Why is it so hard to save?

[Sammich]

this thread was prompted by the 'payday thread.'

if you are paid biweekly or monthly...or even weekly, we are always broke before the next check is here.

who here has the saving thing figured out, i need some guidance and i think others would appreciate help too..


*edit* o yea discuss

[Nemesis]

Personally, without getting into to too many details of my finances on a public forum, saving is pretty difficult if you're income is lower. Back when I worked at Target, making 7.25 an hour and living with my parents I could barely afford Pep Boys mods

Then I obtained a job (hourly) at bellsouth for 4 years. Worked out great, paid weekly, yet I was pretty young and the money just fell through my hands like water. Paycheck comes, I mod something, awaiting the next check. Still lived with my parents.

Now I work for a great Enterprise Level Software Company (RedHat), salary paid, benefits, stock options, live in a nice apartment that I enjoy coming home to, and a car that some folks really would like to maybe have. However, with these things comes bills and responisibility, much more so than in my earlier years. Ive got rent, Ive got car note, gas (not so much since I live 4 minutes from work now and no longer commute), insurance, etc etc etc. Im still left with a pretty good amount after all is said and done, but now Ive got to adjust my thinking and think long term rather than short term fullfillment. My life is really starting now, and eventually Ill have to buy a house, have kids maybe, and then start planning for other big items. Modding cars is cool, and I still do if I can, but after a while we all start to grow up and put aside some things for the bigger picture. Im getting to that point personally, but its still pretty hard.

[jmmx258]

The most simple way I've found to save cash is to spend it wisely. Say you get paid bi weekly, thats obviously 2 checks a week. Take half of what your bills are out of each check and put it aside, for home bills, heat, air, electric, food, etc. Then do a rough estimate of how much cash your going to need for gas during that pay period, and put that aside.

After that, the rest is profit to be spent on what you wish. Rather than just taking and dumping that into one project, maybe just throw a little cash at the project and bank the rest. Make the project take a little longer than expected. Then with that if anything goes wrong hopefully you'll have the cash saved to where you can just pull it out of your account, spend it, and "re-bank" it later.

Thats how I got to Georgia!

[B16a2 Civic]

Personally, without getting into to too many details of my finances on a public forum, saving is pretty difficult if you're income is lower. Back when I worked at Target, making 7.25 an hour and living with my parents I could barely afford Pep Boys mods

Then I obtained a job (hourly) at bellsouth for 4 years. Worked out great, paid weekly, yet I was pretty young and the money just fell through my hands like water. Paycheck comes, I mod something, awaiting the next check. Still lived with my parents.

Now I work for a great Enterprise Level Software Company (RedHat), salary paid, benefits, stock options, live in a nice apartment that I enjoy coming home to, and a car that some folks really would like to maybe have. However, with these things comes bills and responisibility, much more so than in my earlier years. Ive got rent, Ive got car note, gas (not so much since I live 4 minutes from work now and no longer commute), insurance, etc etc etc. Im still left with a pretty good amount after all is said and done, but now Ive got to adjust my thinking and think long term rather than short term fullfillment. My life is really starting now, and eventually Ill have to buy a house, have kids maybe, and then start planning for other big items. Modding cars is cool, and I still do if I can, but after a while we all start to grow up and put aside some things for the bigger picture. Im getting to that point personally, but its still pretty hard.

we have the same job timeline, started off at target and now im with a fortune 500 company and one of teh top insurance companys in america

honestly, its hard to save with unexpected bills...plus whne you get in the hole, its hard to get out...luckily, i never been in that situation to where i cant enjoy my money, but like almost every american, i do have debt, less then 1k though

[Halfwit]

I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE A LITTLE open with my money, i work alot so it comes pretty easy.
i work two jobs, one paid biweekly, one paid weekly, i put my biweekly checks (part tie mjob) towards bills, living expenses (still have some left over)
and my full time job towards savings and "extras"


heres a good idea, get a set number in your head of how much you would like to have in an account (realistically), then only spend to where u will never leave that amount.

i jsut finished spending a good amount on a project car, and me being only 18, i have a low expectation of how much i should have, but i dont let myself get below 3000$ in the bank, anything above that i spend, but now that i am dont wit ha car, i am bumping that number up to 5000$ and by end of year 10000 ( if i can stay on track)

i get excited when i se i have more than i thought and like knowing i am financially stable. have no debt, only buy things if i know i have atleast 2x that in the bank.

[Sammich]

Personally, without getting into to too many details of my finances on a public forum, saving is pretty difficult if you're income is lower. Back when I worked at Target, making 7.25 an hour and living with my parents I could barely afford Pep Boys mods

Then I obtained a job (hourly) at bellsouth for 4 years. Worked out great, paid weekly, yet I was pretty young and the money just fell through my hands like water. Paycheck comes, I mod something, awaiting the next check. Still lived with my parents.

Now I work for a great Enterprise Level Software Company (RedHat), salary paid, benefits, stock options, live in a nice apartment that I enjoy coming home to, and a car that some folks really would like to maybe have. However, with these things comes bills and responisibility, much more so than in my earlier years. Ive got rent, Ive got car note, gas (not so much since I live 4 minutes from work now and no longer commute), insurance, etc etc etc. Im still left with a pretty good amount after all is said and done, but now Ive got to adjust my thinking and think long term rather than short term fullfillment. My life is really starting now, and eventually Ill have to buy a house, have kids maybe, and then start planning for other big items. Modding cars is cool, and I still do if I can, but after a while we all start to grow up and put aside some things for the bigger picture. Im getting to that point personally, but its still pretty hard.

we've both had the same upcomings as far as money wise and realizing things. i love modding cars/trucks(minitrucks) its my passion, but a few things are about to take place in the next few months thats gona be major life altering, and the need to learn to save is proving itself ever more evident.

what im thinking of doing now is get my account information for my savings account giving it to the company to make a direct deposit to there of maybe 200-300 every check. once i get up to maybe 2-3000 i can drop to 150 and let it continue to accumulate. being that i dnt have a atm card for that account, and i hate going into banks. so i think that i can benefit from saving that way...I THINK

[Sammich]

The most simple way I've found to save cash is to spend it wisely. Say you get paid bi weekly, thats obviously 2 checks a week. Take half of what your bills are out of each check and put it aside, for home bills, heat, air, electric, food, etc. Then do a rough estimate of how much cash your going to need for gas during that pay period, and put that aside.

After that, the rest is profit to be spent on what you wish. Rather than just taking and dumping that into one project, maybe just throw a little cash at the project and bank the rest. Make the project take a little longer than expected. Then with that if anything goes wrong hopefully you'll have the cash saved to where you can just pull it out of your account, spend it, and "re-bank" it later.

Thats how I got to Georgia!

sorry i meant bimonthly

but yea what you says makes sense, i think i try to do too much to each project and im left paperless FTL

[Sammich]

I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE A LITTLE open with my money, i work alot so it comes pretty easy.
i work two jobs, one paid biweekly, one paid weekly, i put my biweekly checks (part tie mjob) towards bills, living expenses (still have some left over)
and my full time job towards savings and "extras"


heres a good idea, get a set number in your head of how much you would like to have in an account (realistically), then only spend to where u will never leave that amount.

i jsut finished spending a good amount on a project car, and me being only 18, i have a low expectation of how much i should have, but i dont let myself get below 3000$ in the bank, anything above that i spend, but now that i am dont wit ha car, i am bumping that number up to 5000$ and by end of year 10000 ( if i can stay on track)

i get excited when i se i have more than i thought and like knowing i am financially stable. have no debt, only buy things if i know i have atleast 2x that in the bank.

you are more focused/financially mature than i am in LONG way. even though you maybe still at home, even when i was at home i never had money saved. now that im out on my own, i see the need to save, but i continue to spend. at least now i'm at a stand still w/ my truck and when i get my car lowered and the lip ill be str8 for a while..

[Halfwit]

you are more focused/financially mature than i am in LONG way. even though you maybe still at home, even when i was at home i never had money saved. now that im out on my own, i see the need to save, but i continue to spend. at least now i'm at a stand still w/ my truck and when i get my car lowered and the lip ill be str8 for a while..

i am not at home, i "own" a home, being so young i didnt want it in my name ( too much $$) so its in my fathers name, but i handle finances of it, i have 1 roomate and it works rly well. i see myself to be very financially responsible, dont buy misc crap alot (cd's shoes, clothes) but i do impulse buys witch can be worse..

im excited that car expenses are through and i can focus on saving, i have adream of "self wealth" witch doesnt mean a business oranything, but jsut saving over the years, my goal for when i hit 21 is to have in excess of 20,000$ in my account. and thats not me being all uber-saving, still buying things i want (or feel i deserve for working ect..lol) but ill ne extremely happy when/if i hit the 20k mark

[hemi]

BUDGET! and stick to it. If you don't have play money don't play... Start young, and it will get easier. Cut out dropping 5 or 10 bucks here and there. That adds up fast.
I like your idea of the automatic deposit. That way you never see it, and can't spend it. I would not reccomend carrying the ATM card to your savings account, too easy. You want the added hastle of getting to that money, so you don't spend it on an impulse.
Then there are 401Ks, mutual funds etc, depending on your timeline. If we are talking a couple of months, take out X per week to spend, and leave the rest in the bank...
Takes discipline grasshopper but it can be done...

[hemi]

i am not at home, i "own" a home, being so young i didnt want it in my name ( too much $$)

This doesn't make any sense to me?????

[jmmx258]

This doesn't make any sense to me?????

Probably home owners insurance. That would be the only thing I could think of that would be high for a younger person. That would cause somebody to put the home in their fathers name.

[jmmx258]

sorry i meant bimonthly

but yea what you says makes sense, i think i try to do too much to each project and im left paperless FTL

This is basically exactly why my CRX isn't how I want it to be. That and I'm moving again once I get my cash situation squared away a little better.

[iloveboost]

Pay yourself first.

[Sammich]

i am not at home, i "own" a home, being so young i didnt want it in my name ( too much $$) so its in my fathers name, but i handle finances of it, i have 1 roomate and it works rly well. i see myself to be very financially responsible, dont buy misc crap alot (cd's shoes, clothes) but i do impulse buys witch can be worse..

im excited that car expenses are through and i can focus on saving, i have adream of "self wealth" witch doesnt mean a business oranything, but jsut saving over the years, my goal for when i hit 21 is to have in excess of 20,000$ in my account. and thats not me being all uber-saving, still buying things i want (or feel i deserve for working ect..lol) but ill ne extremely happy when/if i hit the 20k mark

my bad, didnt mean to try to downgrade you, but being able to have that much and out on ur own is good. i dnt have a roommate, never wanted one for the fear they may 'decide' to come short on rent money

i think after april i will be finish modding for a little while

regardless i need to start putting some money away and i mean fast

[Sammich]

BUDGET! and stick to it. If you don't have play money don't play... Start young, and it will get easier. Cut out dropping 5 or 10 bucks here and there. That adds up fast.
I like your idea of the automatic deposit. That way you never see it, and can't spend it. I would not reccomend carrying the ATM card to your savings account, too easy. You want the added hastle of getting to that money, so you don't spend it on an impulse.
Then there are 401Ks, mutual funds etc, depending on your timeline. If we are talking a couple of months, take out X per week to spend, and leave the rest in the bank...
Takes discipline grasshopper but it can be done...

yea this account that im talkin about for direct deposit i dont have a card to, so itll be great for me to do it that way. i do have the 401k, investments, and insurance coming out of my check now.

when i was even younger i use to splurge so much it didnt make since. but u made a real valid point about 5 10 bucks here and there, that adds up and i mean fast. i gota get the deposit thing on the road, i just got to force myself to the bank to get the info

[Ran]

I'm absolutely awful with money. I get paid bi-weekly and a fairly decent amount too but, after I pay the bills, I just blow it on random sh*t. Mostly anime crap, food, and the like. I really gotta start paying off the credit card. It's still in bad shape from Christmas.

[Killer]

it hits me pretty hard getting paid once a month.. mainly cause my bills they are all due all at once.. so there goes half my paycheck right away.. then i've still got 3 weeks left til i get paid again...


my down fall is impulse buying.. i see something i want.. i buy it.. why? because i can.. and i want it....

i splurge and treat myself(and others like my girl) because i just went three weeks being broke and now i have money...... it's a mental thing.. i hate it. i know it's a bad habit.. and i'll openly admit i'm an impulse buyer... but it just doesn't stop me..

every once in awhile i'll have some self control.

my job treats me well, i get paid salary... and i get benefits... but if i was paid twice a month rather than once.. i'd be fine...

nothing is worse than when bills sneak up on u.. something that u forgot. or a charge goes through that u didn't realize u had even charged...

[{X}Echo419]

this thread was prompted by the 'payday thread.'

if you are paid biweekly or monthly...or even weekly, we are always broke before the next check is here.

who here has the saving thing figured out, i need some guidance and i think others would appreciate help too..


*edit* o yea discuss

well, I was listening to Clark Howard the other day and he said in some kind of census the people polled spend the exact same % on food when they made signifantly less than after a raise or promotion. so I would say to a large part that we may not realize, when we get paid more we eat better. ie: Dinner out instead of Top Ramen. so if we could just curb the $ amount we spend of food we would save alot of $$$.
2nd: there's alot of shit out there we'd all like to have and it's hard not to buy it.

[Halfwit]

This doesn't make any sense to me?????

insurance, interest rates ect. i have no credit, my father does, i saved alot of money that way.

[Julio]

I looked at your profile and it said you are 21-22..... It will come with time if you havent figured it out yet.

I was the same way at that age BLOWING money left and right.. If I knew back then what I know now...... I was making 40 K + @ age 19.. and living at home.. so just imagine.... But im 28 now.. much smarter...

This is shit they dont teach in school..... They should if you ask me.

budget and live below your means... We ( humans ) are idiots sometimes and it takes something bad to happen to realize how fucked up we are.
With that said, It will come with experience. I have only seen 2 young guys under 22 with money in the bank.. And thats my 20 year old brother and My GF's 20 year old brother.. those kids do not spend shit and to all there money goes to the bank. Of course, they dont have the bills because they still live at home.. But, they dont go out and splurge on BS.
Also, knowledge is power.. read up on 401k, CD's, high Interest Savings account, Mutual funds etc etc.. Put your money to work for you...

Open a Online account w/ INGDIRECT or HSBC and have them withdraw something every pay period.... whatever you can afford to.. 20 30 50 100.. whatever... slowly but surely it will add up.

Spend your money wisely and you will be ok.. sometimes because you have the money to buy something doesnt really mean you are ready to buy it.. .... makes sense?

[boostboy97]

^^what were you doing to make 40K at 19?? very curious

[SniperJoe]

Listen guys, in my years in the financial industry, saving comes down to one thing: discipline. In 95% of all the cases I see, there is a clear cut % that people are saving, whether they make 40k or 250k, it is always very similar. But I have seen some cases where people manage to put away obscene amounts of money who will be on easy street for the rest of their lives. The question you have to ask yourself is do I want to be struggling and grinding out a living for the rest of my life or do I want to be different than a vast majority of Americans and actually do something about it?

[Wurm]

i havent cashed a paycheck in 3 weeks thats how i save money

[Driftk1d350z]

I looked at your profile and it said you are 21-22..... It will come with time if you havent figured it out yet.

I was the same way at that age BLOWING money left and right.. If I knew back then what I know now...... I was making 40 K + @ age 19.. and living at home.. so just imagine.... But im 28 now.. much smarter...

This is shit they dont teach in school..... They should if you ask me.

budget and live below your means... We ( humans ) are idiots sometimes and it takes something bad to happen to realize how fucked up we are.
With that said, It will come with experience. I have only seen 2 young guys under 22 with money in the bank.. And thats my 20 year old brother and My GF's 20 year old brother.. those kids do not spend shit and to all there money goes to the bank. Of course, they dont have the bills because they still live at home.. But, they dont go out and splurge on BS.
Also, knowledge is power.. read up on 401k, CD's, high Interest Savings account, Mutual funds etc etc.. Put your money to work for you...

Open a Online account w/ INGDIRECT or HSBC and have them withdraw something every pay period.... whatever you can afford to.. 20 30 50 100.. whatever... slowly but surely it will add up.

Spend your money wisely and you will be ok.. sometimes because you have the money to buy something doesnt really mean you are ready to buy it.. .... makes sense?

Could someone enlighten me on this subject? what exactly are 401Ks, CDs, ect.

[Julio]

^^what were you doing to make 40K at 19?? very curious

I was a Initial Trainer for Quiktrip at that time.. That year I made, if mind serves me right, 46k.

[Halfwit]

Could someone enlighten me on this subject? what exactly are 401Ks, CDs, ect.

cd bonds

u put a certain amount away for a certain time period, and receive more when u getit back, like lending it to the goverment, and charging them interest

EXAMPLE ONLY

u put in 1000$ for 5 years ( u can get it out b4 but wont get any interest) then after the five years, u have 1200 to get out.

jsut an example.

[Sammich]

I'm absolutely awful with money. I get paid bi-weekly and a fairly decent amount too but, after I pay the bills, I just blow it on random sh*t. Mostly anime crap, food, and the like. I really gotta start paying off the credit card. It's still in bad shape from Christmas.

x2 minus christmas expense

well, I was listening to Clark Howard the other day and he said in some kind of census the people polled spend the exact same % on food when they made signifantly less than after a raise or promotion. so I would say to a large part that we may not realize, when we get paid more we eat better. ie: Dinner out instead of Top Ramen. so if we could just curb the $ amount we spend of food we would save alot of $$$.

right now i am just learning(past 2-3months) not to eat out as much. i buy stuff to keep in the house, i eat lunch at home, i eat dinner at home, and maybe the w/e once or twice ill eat out, but other than that im eating at home, so ive done significantly better w/ that. i think the next category is cds, then car part impulse buying

I looked at your profile and it said you are 21-22..... It will come with time if you havent figured it out yet.

I was the same way at that age BLOWING money left and right.. If I knew back then what I know now...... I was making 40 K + @ age 19.. and living at home.. so just imagine.... But im 28 now.. much smarter...

This is shit they dont teach in school..... They should if you ask me.

budget and live below your means... We ( humans ) are idiots sometimes and it takes something bad to happen to realize how fucked up we are.
With that said, It will come with experience. I have only seen 2 young guys under 22 with money in the bank.. And thats my 20 year old brother and My GF's 20 year old brother.. those kids do not spend shit and to all there money goes to the bank. Of course, they dont have the bills because they still live at home.. But, they dont go out and splurge on BS.
Also, knowledge is power.. read up on 401k, CD's, high Interest Savings account, Mutual funds etc etc.. Put your money to work for you...

Open a Online account w/ INGDIRECT or HSBC and have them withdraw something every pay period.... whatever you can afford to.. 20 30 50 100.. whatever... slowly but surely it will add up.

Spend your money wisely and you will be ok.. sometimes because you have the money to buy something doesnt really mean you are ready to buy it.. .... makes sense?

makes alota sense..

who trust those online accounts?? and how would you be able to withdraw incase of an emergency, i know they have great interest rates




401k if im not mistaken is money thats set aside from your paycheck(in my company they match/double the money i put in it) for your retirement..in essence retirement money

[ksinao]

I was a Initial Trainer for Quiktrip at that time.. That year I made, if mind serves me right, 46k.

trainer at 19? thats good work. you must have worked your ass off.

[Sammich]

i havent cashed a paycheck in 3 weeks thats how i save money

if i can do that i'd be the man

+1 for that

[Halfwit]

if i can do that i'd be the man

+1 for that

thats how i do it, i dont have time to go to the bank, so i go once a month, i have 1600$ in checks i nmy glove compartment, and 2k i nthe bank, so im gonne deposit it about wednesday next week, and feel good again..lolz

[Sammich]

thats how i do it, i dont have time to go to the bank, so i go once a month, i have 1600$ in checks i nmy glove compartment, and 2k i nthe bank, so im gonne deposit it about wednesday next week, and feel good again..lolz

im going to try that one month..

[Jecht]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I am one of the few people my age that knows how to save money. I have a fair amount in both my savings and checking account. If I put money in, I don't take it out unless it is absolutely necessary. The only thing I use my checking account for is to pay for textbooks. I don't spend much money on things other than gas.

I don't see why its so hard for teenagers to save up money. If there is a CD I want, I download it. If there is a game I REALLY want, I wait several months until its $20. I get most of my entertainment from using the internet. When I drive friends around, I charge them to pay for "gas" money so I will have a little extra to spend for anything that comes up when I'm hanging out with them (for example, randomly going to see a movie).

[Sammich]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I am one of the few people my age that knows how to save money. I have a fair amount in both my savings and checking account. If I put money in, I don't take it out unless it is absolutely necessary. The only thing I use my checking account for is to pay for textbooks. I don't spend much money on things other than gas.

I don't see why its so hard for teenagers to save up money. If there is a CD I want, I download it. If there is a game I REALLY want, I wait several months until its $20. I get most of my entertainment from using the internet. When I drive friends around, I charge them to pay for "gas" money so I will have a little extra to spend for anything that comes up when I'm hanging out with them (for example, randomly going to see a movie).

i'd save alot more if my computer at work would download cds...

i saved a ton when my computer was working..

but its not easy, like somebody said earlier if you learn early in life it becomes easy not to splurge..my mom tried to instill in me the importance, but i was an idiot about saving, i didnt care and didnt see the importance, now i see the importance, but im still struggling w/ trying to learn to save

[Fuster_Cluck]

saving is pretty difficult if you're income is lower.

Ding, ding, ding

As my income increases, I also notice my savings is increasing. At the same time I notice my taste for "things I want" have increased. Can't take it with you when you go, so enjoy it while you can. <--- My logic behind dropping 10k+ into a 2k car

I don't live paycheck to paycheck. I also don't have 6mths of bills put away (in 401k I do) in case $hit happens. I plan to be well passed 6mths of savings within 18 months though

[Driftk1d350z]

wow, im learning a lot from you guys! This will all come in handy when i go off to college in the fall.