pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Jan 3, 2014 14:28:48 GMT -5
Have you come across any new strategies for saving for the coming year, or are you set and sticking to a tried and true plan that works for you?
What's the one thing you do on a regular basis that works really well?
My favorite is still The Spare Change Challenge from way back on the MSN money boards, and I have not stopped saving my change yet.
I am looking into a few new goals like getting the bike sold, and like Donna Freedman, having a no spend January, other than my necessary bills that are due. Restocking worked very well thanks to Grocery Outlet and the 99 cents store.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Jan 3, 2014 15:00:38 GMT -5
The major thing I do is move the money I want to save to another account (brokerage). That way I don't see it in my savings account and feel like it is available to spend. When I feel like I have less money I become more frugal.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jan 3, 2014 15:11:39 GMT -5
Since DH retired last May, we are no longer trying to "save". We have been living off his pension and what I had in checking when he retired and so far, so good.....we haven't had to dip into our retirement savings yet. I was hoping that we could go 12 months without any withdrawals and we might exceed that thanks to my stockpiles of non-perishables and frugal grocery shopping.
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coffeegrl
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Post by coffeegrl on Jan 3, 2014 15:28:44 GMT -5
I don't have a lot of extra money to put into savings, but I am going to try putting money aside each Wednesday in the amount that correlates with the number of week it is for that month. I don't think I explained that very well. LOL For example, two days ago, the first Wednesday of the month, I put $1 in a jar. Next Wednesday, which is the 2nd Wednesday of the month, I will put in $2. Then $3 the third Wednesday, $4 the 4th, and $5 the 5th. That will be $15 for the month of January. Then I'll do the same for February. Some months will have a little more money than others, but that is better than nothing. I also emptied my wallet of change and am going to add my change to the jar too. I have to start somewhere!
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Happy prose
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Post by Happy prose on Jan 3, 2014 16:01:11 GMT -5
A while back, I switched to cash only spending instead of a credit card. Although I always paid the bill in full, I spent more. In 2014, I am going to leave myself with less cash. My cash is used for gas, groceries, etc, so I have to cut back a bit. And if at the end of two weeks I have cash left over, I'll take out that much less from my pay.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Jan 3, 2014 16:11:56 GMT -5
I work downtown and take my own lunch into work almost every day.
I also asked for a coffee pot/brewer as a gift, and use that to brew freshly ground coffee every day. It's in the common kitchen area and anyone who wants some is welcome to use it.
When coffee runs $3 a pop and lunch is between 7-15 it could get out of hand very quickly.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Jan 3, 2014 16:34:49 GMT -5
Cash only as much as possible as I discovered that even after accounting for rebates & paying in full each month, charging was more expensive.
Reverse weekly savings dedicated to a bill due beginning of summer
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Jan 3, 2014 17:55:57 GMT -5
in 2013, I did the calendar challenge saving plan ($1 in week 1, $2 in week 2, all the way up to $52 last week) and was able to put almost $1400 in the bank earlier this week. I will be doing it again in 2014. my original plan was that this would be my vacation fund, but it ended up covering almost $1100 worth of work that had to be done to my car this week. the payment will be made to Discover on Monday. oh well. 2014's savings will go into the vacation fund though!
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flopsy
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Post by flopsy on Jan 3, 2014 18:02:34 GMT -5
Like Resolution I move money to where it isn't easily accessible. If I can't see it I can't spend it.
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coffeegrl
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Post by coffeegrl on Jan 3, 2014 18:11:23 GMT -5
in 2013, I did the calendar challenge saving plan ($1 in week 1, $2 in week 2, all the way up to $52 last week) and was able to put almost $1400 in the bank earlier this week. This is where I got the idea for mine. I know I won't be able set aside a lot each week so I modified it.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Jan 3, 2014 19:30:20 GMT -5
in 2013, I did the calendar challenge .... it ended up covering almost $1100 worth of work that had to be done to my car this week
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Jan 3, 2014 20:06:11 GMT -5
I'm doing a "Fix it from the pantry" project too, where I eat everything I have in my cupboards and freezer. The only items I will buy are fresh items needed until all of my stock is cleared I accumulated over the last few months. I kept an open space in the pantry and freezer for new stock. The only item I can foresee buying is a 10 pound bag of Indian rice so far.
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grits
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Post by grits on Jan 3, 2014 20:59:04 GMT -5
Eating from the pantry has often times freed up a couple of hundred bucks for me. I will stick with the tried and true. Auto-transfer on the first and fifteenth of every month. I'll bring my lunch, and snack to work. I will still conserve gasoline, and electricity, and buy only what I need. Plus, I am hitting up sales for next Christmas's gifts. So far, I have 7 out of 14 purchased. YAY!
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Jan 4, 2014 19:19:00 GMT -5
I started using YNAB in July 2012, and that was huge improvement for the last 18 months.
For 2014, I actually out our car loans, camping trailer loan, and CC debt into YNAB as "off budget" accounts. Now, they're in my face, and I'm hoping that makes me more focused on assigning our money to decrease those numbers.
ETA: i know that's not technically saving money, but it is saving in interest payments!
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Jan 5, 2014 2:40:29 GMT -5
I save change in a jar.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Jan 5, 2014 8:04:16 GMT -5
I transfer money every month for the irregular bills, general savings, & vacation savings to a separate account. I also do a sweep of my direct deposit account of any extra, not currently needed for paying bills and feeding or clothing myself at the same time. Most months I DO have extra cash to get out of my regular account.
I did do a weekly save change thing this year. No idea how much I saved. The way things are going it might be April or May before it is warm enough around here to take to the bank for counting.
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dogmom
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Post by dogmom on Jan 5, 2014 9:02:47 GMT -5
DH retired two years ago. (both of us worked). About a year before he retired, I changed our budget to bank one person's earnings and live off of the other. So far we bank his pension and live off of my earnings. With the exception of buying a new car (cash) we haven't had to dip into savings or retirement accounts. Hopefully we can continue this way.
Otherwise, I do stockpile (although replenishing the stockpile is not as "cheap" as it used to be.) I do save change in a jar and bring my lunch to work every day.
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happysenior
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Post by happysenior on Jan 5, 2014 9:47:30 GMT -5
Saving change in a jar. The dollars and cents I save by using coupons and discounts (military and senior) go into the savings jar too!
DH and I are eating from the freezer and pantry in preparation for a major move (~2500 miles). Shipping canned goods is expensive so what we don't use we will donate to a local food pantry.
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MonicaLee5186
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Post by MonicaLee5186 on Jan 5, 2014 10:03:21 GMT -5
We save change in a jar but we so infrequently use cash that it doesn't amount to much. The last time we cashed in that change was in 2011 I think. We both work full time jobs and I have a part time job and DH has several side jobs (refereeing, landscaping, plowing snow, odd jobs, etc.) Any money earned from our side jobs gets saved. We live on only our full time income. My student loans will be paid off by this April and after that we will likely live off my income and save DHs. He wants a newer car at some point this year so that will be a nice down payment for it.
We are trying to do the most we can now before we have kids, which will hopefully be at some point this year.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Jan 5, 2014 11:18:13 GMT -5
I love the calendar savings that Chiv does. Being retired though makes the weekly savings deposit a little more difficult for me to hide....yes, I hide my stash savings from DH, or he'd be sure to want to spend it. I could easily do the weekly Wednesday idea of coffeegrl. We also save our change and empty it about twice a year with amounts close to $50.
We are going to try this year to live off our monthly income of SS for both of us and the VA disability that DH receives. Only time will tell if we actually accomplish it. Our budget says we can, but I'm certain our eating out is going to derail the attempt.
The money from our investments is going into be swept into our money market account.
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kilroy
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Post by kilroy on Jan 5, 2014 11:21:54 GMT -5
Love the new 'do, BG
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happysenior
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Post by happysenior on Jan 5, 2014 12:38:25 GMT -5
Blonde Granny you're not the only one who hides the cash stash from DH. It's the only way to keep some $$ for a "rainy day" in this house.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Jan 5, 2014 14:53:10 GMT -5
I am seriously staying out of stores. I never liked shopping, but in the last few years, I spend OMG-crap load of money on art/craft supplies for the kids. Since I don't think I am very creative, I was buying all kinds of stuff for them to be artsy and crafty. I have more paint and crayons and stickers and G-d knows what else that ACMoore and Michaels combined. So, I am staying out of the stores. I am going to try to do the same with food - shop once a week and THAT IS IT!!! bc I would go in for one item and come out with 10 that turns out I "desperately" needed. I am pretty sure that no one will starve to death if they have to wait a few days for something. And may be they will forget about chocolate milk all together
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Jan 6, 2014 11:57:31 GMT -5
My savings action plan: I looked at my year end 2013 Excel sheet Total column for each expense, and just as I did last year, I wrote down what I can do to reduce expenses farther. On the list: ~Increase Wally World shopping vs the grocery store (except for produce and meat). ~Call the land line carrier's competition and see what they have to offer as far as office packages. ~Watch MVR fees here at the office. With one carrier, if we don't write the policy, they charge us $4.40 for each report. ~Shop my truck insurance, just as I do every year. ~Reduce my booze intake. Maybe. I'm also going to add to the Excel sheet a running debt balance for my school loan and two others to keep track of the downward trend this year. Meanwhile, I will continue putting away $100 into my EF each month. The goal is to have everything paid off by December. I ain't gettin' any younger, and momma needs a SEP IRA.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2014 12:17:43 GMT -5
Eating from the pantry has often times freed up a couple of hundred bucks for me. I will stick with the tried and true. Auto-transfer on the first and fifteenth of every month. I'll bring my lunch, and snack to work. I will still conserve gasoline, and electricity, and buy only what I need. Plus, I am hitting up sales for next Christmas's gifts. So far, I have 7 out of 14 purchased. YAY! how does eating from the pantry save money? you either spend the money in the past or you spend it in the future.....it all works out to be same average
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grits
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Post by grits on Jan 6, 2014 19:22:42 GMT -5
Not really. You will use up what you have, and the money you don't spend that month goes into the savings. If you don't use up the pantry stockpile, you'll go out and buy more stuff for that month. I use up what I have, and do not go out to replenish it to what it was before. I wait for sales, and buy them then. By delaying the purchases, I stockpile cash instead of more food.
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flopsy
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Post by flopsy on Jan 7, 2014 0:55:57 GMT -5
I will try,to emulate Lena and stay out of stores. Now if only I could stop fixating on all the stuff I want...
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Jan 7, 2014 9:03:07 GMT -5
I will try,to emulate Lena and stay out of stores. Now if only I could stop fixating on all the stuff I want... I should have also added Amazon to my list - I buy way too much stuff for kids' curriculum and such. Way too much!! I actually need to sell some of the stuff that we won't be using
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grits
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Post by grits on Jan 7, 2014 10:33:49 GMT -5
I have 2 more weeks until I need to break up with my girlfriend. I won't have to buy her a Valentines Day gift.
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Jan 7, 2014 15:30:10 GMT -5
Having a stockpile and eating out of the pantry actually does save a lot of money. You buy once, then utilize what you have and it eliminates trips to the market. Fewer trips to the store saves on gas, plus time you spend at the store is more time you have freed up. I haven't put gas in my car since the beginning of December. It's also kept more money in my bank account by not taking it out in the first place. That's saving. Now that I have to change medical insurance, I have the cushion I need to make the changes .
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