Topic: Cracking the Code of Saving Money... - page 2. (Read 1704 times)

having some usdt set aside for unexpected things that come up will be great especially if you have a family to take care of. when you don't have this, you'd be scrambling to ask your parents which is embarrassing.

i once read from a book that says, it doesn't matter how much your salary is, it's what you have saved. this is true because people who earn huge salary per month also spends too much. they forget to set aside for emergency.

There's should be a balance on which we know that savings does play a crucial role specially on emergency times or the moment we do need up some money. These things or amounts isnt really just that intended for disasters but also could really be used on having some investment on which it would really be possibly be able to add up more income source in case it would be succeeding. It would really be just that depending on a certain individual on how they would really be handling up themselves when it comes to this matter because it isnt really just that hard to save up if you are really that dedicated on saving into or having those kind of plans.
There's no need on cracking code or whatsoever because it does really only need up that kind of common sense and realistic approach on things which needs to be done.

Dont make yourself do able on coming into a point that you dont have any savings and then problem comes, then this is the time that you would really be seeing
this to be that savings are really that important. Dont wait up for such moment to come! So better save than on having those kind of regret.

Yeah, consistency is the key to this practice. When you're too great with small amounts then for sure that you are now able to handle big amounts and you're going to save money no matter what happens. The problem with people that earns a lot that came from bottom earner, the lifestyle is also inflating and instead of saving more is that, they're spending more for their own satisfaction. But that's okay because everyone deserves to feel that type of living when they came from the bottom.

I reckon the tip of what I have heard a long time ago is that you're not saving money to save money but you are saving money to invest it to any investment or asset that shall appreciate overtime. What type of investment and asset? We're in a bitcoin forum and that's obvious to say but other than that, it depends to what you know as long as you don't invest into those without prior knowledge.

instead of for instance getting $1800 a month(~$15/h : 40 hours/w then taxed). putting $500 aside at start of month. and then spending the other $1300 on bills, groceries and life stuff and run out before the end of the month to need to then touch the $500 to survive the remainder of the month..

learn to budget it all at the start
look over last 3 months of spending. and categorise it in a spreadsheet
actually have a proper deep look at your spending habits and see where the money actually goes
then using multiple bank accounts. set budgets for it

EG if your groceries average $80-$120 a week
set a "grocery account" that only gets a standing order(auto-payment) from main account of $100 each week as a set schedule in your main account settings.
then when you go grocery shopping only take the grocery account card with you. that way it keeps you within your set budget

many people have no issues having 15 credit cards in their wallets for different loyalty SCAMS
but they never organise themselves to have 6 debit cards with set auto-payment limits to help them budget to never need to touch savings/use credit

just try today to look at the last 3 month of bank statements and put it into a spreadsheet. calculate average spending. and ration it out into different accounts

and just this week see how frugal you can be by buying cheaper brands or not buying non-essentials.. test yourself this week.
see what you can learn about yourself this week

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challenge yourself this week. test yourself. make it a game/competition

there are other mindset tricks too

for instance if you are paid say $15/h work
if you can do something this week where it takes you an hour of planning/organising/thinking, that saves you $22.50 the you have managed to pay yourself 1 hour of 'overtime' work at time+half

for instance if groceries takes you 45minutes. but purchase deciding whilst in supermaket can take 15 extra minutes
if you can save $15-$22.50 you have just paid yourself to go shopping instead of working for an hour

Saving without a plan is like sailing without a rudder. To what purpose are you storing cash? Money should be dynamic and work for us economically. While saving is important, I think balance is better. What if we invested 20% of our salary? Our money grows and adapts to the economy this way. We're wired for instant gratification, making "saving first, spending later" difficult. Would it change things if we saw saving as self-care? Consider your savings account as a vacation, startup fund, or emergency fund. Doesn't that inspire? Saving should be seen as a strategy for future success and stability, not just a savings account. A modest mindset shift could lead to a healthier financial existence.

Even though savings keeps money aside, at the end of the month I feel that I should spend that money from struggling. I think like this at the end of every month which is why I can't save money permanently even if I put money aside. I have shared some of my bad habits in my previous post, I understand things I should give up but still I can't give up those things. The extra travel costs my bike extra fuel which is an extra expense for me as well as eating out at extra restaurants and staying in hotels on long drives which also cost me a lot of money. I understand that there comes a time in life when I shouldn't move around so much but still I know why I can't actually do this. Maybe I wouldn't have to stress about saving now if I could work the way I think.

It's actually easy, if you don't buy things for their own satisfaction, do it continuously, you won't be addicted to buying things that you will only regret later.

I don't think that's the problem, but daily cost needs are higher than a person's income so it becomes an inhibiting factor and if you try to break down the average it will be seen that covering monthly costs is still not maximally accommodated.

I see intelligent people always making calculations or calculations to see which points are weak and need to be improved.

Well, if you find it, it will be easy to allocate some extra funds for savings. If you are forced to save first, wait a minute, then what arises is the potential for being in debt again.

true! The main issue isn't even the amount you are putting saving, consistency matters a lot when it comes to dealing with your saving habit.

You can even decide to be saving a small percentage of your monthly or weekly earnings like 30% and no matter what happens, you know you must save that amount and after you've saved that you can now decide to save the an additional amount in cases when the amount remaining exceeds what you've planned to use it for.

The issue with most people is that they budget a huge percentage of their monthly early as the one they will be saving but at the end of the day, they aren't consistent with their saving because of unplanned demands theat might come along the way.

explore the creativity. you will be surprised where it may lead
also know that kids grow up, surprisingly by 2 years every 2 years. so its not much longer before they are bored of mickeymouse and princesses, maybe one more vacation and they will want something different

the other thing about the pocketmoney/chore thing. is if you explain the math in kid-speak that if they want disney in 2024 they need to do 5out of 6 chores per week. it lets them decide if they really want disney.. or you can give them other options. if they only do 4outof6 then they can have disney in 2025 or they can go to local themepark in 2024

let them motivate themselves to do chores. even if its simple kindergarden age kids. like dressing themselves or brushing teeth or making bed.. it doesnt have to be yardwork or cooking a family meal (leave more complex chores as they grow up)

but by budgeting an amount for a vacation and putting the money aside per week/month doesnt shock the system next year. you can even make it fun. like earning bonuses(if they skip chores) if they do good things with the family like make a hand drawn mothers/fathers day card or if they win a game of hide-n-seek

yep playing hide-n-seek around the house is free. but can be fun to make kids earn their vacation weekly goldstar/points.. by doing free fun things that save you money/time

it can change the mood of the family too.. instead of "go to your room and clean it or else your not going to see mickey" it becomes 'hey kids did you do todays disney gold stars"

things like "instead of going to seaworld this weekend do you want to earn xx disney stars by going to a nature park instead this weekend"

Agreed! These are all fantastic recommendations and many of which I have enployed but not regularly, except for the parks which I am very fond of, nature is also the best playground in my opinion and the kids love to learn cool things about it. Sadly even I can't escape the Disney desire or take it away from my children, Disney magic is contagious amongst young and old evidently no matter how much I hate it and hate their high godforsaken prices. I regrettably try to treat my family to that part once every 2 years if I can help it. I always root for SeaWorld though I've got to say I am actually quite a fan of that place.

The budgeting retroactively isn't a bad idea either and something I haven't really tracked historically on those specific items or cost items that have been outside of budget.

Being creative and enthusiastic is definitely free and I would argue leads to much more fun so thank you for the inspiration to reinvigorate and reinvent in this area!

question:

answer:

solution:
dont just randomly make entertainment, vacation decisions.. instead be strategic
look at last 3 years worth of bank statements and list all the "entertainment" "good times" "vacations"
list the costs per year. and actually design great experiences for less, plan it and budget it

even do extra steps if you like, things like set a yearly budget. then divide it by 52 for a weekly budget.
then set your kids household chores where they can earn upto their weekly budget(pocket money) for funstuff.. that way you give them control of how often they have fun time. obviously you keep the funds on a "fun stuff account" so they dont then waste it on candy. but atleast it get your kids involved in deciding how much they want fun stuff and teaches them about savings

be creative.
you dont need to go to the movies every month costing $42 for a family of 4
instead, dont just sitting on a sofa at home. make it a event at home. get some candy and popcorn and theme the night on the sofa into a experience, its way cheaper then the movies
instead look at local playparks(free swings, slides climbing frames)
instead of going to disneyworld look at other adventure parks

Give yourself a percentage or an exact amount on how much you will save per salary you receive. Actually, it's not the amount that counts but it is the strictness of control that you are implementing to yourself. Regardless of how big or small it will be as long as you're setting side every time you receive money, that's what seems to be the important thing.

You can do that every time you earn money from your business, from your salary or anything that you receive as a gift. That's what you need to do and don't think of where you'll spend them quickly because thinking those are very easy to do so and what you have to do is to mind yourself in saving first and then investing next.

It's honestly constantly on my mind. How do I provide for my family pay all of my bills and still show them a good time and entertain them give them the best holidays and vacations AND STILL manage to save money and invest. I am at the point in my life where I am racking my brain trying to figure this out. I am not rich I basically live paycheck to paycheck at this point but I know that if I work hard and still take chances on my business ventures that I will one day be successful. Even if right now up until this point I have had a heck of a lot of failures and few success but I am lucky to have time on my side and just left my 20s. I am honestly really putting a lot of faith in Bitcoin that's for sure!  Even if it has to be penny by penny and scraping for dollars always have your end goal and vision in mind.

the problem is you are SPENDING FIRST and THEN SAVING at the end of the month
instead: when you get paid . first put money aside for savings
this will then cause you to need to change your habit of over spending

you will start to plan what to do with spending money.
EG not simply book travel, but use price comparison sites to get better deals on travel
EG look at last 3 months of spending. put items into categories and total it up in excel
then think about a TRUE budget for each category thats less than the average of the last few months but still an amount to enjoy each category

then get more then one debit card account and put the budgets of each category into each debit card to properly separate the budgets so your not borrowing/stealing money from one budget to feed the other


be organised at the start of the month.. dont wait until the end of the month to then see what you have left to divide up

Every month before getting salary I plan to spend part of salary for family and keep part for personal expenses and save the rest but at the end of the month I don't see the amount of my savings. I managed to figure out the reason why I can't save but even after finding the reason I can't improve in that area. I have a habit of overspending as well as eating out and traveling a lot, which is why I can't save a certain amount at the end of the month even when I plan. Since saving for the future is very important, I try to limit my spending and avoid the extra expenses that I have. Since I was able to find the reason I will be able to save even if it takes time.

In any case saving will always be a good action when indeed your circumstances and conditions are not good - okay especially in terms of personal finance, to be honest I do not always advocate that we should always do it all the time because as you say that it is tiring, it is natural and I understand but I prefer that advice when the situation really tells us to act as an adjustment, but it cannot be denied that sometimes people who have a good income or even above average also take actions like this and apply frugality to their lives.

This method is mostly done by people who are in a situation and situation that is not good - well, it's a common thing and maybe most of us will also do the same. And on the other hand for people who have a good income but still apply such methods, it is their own choice, maybe they feel comfortable with always saving money or there are some encouragement from other things that require them to do so. On the other hand it is true, as you said, not only do we save but we also have to take other actions such as always trying to add jobs to increase our income at the same time, and if we have been able to reach a pretty good situation then obviously as a form of appreciation for the hard work we have done then at least we have to please ourselves by for example buying something that can give us pleasure, it's allowed but still there are certain times to do things like that occasionally, because if you continue to overdo it like that then obviously the situation will return to the way it used to be where financial difficulties will come back.

One of the challenges for most of us is the difficulty of holding back or stopping our lifestyle, especially the lower middle class. Many are willing to go into debt with credit cards for the sake of a luxurious lifestyle. Until now I have never used a credit card, because for me credit cards make us unable to control our desires so it is difficult to save, maybe this is my advice, don't use a credit card

The key if you want to save is to suppress your desires. No need to buy things you don't need, smart at managing finances, smart at seeing business opportunities that generate income. Because for me, if we want to become rich, our mindset must change not how much money we can make, but how much money we manage to save or use for productive things.

its not about going fully anal on frugality. its simply looking at the last 3 months of spending and averaging out an amount to prevent you over spending. wher you recognise the wasteful spending to set a rational budget.

by setting a limit by using a card that only holds that budget amount still allows you to enjoy your food, but not blow your entire paycheque buying nonsense food your not going to eat (most people throw away XX% of food)
once you set a budget its not "tiring" because you get into a habit where its not even something you think about. you instead live within your means instead of over indulging beyond what you get paid

of course as your pay increases, you can increase budgets. but having a budget atleast stops you from over spending

atleast writing down all your spending for last 3 months shows you visually where your money went. you can then ONCE look at where your wasteful spending is and where you would prefer your enjoyable spending

EG if you dont care about 7-up or sprite soda. but you find one is cheaper by $1 you may think if you save $1 here you can spend $1 elsewhere such as better coffee

but first you need to atleast look at where previous spending went to make these decisions. and once you made the decisions you lock it in. that way you dont have to keep doing it every week. because the budget is then set and you know what you are dealing with

Some people try to be too meticulous when it comes to creating their budget, perhaps this is more true during your student years, or when you are just starting an independent life, and it is important for you to pay attention to every dollar you save, but doing so all the time is tiring.

You need to strive to increase your earnings, at least a little, then you won’t have to save on food or anything else in your daily expenses. You need to be able to please yourself with some little things, and not to think every time about saving somewhere. When you manage to earn a little more, you definitely no need to save this entire amount. You can allocate part of it to budget expenses and use it to improve your quality of life. This is also a very important aspect to see the result of your work.