money saving tips...anyone???

Question

My fiance and I just bought a new car, and have to have full coverage insurance. Neither of up make more than 10 dollars an hour unless we work over time. It's over 600 a month for the car and insurance plus we have cell phone bills, grocerys & gas that we have to have money for as well. Does anyone have any ideas on what we could do to save some money for ourselves???

Answer 1

Set up a budget. Start by writing down everything you spend money on for a two week period. You'll be amazed at how much money you waste.

Go over all your bills and look for ways to cut costs. For example, you landline phone: get rid of call waiting and other extra cost features. Get rid of wire maintenance. You can knock $15 off your phone bill.

Plan meals for the week based on grocery ads. Make a list and don't buy anything that isn't on the list. This will cut your grocery bill in half.

Brown bag your lunch instead of hitting the fast food places.

Answer 2

The problem is NOT the car insurance. The REAL problem is that you failed to realize what the TOTAL cost of buying the new car was BEFORE you did it. So the area you need to look at is not how do you pay the insurance but how do you manage ALL your finances so that you can and do understnad all the costs of the actions you take in the future.
Sit down with all your monthly bills, your taxs, your income, and realy look at where your current income is going and what options you have to do the following 3 things.
1.How can we create more income?
2.How can we reduce our current expenses?
3.How can we reduce the amount we pay it taxs?

Proper planning will keep you from getting surprises like this in the future and good money management skills will allow you to live the life you want without the stress of financial problems.
Short term answers never solve long term problems so do not worry so much about "the car insurance" but worry about "how do we manage our income to create the life style we want for us in our future?"
Maybe starting a home based business that will allow you to use pretax dollars to pay for the car, the insurance, the gas, the plates, etc. instead of using after tax dollars to pay these same bills is the answer. Maybe returning the car to the dealership is the answer. Maybe shopping around for a different insurance quote is the answer.
The best "investment" you can make is an investment in yourself. Go to a book store and buy "The Richest Man In Babylon" or better yet; check it out from a local library for free. Study "Pay yourself First" as a subject. Learn tax law and see how the rich manage their taxs and income.
Your income is equal to the avg income of your 5 closest freinds. If you want a higher standard of living, start being friends with people who have a higher income level. Don't fall for "Keeping up with the Jones" mindset in yourself or your friends but find the REAL people who truely have higher income and not just a higher spending lifestyle.

Answer 3

At over $600 a month, that must have been a pretty expensive car - especially for a couple that earns around $40k a year combined (assuming it's a 5 year loan). At that monthly payment, the car itself was probably around the same as your annual salary COMBINED. That was probably your first mistake there.

The first money saving tip would have been - DON'T BUY THAT CAR. But I guess it's too late for that.

This may be hard to hear, but the best tip is to stop living beyond your means. I know this is something no one wants to hear, but it's true.

You need to take a good hard look at what you really don't need. If you're in such dire straits that you are literally losing money every month - you have to acknowledge that and take desperate measures....

1. Sell the car - you can't afford it. You shouldn't have bought it. Take the bus or buy a very old used car.
2. Get rid of your cell phones - until you can afford it.
3. Buy everything in cash - you'd be surprised at how less apt you'd be parting with your money seeing it go away as cash.

Good luck.

Answer 4

sounds like you should have bought a cheaper car.. what the hell costs 600 a month for a car and insurance? i pay 350 for a new 2007 subaru and 80/month for insurance. I'm a 24 year old male too.. invest in school get a degree and make more money.. thats the best investment around.

Answer 5

Seems that you have done something very dumb. You bought something for which you cannot pay. You have no budget, you have no plan, you bought an automobile with someone with whom you are not married (or related for that matter). You have a serious financial crisis here.

You need to increase your income. You are living at the poverty level.

Answer 6

See if you can return the car. It is way too expensive. Get rid of cable TV. Stop eating out and cook for yourself.