help saving money?

Question

what is anyones best advice for saving money and spending it wisely. i dont have a lot of self control (which is kind of bad in my part). im a shopaholic and once i get paid i use my paycheck that day. if its not clothes im buying its fast food. would anyone be willing to give me advice please? id appreciate no sarcastic answers. =)

Answer 1

Ive been there before. I got myself in all kinds of financial trouble because of my debit card. i cut it up and limited my self to so much a week and put the rest in the bank. Sit down and figure out how much money you need each week for gas, food, bills, etc. total that all up and put the remaining money into a savings account to draw interested. I gave myself a set $120 every week to pay all my bills. it hurts the social life and limits your trips to the mall but it helped a lot. Before i knew it i had a couple hundred dollars in the bank.

Answer 2

Hey,
You've identified two areas were you know your money is going so here's my advice:

1. If jumping knee deep into a budget seems overwhelming may I offer an on the spot way to reduce your spending and save some money. If you happen to hold on to your receipts it would make this easier but if not, it's OK. Figure out what you've spent on clothes and eating out in the last month (if you're paid bi-weekly) or the last two weeks (if you're paid weekly). Be Honest, this is just for you.
Whatever that dollar amount is divide it in half and write that dollar amount down on the calendar date of your next pay day. If you’re not a pen and paper girl program it into your Cell phone or PDA or give your self an email alert. ON your next pay day, assuming you’re cashing a check or are paid in cash, take that dollar amount and go directly to a bank and deposit it in a savings account. (I’m assuming you at least have a checking account so opening a savings will take a few minutes of your time at the bank). If you receive direct deposit request that amount be transferred directly into your savings account. This you can do immediately. The transfer may take two pay periods but you can always make the first savings deposit yourself. Either way, you would have reduced your spending and increased your savings in one pay period.

2. Though your circumstances may be a little different I think some of the tips offered in my piece on minimizing the fast food bill might be helpful to you (www.associatedcontent.com/article/371660/eating_out_with_the_kids_on_a_budget.html). Again, any money you manage to save that you know would otherwise have been spent should go directly into your savings, not spent on something else.

If you have any other specific questions please feel free to respond to me. I’ll do my best to help you out. Good Luck.

Answer 3

MAKE A BUDGET. Calculate all your expenses, like gas, bills, mandatory stuff that you need to pay monthly. With that number, you will see what you have left to save OR shop with. If you absoultely HAVE to shop, then give yourself half of what you have left over after bills, and with the other half of that money...PUT IT AWAY.

EXAPMLE: You make $1,000 minus $500 (bills, gas mand. stuff)= $500
SAVE HALF OF THAT $250, and the other $250 is your monthly "allowance" to splurge a little.

If you have an account, leave all the money for bills and to save in your account and ONLY withdraw your "shopping" budget. This way, you can only spend whatever cash you have on hand on shopping, and after that, you have to wait until the next paycheck.

Write it all out to give yourself a visual of what you have to work with. After seeing how much you can be saving within a couple months time, and how much you've been wasting, it will motivate you to use your money a little more wisely. Sometimes it's easier to see the cash in hand, rather than the hundreds or thousands of dollars it could turn into if we save and sacrafice a little here and there.

Answer 4

You can easily set it up so that a portion of your paycheck goes directly to your savings account. You can do this either through your bank, or if your paychecks are direct deposited, you can have your work send part of each paycheck to your savings account. Have at least 10% of each paycheck go into a savings account.

If you have a 401(k) at your work, make sure you are contributing to that, as well. If not, learn about Roth IRAs and set one of those up with automatic deposits.

Make it automatic, and then you'll know that you can use the rest of your paycheck on whatever you want, because your savings are taken care of.

Answer 5

Sign up for direct deposit at work ,
And have it go to a savings account .
(sounds like you do not have to pay rent , like parents are doing that ) .
When you make a trip to the bank , limit yourself to $20 since you don't pay for your living yet .
Soon , the parents will ask you to move , so you need to start planning for all the deposits that come with apartments , utilities and the like .

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Answer 6

get a savings account which takes a direct debit out of your wages even a small amount which you cant touch until it matures in a year or 2 pays better interest 2 and stay away from those shops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 7

save first. make it a priority.... save before spending and paying bills.

get on a written budget.. spending plan....

avoid debt and credit cards... when you have no debt, no payments, saving becomes easier.