best ways to save money?

Question

well im a student,but i want to buy a house in 5 yrs.does anyone have any effective ways of saving money?

Answer 1

5years is quite a few years away. not to mention you are a student-- you are occupied by studies & won't be able to save much. if you wanna buy a house in that short amount of time, saving won't get you there. Also consider time & condition of the housing market ---in 5years, do you think house prices won't be that high;you might wanna consider & compare your goal with the time horizon..

Investing, not saving, is the way to go --if you really wanna achieve that goal. Saving money won't "grow" your money, investing will. Try to learn about several investment/asset classes -- invest thru real estate, Forex (foreign exchange trading), stocks, bonds, options, futures, commodities, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options, etc. Each has their pros & cons; ALL entail risks AND/OR earning potential WAY BIGGER than savings. your risk appetite, personality & goals will determine which of these will be your investment vehicle(s).
Again, i remind you to do your due diligence & research before you dive in. & as much as possible, use INVESTIBLE money --that is, avoid investing money which you've set aside for monthly allowance, rent etc because doing so might "hurt" you big time.

Focus on your goal, be determined, LIVE WITHIN OR BELOW your means, do your research & you're on your way to achieving that house...! Good luck!

Answer 2

Put money into a managed fund, $400 dollars a month. They wait for the payment, so you are forced to save it. Anytime is a good time to start cause it is a Long Term investment (so generally over time you can double it every say around 7 years) and it compounds. So you could get a 30% return in say 4-6 months, if u pick a good one. $100 a week=$400 a month =$4800 a year =$24000 over five years and double this by compound following the rule =$48,000 not bad for 100 bucks a week. Theres always an excuse it will go down or won't work but at least youll have 24 grand. Internet accounts are good also 5% interest and cant get at on weekends, till Monday morning. Just dont ask for a card. Get a timer for your oil heater- I was living in a cold climate (Orange) last year and the timer reduced the bill by like $500 bucks for the quarter. From 900 to 300 and it was still snowing in November. Dont buy books on investment, you could have invested the money. If u do sell it on ebay when finished. Sell anything u dont need on ebay. Its cheap to sell and someone else benefits from something you dont need. If you have Cash pay you credit card off, this is the worst debt you can have.

Answer 3

Be frugal - use coupons and take the money saved from them and put it in your saving account, do the same with any club discounts or sale items you may purchase. When you put the money you saved into an account it goes to work for you. Then once you have saved 1000 buy a high yield TBill (treasury bill:http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/treasurybill.asp) it will usually pay 2-3x the interest of a regular savings. Make sure to have 1 credit card and keep it paid (use it to make all purchases and pay it at the end of the month) this will help establish credit - make sure to steer clear of Capitol One and Discovery since they do not report to credit companies unless you default, it is better to get a Bank of America or Citibank Card for a good credit builder. Don't look at the card as a "credit cart" use it as a debit and pay the full balance every month. If you drink - don't drink out often instead have friends over to drink and go over their houses as well also learn to cook so you don't eat out as much your food and drink bill will go down 30-40%. Good Luck!

Answer 4

In 5 years?
- Don't drink alcohol.
- Don't do drugs.
- Don't smoke cigarettes.
- Buy a bicycle instead of a car and definitely don't use public transport unless you really need to.
- Work 2 jobs.
- When each pay check comes in imagine that is the only money you have. If you still have $10 or $250 left over from the previous pay check, put it all in a high interest account and forget it exists.
- Save coupons, free offers and buy budget foods from the supermarkets.
- Go to wholesale outlets to buy in bulk for discounts on tinned food or staple foods like lentils, rice, pasta, sugar, flour etc.
- If you still don't have enough money after 5 years ask a best friend or fellow student if they want to take a joint mortgage with you. Agreements are usually flexible and will protect your money if the friend defaults on their share later on.

Answer 5

Figure out what your expenses are and subtract that from your total income. This will be the extra money you can save. Now look at the expenses again and come up with a way you can reduce them, more savings. Pay yourself first, deposit that money into a high return savings account. My local Credit Union pays 5% and there are several online savings account that are close to that. A steady savings plan is the way to build wealth and in 5 years you will have that down payment and developed the good habits to save and achieve your goals. Good luck!

Answer 6

Some of it is attitude. If you look upon your savings as a "bill" that must be paid every month, you are apt to save more. Decide on an amount you think you can manage each month and then when you pay your other bills, stick in a check for your savings account each time. It doesn't have to be a huge amount, but if you conscienciously do this, you will find your nest egg grows fairly quickly.
My husband is very good at this and there are times when I get frustrated by the lack of ready cash to do some of the things I'd like to do, but then I look at our lovely retirement account and the savings for my son's college and the emergency fund we keep and I feel really good inside knowing my family and future are going to be taken care of.

Answer 7

I was always told that once you hit the age of 20 to save $100 a week..... then by the time you retired you would have plenty of money to live off of. I don't know that this would work for you cause five years is a short amount of time.

Just hope it's still a buyers market when your ready....... you wont have to pay closing costs then.

Answer 8

well u need to spend less n save lot..dun spend unwisely like in junk food,wit friends,xtra cloths,not even for girls...like this by saving small amount in last it will be very much..

Answer 9

invest in something so your money has a chance to grow

Answer 10

yesyesyes?