Tips On How To Stop Spending Money Frivolously

[Majestic Pape]

Every time there's a dollar in my pocket I feel like I HAVE to spend it. No matter what, I'm spending money on some little bullshyt that isn't improving my life - drinks at the bar, those Papa John's specials (that's the hookup though ), buying fast food that I don't really wanna eat or whatever, etc., etc.

Anybody got tips on how to stop yourself from spending money frivolously?

 

[Eddie Jordan]

Ask yourself before you spend...is it needed?? Going out with friends to drink and shyt aint important.

 

[Red Maverick II]

Every time there's a dollar in my pocket I feel like I HAVE to spend it. No matter what, I'm spending money on some little bullshyt that isn't improving my life - drinks at the bar, those Papa John's specials (that's the hookup though ), buying fast food that I don't really wanna eat or whatever, etc., etc.

Anybody got tips on how to stop yourself from spending money frivolously?

Turn it into a game / challenge. Try to be as cheap as possible.

Don't carry any money or a debit / credit card on you. Might not be practical but it makes it almost physically impossible to spend money.

Put your money in one of those accounts where you can't take it out without being penalized (don't know what they're called off the top of my head)

Spend other people's money

 

[Majestic Pape]

Turn it into a game / challenge. Try to be as cheap as possible.

Don't carry any money or a debit / credit card on you. Might not be practical but it makes it almost physically impossible to spend money.

Put your money in one of those accounts where you can't take it out without being penalized (don't know what they're called off the top of my head)

Spend other people's money

This is probably gonna be the best thing for me to do.

I used to put my money in savings but I'd just wind up going to the ATM and taking it out of the debit card. Then I figured I'd cut up the card, but then I just ended up going to the credit union to take the money out. Then I figured I'd open an account at a credit union in a city about forty or forty-five minutes away so I wouldn't be able just to get money out all willy-nilly like that, but then I ended up taking my work checks (we don't have direct deposit) and just cashing them at Wal Mart or w/e.

But whenever I have managed to put money in my savings account since I moved it to another city, I haven't taken it out. But that's only about $800 right now.

I can't win for losing when it comes to money, fukk. I'm not even really worried about it now, I'm worried about how this is gonna be fukk me up later if I don't get a grasp on it now.

The other thing I thought about doing is just buying up a bunch of gift cards and (sorta) save money that way. But at the end of the day that isn't really "saving" the money either; just saving it up to spend it later at a specific spot.

 

[WaveCapsByOscorp™]

usually i only take a certain amount of money out with me if i need to go out. that helps me avoid overspending. but i'm kind of bad about frivolous spending too

 

[Real]

U must live with your parents.

Not saying that to troll or anything, thats just how i was in highschool/college. Didn't really learn how to budget till i got my own apartment when i was 20.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I got something set up in my bank where everytime I use my debit card a dollar goes to a savings account. I made about 200 bucks of basically free money (money i forgot about) in a month.

Start making lunch and cooking as well,.

 

[what it do]

This is probably gonna be the best thing for me to do.

I used to put my money in savings but I'd just wind up going to the ATM and taking it out of the debit card. Then I figured I'd cut up the card, but then I just ended up going to the credit union to take the money out. Then I figured I'd open an account at a credit union in a city about forty or forty-five minutes away so I wouldn't be able just to get money out all willy-nilly like that, but then I ended up taking my work checks (we don't have direct deposit) and just cashing them at Wal Mart or w/e.

But whenever I have managed to put money in my savings account since I moved it to another city, I haven't taken it out. But that's only about $800 right now.

I can't win for losing when it comes to money, fukk. I'm not even really worried about it now, I'm worried about how this is gonna be fukk me up later if I don't get a grasp on it now.

The other thing I thought about doing is just buying up a bunch of gift cards and (sorta) save money that way. But at the end of the day that isn't really "saving" the money either; just saving it up to spend it later at a specific spot.

r u on drugs thats u cant control urself cuz wat i just read at the top its all dicipline my dude u gotta be shiesty to urself so it will help u in the long run

 

[Majestic Pape]

U must live with your parents.

Not saying that to troll or anything, thats just how i was in highschool/college. Didn't really learn how to budget till i got my own apartment when i was 20.

Nah, I live by myself. This isn't a situation where I don't pay rent, I'm talking about excess money basically. I don't have a problem taking care of my basic expenses (rent, utilities, et cetera); my problem is basically just with cash on hand.

r u on drugs thats u cant control urself cuz wat i just read at the top its all dicipline my dude u gotta be shiesty to urself so it will help u in the long run

 

[tru_m.a.c]

Start going to the gym. Once you start making gains, you'll stop with that junk food because it'll just set you back. And you'll limit your alcohol intake too.

Madden just dropped for 60 bucks. If its a friday, and you go to the gym after work....once you get out the gym, eat right, shower you won't even be all that hyped to go spend money on shyt. Pop in that madden. Knock out 2-3 games and thats 2-3hrs. No point in going out to the bar at 1 (unless you're in NYC )

Get you a lady friend you actually like. Negates the point of going to a bar and helps you out so you're not bored out your fukkin mind.

You're addicted to the fun activities that come with spending money. So find more cost effective yet fun shyt to do. Hit up happy hours only. Party once a week. Read more. Focus on your career goals.

 

[nalej]

don't have money on you when you are drunk.

 

[Mr Uncle Leroy]

one gotta be aggressive

ideology:
- set a budget goal in mind, as to how much you want to save
- determine how much is currently spent
- research ways to scale on costly bills
- be disciplined/make it happen
- whenever you got to a store/always have a budget in mind...

tips:
- only eat at home, get food from grocery store in bulk
- research recipes of popular restaurants and make the meals at home
- drink before going to a bar, buy good inexpensive drink at bar to keep the buzz
- use car service/taxi/designated driver when drinking, spending $xx - $xxx on transportation when drinking, can save you $x,xxx - $xxx,xxx(x) in lawyer fees / job loss /etc
- use coupons / coupon site to buy only what you need.
- sell car, use public transportation to get around
- plan ahead and rent car by an hour if car sold
- become a roommate to keep lodging costs low
- move most of your net income to ing saving account
- create jar for daily/monthly expenses. jar for entertainment, restaurant, etc - throw some bills, coins, gift card in there...and what in there is only there to spend
- use electric bill when its least expensive
- get discount card...
- combine car insurance, home/renter insurance to get multi discount deals
- use a shopping list to get want you want but pay for it in the future...it create the shopping high without a dent in the budget, and review the shopping list/cart later to see if you really need it. also good for future building add some nice high priced items there...if items matches ambition.
- buy books / dvd used. same content/data as discounted price

 

[unit321]

Well, everyone has a different way to save. This is what I do and you can take it or leave it as advice.
1. Layout all your income and expenses (rent, utilities, cell phone, car payments). What I have left is money I can save and/or spend.
2. Knowing that amount, I will always put in $x into a savings account. The rest stays in checking.
3. When my savings hits $y, I move it into a CD. I let the CD grow. Interest rates are low now and I don't earn a lot in interest, but it mentally keeps me in the saving frame of mind. CDs are liquid too so it's money for a rainy day.
4. I don't withdraw from savings unless it is an emergency or unforeseen expense or non-monthly expense. Examples are medical bill, car tires, car insurance respectively. When I want to spend mad money, I use the money from the checking account, not the savings account.

Example with hypothetical numbers. You earn $1000. Your expenses are $400 in rent and $400 in utilities and bills. The difference is $200. You move $100 from checking into savings every month. That leaves $100 in checking when you want to go out to eat or something like that.
Don't move $200 into savings because you'll want to tap into savings like you have before for small expenses like going out to eat. Once you spend $100 from your checking, then you are tapped out. This forces you to manage your mad money. Don't tap into your savings account. Live within your means.
After one year, you have $1200 in savings. you can move $1,200 into a CD. If you want to save more, move $150 into savings a month. This leaves you $50 in checking to spend on small expenses. If you put in $150/month in savings, this would leave $1,800 after one year that you would put into a CD.
There will be people who say, $1000 or $1,800 a year, isn't a lot. After 3 years, that will have added up to $3,000 or $5,400, respectively. No joke, there are people in the middle-income bracket who earn double to triple what a low-income person makes but have almost no savings.

 

[Soundbwoy]

Well, everyone has a different way to save. This is what I do and you can take it or leave it as advice.
1. Layout all your income and expenses (rent, utilities, cell phone, car payments). What I have left is money I can save and/or spend.
2. Knowing that amount, I will always put in $x into a savings account. The rest stays in checking.
3. When my savings hits $y, I move it into a CD. I let the CD grow. Interest rates are low now and I don't earn a lot in interest, but it mentally keeps me in the saving frame of mind. CDs are liquid too so it's money for a rainy day.
4. I don't withdraw from savings unless it is an emergency or unforeseen expense or non-monthly expense. Examples are medical bill, car tires, car insurance respectively. When I want to spend mad money, I use the money from the checking account, not the savings account.

Example with hypothetical numbers. You earn $1000. Your expenses are $400 in rent and $400 in utilities and bills. The difference is $200. You move $100 from checking into savings every month. That leaves $100 in checking when you want to go out to eat or something like that.
Don't move $200 into savings because you'll want to tap into savings like you have before for small expenses like going out to eat. Once you spend $100 from your checking, then you are tapped out. This forces you to manage your mad money. Don't tap into your savings account. Live within your means.
After one year, you have $1200 in savings. you can move $1,200 into a CD. If you want to save more, move $150 into savings a month. This leaves you $50 in checking to spend on small expenses. If you put in $150/month in savings, this would leave $1,800 after one year that you would put into a CD.
There will be people who say, $1000 or $1,800 a year, isn't a lot. After 3 years, that will have added up to $3,000 or $5,400, respectively. No joke, there are people in the middle-income bracket who earn double to triple what a low-income person makes but have almost no savings.

Props I need to start doing this or imma end up looking like

 

[beenz]

One of my savings accounts is a credit union. I have money deducted from my check going there automatically from when I had a car payment and never bothered to change it. Anyways, the good thing is this automatically stacks money for me without me ever missing the money. Also, this account , I don't have a debit card for. So I can check the balance online, but physically have to go there to take money out. An since it's not conveniently located, it's basically a hassle just to get my own money. Therefore I don't.