Saving question? Help please!

[Barbmouse63]

You guys seem to really have saving down pat. I am impressed by the number of you who say you pay off credit cards each month, etc. I am just not a natural -born saver. It seems to me that there are some people who are quite gifted at saving techniques. Please share some saving strategies that are painless. One we already do is the change jar which really works. I like it a lot because it gets the kids involved and they can really learn how that change adds up!! I want them to be good savers as they grow up. Saving is hard to me and I would appreciate your suggestions!

 

[mrsboz]

I, also am not a natural born saver. My biggest tip would be: Put away (in the bank) whatever you decide to put in and do it right away. Either put it in direct withdrawal or put in a set amount each week. I started putting in $50. a week and take $40. allowance each week. The $50 automatically goes in and if I have anything left over from the $40 that goes in also. My $40 is for things like McDonalds ice cream stuff like that. Just extra stuff and now I am trying to see what extra stuff I can cut out. It feels so good and it adds up so fast.

 

[fam4jc]

Hi. yep, you've come to the right place. keep in mind that these suggestions work for us, maybe not for you. Pick and choose what might work in your family.
these are general savings/budgetting tips - not WDW trip specific
1. Set priorities (I would highly suggest getting out of debt as being your number one priority - makes life much simpler)

2. Create a Cash budget - don't spend more than you earn - put away the credit cards if you are unable to pay the entire balance each and every month.

3. Shop the sales, use coupons

4. Have a "No way, no how, no stores" week every month.

5. Shop at thrift and second hand stores for nice clothing - you will be amazed what you can find in a Goodwill store!

6. Cut out or reduce the amount of eating out your family does.

I've got more, but I need to go.

 

[canwegosoon]

To me savings is just a matter of knowing how much money you have, and where you choose to spend it. I feel you must make a choice to do without, or do something else instead, since you only have so much money (unless you win the Mega Million). I personally think one of the best ways to save money is to fight not to spend it. If I go shopping, I ask "Do I really need this, can I use something else instead?". Another trick, when I buy something, I will leave it in a bag in the closet. If I don't need it in a week or two, it goes back. I have read the Tightwad Gazettes, and they are real eye openers too. My best savings hint is to cancel your long distance carrier, and use a phone card from BJ's...that has saved me a ton of money(approx $350 yr). Also paying bills online has saved me at least $75 a year in no postage(I have a lot of bills).

Hope this helps you in your quest.

 

[floridagirrl2]

I'm going to cheat and copy a previous post I wrote on saving money --if you want to see the entire thread, click on this link:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=565653

The biggest thing we've done to save money is to stop shopping! We rarely browse at the mall, Target, etc. DH and I used to easily spend $100 at Target once every week or two (off topic: I love Target, and even my hate-to-shop DH loves Target!).

Instead, we go to yardsales where we can browse to our hearts' contents and spend a tenth or less of what we would spend if we let ourselves browse retail. And it satisfies my intense need to shop .

I also realized that everything I buy (especially clothes) follows the 80/20 rule: I wear 20% of my clothes 80% of the time. So I try to remind myself not to buy anything just because it's on sale--I need to LOVE something to buy it.

I also sell books on Ebay and Amazon, and I have an account at a credit union where all my Amazon and Paypal money goes. It's a different bank than where we have our regular accounts, so not as tempting to dip into it.

I bring my lunch and one can of soda to work everyday rather than buy lunch.

We have a change jar that we rarely dip into (back when we were really broke and just barely paying our bills every month, the change jar is what got us started saving towards a down payment on our house--we saved $400 the 1st year).

Eating out and going out of town for a long weekend every month or so are our major forms of entertainment, so we indulge ourselves this way. Back when we didn't have much money, we only ate out once a month.

Finally, we each have a monthly allowance (what we call Mad Money). It's strictly for buying STUFF--clothes, CDs, etc. No matter how broke we've been, we always have Mad Money (even if it's just a tiny amount--when we were not working and were going to school full time, it was $20 each per month) that we can each spend every month.

Mad Money keeps us from feeling deprived, and keeps us from feeling we have to discuss EVERY expenditure with each other.

I should add that I have money taken out every pay period automatically that goes into a retirement account at work--every time I get a raise, the extra percentage goes into the retirement account. You don't miss what you never see in your paycheck

 

[frogfuzz]

We did this Opened a separate account and named it PLAY account , put all rebate money, pay yourself each week or month like a bill have a yard sale once a year , tax refund if applicable.put all this money in play account and use it for vacation or fun

 

[MomlovesDad]

I MUST concur with the "cancel your long distance phone carrier" and be sure to tell the phone company you don't want any carrier, or they will assign you one. You are charged usage fees and taxes whether or not you make any long distance calls. They will be completely stunned, so you may have to give them a moment and be very patient to explain. Hehee.

I bought an AT&T phone card from Sam's that costs me $.034 per minute. I have only filled it twice in 2 years, and I save around $7.50 - $11.00 per month on my phone bill by having it! It is WONDERFUL! Just stick that money back in your Disney envelope.

I also have to say - go with the Cash budget. I use the envelope method where I have every last dollar allocated to a category envelope. You would not believe how quickly it adds up. I had estimated our utility bills based on the Winter of 2002 prices (I think it was the winter when I had a $500+ gas bill, and I live in the SOUTH for Pete's Sake!). When we got ready to go to Disney, I was able to take out $200 or so extra in that envelope, and have enough extra left in it to cover emergency utility hikes.
You have to do some adjusting, take from one envelope to give to the other, but it helps you keep a grip on your spending.
I also planned our WDW trip using the envelope method, allocating every last dollar to a category: tickets, food, souveneirs, Wishes cruise (very fun - our driver dates Tink!), parking, tip money, gas, locker money, groceries, park food, meal vouchers, etc. Guess What - I came home with $100!!! And more food than we needed...that's a different story...

OH - and when you get ready to go, DO DO DO get the meal vouchers from Hotwire. They are SO worth it! No worry about tipping or carrying around the cash.

Hope that helps - MomlovesDad (very much!)

 

[Barbmouse63]

I definitely came to the right place. Thanks for all the tips. Many of these are ideas that I think will work for us. You guys are very creative about your saving!! You sure gave me lots to think about!! Keep the ideas coming. When I have more time I'll read the thread that was posted. You are all Disney Pals!!

 

[HenDuck]

I totally agree about the "Mad Money". Without it, you will find yourself straying from your budget because you will inevitably feel deprived. I give myself an allowance for "stuff" as well. If I am able to make it to the next payday with a few extra Mad Money dollars, it goes into the vacation fund too.

I save change, dollar bills and buy Disney Dollars when I go to the mall.

All rebates and unexpected money (not including tax refunds) go into the vacation fund.

We do several garage sales a year. This money covers joint expenses (like rental car, character meals, etc.) between us and my parents who usually travel with us.

I have made some money from Ebay too.

I save a certain amount from my own funds per month for vacations, big purchases, etc.

I do the same with our joint savings. This fund usually covers household expenses and sometimes vacation stuff too.

I have an emergency fund set up that is the base minimum I will keep in savings.

I put away a 10% to retirement - automatically deducted (pre-tax) from my paycheck.

My DS has a college fund into which we contribute a certain amount every month - automatically deducted from our checking account.

I review my finances weekly, if not more often, to make sure I am on track.

One thing that is helpful in saving for Disney is to have a little reminder of WDW or DL where you can see it daily. If you are constantly reminded of your goal, you will be more diligent in saving for it.

Good luck!

 

[mad4themouse]

I think that once you start saving, it will become addictive to you.

I started out just saving change. Any and all change went into a jar. It was painless and very easy to just empty the change from my wallet each night and to take the change from DH's pockets. Soon the jar was full and I needed a bigger jar. And then an even bigger jar. Once I counted the money and I realized that I'd saved over $600 in a year. WOW!

So, I began stashing the $1 bills as well. They added up more quickly, to the tune of almost $100 per month! Cha-ching! It's almost as painless as saving the change.

Then, I opened an ING account and began a regular program to deposit $50 every 2 weeks into the account. I also have rebates, and other "found" money deposited into that account as well. The ING account is a little harder to get at since there's no ATM card associated with it and the money can take up to 5 business days to go from ING to my checking account. A few weeks ago, I transferred the amount I needed to pay off my room back into my checking account. Voila! Room is paid off without much effort!

What I find more difficult to do, is to "save" the money that I "don't spend". Like the amount that I save by using coupons at the grocer, or the money that I don't spend by not having premium channels on my TV or the various phone addons like call-waiting. That's my next hurdle. I just never seem to be able to put that money aside. Last week, I saved over $50 on my weekly grocery shopping. Of course, I didn't put $50 into my savings account to reflect that, probably because I didn't have an extra $50 in my wallet. How do some of you others handle this?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

One of the things that I've found helpful is that each week I buy $50 worth of disney dollars to put aside for spending money. This way I can't use it and I don't feel it. We do the change jar and have the grandparents give the kids disney dollars for holidays and birthdays. ANother thing that I've found helpful is to pay the room off through the year instead of one big bill when we get there and I use disney reward dollars from disney visa.

 

[disneysteve]

Some great ideas so far and we do lots of them and more.

Curious about the advice to use a calling card though. Why not just switch to a low cost long distance company? We pay $.03/minute with kissld.com. Maybe we could save a tiny bit more per month using a calling card but I don't think it would be worth the inconvenience of having to dial a special number each time. We also get a calling card from them which is $.08/minute for when we are away from home. Our bills dropped dramatically when we switched to them.

Definitely the first step, as others have said, is to get rid of credit card debt. If you are carrying a balance on your card, you are spending more than you are making and you'll never get anywhere like that. Rein in your spending and devote all your resources to getting out of debt. Once you are credit card debt-free you can start saving and investing for the future.

I happen to believe the only things worth going into debt for are a home, an education and possibly a car (if that's the only way you can afford one).

 

[Helene]

Take advantage of any pre-tax savings/spending accounts offered through your employment.

When my children were in daycare, I participated in the childcare spending acct program. A set amount of $$ was taken out of my pay weekly, I'd submit the receipts, and then get reimbursed. (Initially, it's like paying twice, but well worth it in the end).

This past January, I no longer needed to pay for daycare. Originally, I was just going to keep the $40/wk and consider it a "raise" for myself. However, the $40 only amounted to $22 after taxes. At that point I increased my 401K to 15%.

Also, since my husband actually covered the cost of daycare out of his pocket, I would only turn in the receipts once every 6 months, which meant a check of $1000 each time.

This can also be done with Medical Spending accounts as well.

Good Luck!!

Helene

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by mad4themouse
Then, I opened an ING account and began a regular program to deposit $50 every 2 weeks into the account. I also have rebates, and other "found" money deposited into that account as well. The ING account is a little harder to get at since there's no ATM card associated with it and the money can take up to 5 business days to go from ING to my checking account. A few weeks ago, I transferred the amount I needed to pay off my room back into my checking account. Voila! Room is paid off without much effort!

What I find more difficult to do, is to "save" the money that I "don't spend". Like the amount that I save by using coupons at the grocer, or the money that I don't spend by not having premium channels on my TV or the various phone addons like call-waiting. That's my next hurdle. I just never seem to be able to put that money aside. Last week, I saved over $50 on my weekly grocery shopping. Of course, I didn't put $50 into my savings account to reflect that, probably because I didn't have an extra $50 in my wallet. How do some of you others handle this?

I love love my ING account as well. We do $400 every two weeks, and all ebay money. Lets just say, I have enough to pay for a 2000/2001 car in cash!

As for the setting aside other money.. I find that somewhat diffulcult too. I've been doing my DH's and DS's hair for a long time. I've joked about putting a tip cup out when I do there hair! One tlime I did figure out about how much coupon saving I did , and would transfer it. That amounted to a budget trip to WDW. ($1100). This was before my ING account, and I would just take every little bit I saved, into a savings account. Then I transferred it over.

Only if it is something big, I will ultimately transfer. But for the occasional large grocery savings, I don't do it often enough either. I guess if the Cash on Hand is too low to transfer that amount, you could budget your monthly amount accordingly, and give it to another category.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by mad4themouse
What I find more difficult to do, is to "save" the money that I "don't spend". Like the amount that I save by using coupons at the grocer, or the money that I don't spend by not having premium channels on my TV or the various phone addons like call-waiting. That's my next hurdle. I just never seem to be able to put that money aside. Last week, I saved over $50 on my weekly grocery shopping. Of course, I didn't put $50 into my savings account to reflect that, probably because I didn't have an extra $50 in my wallet. How do some of you others handle this?

To some extent, that is phantom savings. You can't save that money because it doesn't actually exist. For example, if I find a great deal on a new widget and I buy it and save $50 off regular price, I don't instantly have an extra $50.

The other issue is that you may buy something on sale that you wouldn't buy at full price. Maybe $100 is too much for you to pay for that widget, but you're willing to pay $75. So when you buy it, you haven't actually saved anything.

 

[Cinders]

Last week, I saved over $50 on my weekly grocery shopping. Of course, I didn't put $50 into my savings account to reflect that, probably because I didn't have an extra $50 in my wallet. How do some of you others handle this?

disneysteve had a good point but there is also those things that we would normally buy and use a coupon for. Such as Kroger had some items on sale with their card in conjunction with items that had coupons in the Sunday paper. I don't always buy name brands but if the double coupon/sale make it cheaper/almost free I'll buy it. On those occasions that I go to Kroger only to buy sale items or double coupon items I take my savings and go to Aldi's and stock up on basics.....flour(won't get buggy if you store it in the freezer), sugars, gr. beans, canned tomatos, ravioli..... Needless to say I have quite a bit of canned goods stockpiled and most likely could go a few months without buying any of these items. I also have a freezer in the garage that helps us stockpile. Usually what I like is to have enough stockpiled so as to not have to grocery shop at all except for milk products, OJ, fresh fruits/veggies in November, December, and January so that money goes to buy Christmas presents. Thankfully I have a large laundry room and can do this. Another idea would be if you budget a certain amount per week....say $100 for groceries/cleaning products and at the end of the month you have only spent $350 then transfer $50 to another account...vacation, Christmas or whatever.

Curious about the advice to use a calling card though. Why not just switch to a low cost long distance company? We pay $.03/minute with kissld.com. Maybe we could save a tiny bit more per month using a calling card but I don't think it would be worth the inconvenience of having to dial a special number each time. We also get a calling card from them which is $.08/minute for when we are away from home. Our bills dropped dramatically when we switched to them.

I tried switching to kissld.com when you mentioned it before but it is not available in my area. And the calling cards are great for teens to buy...especially when said teen wants to call his gf which is long distance even though she only lives 8 miles away.

Many people have mentioned having garage sales but I also go to garage sales. 1. to look for items for my family and 2. to find things to resell at my own garage sale or on Ebay. My mom called me after we had had lunch Thursday to ask if I could use a Pampered Chef round stone.....I said sure. She met me at a gas station and it was brand new in the box for only $4.
Last year I found some NWT Vera Bradley bags and a bear.......resold those on Ebay and made more than double what I paid.

 

[crisi]

One thing is that if you are "amazed" about all of us who pay our credit cards off in full each month, you need to start working on those cards.

If your balance doesn't get paid off each month, you've spent that month living beyond your means. And the interest you will pay will help get you further in the whole each month.

We all have emergencies, and until you get a good emergency savings account going, you'll need those credit cards for that. And they really are nice for things like car rentals and hotel deposits. But don't use them for instant gratification.

Take them all out of your wallet. Move to a cash basis. If you can't afford to buy it in cash, you can't afford it. If you do charge something (over the internet or something) take the cash out of your wallet and put it someplace to pay the bill when it comes.

The strategies for saving money will come in handy in terms of helping you live the best possible way within your means. Couponing, shopping thrift stores, cancelling services you don't use or really need (in addition to long distance, the newspaper, magazines, etc) will give you the extra money you need to enable you to continue to live well without relying on the credit card to do so.

Remember, too, that there are two ways of getting more money in your life, saving it and making it. Take a second (or first) job. Pet sit. Housesit. Mow grass. Clean houses. Ask your boss for a raise or get a job that pays more. Do a rewards program or a survey program (not a lot of money in those, but $10 here and there won't hurt).

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Cinders
And the calling cards are great for teens to buy...especially when said teen wants to call his gf which is long distance even though she only lives 8 miles away.

In this case, it might be worth looking into a cell phone. You may find a basic plan that would save you money if the GF lives within the local calling range or the plan includes long distance time. We live in NJ. Our parents live in PA. Its a long distance call by house phone but a local call by cell phone.

 

[Julia M]

Every four or five months I try and have a "eat everything in the pantry/freezer" week or two. I try to only buy milk and fresh fruit.

It's amazing what you can stockpile!

Sometimes the meals can be wierd, but that's okay.

Then you can take what you would have spent on groceries for savings.

Julia M

 

[floridagirrl2]

Originally posted by disneysteve
To some extent, that is phantom savings. You can't save that money because it doesn't actually exist. For example, if I find a great deal on a new widget and I buy it and save $50 off regular price, I don't instantly have an extra $50.

The other issue is that you may buy something on sale that you wouldn't buy at full price. Maybe $100 is too much for you to pay for that widget, but you're willing to pay $75. So when you buy it, you haven't actually saved anything.

Excellent points, Steve. A lot of shopaholics are so busy "saving" money at TJMaxx, Steinmart, Marshalls, Sam's Club, department store sales, etc. that it's hard to find money to put in an actual savings account (I'm speaking as a recovering shopaholic, of course!)

That's why it's so important to think carefully before making purchases (or to save your receipts and return items you realize you don't need/want).