I’m just curious to find out what has been your aha! moment when you realized a cool way to save money? When did you finally decided that now is the time to stash some money for rainy days?
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The moment I recognized the need to save money was when I finally took the time to take a close look at where I was financially.
Before, I had avoided looking deeper at my finances than just checking the balance of my checking account.
More than just saving money, this really woke me up to the fact of how little I knew about managing my money.
This caused me to start saving, investing and working on a plan to eliminate debt.
It also sent me on a journey of searching for knowledge about how to create a better financial future for myself and others.
This journey continues to this day!
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Sid posted:
I’m just curious to find out what has been your aha! moment when you realized a cool way to save money? When did you finally decided that now is the time to stash some money for rainy days?
I have to be honest and say during my late 30’s. Been a bit of a wild one before that, and never gave the “rainy day” much thought. Especially going through the DJ stage after finishing my diploma as an Electrician.
A method that works quite well for me is a linked bank account to stash a little something with each payday. And of-course my Payoneer account linked with Bank of America. The profit I generate on the internet then goes into this account. That’s two methods I use to have a little on the side for the “rainy days”.
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Moore Income posted:
The moment I recognized the need to save money was when I finally took the time to take a close look at where I was financially.
Before, I had avoided looking deeper at my finances than just checking the balance of my checking account.
More than just saving money, this really woke me up to the fact of how little I knew about managing my money.
This caused me to start saving, investing and working on a plan to eliminate debt.
It also sent me on a journey of searching for knowledge about how to create a better financial future for myself and others.
This journey continues to this day!
Hey there,
I can kind of relate to your story. Piles of debt mounted and then I realized, oh ****, something needs to be done about it.
All the best for this beautiful journey!!
-Sid
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Deon Christie posted:
Sid posted:
I’m just curious to find out what has been your aha! moment when you realized a cool way to save money? When did you finally decided that now is the time to stash some money for rainy days?
I have to be honest and say during my late 30’s. Been a bit of a wild one before that, and never gave the “rainy day” much thought. Especially going through the DJ stage after finishing my diploma as an Electrician.
A method that works quite well for me is a linked bank account to stash a little something with each payday. And of-course my Payoneer account linked with Bank of America. The profit I generate on the internet then goes into this account. That’s two methods I use to have a little on the side for the “rainy days”.
Excellent! Forced savings is number 2 on my “Road to financial freedom journey” list. I find apps such as Stash and Acorns to be extremely useful.
Oh and by the way, what kind of music did you play as a DJ??
Best,
-Sid
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I have this habit of compartmentalizing things on my mind money wise. I have a very strict policy regarding how much to spend on gas and wardrobe. I have opted to live for me and avoid spending on unnecessary shopping. Food, gas, saving account. It worked so far.
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This sounds like a dream to me. To go back to the days when I could focus on savings. My grandchildren are my biggest challenge because any money I have I spend on them and feel good about it. But I need to bulk up my savings while things are going well. Good Job @zara.zoey !
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Leslie Kay posted:
This sounds like a dream to me. To go back to the days when I could focus on savings. My grandchildren are my biggest challenge because any money I have I spend on them and feel good about it. But I need to bulk up my savings while things are going well. Good Job @zara.zoey !
Grandkids are amazingly pricey!! I realized this when I started tracking my spending 6 years ago! Wow! And tho I knew I was probably being too generous, just how generous showed up in bright RED!!! LOL! It wasn’t all the spoil, either. When they stay weekends or weeks, the special foods, entertainment, activities all add up. Wouldn’t have it any other way, but goodness it was an eye-opener!
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After a divorce in my early 30’s, and the need to find a good, reliable income, which turned out to be real estate sales, and some roller coaster income years…well, the lightbulb went on. My neighbor happened to be a CPA and I consider his financial advice to be the best ever received at a crucial time in my life!
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I am almost debt-free, except my house and I want to invest 100.00.
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when I bought my very own bedroom set on “layaway” and had to pay for it monthly. this was when I realized how important it was to MAKE that payment if I truly wanted to stop sleeping on the air mattress. I was in my early 20s and the set was the first substantial thing I purchased. I became more responsible with money after the furniture arrived at my place! I realized I could actually achieve a financial goal! Very satisfying!
when i lost my husband and relized there would be only one income, and i never worked until my last child turned 16teen then i went part time, i am still part time, but one thing my husband taught me was how to save, so every paycheck goes away and i only pay bills and buy what i need, been doing ok
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When I was working, I was putting money into a Christmas Club through the employer. Also, I took out money each pay ($50-100) and just put it into an envelope for a rainy day or an unexpected expense. Thinking of it as paying ourselves in a way other than a paycheck that went for the usual bills. Now that I have quit work and am on Social Security along with my husband’s social security and pension, we are ok for now. Not really saving, but managing without too many frills. We have stopped the gifting process to family and that helps, if we do gift, it is with consumables.
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Haha! I remember doing Christmas clubs! I think they still have them at some banks. I’d have to say I don’t think I really had an Aha! moment but my husband doesn’t spend much money (sometimes he is too cheap, to be honest). After we got married I started not spending as much as I did before. We mostly had only 1 income and when we had children, we had to be more thrifty. Now retired and emptynesters has been a change. This year I think we have probably been even more thrifty because we rarely go anywhere because of the pandemic lockdowns. It has actually made me realize even more than ever how little we actually need.
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Hey Savingsmama, good to hear from you!!
I suffer from “feed the world” mentality. I love to share and give to the needy or not so needy. No amount of money matters when making homespun items such as jams and jellies. Home canning is a forte, tomatoes, potatoes, you maname it, one year even canned cabbage.
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When I decided that money is power! When you’re broke you have no choice. I was that way for 20 years. Now after 30 more years I can do whatever I want and I don’t have to put up with any crap!!!
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Want multiple seven figure wealth before retirement…
Buying on credit: Continue to buy cars and appliances forever. Use a savings or stock account to pay for items purchased over time. Start an automatic payment to that savings account and never stop it. Especially after the item is paid off. You will have that account to pay cash for the next car, appliance, etc. If you follow the advice below this could be easily $1K+. Mine is $1.5K a month into an account that has $600K in it and growing. I can pay cash for anything my heart desires and that isn’t much.
Cars: Buy used. A three year old lease return at the dealer usually is low mileage, has had all the maintenance completed by the dealer, has a guarantee and costs $0.40 to $0.50 on the new dollar. Now drive the car for 30 years to drive the total cost of ownership way down. OBTW your savings account above will grow and grow.
Houses: Buy houses that meet your needs and not one that wows you. Pay it off on a 15 year mortgage. Once paid off split the dollars and put the P&I into your stock or IRA account and the T&I into your savings account.
Say no to repair insurance for cars, appliances, etc. That, "For just $25 you can extend the warrantee two years " sales pitch. Take those dollars and put them in your payment savings account as explained above and you will always have money for repairs.
The One-Half Rule. All income raises are split in half. Half is a direct deposit to a Roth IRA and half you get to add to you monthly recurring budget. Over a 45 year working period an easy mil plus.
Dental Insurance: Self insure, dental insurance cost about $50/mo/person and only pays for preventative care and then 50% or so for fillings, crowns, etc. For my wife and I that is $1200 a year. Since 2000 we have only had checkups and cleanings, about $180 each, or $7200 over 20 years vs $24K into the savings account described above. This year she had an addition $200 for wisdom tooth extraction and I am getting a $3K bridge. Still way ahead of the game by $11K.
For all Grandparents: Pass on wealth to grandchildren by purchasing a single pay whole life policy at birth. $3000 at this time can buy about $200K of whole life that will be worth $2-3M at retirement.
After my divorce, learning how to pay bills, have a social life and being kind of low income I struggled for years, fell into some credit card issues which taught me life lessons. Fast forward 20 years my daughter helped me set up a budget spreadsheet and I started reading Dave Ramsay’s Financial Freedom book. Although I didn’t follow it to a T, it was helpful. I then discovered YouTube and watched every budget video out there. Along the way I discovered Rachel Cruze and Sinking funds which I incorporated onto my spreadsheet, setting up my fifth bank account specifically for that…it’s one of the best, most helpful things I’ve done for myself!
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Jeanne Hi
I liked your post and suggestions you mentioned.
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Happy Holidays to All! It is so nice to write again.
I embarked on the journey to save money and pay down my debt to eventually buy a home. My best friend Naomi introduced me to Kumiko’s The Budget Mom website. By using Kumiko’s theories, free resources (some you have to buy), and other research, I hunkered down to make this work. What did I have to lose? Additionally, I read several books on investing and finances, all which some women dismiss so readily due to its jargon and complexity. Moreover, I visited two financial advisors that wanted to charge me a huge fee to tell me how to spend my money, and informed me that I had to budget (strict), and I cannot save money unless I paid off all my bills. NOT!
So, by following the Budget Mom’s advice, I started reviewing my expenses to see where I spent the most, what were my usual bills etc. Then, I wrote everything down in black and white, and started paying attention. I separated the usual bills, household expenses, and yes, saving. David Bach’s book, Smart Women Finish Rich, highlighted some very important advice all throughout the book. One was “pay yourself first”. Every time I got paid, I incorporated that statement, along with Kumiko’s (Budget Mom) advice to budget efficiently to pay my bills, and if I had extra, applied that to make extra payments (or savings).
In a year or so, I paid off my business card debt, lowered my credit card debt, paid-off my student loan (Yay!), and SAVED money. All with my single income and some gigs I did. It required discipline and assessing what is important and what is not. Although, the pandemic made it easier too (used unused funds to make extra payments) and staying in meant I did not spend money going out.
Yes, it may seem overwhelming at first, but it is doable. My usual motto (cleaned up for publishing, of course) is “I can do it, so can you,” or “If that (bleep) can do it so can you!”.
Saving money while still having debt was my money epiphany. All other negative talk is hogwash. You will never know until you try.
Now, I am on another journey to save more and make other changes while I am still young. Until then, we shall see.
Good luck on your quest! Go get’em!
All the best, Annette
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