Can anyone give me some pointers on saving up money?

Question

I am an 18 year old college student, and I work a horrible part time job. I only make $7.50/hr and rarely get more than 30 hours in TWO weeks. So I have no money. I dont pay for much because I am still living with my parents. But are there any tips out there to help me save up money and make it so I could possibly have a future without living at home forever? I know the simple one, spend less. But its hard when I barely get any money and its gone in like 3 days. I havent been able to find another job because alot of places are unwilling to work around my school schedule. How do I live with what I have now?

Answer 1

It will get better. I know right now it is rough. The main thing I did to help me save is set up an account with ING. They have an automatic savings plan that automatically deducts money from your checking account weekly, monthly, or bimonthly. That way, I can consider it another bill that I have to factor into my budget. Another thing you could do is monitor your spending for a week or two. That way you can see where you are wasting money. You have to write down everything you spend in a book as you spend it. You would be amazed at how much money you waste buying sodas or junk food at a gas station. Once you can see where it is going then you can make up ways to avoid them.

Answer 2

Your goal at the moment should be to do well in school and get a degree in a field that you love. If you have supportive parents, they will help and when you graduate you will be making more serious money. However, I would recommend that you bank 25% of the money you are now making and do what you can with the rest. Save the first 50 or 55 dollars from each paycheck--otherwise, nothing will ever be saved. If your grades are good, consider taking another part time job, but remember--school comes first! I worked my way through school by working summers and then one night a week in a restaurant during the school year.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Develop a budget to find out where your money is going. I know it's tedious and boring, but it needs to be done. You'll see what you can spend less (if anything) on.

Also, there's a financial principle called "paying yourself first." When you cash your paycheck, put some money into a savings account (preferably at least 10%), and DON'T TOUCH IT. By doing this, you'll have something started so you can eventually leave home. You may even want to invest in the stock market, which will give you a better rate of return.

You're smart by trying to find out all this early; had I learned this at age 18 instead of age 24, I'd probably have about $100k saved by now instead of only $10k (I'm almost 29, BTW).

Answer 4

You are probably never going to save up enough money to leave home comfortably working at minimum wage.

But the quickest way for you to move out of your parents' house is to concentrate on your college courses, get good grades, and then get a good job. Taking part time jobs right now is a waste of time because you will not do as well in school and consequently you will end up living with your parents forever because you will not get good paying jobs with mediocre grades. At least your parents still support you, just put up with your parents for another 4 years.

Answer 5

First of all, spend a week tracking ALL of your spending...not just the new pair of jeans or CD, but everytime you buy a soda, or smoothie, a pack of gum....keep a small notepad with you.

At the end of the week, take a hard look at where you can make some changes and take that money and put it into savings.
EX: one smoothie every afternoon for 6 days...$5.00 each is $30.00 in ONE WEEK!!!! Cut that in HALF (so you don't have to completely give everything up.) and you have $15.00 / week! There will be many more areas to "find" money to save!

You are young, make good habits NOW, and you won't be spending the rest of your life trying to dig yourself out of the whole.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Pay yourself first.
For every 100.00 of your pay, stick it in a high intrest rate savings account. ING has a good one. www.ingdirect.com and you can start up an account for as little as 1.00
Place 20.00 per 100.00 everytime you get paid. Even if you were to save 40.00 per month you would have 480.00 in one year.
Now during this time, you should look for another pt job....they are out there. Try working at McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's Tim Horton's, Krispy Kreme. any one of these places usually have schedules that are flexable around your schooling.
Learn to not to spend. Unless it is much needed. Ask yourself first, do I really need this?

Answer 7

Don't live beyond your means.
Don't move out until your done with your school.
Don't get married till your done with school and have a job.
As far as jobs, my daughter found a job through the college she was attending. It was a city job that worked with the students while they went to college. The job even paid 10 dollars and hour.

Answer 8

Since you live at home and don't have much in the way of bills. You could stand to save half of what you make each payday. The rest is your to play with as you want.

Answer 9

a very good option is to work from home on your computer - write articles, sell on eBay, make a website, take surveys...nd make money on ur own!

i m sure u will earn good money, much more than what u r earning now!

check out my profile for more information, all the best :)

Answer 10

Financial Plan Your Way To Success
By: Jeff Lakie

I think you'll find what you need to read here in this web site. You can explore ideas of starting your own home based business....so read on!!!

Good Luck