I live on a fixed income and was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to save and where to save with limited funds.
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Same here me and my wife try to live on $1500 a month and let me tell you it just cant be done legal so any help would be greatly appreciated
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My suggestion would be to just start small, like super small, even $5 a month small. Direct deposit or transfer from one account to another and donāt have access to it with a debit card.
I always recommend a small local bank or credit union. Generally lower fees and more flexibility with accounts.
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We just retired last year reducing our income by 2/3. Theoretically we have plenty of money to pay our expenses but Iām having a hard time living within my new means. I try to save then something tends to come up that takes my savings. Iām trying writing down every penny I spend for a month or so to see where I can improve.
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Start saving 5$ at a time. Iām on a fixed income and this app has helped me build an emergency savings account. They can also round up your change from every purchase to allow you to save more much faster https://acorns.com/.
I also do surveys with gobranded.com. I made 30$ in 3 days on there! Needless to say, there are lots of ways to earn money to add to your fixed income.
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I hear youā¦and I share your pain! These are the tips I offer:. Use Trim to save, , cut interested on cards and lower cable and cell phone bill. Use Ebates. Join Nextdoor. ā¦ and get connected with your neighbors, .I get lots of free stuff,. . like dirt and plants. Get the Cub app they have more deals! Look into Fare for All. Also your food shelves, , great place to volunteerā¦ .and get food. Use coupons both manufacturer and store. Enroll in Walgreens points program, .use coupons on items in the Sunday paper. Donāt forget Groupon, ,. .
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My situation is different but our goals are very similar. Our income was cut in half & our expenses increased when I became a stay-at-home parent to our son with medical issues.
I called our service providers (ask for customer loyalty or retention) and was able to lower most of those bills or eliminate services that we truly didnāt need.
I grow fruits & veggies in the backyard. Even with an apartment patio, you can have a tomato plant, herbs, strawberries in pots, etc to enjoy (and I come across a lot of free plants & seeds).
I made it a game to keep track of items I got for free & how much their value was. I couponed & kept track of my savings. I love collecting free product coupons & then go to the store once a month to do a āfree shopā. I also love the clearance section of the grocery store. It is my game to play, have fun & keep me motivated. I ācontestā or āsweepstakeā for items that I want & need too.
Any money I find on the ground, goes into our vacation fund. In my area, drink bottles can be recycled for money - my kids collect them & donate the money to charity, but it can be tax free money to help a budget & gets you out on some nice walks.
The little things start to add up quickly and free up money in our budget to save for our emergency fund & retirement savings.
I walk anywhere I can to save gas money.
My credit union has free banking accounts.
Sell items that you donāt use around your house.
The little things do add up.
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Thank you for the reply! Iāve been having fun with saving-money challenges too and I remember my mom telling me to take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves. That really seems to be true and I wonder how much money I wasted in the past just because I had it to spare.
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Thanks everyone for your input. I have been using a few apps like Ibotta & Fetch Rewards which save me money everytime I go to the grocery store or when ordering online. I also get coupons from my local grocery store from time to time for free items and find items discounted on their discount shelf & ask for my senior discount at restaurants.
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Thanks for the reminder about asking for senior discount - I keep forgetting to do that and they are there to be found!
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Avoid fast food restaurants. Use instant coffee or brew your own. Avoid the mall at all cost. Plan monthly splurges to concerts. Budget shoot out fit.Cook enough to take some for lunch.
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If I have cash, I save the change in a jar and watch it add up. Also I have a weekly budget for groceries at 100.00. If I spend, say 80.00 that week, 20.00 goes to my savings acct since it was in the budget anyway. Little tricks like that ensure that I always have savings even during tight months. I also use Ebates. Love them. And I use digital coupons at Kroger for food and fuel. It all adds up.
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I am retired and recently was scammed out of a lot of money. I have a Costco Credit Card which pays me cash at the end of the year. I charge my daily expenses, however, I never charge more than I can pay off each month. Unfortunately I was scammed/frauded out of a lot of money. I am fortunate as I have investments which I am now having to use to pay off my debts. The taxes that I will pay is a lot less than paying the interest on my CC. I am looking into changing my insurance as well as paying for my insurance in a lump some as this will save me money. My friend pays her insurance in total. She then takes the total paid and divides it by 12 (months). The money she saves by paying in full is put away each month. I am planning on trying this.
I am also looking for a part time job to help supplement my income such as online computer work
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Hi. I am aways looking for ways to save money so thank you. I go one step further in that at the end of a day, I take all of my dollar bills and put them away. Itās amazing how much you can save and not miss the money!
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I emptied my change in a jar for a couple of months, took it to the bank and it added up to over $60! I also am using a fuel discount from grocery shopping and can get up to .09/gallon off. I also just discovered Ebates and itās awesome. Thanks for all the great tips!
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Paula Marie posted:
I hear youā¦and I share your pain! These are the tips I offer:. Use Trim to save, , cut interested on cards and lower cable and cell phone bill. Use Ebates. Join Nextdoor. ā¦ and get connected with your neighbors, .I get lots of free stuff,. . like dirt and plants. Get the Cub app they have more deals! Look into Fare for All. Also your food shelves, , great place to volunteerā¦ .and get food. Use coupons both manufacturer and store. Enroll in Walgreens points program, .use coupons on items in the Sunday paper. Donāt forget Groupon, ,. .
I live in a small city in Iowa. We have 3 food stores. A chain store, a health food store and Walmart. The chain store is slick but understaffed, poorly run and expensive, often raising prices on a $3.00 item by $1.00! The health food store is well run and stocked for those who have no money issues. Walmart has by far the lowest prices. For instance we feed our dog food with chicken bone broth. The same item, same size is $3.50 more expensive at the chain store. I do read the flyers and sometimes the chain store will have a special on an item that we use. I stock up. So the lesson Iāve learned is to compare, read the shelf price and choose. Long gone are the days the of āconvenienceā of one stop shopping, grabbing things on the list. Oh yesā¦ make list and stick to it!! Good luck!
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I like the idea of budget templates, it unexpectedly helped me in recent months. Fit My Money collected many variants for people with different lifestyle. The idea is to write down all the expenses to special sectors and then trach how you can cut off. We are often sure we spend money only on the necessary things, but there is always something extra. Interesting experience, and very useful.
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Absolutely, @emily.morgan. When you see what you spend in some budget categories (usually, the miscellaneous), itās eye opening.
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Try house sitting, there are organizations that specialize in this, use this as a vacation. Sign up as a professional shopper, you go shopping anyway. Use 2% back credit cards and save that money. Food shop at Aldi. Do volunteer work to get into concerts for free. Get free things on Craigās List section. Walk for entertainment, itās free exercise. Make your own cleaning supplies, receipts are on the internet. Inert ingredients are always water. Add essential oils if you like
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@denise.denise posted:
Try house sitting, there are organizations that specialize in this, use this as a vacation. Sign up as a professional shopper, you go shopping anyway. Use 2% back credit cards and save that money. Food shop at Aldi. Do volunteer work to get into concerts for free. Get free things on Craigās List section. Walk for entertainment, itās free exercise. Make your own cleaning supplies, receipts are on the internet. Inert ingredients are always water. Add essential oils if you like
Those are some great ideas! I have switched my grocery shopping almost entirely to Aldi, and the savings have been great! I rarely shop at Publix now - only for certain things. I think volunteering for free concerts is a good idea - Iām going to look into seeing if I can volunteer at my local art center to see if maybe I could get free/reduced rate classes. I also shop pretty much exclusively at TJ Maxx; department stores are too expensive.
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