Topic: Cracking the Code of Saving Money... - page 10. (Read 1704 times)

You can't save anything unless you are earning way above your monthly expenditures because inflation keeps going higher over time and the prices of goods and services are rising up really fast with no clear sign of stopping or dropping very soon. In such a situation, one can barely be able to save anything from their income unless, as I said earlier, they are earning way too much that they can't spend it all on their monthly expenditures no matter how much they spend.

So, personally, I'm unable to save anything at the moment because my income doesn't cover all my costs along with savings and I can barely fulfill the needs of the household with the income, that is the reason why I'm always looking for extra sources of income just so that I can also have some savings and don't face any issues with the expenditures.

The people who are most productive with their money will learn and educate themselves about the financial world, primarily how the stock markets work. Companies are churning profits every year and paying those profits out to share holders, who can then either reinvest it or spend the money elsewhere. There's lots of different ways to invest in the stock market, but it's the next step you need to take after building a comfortable savings pot. Some people say you should keep 3-6 months worth of salary in your savings in case you have any problems, after that you need to start putting your money to work for you and the route that most people take is buying shares of index funds,  individual stocks or topping up their pension.

Humans are insatiable, hence the urge to buy many things even when the earnings is not high. Saving is something that is encouraging but it is extremely difficult to accomplish if you are not disciplined. For you to be able to save means you should be able to earn well in order to take care of your daily needs. If your daily needs is not meant, the essence of saving will be defeated. You save from abundance and not out of starvation.
So, to be able to save, you first need to increase your earnings and then reduce your expenses and finally discipline yourself. Save as you can, not saving what you are unable to save and in the end you go back to your savings to empty it.

Saving is the power of compounding and the interest it bears is in the long run when it sooths the need for which it was saved.
I learnt of a friend who knew how to save because he made a quarterly budget of his expenses and not with a certain amount, but with a certain percentage for anything he would spend on. He also buys things in bulk in order to save more and have enough to do other things. When we talk of gratification, or fulfilment of a desire or pleasurable endeavour, he takes himself and his family on a vacation once in a year when all his savings has been upheld and quarterly percentage target has been met.

To avoid debts, to payback debts in fractions, to avoid credit cards and loans and to delay gratification has always been the best way to have more money to save. Saving is an insurance against the future and it helps to keep one above a certain poverty level of the mind.

Start by making a monthly budget and enlist every little expense. Make a list of essential commodities and things that can be considered a luxury. Spend less than your earnings. Increase the sources of income by investing in stocks, bitcoin, real estate and liquid assets. Prefer to eat food at home and limit your visits to restaurants. Live in a low-maintenance apartment and travel using public transport. Don't buy an expensive cell phone or a home appliance.
All these things will take time and continuous effort, but in the end, you will have ample savings.

It is not easy to save money, and when starts receiving more income they still find it difficult to save money because their expenses becomes high too, and this is the mistake people make. They feel having more income they are supposed to live large and change standard of living and you see that by the end of the week or month their is nothing left in their hands. I think people still need to manage even if they have more sources of income, with this strategy it is very possible to save some money, but if expenses keeps increasing it will be difficult to save some money.

I save money only for short-term purposes. Say maybe two to four months. My long-term savings are in Bitcoin. Those are kept for 6 months and above.

For my Bitcoin, immediately after I receive my salary for the month, I buy Bitcoin with a certain amount. I know different things will come that will make me spend the money so I just do this immediately to avoid temptation. It takes discipline and I'm still working on it. Sometimes I default and don't buy Bitcoin but I'm getting better at it.

For my short-term savings, I have a target of a certain amount of money I want to save over a specific period, usually 3-4 months. So once every month or week (depending on the agreement), my bank automatically locks up a specific amount of money in my account but separate from the normal money. They pay interest anyway, but the Interest isn't worth shit as we all know how the banking system works.
I can break this agreement before the agreed date but I'll lose a certain percentage of the money so that makes me not even think about that at all.

It's been working for me so far. I use it to save up money for stuff like rent, fees, and other things I gotta save up for.

One of the best ways to learn to save more is by running on a small budget and locking large part of your income you can't easily access for a minimum of 3 months in good investments. The low budget could force you to become creative and more prudent in spending, especially by driving you to spend on cheap and necessary things. And you need avoid compromising on good quality while spending.

It could be that your undisciplined spending habits are the problem. If you cannot control yourself and always indulge in buying your wants, that's where you won't be able to save money. Some truly wealthy people live below their means, even after achieving financial freedom. So, if they can do it in that situation, I believe those struggling to save money should learn this method.

By bringing it up here, it means you've already recognized it as a problem, and there's always a solution to any problem. I suggest that if you can live within your means, you should follow that without questioning. Eventually, savings will naturally accumulate as you minimize your spending and focus only on your needs.

Avoid any, and I mean any subscription-type/based payments, primarily the ones that are used for entertainment ones (or loans for outside of it). No matter how much comfort it brings you, it's not a necessity. I forgot where I got it but it was one of the things that I always followed after waking up to it. And since I'm dumb (and relatively new to saving up), i use the 50-40-10 rule, 50% for needs, 40% for wants, 10% for loans/savings. Said 40% usually has extra, so I put it on the 10% if possible.

I also followed through getting hobbies that are inexpensive, in my case drawing. I have a feeling it isn't going to be inexpensive sooner or later though after some arm pain settled in quite frequently

Man, I feel this struggle. Saving money in a world that practically begs you to spend is like trying to swim upstream. One trick that's worked for me is automating my savings. I set up an automatic transfer to a separate savings account on payday. It's like a forced savings plan. The money is out of sight, out of mind, and it adds up over time.

• Live with you parents in parents house it cuts lots of cost and energy, like your mom will cook for everyone which consumes less energy, and saves money on groceries.
• Cut unnecessary costs like purchasing entertainment-related subscriptions across multiple platforms for no reason, benefit from free trials.
• Use public transport of you are comfortable it cuts lot of costs of personal vehicle like maintenance costs, fuel costs, you cannot use your time while you drive.
• Saving a little each month takes discipline. Don't spend it on new gadgets when they come out.

Build a correct mindset. Have some time alone, meditate, and think and feel what you want to do with your life, and then promise yourself to follow the dos and don'ts in order to reach that goal.

So saving is one of the most important things we need to do. Avoid having debts. Budget the money that you have and always allocate a fixed savings. Avoid using credit cards and even debit cards as much as possible since it is easy to spend money using them. Use cash and stick to your available budget. Or at least have a separate debit account for your savings or for your regular expenditures if spending online like for groceries and other stuff is much easier.

I just avoid spending too much money. Every time I receive my salary, I think of what I need to do like taking note of my expenses, separating the money for my needs, and taking at least 10% for my savings. Always remember that an individual should align their salary to their expenses. It's not a good idea if, for example, you have a $1k salary then your needs and expenses combined are worth $1.5k. Cut out the expenses you don't need, as possible as you can, and think of a way to get a cheap price for everything you need.

And if it's impossible to align your expenses with your salary, it's all about changing careers/jobs or considering having a part-time job. This is the only choice, so you won't be short on your money.

You can't save money if you do it at the end, or use leftover money from your salary. If you want to save do it at the beginning, let's say cut 10% whenever you receive your income to a dedicated saving account. But this is under the assumption that your salary is enough for your basic needs. Otherwise, you'll end up with zero or even borrowing money, even when you already live frugally. Anyway, don't waste your time allocating your already small income (for those who need this advice), rather think more about how you get more money/income.

Its not just about saving money, its the intention of the savings that keeps the hope alive and encourages you to save more. What I mean is this, there should be a target for the savings. You should have something that you want to use the accumulated money for, maybe to invest it in something meaningful when it accumulates to a certain amount, or use it to execute a project at the long run. With the target in mind, you'll be motivated to pay the price to achieve your aim.

Now to your question, you need a lot of discipline to be able to save.
1. Create another account for the savings purpose only. Estimate the cost of the investment you want to embark on and place a rule not to interfere with the money until it reaches the said amount.
2. Only set  aside from your earnings  that little portion that will not put you under unnecessary pressure and keep saving it consistently.
3. In order to save efficiently, you need to find other sources of income, no matter how small, just do something to keep some like extra funds coming in to compensate for the ones that are saved. This will provide little funds for backup in case of emergencies.
4. Cut your coat according to the cloth. Don't live outside your means or else, saving consistently might be hard.
5. Ensure the savings account collects the money automatically from your earnings cos if left for you to do manually, you might change your mind on some occasions. Automatic savings removes from you the power to prevent the normal savings routine.

Kill the spirit of spending your money anyhow, and it will be very easy for you to save any amount of money you want to save in a year that will make you a better investors in the future. We know is not easy to save huge amount of money these days, because of the heavy inflation that is affecting the global economy and is causing the price of commodities to increase daily in the market and is not encouraging citizens to save their money the way they use to saved in the past when the global economy was very good. If you are working in an organization, you can divide your salary into two, and use one part for food items include house rent, children school fees and other things and save the remaining half for future purpose.

1. Pay yourself first by deducting savings from your earned income before spending it on basic necessities and other stuffs.
2. Practice a minimalist lifestyle.
3. Save more by making more - it's hard to beat inflation so having more active income through jobs or passive income through investments is ideal. Go into jobs or trades that actually pays you more based on your performance such as commission based sales.

Yeah, I think a budget and having the mentality to keep consumer spending low is essential. I don't think a code or anything is necessary either, which complicates things too much. The generation of our grandparents was something they practiced by default because there was not the abundance of today (I refer especially to developed countries) and saving for tomorrow was necessary, not a difficult option in the face of so many offers, different means of payment and even of financing, as it is today.

You are right, spending may sound easy, but it's actually hard to execute. I believe in every goal you make it will most certainly always require sacrifices. In this case, you need to sacrifice some of your leisure that lets you spend money and start cutting those unnecessary expenses like alcohol, cigarettes, and dining in a fine restaurant. These will be your first step. It's always gonna be the start that's very hard, once you see the significant result, you'll get encouraged to even save more. This is based on my experience when I was still saving up for almost 7 years to build my home. It's not a big home but at least I don't rent anymore.
Always remember, it's always gonna be the start that's difficult.