Easy ways to save money!?!?!?

Question

I work full time and average about $600 a paycheck. Right now I am looking at getting an apartment for around $300-$400 a month and I am also trying to save at least $7,000-$10,000 by next June for a backpacking trip. Any tips on how to do that?

The $600 is every other week and I also am a Pampered Chef consultant and make about $400 a month doing that.

Answer 1

whenever you get any spare change, or 1 dollar bills, stick them in a jar, and dont touch them, leave it and keep adding you change and dollars to it everytime you have them, this worked for me because i worked in a restaraunt and made tips, and each day i would put at least 3 dollars in plus some change, i let it go for like 2 years, and bam! 2500 bucks just sitting there, plus good luck finding an appartment for less than 600 and why do you need 10 thousand for a backpacking trip? i took 1 thousand to vegas!!! just cut back

Answer 2

I like the second response--a second job is the way to go. That's what I did. There are also cheap ways to eat, and still get all the nutrition you need. Lots of rice (brown is much better than white) and plenty of veggies. Humans actually need very little animal protein (some would argue none, but there are some essential vitamins and better sources of amino acids in meat).

DO NOT put your savings in a mutual fund. Short term investing should not be risky. A lot of companies are competing in high yield savings accounts--typically around 5%. That would be best--I use Orange from ING. You can transfer funds online to whichever checking account you have registered. Pretty easy to stop in an internet cafe and do this just about anywhere.

If you want to extend your backpacking trip, you can ask around at hostels if there is any day work, or even cleaning up around the hostel. You could also teach English in many countries since you're a native speaker.

Answer 3

All right, first, let's look at your income as of right now. I'm going to assume your figures are after taxes. If not, this probably won't work for you.

$600 paycheck every 2 weeks = $15,600 per year
Add $400 per month = extra $4800 per year
Total: $20,400 Annual earnings

If you're salaried, you don't have to worry about losing money from sick time and/or vacation. If not, you'll have to be very careful about taking time off. Nothing cuts into a budget like missing a day and consequently being out $75. It adds up FAST.

Now, let's look at expenses. There are five basic living expenses for your situation: Rent, utilities, Car, groceries, and entertainment. These figures are a little rough, and can be adjusted for your budget.

Rent: Unless you go for a horrible ghetto slum, you probably won't find anything for $300, even a studio apartment (equivilent of a hotel room). $400 is pushing it, unless you get a studio. I'll go with the $400 figure to be more realistic. Living alone is very expensive. If you get a roommate, the $300 is more realistic ($600 for a 2 bedroom). I'd recommend moving in with a roommate to save expenses, if you have someone you know and trust enough to live with.

$400 a month = $4800 per year. With tax and misc. expenses (like security deposit) it'll probably be about $5,000 to $5,200 per year.

Then there is electric, phone, water, internet/cable, laundry, and misc. utilities like sewer, gas, and trash. Sometimes these are included in rent, but usually they aren't, and definitely won't be at the $400 figure. If you live alone, being VERY VERY conservative with using your utilities, it'll cost you about $150 per month to cover all these. $200 is much more realistic. This figure can also be cut down if you get a roommate.

Then there are car expenses. Insurance, figure about $100 a month (conservative figure). Gas, about $75 a month (that'll get you two fillups for a 15 gallon car). Maintenance (Oil change, car washes, etc) is extra, so is car payments if you're making those. For your budget, I'd put about $200 per month for car stuff.

Then there's groceries. Unless you eat raman every single meal, you'll want to budget at least $5 per day, which is $35 per week (7 days) toward groceries. That adds up to $1820 per year, so I'd make $2000 your yearly food budget (that's $167 per month). This may seem like a lot until you actually get into a grocery store. Then it will seem woefully inadequate, espeically when you factor in things like toilet paper, shampoo, dishwashing soap, and so on. Coupons can help bring this cost down quite a bit, so can sales and buying in bulk.

Entertainment: When I lived on my own, I budgeted $50 per month for entertainment. This can be any number of things. Partying, going to the movies once or twice, a nice dinner, and so on. The important thing is to stop spending when the $50 is gone. If you don't budget your entertainment, you'll end up spending more than you would if you just accounted for it in the first place (think diet slipping).

With this budget:
Income: $20,400
Outcome: $5,000 (rent)+$2400 (utilities)+$2,400 (car)+$2000 (groceries)+$600(entertainment) = $12,000 annual

Difference: $8000 in annual surplus

You have 13 months to save, which will give you about another $700 for the extra month. That adds up to $8700, which is fairly close to your goal. You can probably bump that figure up the extra thousand if you cut into each of your budgets, particularly food. The key is not to go over it. A roommate can also help cut expenses immensely. If you can stay where you are for another two months, you'll be well over your goal.

Answer 4

Get a second job. You won't have any free time to spend the money you are making and it will add up really quick. I saved $5000 in 2 months once doing that. It's hard work but you will be ready for your trip in no time.

Answer 5

The easiest way, bar none, is to have it out of your paycheck, and you never see it.
Monthly investments are great.
Live within your paycheck. That is also the secret to happiness.
Make a budget? Only do this once, and do not change it unless your circumstances change a lot.
Good luck.

Answer 6

Cut back on some unnecessary expenses. save gas money anytime you can (do your errands before/after work while you are already out). track your spending for a wk or 2, maybe even a month to see where/if you are "wasting $". figure out what you have left after bills and necessities are paid for each pay. (know when & what comes out of each pay) figure out your average left over from pay to pay. put back a % of the "extra" cash each pay or a certain amt. Or figure out how much $ you need per pay to reach your goal & set it aside. w/o knowing details of your situation - consider a roomate if possible to share expenses for apt. make sure you know what you're getting into ie. utilities etc. if you're able to now - start setting the "rent" aside now to get in the habit of not having it to spend. a mental tip - put a picture of your goal/dream on your mirror or fridge to remind you what you are working for...it'll help keep you on the track to save the money and not spend it. good luck and have fun on your trip

Answer 7

Stop eatting out. No fast food either. Make your own meals. Don't but Starbucks. Conserve utilities. Wash your clothes but hang them to dry. Don't get your nails or hair done. No new clothes. Cut the cable. Get basic internet service. Get a second or part time job. Use public transportation. Car pool if you have to take a car. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

Create a budget. Stay on budget. Allocate dollars towards every single expenditure.

If you are wanting to save for something for June 08, figure you'll need to save $583 per month for 12 months to reach $7K and $833 per month to reach $10K.

Answer 9

For anything you do think NO-FRILLS. June 2008 ? That should be easy. If you put aside $250. a week you"d have over $10,000 by then. You didn"t mention any necessary expenses besides rent and food....

Answer 10

Buy no-name brands of things, don't eat out, take your lunch to work. Cut back on spending in areas where you can, no new clothes for a bit, don't go out with friends for dinner or the show, maybe rent a movie, invite them over, things like that.