money

[Rosey]

dammit saving money is so hard!!!!!!

despite my attempts to cut back and save i find myself going through ~$100 every week with going out on the weekend, buying coffees/lunch @ work, and misc. socializing. add that to rent ($650), rogers (internet, cable, phone = $75), and groceries ($150).....it adds up to too much.

i just did up a spreadsheet look at my summer finances and it is not good! i need to save to travel, but i'm going to have to cut my optional expenses in half.

boooooo. i need a second job. gawd i sound like a broken record.

 

[kyfe]

what intersection do you live at sometimes working the corner could be a good second job. the hours are flexible you get to meet interesting people and it's close to home

Just Kidding, I hear ya. It's hard to save when almost half your money goes to pay for housing.... or you are too busy buying things which is my problem.....


Kyfe

 

[stir-fry]

i hear yah dood.. and i love at home.

people always tell me "you're lucky you live at home.. you can save money.. " it's all just BLAH BLAH to me.

i *should* be able to save money, but the shit burns a hole in my pocket.. i don't even drink alchohol (maybe 10 bucks every other week i spend on it) and i'm not a consumer of any other expensive products yet my money still goes!
i even bring a lunch and sometimes i eat breakfast before i leave in the morning.. yet i still have this untraceable trail of money disappearing from my posession.

and now my insurance is taking a jump, i have a few less bucks a month to 'save'.

sigh.. i should go back to weekend bartending.

 

[labRat]

Originally posted by Rosey
i just did up a spreadsheet look at my summer finances and it is not good! i need to save to travel, but i'm going to have to cut my optional expenses in half.

the spreadsheet is good for starters, at least you're trying to account for your spending. that's where you'll suddenly find some holes where money is flowing out that you never noticed before. cancelling out $5 here and $5 there will soon add up to a lot per month, it takes discipline sometimes but your on the right path.

i know of some people that are horrible with their finances - have unpaid bills, credit cards maxed out, etc. and i wonder how long that can last.

or, as kyfe said, you can lube up the butt and work the streets.

--craig

 

[Cheeka]

me too rosey... saving to travel is a pain in the ass!!
I might have to get a part time job serving/bartending once maybe twice a week to save a good amount of $$$

but remember- mo money mo problems

 

[Rosey]

Re: Re: money

Originally posted by *labRat*

the spreadsheet is good for starters, at least you're trying to account for your spending. that's where you'll suddenly find some holes where money is flowing out that you never noticed before. cancelling out $5 here and $5 there will soon add up to a lot per month, it takes discipline sometimes but your on the right path.

that's exactly it! if i'm buying a coffee and fritter every morning for $2.10 and a Falafel wrap for $4.93, well it doesn't seem like much, but that's $7.03 every day, $35.15 every week, and like $150 every month!!!!

that's like half of what i have earmarked as 'discretionary money' gone, right there.

 

[deep]

Re: Re: Re: money

Originally posted by Rosey

that's exactly it! if i'm buying a coffee and fritter every morning for $2.10 and a Falafel wrap for $4.93, well it doesn't seem like much, but that's $7.03 every day, $35.15 every week, and like $150 every month!!!!

You can't overspend, or you'll falafel.

 

[tommysmalls]

I HEAR YA ~!!!!

 

[mingster]

I hear ya too, Rosey.
Money just seems to disspear into thin air.......*poof*

Ming.

 

[tommysmalls]

Originally posted by Rosey
rogers (internet, cable, phone = $75), and groceries ($150).....it adds up to too much.

you're doing ok with those 2 amounts - actually, more than OK with your telecom! my telecom is double that!

 

[echo]

I hear ya Rosey.

It is ridiculous how quickly money slips thru my fingers. And I TRY to budget it out....I TRY to account for where it all goes.

It would be so nice to save SOME money...unfortunately OSAP and my maxed out Line of Credit are not helping things

On a happier note I did pay off all of my credit card debts last month!!

Now I just have to keep myself from putting a digi cam on my very empty lil credit card.

*nervous twitch*


echo

 

[labRat]

deep: wha'? go back to bed.

another good thing to do is open up an ING type account where you can't access the money quite as easily and force yourself to put aside any amount on a monthly basis ... $10, $20, $50, $4367 ... it quickly adds up and you get a decent interest return on it (well, decent compared to a chequing account). use that for big ticket items when the time comes around.

--craig

 

[deep]

Originally posted by *labRat*
deep: wha'? go back to bed.

Don't overspend, or you'll falafel (feel awful).

 

[labRat]

oh ... rainbows. i never knew you had a dumass accent.

i thought you were trying to say falafel == fall over or something.

still... go back to bed.

 

[Rosey]

Re: Re: money

Originally posted by tommysmalls


you're doing ok with those 2 amounts - actually, more than OK with your telecom! my telecom is double that!

no land line, cell with unlimtied evenings and weekends, internet split two ways, tv split three. it's not bad, but it's a lot.

deep, ah, now i get it.

craig, i've got an ING account, and it's got a little in it, but i'm not putting more in until i get my tax return back and pay off my line-o-credit.

 

[deep]

Originally posted by *labRat*


still... go back to bed.

too tweaked, caffeine makes me punny. I'm going to workout

 

[echo]

Do you have a microwave at work Rosey??

I used to spend mega bucks on lunch every day too....until I started bringing leftovers for lunch.

Easiest thing to do is make a huge casserole of some sort (or even just a huge bowl of pasta) on Sunday nite. Then place leftovers in 5 of those disposable tupperware containers and place in fridge. Voila....easy to take to work...and fairly easy to clean-up.

As for breakfast...well I still buy that at work cuz I am too damn lazy to get up any earlier to eat something before leaving for work.

But still...taking lunches every day will save you 20 - 25 bucks a week!

Of course....this all depends on you having a microwave at work!

echo

 

[Rosey]

yeah, bringing lunches is a good call. i do this sometimes, sometimes i forget. i can even cheap out and throw a bunch of michelina's dinners in the freezer at work. they're like $2.50 each with tax and they make a good meal with a cup-a-soup.

but the real answer to saving money is to stop drinking. if i cut out the booze, right there big $$$$ and i'd lose weight. but can i do it? i doubt it. drinking is way too ingrained in my social routine.

 

[Cheeka]

^^^ especially with summer coming... patio season it not a good time to try to quit drinking!!!

 

[stir-fry]

yah, bringing lunch to work is a good idea.

i used to make a tinfoil pouch on sunday nights, fill it up with veggies, chicken, herbs, olive oil.. through it in the oven for 25 minutes at 200 degrees and voila you got yourself on delicious lunch for the next 2 days..

that still depends on the microwave situation.

 

[Bean]

Originally posted by echo
Do you have a microwave at work Rosey??

I used to spend mega bucks on lunch every day too....until I started bringing leftovers for lunch.

Easiest thing to do is make a huge casserole of some sort (or even just a huge bowl of pasta) on Sunday nite. Then place leftovers in 5 of those disposable tupperware containers and place in fridge. Voila....easy to take to work...and fairly easy to clean-up.

I do the same thing; make a big pot of soup on Sunday... it takes me all week to get through it.

Ross, you could do what I do to save money: get a job where you devote 13 hours of every 24 hours in a day to it. That way, when you do finish your work day, you're too tired to spend money.

This also works wonders on your social life: come friday night, you're too tired to go out. Saturday night is pretty much a write off too: with the hectic schedule all week, your body isn't really up to staying up unaided much past 10 or 11..,, thus saving you money from not going out.



You're on the right track. Starting a spreadsheet to track expenses is an excellent idea, as is cutting out the little expenses here and there.

Good luck & peace,

Sabina

.:. Share what you know, learn what you don't .:.

 

[labRat]

another thing is to get a raise. that helps out a lot.

 

[mandapanda]

if i TRY really hard to save money i spend it cos i am thinking about it. if i don't, then i somehow basically manage to save it.

 

[Temper Tantrum]

Best way I've found for saving money:

Predrinking and then only buying a drink or two when I'm out.

Always eating at home, always, I treat myself to two or three dinners our a month for about 10 bucks that's about it.

But I'm a student, so work is different

good luck babe!

~allie~

 

[daddyiwantchocolate]

Ross. I've learned the hard way.

The only way to save money imo is to have an automatic deduction removed from your account.

I have two big ones per month: amount A to my RRSP's and a whopping chunk of my pay to my financial advisor for investment. I've not been paying rent for over a year and it's only been in the past few months that I've been saving - but FUCK does it add up and fast.