Just One Thing

Jing · Apr 18, 2015

Disclaimer: I realize this is kind of a ridiculous question since most people employ multiple tactics.

For those of you who are expert savers/debt dumpers, if you could only pick one specific strategy to save/get out of debt, what would it be and why? I'm looking for ideas that really made a difference and are beyond the obvious (like don't spend more than you make).

4under4 · Apr 18, 2015

Set up a savings account and automatically remove a set amount every pay period from your checking, as much as you are able to stomach. You are unlikely to spend money you don't actually see it as "available".

If you charge something on a credit card, use online bill payment to pay in full the same day. It will eliminate potential interest/late charges, and remind you that you should only charge something if you can pay for it in full.

DisneyHardin · Apr 18, 2015

Eat at home!!!! Restaurants are the biggest money suckers in our household.

Gr8t Fan · Apr 18, 2015

Budget, budget, budget. Our paychecks are spoken for before we receive them. By that I mean that we know what has to be paid with the paycheck we receive on the 15th as well as the one we receive on the 30th. And with each paycheck we contribute a certain amount toward regular savings, long term savings, vacation account, college funds, etc. in addition to paying our bills. It allowed us to pay off our home in about 16 years on a single income and to remain debt free since then without a large income.

MomToOne · Apr 18, 2015

Track your spending - every penny of it, every month. Categorize it so you can see where you are spending needlessly or excessively.

barkley · Apr 19, 2015

look at your current expenses/reoccurring (not credit card or loan) bills and see if there's a way to lower them. an example-car insurance. most companies charge a fee to bill monthly so by paying ours in full at renewal (2x per year) we save $5 per month/$60 per year. some banks and credit unions offer a small reduction in interest rates on car loans and such if you have them auto paid out of your account monthly-that reduction is another savings. if you are saving-set it up so that amount goes straight to savings each month, if paying off debt apply it to the debt. this can be done w/a debt as well. when we had a car loan we found our credit union offered MUCH lower rates (plus the reduced rate for auto pay) so we did a no fee transfer of the loan to the credit union where we saw a significant savings in the monthly payment BUT we arranged w/the credit union to pull the same payment each month as we had previously paid w/the other lender. result was zero change to our monthly budget BUT a car loan that paid off almost a year earlier (which freed up money for other debt/savings).

pjlla · Apr 19, 2015

Food/grocery/restaurant money..... it is probably your second largest expense after your mortgage/rent and is a fairly easy place to make significant cuts (IF you are willing to change your eating habits). Eating out.... NO MORE! Morning Starbucks stop.... NO WAY! Take-out pizza every Friday..........NOT HAPPENING!

Start shopping prices.... apples and raspberries have similar nutritional benefits and are both yummy and filling.... but if the apples are .99/lb and the raspberries are $4.97/lb, guess what I am eating that week? Broccoli at $1.09/lb and asparagus at $3.99/lb....... looks likes like a broccoli week for me! And better yet........ broccoli at $1.09/lb and bulk carrots at $.79/lb.... then I will plan carrot soup for one night, roasted carrots for another, and peel/cut some raw carrots for snacking that week!

If it costs me $10 to make enough chili to feed the family (with no leftovers) but everyone is willing to eating a baked potato, then I will serve a LARGE potato to everyone TOPPED with the chili and then there is enough chili for lunches the next day! Now that brought my dinner cost perhaps down to $5 (for 1/3 of the batch of chili PLUS a potato for each person) and for the other $5 I have enough chili (or chili mac by adding cooked whole wheat pasta) for 2-3 lunches! So instead of four meals for $10, now I have 7-8 meals for just $12.

I make my own homemade vegetable stock from leftover bits and pieces (carrot peelings, celery leaves, broccoli stems). When I have enough bits saved up in the freezer, I make a bit pot of stock and then freeze that for soups.

A QUADRUPLE batch of lentil soup takes 12 cups of that homemade stock (free other than the time and electricity to make it), water (free), 4 onions (sweet onions are .67/lb at Costco), 8 carrots (<.79/lb), 8 stalks of celery (I usually buy organic, so this is a more expensive ingredient for me), 12 cloves of garlic (I admit for now I am buying the large jar of pre-minced, but we have our own growing RIGHT NOW!), and 2 lb of lentils (.99/lb). I also sometimes add some homemade roasted plum tomatoes (depends on how expensive they are that week). That is enough soup for MANY, MANY lunches and dinners! We usually eat it for lunch and/or dinner a few days in a row, then I pack up enough for a week's worth of lunches to bring to work and then freeze the rest. (BTW, I'll be happy to share the recipe if you would like it.) Delicious, healthy, meat-free, EASY and CHEAP!!

Got a crockpot? Learn how to use it! It is like coming home to someone ELSE making dinner!!

Make it a GAME to eat as healthy as possible AT HOME for as LITTLE as possible! And EVERY SINGLE EXTRA PENNY goes toward your debt. Best of luck............P

barkley · Apr 19, 2015

pjlla said:
Food/grocery/restaurant money..... it is probably your second largest expense after your mortgage/rent and is a fairly easy place to make significant cuts (IF you are willing to change your eating habits). Eating out.... NO MORE! Morning Starbucks stop.... NO WAY! Take-out pizza every Friday..........NOT HAPPENING!

Start shopping prices.... apples and raspberries have similar nutritional benefits and are both yummy and filling.... but if the apples are .99/lb and the raspberries are $4.97/lb, guess what I am eating that week? Broccoli at $1.09/lb and asparagus at $3.99/lb....... looks likes like a broccoli week for me! And better yet........ broccoli at $1.09/lb and bulk carrots at $.79/lb.... then I will plan carrot soup for one night, roasted carrots for another, and peel/cut some raw carrots for snacking that week!

If it costs me $10 to make enough chili to feed the family (with no leftovers) but everyone is willing to eating a baked potato, then I will serve a LARGE potato to everyone TOPPED with the chili and then there is enough chili for lunches the next day! Now that brought my dinner cost perhaps down to $5 (for 1/3 of the batch of chili PLUS a potato for each person) and for the other $5 I have enough chili (or chili mac by adding cooked whole wheat pasta) for 2-3 lunches! So instead of four meals for $10, now I have 7-8 meals for just $12.

I make my own homemade vegetable stock from leftover bits and pieces (carrot peelings, celery leaves, broccoli stems). When I have enough bits saved up in the freezer, I make a bit pot of stock and then freeze that for soups.

A QUADRUPLE batch of lentil soup takes 12 cups of that homemade stock (free other than the time and electricity to make it), water (free), 4 onions (sweet onions are .67/lb at Costco), 8 carrots (<.79/lb), 8 stalks of celery (I usually buy organic, so this is a more expensive ingredient for me), 12 cloves of garlic (I admit for now I am buying the large jar of pre-minced, but we have our own growing RIGHT NOW!), and 2 lb of lentils (.99/lb). I also sometimes add some homemade roasted plum tomatoes (depends on how expensive they are that week). That is enough soup for MANY, MANY lunches and dinners! We usually eat it for lunch and/or dinner a few days in a row, then I pack up enough for a week's worth of lunches to bring to work and then freeze the rest. (BTW, I'll be happy to share the recipe if you would like it.) Delicious, healthy, meat-free, EASY and CHEAP!!

Got a crockpot? Learn how to use it! It is like coming home to someone ELSE making dinner!!

Make it a GAME to eat as healthy as possible AT HOME for as LITTLE as possible! And EVERY SINGLE EXTRA PENNY goes toward your debt. Best of luck............P

great suggestions!

along the same line-with items like meat educate yourself on the lowest cost way to achieve the desired results. by this I mean look at what you are planning to make and then look to the prices of different cuts/types of meat that can achieve the identical result. it kills me to pay the price stores charge for soup/stew meat so I watch the ads and keep an eye out for sales on roasts. I can often get them for as much as $2 less per pound than the price for stew/soup meat. I either ask the butcher at the chain stores (they've never refused nor do the charge extra) to cut it up or I bring it home and cut it up myself (if it's more than I need we air seal the rest to go into the freezer). I've used the same when lousy quality ground beef is selling for higher than roasts (have them grind it-it ends up lower in fat b/c I tell them to cut off the fat flap and put it at the top of the package for me to toss). w/chicken-dh and dd LOVE different sauced wings so we occasionally pull out the fryer and do up several types (we buy the hooter's sauce-cheaper than eating out, do some w/srirache bbq sauce and some w/whatever other sauce is already open in the fridge). I refuse to buy the bags of frozen wings at the store-too $$$ and too much water solution in the wings so initially we were buying much less expensive (esp. when on sale) wings in the meat section. NO MORE-we've found that drumsticks go on sale for crazy low prices (got them for 68 cents per pound a couple weeks ago :thumbsup2

) so we're using those now. family enjoys them more, it takes fewer to be filling (so less cooked/less sauce used).

lauradis · Apr 20, 2015

Here is a simply one. Really is more of a mind set.

Do you really need 50 pairs of anything?
Why do you keep spending money on things, beyond the basics, but live paycheck to paycheck?

Keep out of stores!!! 80% of the crap you buy isn't a need, its a want learn the difference.

Downsize everything you own. house, car, material stuff, sell as much as you can. Learn to live lean, so you can live again, without being a slave to interest payments.

chris31997 · Apr 20, 2015

Budget monthly, when shopping make a list and take cash to pay for purchases(helps to cut down on impulse buying)

dpswift · Apr 21, 2015

DisneyHardin said:
Eat at home!!!! Restaurants are the biggest money suckers in our household.

This is our biggest pitfall. It is hard to come home after a long day at work and cook. It is too easy when DH says lets go out. I like to get something started in the crockpot before work.

Gumbo4x4 · Apr 21, 2015

Don't get sick or get cavities.

hsmamato2 · Apr 21, 2015

1 thing? Write. It. Down. All of it. :thumbsup2

sit down,with a calculator and a pencil and a notebook- on one page write down your total income. gross,and Net. That is how much money you have to spend for the entire year,on everything. Now divide that (net) number by 12. That is how much you have to spend monthly,TOTAL.
Now you can add another line, divide THAT last number by 4,that is the average amount you can spend weekly,Total.
Now you know how much you can spend, comes the fun part.
Next page- write down your Monthly expenses,from most important,to least. (obviously mortgage and food is at the top) Write it ALL. from your roof over your head to a coffee at Starbucks.
Now is a good time to look at the previous page,and compare the 2 monthly numbers, (income vs. outgo) Now it is really simple to see, are you spending more than you bring in?
Now you have an idea of your monthly status(this includes paying loans off,etc in that amount) and you can now decide what can/needs to be cut out,in order to "balance your books".
For some,this may be a scary thing to start,b/c it involves actually knowing where you stand, but it is empowering, b/c now you know where you stand! :thumbsup2

The next pages in your notebook are an ongoing project. First you decide if you need to adjust your spending,to make it all fit.(most people do) The you decide where you can adjust it (most people can)
Then you *NEXT PAGE* write out your general plan to stick to. This doesn't mean you have no money,it means you want your money to be used how you decide.
Then you start a new page,one that keeps a running tab of every thing that goes in/out of your budget. (usually once or twice a week is enough once you get used to it) know your running 'household balance'. After a few months of running that monthly budget page, you will see more clearly where you can/should adjust to make things work.
Budgets are so freeing..... it doesn't mean 'being cheap' it means choosing where and how to spend your own income.
(how to spend down debt is a 2nd issue here, but you have to work it into your overall written budget anyway,so my 1 point stays the same :goodvibes

)

pryncess527 · Apr 21, 2015

YNAB

Without a doubt, it has been the most helpful tool for us. We always tracked, after the fact, but YNAB trained us to think differently about our money and instead of after-the-fact tracking, encouraged us to make a spending plan ahead of time, gave us tools to stick to it, and has left us better prepared for handling emergencies than we ever were before. Zero-based budgeting, in any form, is a very powerful concept. It has been transformative on our bank account, the way my husband and I discuss money, and the way we both approach spending.

Narnia_girl · Apr 21, 2015

pryncess527 said:
YNAB

Without a doubt, it has been the most helpful tool for us. We always tracked, after the fact, but YNAB trained us to think differently about our money and instead of after-the-fact tracking, encouraged us to make a spending plan ahead of time, gave us tools to stick to it, and has left us better prepared for handling emergencies than we ever were before. Zero-based budgeting, in any form, is a very powerful concept. It has been transformative on our bank account, the way my husband and I discuss money, and the way we both approach spending.

I heartily second YNAB!

kymom99 · Apr 21, 2015

The hardest thing for me are the expenses you can't plan for. Many probably have or had a teenager. Wow. It's one thing after another. It's all good stuff but it wrecks a budget for sure. Pictures, class rings, sports equipment, driving, class trips.... And my kid is very low maintenance compared to some. When he was younger it was so much easier to predict what his needs/wants would be. Now, not so much.

verleniahall · Apr 21, 2015

Budget - Budget - Budget

We know exactly where money is going before the check arrives.

We also watch our eating out. If we aren't careful, we could spend ALOT eating out. We have found though that when grocery shopping, we pick 2 meals that are a little more....MORE. We purchase our meat from the meat counter now - its more fresh and tastes better. It also makes it seem more special - and the crockpot is your FRIEND! If you don't have one, put it into your budget. You Need one. Or Two. Maybe even three

We get a total of 5 paychecks roughly a month: 2 from me 3 from DH. It could flex - more or less - depending on the month

elaine amj · Apr 21, 2015

I set a very rough annual budget and we have certain spending numbers in mind but they are very loose and flexible.

For us, what works is just having a mindset of "liking to save" vs "liking to spend". We have definitely experienced some lifestyle inflation as our income has risen, but really trying not to let it get out of hand. We take pride in living well below our means and not "keep up with the Joneses".

DH and DS often drool over big, nice houses. I drool too - but point out that living in our very comfortable home has meant a savings of $100-$200k (multiplied by whatever mortgage interest) which means retiring several years earlier or 10-20 yrs of very nice vacations. When the kids are grown, I want to downsize even smaller.

Living like this all our lives has meant:
- we have never come close to living paycheck to paycheck and always have a hefty buffer
- we have a relaxed attitude towards money and can afford to be generous when we feel it is helpful (although for regular spending, we are "cheap").
- we barely blink an eye over large, unplanned expenses.

So if I had to say one thing that can really work - it's having the right mindset. I spend a LOT less when I stop to think if I really "need" it and not just buy the 20 things from the dollar store because "it's only a dollar".

I love the Mr Money Mustache blog. He talks about considering each purchase carefully and moving away from a consumerist lifestyle. I still like a lot of my little luxuries, but it's really good for me when I get into my spendy moods. I love how he points out just how much time we spend complaining about why what someone else did "can't be done" instead of proactively finding ways to improve our lives. While his focus is early retirement (my dream that I am working towards), his advice can be helpful for anyone. Note: it is definitely an anti-consumerist point of view so it may or may not appeal.

Happyjen27 · Apr 21, 2015

Automate saving. Even if I have to transfer funds from savings account to checking account mid-month, I know that my default is to save, and I try hard to not touch the savings account. I have my employer direct deposit my paycheck to different accounts, so I don't even have to hit any buttons at all.

Stay out of the stores. Period. Window shopping is not free, it makes you want more things, it makes you look at what you have with a tinge of disdain. Stay out of stores and stay content.

Keep things visible. When we were spending way too much on going out to eat, we started to write a target amount to spend on the white board right in the kitchen. When that amount hit zero, we knew we were done going out to eat for the month. Setting an arbitrary goal of "going out to eat less" wouldn't have gotten us anywhere. Writing down a number for all to see every day got us where we wanted to be.

barkley · Apr 21, 2015

kymom99 said:
The hardest thing for me are the expenses you can't plan for. Many probably have or had a teenager. Wow. It's one thing after another. It's all good stuff but it wrecks a budget for sure. Pictures, class rings, sports equipment, driving, class trips.... And my kid is very low maintenance compared to some. When he was younger it was so much easier to predict what his needs/wants would be. Now, not so much.

one of the things that helped us w/the kid expenses was to start throwing a fixed set amount each month into the 'christmas' account I have set up (regular account so it can be accessed all year but I have a set amount budgeted each month that auto transfers for Christmas and birthday spending). I looked at the average we spent the prior year, bumped it up a bit then adjusted my auto transfer to include that amount. that way when those expenses came up we at least had a little cushion of designated funds set aside.

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