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Saving is impossible!
I'm 23 years old. I have a full time job, I get paid once a month, roughly $1300. I still live at home so I have no 'bills' except for my cell phone and a car payment, that is about $300 together. That leaves me with about $1000.
I want to try and move out either by the end of this year or early next year. But, I cannot save money for the life of me, and I really have nothing to show for why I don't have money. But by the end of the month I'm lucky if I have $5.
Can you give me some ideas on how to start saving my money? I really could use it!
Thanks!
:)
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Maybe give some free advice about: Personal Finance?
You might want to make a relatively small investment on some budget software. Quicken is a good one. If you faithfully enter in all your transactions, you can use the reporting tools to see exactly where your money is going. It's so easy to spend $30 here, $40 there and bam--it's gone from your memory. Since you say you have nothing to show, I assume that's your big problem right now. You can use categories such as clothing, entertainment, dining out, etc. and also create custom categories. And be sure to assign a category to each transaction! Then you can run reports to see what percentage of your money is spent on each category. I was astounded to find out how much money I was spending on dining out, after just a month or two of keeping track.
It takes a little work, but it's a real eye-opener. And if you REALLY want to know where your money is going, DON'T create a category called "ATM Withdrawal". That WON'T help you to see that you took $100 out last Friday and can't remember where it went! Good luck!
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Do you do a direct deposit? My best friend had a serious problem with spending. Once she got a job, she did a direct deposit to her bank and it actually worked. It's much easier because they don't put the money in her hands so she can spend it right away.
I've known many people close to me in your situation, and it took them YEARS to move out. If you are serious about getting your own place, you should only take out what you NEED ($300 + however much you need for food).
I'm not sure who you live with, but if you live with your parents, then maybe you should give them the money to hold onto if they are trustworthy and responsible with money. That way, you won't have a way of getting it when you get the urges to go out and spend.
Do you know what you spend your money on? Sometimes I don't even know where my money went. At the end of the week, you should put all your receipts together and add up how much you spend on unnecessary costs. It will really surprise you and hopefully scare you out of spending so much.
Try to avoid places where you know you will splurge, like the mall or fast food. If you do go shopping, bring a friend, someone who you know will persuade you out of buying, not someone who will encourage you (like saying everything looks cute on you).
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The best thing to do is to make a budget and stick to it. If you put 300 towards bills, take 300 aside for food. Instead of eating out, stay in sometimes and make something. You have to sacrifice to save money. Put 100 or 200 towards entertainment. Don't go out every night, and when you do, spend less. Be careful on what you throw money away on. Figure out what else you NEED money for and stay within the limits you set for those categories. Try to keep it so that every month you have a couple hundred left to put away. You'll be saving up in no time.
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Although it seams hard, saving money is not impossible. In order to save money I do a few simple things that work great.
-Get an old empty coffee can and on it, have pictures of your dream house, and have it say something like, "House Money." Every time you get paid, put it in the can and shut it.
-Get a box, keep your money in it and hide it. Keep it somewhere like under your bed. When your there looking for it, remember why it is hidden.
-Write a letter to yourself in whichever you choose saying not to take out the money.
-Put the recommended amount of money you can spend and put is somewhere else. A certain amount of money each month.
Good Luck and hope to hear from you again!
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