Comments | keribear: Financial Woes

keribear

Financial Woes - Sort Of.

Mar 25, 2009 17:21

I am putting money automatically into savings every month from my paycheck, and apparently it's a damned good thing I'm doing so. Even though my savings account is slowly growing, my checking account is stagnating and refuses to ever get above a certain dollar amount. This is very frustrating because I am putting a FAR LARGER portion into ( Read more... )

money, being a grownup

Comments 16

wvurxgal March 26 2009, 04:44:22 UTC

Best idea: keep a checkbook, and balance it. I mean, do it immediately, at *least* once a day. It's such a pain in the ass, plus you see your money going away. It's not fun to write minus signs over and over!

denouement March 26 2009, 05:28:46 UTC

I've found I save a lot of money when I stretch out the clothes/accessory buying to once every 2 months. For awhile I was spending $200-$500/month on clothes. That shit adds up quickly.

keribear March 26 2009, 18:49:52 UTC

Thank you for saying that - it's amazing how easy it is for me to drop $300 on clothes and shoes before a big event. I spent over that amount before Vegas, and I'm already planning out what I want to buy before my trip to the East Coast in June. That'd be 3 months, right? ...but I wanted new hiking shoes... ;)

shamrokk March 26 2009, 05:42:03 UTC

Most of my money goes into my mouth. I love eating out, but it's a big drain. Meh. So not being like me will help save money!

rjdays March 26 2009, 16:54:05 UTC

Look at it this way: the more money you make, the cheaper things seem to you. My parents, who have never made much money all of their lives, are still apalled that I can spend $20 on dinner out from time to time. The best way to save more is to start trying to convince yourself that the things you don't really need are "too expensive," no matter their price. But it's all just a matter of what you value.

I knew a guy who had a rule of thumb for non-essential purchases that was very helpful to me when I was trying to save money last year: if you don't absolutely love it, and you don't really need it, don't buy it.
I've since gotten away from this, but am trying to get back to remember it when I go shopping.

rjdays March 26 2009, 17:00:08 UTC

Also, Oprah suggests paying for EVERYTHING in cash. It hurts more that way.