Comments on: How to Save Money When You Don’t Have Much to Begin With

By: Anthony

Anthony — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:31:29 +0000

Great article, first visit to the site. I cut back on Starbucks, movies, and have tried hard at not eating out often but has been somewhat difficult, but other than that, I set a goal for what I needed to save and how to save it for my trip and it has worked well. I don’t need a new pair of jeans from every visit to the mall or a new pair of shoes because its on sale. My Nikes from March 2007 still look and feel great and I don’t plan on buying a new pair any time soon.

I know that when I get back I’ll stick to #5 on the list

By: Theresa

Theresa — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:23:36 +0000

Seems like everyone here has a good grasp on saving money. Too bad we can’t teach the rest of the world (or at least the U.S.) how to do it! I like all the additional tips. I can see how TV can definitely influence us to spend more (as well as many consumer magazines). I guess I should feel happy that I don’t have time to watch TV these days…I don’t know what I’m missing out on! Obviously, my tips were a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it’s the basic principles of them that matter most—find things that you enjoy that don’t cost (much) money, know the value of money and think before you spend it, and find a way to make it difficult for you to spend money (whether that be tricking yourself about how much you have or getting a really inaccessible bank account like Magnifique!). I also think many of you hit the nail on the head with comments about need vs. want. There’s nothing wrong with wanting (and deciding what you want is worth it like Steve’s camera habit or Matt’s sushi habit), but when you can’t tell need from want that’s when you get into real trouble.

By: Felipe

Felipe — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:34:21 +0000

great post theresa,
and I have to agree with Cris, stop watching tv makes a massive difference, if you can’t stop at least use with some moderation and be self conscious about it, all that ads, actors and “influential people” saying to you buy this, do that, go there, you need this, keep echoing (even if you know they’re just ads) in your mind every time you go out, then you end up buying lot of unnecessary things, to give you a 5 minute satisfaction.

But I would add one more: Discover the joy of simple things, reading, walking on the park, cook a nice dinner, stay with friends, walk with your dog, play with your kids

By: Cris

Cris — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 09:48:48 +0000

hahahah I loved the post, Theresa!

I love coffee and I don’t spend that much on it.. I prefer to make my own coffee because if you drink Starbucks, that one really tastes like dirt! yuk!

Can I add a number 6 there!? **Stop watching TV**
You know those miracle cleaning products? Or the new shampoo, just for your type of hair? You don’t need them.
It’s impressive how my desire for shopping disappeared since I stopped watching TV.

By: Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:46:31 +0000

the cutting coffee out bit is so true. People spent like 1,000 dollars a year on starbucks, if not more. That enough to fly round trip half away around the world. cutting those little things out can really save a lot over time. a penny here and a penny there and it ads up. i think its ok to have one things you really like splurging on (for me that sushi) but that can be balanced by not wasting money on little things that are unneeded.

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:14:20 +0000

Great post.

I am frugal in daily life, but have expensive hobbies, ie. photography. Why can’t I enjoy something cheap, like collecting pocket lint or dust-bunnies?

By: Ruth

Ruth — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:16:28 +0000

I love this post! I also regularly click on those “How to save $XXX a month” and find them to be utterly useless because we already do everything they recommend. I was watching the Today Show one morning and they hyped up an upcoming story about a family that cut out $600 a month. Want to know what they did? Well, the wife gave up weekly mani and pedicures, they stopped their $95 a week lawn service, stopped eating out multiple times a week, stopped taking their kids to amusment parks every week…really?? and I was supposed to see this as ground breaking?? I guess living on $60 a month for food and a monthly $70 personal stipend for a year gave me a different perspective on need vs. want. Thankfully Bryan is more frugal than I, so it hasn’t been much of an issue.

By: Magnifique

Magnifique — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:34:29 +0000

This tactic works for me- immediately after receiving a pay check, put a percentage somewhere where you can’t access it! And then only spend what’s left in your checking account! I hit the statutory maximum on my 401k/IRA savings every year in addition to having auto withdrawal to an online savings account at HSBC. Logging into my online savings is like trying to get into Fort Knox: I literally need six identifying pieces of data, one of which is a 20+ digit number, to sign in. Since it takes me 5-10 minutes to check my balance, I seldom log in, which means that I am less likely to transfer money back to checking….

By: Christine Gilbert

Christine Gilbert — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:46:01 +0000

Great post! This was so funny… I hate those save money advice columns. For me it took taking some drastic steps– selling my house and moving into a smaller apartment, getting rid of one of our cars, cutting out all spending. Easy right? Well the best thing I can say about it, is that it prepared me for traveling light, and since you have to literally carry everything you own, might as well stop buying stuff.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:08:15 +0000

Good post, especially #5. I’m pretty frugal, thanks to good parents and some awfully hard jobs during college. But when I actually look at my checking account balance and there’s a pretty good amount of money there, sometimes I go a little bananas and suddenly think I “need” stuff. I’m better off not looking and just writing a check to my savings account each month.

And now I’m going to brew some dirt.