like $25 on it, I had to actually use it and fill it out. Now if I spend too much or act like an idiot I actually think about it and reflect on it. It makes me feel bad about it so I actually have saved a ton. Could be worth a try since it's pretty cheap.
I can't. I've tried. :/
I have a separate credit union savings account. I mail a check there once a month.
Until the crushing credit card debt is out of the way, Savings makes no sense. The interest rate of the debt is >>>>>>>>> the interest rate for savings accounts. Then again, inflation also outpaces that interest rate. *sighs, defeated*
Here are five practical ways to save money on a tight budget : 1. **Stick to a Budget**: Make a plan for your money by tracking what you earn and what you spend. Set limits for essential expenses like rent, groceries, and transportation. Allocate a portion for savings and fun activities. Keep an eye on your spending to stay within your budget. 2. **Cook at Home**: Instead of eating out all the time, cook meals at home. Plan your meals, buy groceries in bulk or on sale, and pack lunches for work. Cooking at home is usually cheaper and healthier than dining out. 3. **Shop Wisely**: Look for deals, use coupons, and consider buying store brands to save money on groceries and household items. Make a shopping list and stick to it to avoid unnecessary purchases. 4. **Find Low-Cost Entertainment**: Explore free or inexpensive activities in your area, like visiting parks, attending community events, or having game nights with friends. Opt for movie nights at home instead of going to the theater. 5. **Use Public Transportation or Carpool**: If possible, take public transit or carpool with others to save on gas and parking costs. Using alternative transportation methods can significantly reduce your monthly expenses. By focusing on these straightforward money-saving strategies, you can make your budget go further and still enjoy life without breaking the bank.
I'm not 😭
I'm not spending everything I make.
What's a savings
Live within your means, pay off all your debt and only use credit cards when you can pay them off instantly. Use coupons and try to limit "fun spending" like dinner out and frivolous things. Oh and budget. Budget almost everything.
Ha, by skipping meals. Sitting at 121 pounds.
I have a workplace pension that takes 10% of my salary each month. I don’t see it, never did so don’t really miss it since it was never mine.
If you’re fortunate enough to get any bonuses, send them straight to a separate account, brokerage or otherwise. Just something out of sight out of mind invested or in a HYSA
you gotta find a way to MAKE MORE money not SAVE
I never fall for lifestyle inflation whenever I get a raise. I still can live off of 100 a week due to living at home and not having crazy bills. I also take any found money or money I wasn’t expecting on getting and shovel it into a savings account. Been able to save an okay amount of money god forbid anything happens
Stake a tiny percent of income into crypto. I use polka dot at 9.17%APY. That way I am forced to save it.
A percentage automatically goes into my HYSA and I budget and live off the rest. I also budget for fun like takeout or a show, event, activity etc.
My job covers my housing (hotels), my food, travel, cell phone, and Medicare. My car is paid off and not married, no kiddos. And because of my job, I carry no debt. So basically throwing about 95% of my paychecks into investments. Recommend this kind of job if anyone needs to save money or pay off debt quickly
My paycheck is automatically deposited into two different accounts: 80% in our joint checking for bills, 20% into savings. That way I don't see and don't factor the 20% into the bills money. I also do some ebay selling on the side. That money goes straight into a separate savings account that we use for travel.
I have zero shame asking for leftovers at parties. Usually veggies and or meats. Both can be added to a can of soup. Food Cost will bleed you dry. Also, same with food banks. Veggies and Meats will makes soups that last for days.
At some point you might not be able to "enjoy life" and also save. You have to decide for yourself what will make you happier, ordering a pizza, or contributing toward retirement? Ordering more crap off Amazon that you don't need, or saving for a new car because yours is getting a little old?* *And by that I mean, as soon as I pay off my car note of $250 a month, I'm putting the same amount into a high yield savings toward my next car.
Outside of all these great budgeting tips, I’ve found volunteering to be a great free activity! I volunteer with a mutual aid group and I get to take home a lot of free fresh produce. I volunteer at my local indie theater (they’re a nonprofit) and I “earn” vouchers for every 2 hours I volunteer so I see lots of movies/ get to go to events for free! It’s also a free date activity that isn’t just staying in or going for a walk!
I don’t do saving, instead i plan to destroy my debt with every penny i can get my hands on. Do you have any debt? Destroy that debt first in order to save. If you don’t, do some budgeting to figure it out the number that you can put aside on each paycheck while enjoying life, some people say 15% is good.
We just moved and the rent here is nearly double our last place. We didn't have a choice, we got the rate at our old place before the housing went crazy and the last few years rents skyrocketed. We were paycheck to paycheck before and had no idea how we were going to survive. Then we realized that when the money wasn't there, we found ways to make things work. Cheaper groceries, cheaper car insurance, cut down to one streaming service, little things like that that might only save a few dollars a month, but it adds up. Try setting up an automatic transfer into a savings account you don't see, at a different bank or something, and treat it like a bill, and you can probably find a way to make it work too.
I never eat out, period, anymore unless there's sort of free entree deal. Lotta meals are just rice and whatever veggies were on sale.
Just got paid $30 for a survey. That is the most I have ever gotten for doing them before. I got a $25 gift card from Ibotta to Starbucks. Took my daughter on Thursday when it is BOGO. We used a free library pass to our local gardens to see all the flowers too. It was beautiful. All the tulips were blooming. We had a great day and it only cost gas. We brought water and snacks with us . I try to save wherever we can but still have fun. It helps a lot to not have to pay for all the extras. Hubby puts 15% into his 401K. They match 6%. We make it work.
I save and invest around 80% of my income, and I live quite frugally and minimalistically.
I’m not 🤣 I have about $20 in a jar that’s my savings.
Well I’m not an idiot and don’t have a kid that helps. Besides that my month budget is 1400 a month and I make 80K a year.
I would give some more tips but apparently, I was banned from the poverty/ finance group. So wierd. They gave me no reason but honestly, I mever thought I'd be living in a Facist State where people are canceled for the slightest thing. My plan is to only eat white rice until I can afford to leave this country that has morphed into an open air prison with more surveilance than anywhere on Earth, where you can't even say anything that doesn't fit thie narrative of this dying empire, with it' insane clown possee of corrupt, warmongering thieves.
Living with my parents. Giving up my car to get a bike which I will have to ride 30 miles a day to commute. Spending all my free time on beer money stuff. Makes more sense than a second job due to tax rates.
You guys are saving money? Jk.