ATAR Notes: Forum
General Discussion => General Discussion Boards => Other General Discussion => Topic started by: lala1911 on December 20, 2013, 12:54:24 pm
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A lot of us here may be struggling with money because of overwhelming tertiary expenses, debts, family problems or any other reason. I'm an avid saver and save at least 95% of my money.
I come across the statement "I need more money", sometimes from people who work good jobs. Sometimes the issue is that the person isn't able to save, only spend. You need to consider this - am I spending too much? I could live off $0 a week with my parents. Simple, eat at home and leech off your parents (unless you live away from home) - not obsessively, don't go demanding for expensive goods because the last time I had something expensive bought for me was in 2007 when I got a laptop, since then I've paid for my own expensive goods.
Here are some very good saving tips:
1. Save all your fucking money (obviously).
2. Never spend a few dollar over a note, ie dont spend between $5.05 - $8.50 or $10.05 - $13.50 ever. Coins are useful, but a lot of people just waste coins on crap anyway. So you think you're buying something for $7, but you're essentially paying $10 because the chances are that you'll be blowing it on a cheeseburger or something.
3. Money box. Buy one that CAN NOT be opened or counted. I have one that monitors my balance but they cost $20 so don't bother investing in one of them, actually, I got it for $2 at a market which was borderline reasonable. When it is FULL you can open it, NOT HALF FULL. Save every coin you have, I was shocked when I found $300+ in my money box at the end of the year.
4. Notepad. You want a notepad to track your expenses and identify and bad habits. Calculate these expenses DAILY and do a weekly report to eliminate any poor and/or costly habits.
5. Fast food is a no. I don't pay for fast food ever, my parents do. I will never pay for fast food again in my life - unless I was out with friends, even then I don't get fast food really. (Just to clear things up because of some posts, I don't ask my parents to buy me fast food. Sometimes my parents randomly ask to buy me fast food because my mum is too busy to cook dinner. We rarely buy it anyway. I hope this statement doesn't make me sound arrogant by asking for burgers all day, again I hardly eat fast food)
5cont. continuation from #5, to counter this you can go to Coles and get either a $2 box of Shapes, bag of chips for $2 and get a free cold water at McDonalds, they fill you up for a long time
6. FREEBIES! I've made too much money with freebies. This is what you'd consider greyhat, so only use this with discretion. Call up or email various restaurants and companies claiming that your service and/or products were poor and they'll happily replace it for you. This works good with any companies with cheap products.
7. Going out for food. In the extreme circumstance that you must buy fast food - which should be never, limit yourself to the FIVE rule. This limits you to a $5 cap. Here are some good choices per restaurant;
McDonalds - small cheeseburger meal
For Maccas get: 1xMcDouble + 1xApple Pie + 2xSmall fries + Free Medium Drink (Student Edge Card) for $5. ~ pi (was this removed before?)
Hungry Jacks - stunner deal
KFC - Snackbox (or $5 dinner box if available) with free McDonalds water
Subway - 6" sub with free McDonalds water
Chinese food - fried rice with free McDonalds water
8. Wreckless spending. It bothers me how people can spend $100 out in one night. Even if I try, I can't go past my FIVE limit. I -used to- get money for going out from my parents and I'd always come home with -$5, which was to buy a meal.
9. Food shopping! Always measure the $/gm or $/l. This can save you A LOT of money - you really don't realise it sometimes. Also, food with a closer expiry date is always cheaper. Also, try to shop late at night because you'll always find food being discounted in the meat and dairy section. If you're ballsy, ask one of the manager looking staff if any of them are ready to go on sale.
10. Savings account. Ever since I've signed up for my savings account 21 months ago, I've only made one urgent withdrawal. The interest that you accumulate is amazing and if you withdraw it, you lose a months worth of savings. It's a really good incentive.
11. ---
12. Shopping. No. Don't go out for "shopping" it'll only turn out into "debting".
13. Credit cards. No. I will probably never sign up for a credit card, even though I do have control it's still a hassle. You don't want to be paying more fees and having the risk of going into debt. Use a debit card, or better than that just use bank cards with a reloadable visa from the Post Office (my method).
14. Online banking. Don't have it for your savings account, just no.
15. Markets & eBay. The amount of quality things you can find here is amazing. Don't buy items in stores without checking eBay. I'm a saver, but I prefer new items still, so just do a quick checkup on prices before buying. Markets are good too for picking up cheap bargains.
16. Working is a must. I just got a job to start saving even more money. Nearly all your work money should be saved, you don't bust your ass off just to blow it all in one night.
17. A goal. This is crucial and should've been higher in the list but please read this tip. I used to binge spend a few years ago until I realised my losses. I had a goal that I'd have enough for a down payment on a house and safety money before I finish uni. A goal can be the whole game changer, as long is it's a goal for something that won't degrade in value ie car.
18. This leads me to my next point - CARS. Now I know many of you are 18+ so getting a car is mandatory, right? No. Cars are expensive as shit and degrade in value a lot. Let's do some math:
Car - $2000+
Rego - $560+ year (to my knowledge)
Insurance - $2500+ year (to my knowledge, unless its in your parents name which it'd still be expensive)
Make your decision. I'm still getting my P's but using family my members' cars.
19. Drinking, smoking and drugs. Drinking is expensive and damaging to your health. Does it pose any benefits? I'm struggling, inform me please. Water has saved me a lot of money and I refuse to lay my hand on any other drink from now on. Smoking? As aforementioned, please inform me of any benefits. Drugs? No comment.
20. Cheap items. Always, I mean always be alert of specials. BUT, Don't be scammed by these companies offering specials. Think about it, WHY are they offering specials? Because it's good for business. They must be doing it for a reason, to make profit, aha, correct! So their goal is to lure you in and convince you to reap all the specials, therefore making you spend more than you normally would. Don't just buy any specials. Only buy specials if you know you need it or can't live without it. Evaluate - can I live without this? Would I use it?
21. Loans. Loans should be avoided. You don't just pay back the amount borrowed, you're also paying off interest. This not only means that you're paying for the item that will most likely degrade over time, you're paying extra. For example, taking out a loan for a $5k car could cost you $7k but by the time you pay it off it could hit $3k. Steer clear from loans. I'd say a home loan would be unavoidable though. A home is pretty much the ultimate milestone though, not many people earn enough to purchase a home upfront.
22. Cinemas. I don't remember the last time I paid to go to the movies. I recall using many free vouchers though from tip #6. Movies are really expensive to watch. It's okay to see them once in a while (ehem, who could've missed The Hunger Games on a big screen!?!?) [mod edit; removed illegal content (russ, 22-12-13)]
23. Phone credit. Measure when you buy it. For example, you have exams for two weeks, make sure you buy credit that expires just before your exam period so you don't need to waste 2 weeks of phone credit. This has helped a lot, especially since I haven't needed to use my phone for two weeks now I've saved $13 on phone credit.
24. Haircuts. Make sure it's shorter than you want it so you don't need to visit the hairdressers so frequently. Right now my hair is fairly short, only so my parents don't need to keep taking me so often like they used to. I'm not saying to go bald, you want maintain your 5w4g .
25. Price beats. When buying something, which you shouldn't be too often I hope, try calling up other stores and seeing if they price beat. I know Officeworks beat prices, so if you need to buy a headset from Officeworks and it's cheaper at lets say JB Hi-Fi, they will beat it by 5%.
Bonus tip: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/freebies Get all the freebies you can from here!
Also, just like I say about VCE - alertness plays a key factor in anything. Being alert about school immediately improves your scores because you know what to do opposed to not being alert, you don't know what to do so you'll probably fail SACs. Same concept applies here, be alert about how you're spending money. I think alertness really helps, just understand where money is being spent and how you can avoid wasting money. It's a big issue and money will be very handy in the future, trust me. You're going to want a savings fund by the time you move out just in case something goes wrong like you're short on your mortgage for a week or you need to unexpectedly fork out money urgently.
Thanks for reading and hope it helped. I've put /all/ of these tips into practice and it's been very successful. I'm hesitant about mentioning investments because it is risky, especially if done without research and knowledge, do it at your own discretion. PM me for any more guidance, happy to help out with anything.
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Woah, very informative and nice tips.
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Woah, very informative and nice tips.
Glad you enjoyed it. Suggest any more tips and I'll add them in. I see a lot of teenagers struggling to manage their money these days so I'm happy to help out.
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I think this is a really great guide for us students here. :)
One thing which I might add though, is that you should reward yourself with a more expensive purchase, but extremely rarely (e.g. your birthday and that's it). I've been around a lot of people that have told themselves that they'll save every single penny and don't let themselves to purchase anything; however, they end up giving into temptation once they have to spend on something because all their urges have piled up inside - once they're let out they can't control them. It sounds counter-intuitive but having an annual reward actually can decrease that temptation since it gives you something more tangible to focus on than your overall long term goal. In some cases, it can even encourage you to keep on going since it can act as a reminder to how you'll feel should you reach your goal. As long as it's a well thought and useful purchase that doesn't drain half your bank balance, I think it's definitely worthwhile.
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9. Food shopping! Always measure the $/gm or $/l. This can save you A LOT of money - you really don't realise it sometimes. Also, food with a closer expiry date is always cheaper. Also, try to shop late at night because you'll always find food being discounted in the meat and dairy section. If you're ballsy, ask one of the manager looking staff if any of them are ready to go on sale.
It's because of this that buying fresh vegetables in bulk is cheaper than frozen vegetables. Quality of the food probably should be taken into account if you want it to last more than a few days. It depends what you're making too, small amounts of meat you'll probably end up eating within a day, but vegetables will probably end up being used for multiple meals - so buying the cheapest vegetables possible from, say, Aldi isn't really worth it since they're usually on the verge of spoiling. Dedicated fruit and vegetable stores or local markets are probably a good place to find something a bit better but reasonable prices.
Websites along the line of these http://myfridgefood.com/ and http://www.supercook.com/ are handy to try and figure out what you can make with minimal ingredients
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I think this is a really great guide for us students here. :)
One thing which I might add though, is that you should reward yourself with a more expensive purchase, but extremely rarely (e.g. your birthday and that's it). I've been around a lot of people that have told themselves that they'll save every single penny and don't let themselves to purchase anything; however, they end up giving into temptation once they have to spend on something because all their urges have piled up inside - once they're let out they can't control them. It sounds counter-intuitive but having an annual reward actually can decrease that temptation since it gives you something more tangible to focus on than your overall long term goal. In some cases, it can even encourage you to keep on going since it can act as a reminder to how you'll feel should you reach your goal. As long as it's a well thought and useful purchase that doesn't drain half your bank balance, I think it's definitely worthwhile.
True. I don't condone it but I'm guily. I've spent a bit here and there but nothing excessive. Just try not to buy anything that'll degrade in value quickly. Buy something that can maintain value or rise. I save 95% of my money, approximately, from my rough calculations. It's fair to spend some, so if you save $1000 spend $50, that's more than reasonable to me. Depends on the person, I'm not that social so I don't have many commitments, so if you're very social you could bump it up to 10-12% which is still a lot of saving.
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Yeah, totally agreed. For my 18th birthday I bought a really nice watch being in this sort of circumstance and while it was pricey, it's something I'll have and use for a lifetime and could pass down. I'd assume that its value wouldn't change too much over time.
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It's because of this that buying fresh vegetables in bulk is cheaper than frozen vegetables. Quality of the food probably should be taken into account if you want it to last more than a few days. It depends what you're making too, small amounts of meat you'll probably end up eating within a day, but vegetables will probably end up being used for multiple meals - so buying the cheapest vegetables possible from, say, Aldi isn't really worth it since they're usually on the verge of spoiling. Dedicated fruit and vegetable stores or local markets are probably a good place to find something a bit better but reasonable prices.
Websites along the line of these http://myfridgefood.com/ and http://www.supercook.com/ are handy to try and figure out what you can make with minimal ingredients
True that. Of course make sure that your food can last for a while, but if you visit the dairy and meat section sometimes you can find products for up to 80% very regularly. My parents always come home with 80% discounted meats because they expire that day or have been expired for a day. Market places are great yes that was in another tip of mine below, they are great, fruit is much cheaper and fresher. I was surprised when I compared to prices of the products in the Coles deli and the Deli's in the market.
Yeah, totally agreed. For my 18th birthday I bought a really nice watch being in this sort of circumstance and while it was pricey, it's something I'll have and use for a lifetime and could pass down. I'd assume that its value wouldn't change too much over time.
We share the same guilt :-X
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How long do you plan to leech off your parents / friends though?
Your tips aren't really sustainable long term. You do have some good points like no credit cards, save, have goals, track expenditure, etc.
But saving isn't all or nothing. You can still eat great food every week + have a decent car while saving.
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How long do you plan to leech off your parents / friends though?
Your tips aren't really sustainable long term. You do have some good points like no credit cards, save, have goals, track expenditure, etc.
But saving isn't all or nothing. You can still eat great food every week + have a decent car while saving.
I don't really have any plans for that long term though because I have no experience. These are just tips that've helped me save as a dependent teenager. I plan on living at home until I'm in my early 20s.
You can, but if you calculate it it all adds up. A lot of people nowadays just struggle to pay off their mortgages. Imagine those families that are visiting McDonalds four times a week, using credit cards excessively, wasting coins and wrecklessly spending money which is very common actually I see it very often. If these tips are put into practice it'd really help.
Some of these are just temporary. I can't leech off my parents forever. Eventually I will become independent and will be forced to pay for my own things. I'll make amendments to how I save money, as my situation will be different. Whatever financial pressures I face in my future I will need to consider how to lessen the cost. Some of these tips are long term though like the ones you mentioned.
Saving for me is a habit though. I hate the idea of blowing money. Even if I was a millionaire I don't think I'd be able to go out often and spend money. I may treat myself more, but definitely wouldn't just buy things for the sake of it. I do agree with you though, you can still go out and have a good time while saving. I like to save all of my money, literally every cent if I can because I have no commitments, it just depends on the person and how much they want to save.
also, this will be edited in my OP: Also, just like I say about VCE - alertness plays a key factor in anything. Being alert about school immediately improves your scores because you know what to do opposed to not being alert, you don't know what to do so you'll probably fail SACs. Same concept applies here, be alert about how you're spending money. I think alertness really helps, just understand where money is being spent and how you can avoid wasting money. It's a big issue and money will be very handy in the future, trust me. You're going to want a savings fund by the time you move out just in case something goes wrong like you're short on your mortgage for a week or you need to unexpectedly fork out money urgently.
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Well, I certainly feel guilty as fuck. I've earned like $20,000 since I was 15 and spent every cent (other than the $400 or so from my last paycheck LOL). I'm just going to transfer 80% of all my income into another account from now on. Thanks for the catalyst.
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For Maccas get: 1xMcDouble + 1xApple Pie + 2xSmall fries + Free Medium Drink (Student Edge Card) for $5.
Also instead of going to Maccas to ask for cold water (makes you look like a massive cheap-ass imo), carry around a bottle of water. But a good bottle (or grab one at O-week), really good for uni where there are plenty of places to fill up and also when out so you don't have to hunt for "free water".
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While we're on the topic, please never order a double cheeseburger from McDonald's when you could buy a McDouble add cheese for significantly less monies. The staff aren't meant to do it, but they probably will. You could also order a McDouble and a slice of cheese on the slide.
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These tips are gold...should totally be stickied!
(...and why would anyone ever want to buy anything from Maccas...:p)
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My goal for next year is to save enough to move out.
I don't spend a whole lot but I do like eating out with friends. I don't think I'm willing to forgo that for a packet of Shapes, really. :p. Decent tips though.
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Good tips, but most of them sound like you're being a massive leech. Eg, you want to have the privileges of a car, but you don't want to buy you're own. I understand that some people can't sustain the purchases of a car, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one if you can just to save money.
Being too cheap is stupid IMO. You're becoming a young adult now and you should try and enjoy at least a portion of your money. No point saving everything and then getting to you're late 20s and being like "wtf, no experiences."
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Good tips, but most of them sound like you're being a massive leech. Eg, you want to have the privileges of a car, but you don't want to buy you're own. I understand that some people can't sustain the purchases of a car, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one if you can just to save money.
Being too cheap is stupid IMO. You're becoming a young adult now and you should try and enjoy at least a portion of your money. No point saving everything and then getting to you're late 20s and being like "wtf, no experiences."
I agree with this entirely, and not everyone has parents who can be leeched off of, if anything some of us have more money coming in than our parents and are trying to help them out here and there.
EDIT: If anything, you've just got to cut back yourself, instead of leeching and using others money in place of it.
EDIT2: My post count is now a palindromic number, 3223 posts.
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Being too cheap is stupid IMO. You're becoming a young adult now and you should try and enjoy at least a portion of your money. No point saving everything and then getting to you're late 20s and being like "wtf, no experiences."
I agree with this, life's too short to be a massive scrooge.
Personally I think these tips are way too far:
- #6: calling up managers is *way* too far
- #7: eh, often fast food is the cheapest option and easiest when with mates in the city or what-not. Who honestly carries around a sandwich or a box of Shapes with them after a late night out in the city? Having said that I agree to be economical and not for for things like Nando's which are over-priced.
- Parts of #9: asking for discounts... wow, no.
- #11: lol, no mate, no-one likes a leech
- #14: what's wrong with online banking?
- #19: as before, life's too short and I find it fun
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Completely agree with pi and Hancock. It is definitely important to save up and not overspend, but I think the tips you've talked about are over the top... technically speaking, you've got to spend money in order to make money. A few things...
1. Save all your fucking money (obviously).
If you're saving all your money, how come you are still leeching off parents and friends...?
2. Never spend a few dollar over a note, ie dont spend between $5.05 - $8.50 or $10.05 - $13.50 ever.
This is probably getting a bit excessive - yes we all try to manage our spending and 'budgets', but being absolutely precise to the coin and the 5 cent is just crazily excessive I think... Most people these days use cards anyway.
3. Money box. Buy one that CAN NOT be opened or counted.
This is a good tip!
4. Notepad. You want a notepad to track your expenses and identify and bad habits.
This is getting too serious now lol.
5. Fast food is a no. I don't pay for fast food ever, my parents do. I will never pay for fast food again in my life - unless I was out with friends, even then I don't get fast food really.
5cont. continuation from #5, to counter this you can go to Coles and get either a $2 box of Shapes, bag of chips for $2 and get a free cold water at McDonalds, they fill you up for a long time.
Don't you feel awkward having Shapes, chips and a free water while everyone else is having normal food... :/
6. FREEBIES! I've made too much money with freebies. This is what you'd consider greyhat, so only use this with discretion. Call up or email various restaurants and companies claiming that your service and/or products were poor and they'll happily replace it for you. This works good with any companies with cheap products.
Isn't this time consuming???
8. Wreckless spending. It bothers me how people can spend $100 out in one night. Even if I try, I can't go past my FIVE limit. I -used to- get money for going out from my parents and I'd always come home with -$5, which was to buy a meal.
Surely you spend SOMETHING?!!
9. Food shopping! Always measure the $/gm or $/l. This can save you A LOT of money - you really don't realise it sometimes. Also, food with a closer expiry date is always cheaper. Also, try to shop late at night because you'll always find food being discounted in the meat and dairy section. If you're ballsy, ask one of the manager looking staff if any of them are ready to go on sale.
I wouldn't go to this extent to save money... It's just a classic case of being cheap rather than saving money. I personally never buy the clearance items etc cause it's clearance for a reason!
10. Savings account. Ever since I've signed up for my savings account 21 months ago, I've only made one urgent withdrawal. The interest that you accumulate is amazing and if you withdraw it, you lose a months worth of savings. It's a really good incentive.
What exactly are you saving up for lol?
11. Leeching. Leech from everyone and every damn thing. This doesn't mean stealing food from your friends or having them shout, you still want to be respected, but try to use your parents for food because ultimately they are your guardians. Also, an example would be if you're leaving to go home after being at your friends house ask if they have anything to eat to prevent yourself from going to get fast food.
This is just sad...
12. Shopping. No. Don't go out for "shopping" it'll only turn out into "debting".
Surely you buy something? Or pay for SOMETHING??? Shopping doesn't become debting unless you have a credit card, and the majority of people our age don't have credit cards. You can only spend what you have.
15. Markets & eBay. The amount of quality things you can find here is amazing. Don't buy items in stores without checking eBay. I'm a saver, but I prefer new items still, so just do a quick checkup on prices before buying. Markets are good too for picking up cheap bargains.
But I thought you don't do shopping...
18. This leads me to my next point - CARS. Now I know many of you are 18+ so getting a car is mandatory, right? No. Cars are expensive as shit and degrade in value a lot. Let's do some math:
Car - $2000+
Rego - $560+ year (to my knowledge)
Insurance - $2500+ year (to my knowledge, unless its in your parents name which it'd still be expensive)
Make your decision. I'm still getting my P's but using family my members' cars.
I'm pretty sure everyone here would agree that you can only borrow and use family members' cars for so long. Car usage is one thing you can't leech forever. You'll eventually need to get your own car, and by eventually, I mean only a matter of months. I'd be surprised if you can last longer than that. I'm getting my first car next month and I'm more than capable of managing my money etc... car is $20k and I am more than aware of the added fees and ongoing costs. It's just something that has to be done considering my distance from uni... If you're complaining about a car that is $2k you must be a real cheapo haha.
19. Drinking, smoking and drugs. Drinking is expensive and damaging to your health. Does it pose any benefits? I'm struggling, inform me please. Water has saved me a lot of money and I refuse to lay my hand on any other drink from now on. Smoking? As aforementioned, please inform me of any benefits. Drugs? No comment.
Can't judge people on those 3 things though...
Overall I think you might need to evaluate exactly why you're saving, how you're saving and how you're (generally) going about life. Spend your money, have a bit of fun and don't have the whole 'I want to save up for my house deposit' so early on in the game. I'm sure you will have plenty of opportunities to save in coming years. If you're this cheap with an OK part time wage as a student right now, imagine how you'll be when you work full time! Like I said, saving is good and a must, but don't go to crazy lengths to do so. I don't know, this is quite a sensitive topic and I think that it's important you don't get bogged down in the 'I can't spend a cent' mentality you've got going. The way I see it, it's quite selfish to do all these things to parents, friends, store managers, companies etc for your own personal savings balance... :)
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Remove lunch or combine lunch and breakfast...you save a lot in that way...hopefully you don't have a lecture in the morning though
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If we could keep this thread away from being needlessly critical, that'd be great.
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I like your tips Lala :) . But we only have one life and we need to make the most of it .
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I understand your viewpoints, but I still see a lot of people broke. Not all of these need to be put into practice when saving money, I guess I just go too far sometimes. I mentioned before that some people have commitments and a social lifestyle, so some of these are impossible to follow.
Thanks pi` for your suggestion, never knew they had that for that price, shows that I don't know the menu. Nothing wrong with the free water though.
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Wow I'm saving, but gotta say doing a sport makes things so hard. Need healthy food which is always expensive, need gear which even the cheapest is expensive. Plus registration, races are a ripoff, plus for most people a car is needed to travel places, otherwise it's just unsustainable. But good points.
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I agree with this, life's too short to be a massive scrooge.
Personally I think these tips are way too far:
- #6: calling up managers is *way* too far
- #7: eh, often fast food is the cheapest option and easiest when with mates in the city or what-not. Who honestly carries around a sandwich or a box of Shapes with them after a late night out in the city? Having said that I agree to be economical and not for for things like Nando's which are over-priced.
- Parts of #9: asking for discounts... wow, no.
- #11: lol, no mate, no-one likes a leech
- #14: what's wrong with online banking?
- #19: as before, life's too short and I find it fun
Yeah #6 I said was greyhat, because it is wrong. Works very well though to get free food.
#7 yes true, but if you're short on money and need to save money urgently you do what you can. Better than that I try not to eat, so I can eat at home. Like at school I always saved my lunch money then ate at home.
#9 why not? There is nothing wrong with it and the managers are happy to let you know. They put down specials for a reason, to clear out stock it's their job. Having one early clearance is good for them. It's like asking when there will be a sale next.
#11 if its your parents its fine
#14 because people are tempted to spend it or transfer it. I used to transfer small amounts when I had online banking, especially if you have a debit card, you'll want to transfer it over. It's very tempting. Having a bank account that you can not access eliminates that temptation
#19 if you're an excessive or even a regular drinker consider how much it has costed you
Also I'll say here that I've never like used my parents to buy me video games or the latest technology. I know I'm probably coming across as a brat when talking about it, but my parents very rarely buy things for me these days, my mum just likes cooking for me. Leeching off friends, I've never done it, never had them pay for my meals or anything, but when I was younger I used to eat at my friends house when they had dinner so I didn't buy fast food on the way home. I wasn't begging for food or anything, his mum usually cooked a lot during the evening so I was offered some.
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Wow I'm saving, but gotta say doing a sport makes things so hard. Need healthy food which is always expensive, need gear which even the cheapest is expensive. Plus registration, races are a ripoff, plus for most people a car is needed to travel places, otherwise it's just unsustainable. But good points.
I can imagine that. Buy gear that is longlasting though. I've had my Nike shoes for 3.5 years now and they work perfectly. I still have four racquets in pretty much new condition from 5 years ago. All gear is expensive, unavoidable, but I'd quit sport alltogether if it was that expensive (my opinion). Sometimes a car is unavoidable, especially if you work somewhere where there is no train line then surely you need a car. A lot of people though don't really need cars. I've actually seen a few people [no names] in IRC chatting about how expensive cars are. For someone like myself, getting a car would be a waste. Sometimes people just really don't need one.
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I can imagine that. Buy gear that is longlasting though. I've had my Nike shoes for 3.5 years now and they work perfectly. I still have four racquets in pretty much new condition from 5 years ago. All gear is expensive, unavoidable, but I'd quit sport alltogether if it was that expensive (my opinion). Sometimes a car is unavoidable, especially if you work somewhere where there is no train line then surely you need a car. A lot of people though don't really need cars. I've actually seen a few people [no names] in IRC chatting about how expensive cars are. For someone like myself, getting a car would be a waste. Sometimes people just really don't need one.
Yeah but quality running shoes only last so long. I wear $5 shoes from factorie but my running shoes only last 800km, 1000 at the most. And that's a pair every year pretty much. Plus riding a bike 200+km per week means paying for maintenance at least every 3-4 months-tires,service etc. plus swimming pool access- I'm not going to swim in a lake in the middle of winter haha. But everything is a ripoff these days pretty much anyway
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Yeah but quality running shoes only last so long. I wear $5 shoes from factorie but my running shoes only last 800km, 1000 at the most. And that's a pair every year pretty much. Plus riding a bike 200+km per week means paying for maintenance at least every 3-4 months-tires,service etc. plus swimming pool access- I'm not going to swim in a lake in the middle of winter haha. But everything is a ripoff these days pretty much anyway
True. It's unavoidable I guess. You can either continue or drop exercising. I wouldn't suggest to get cheaper shoes, because they'd probably last for a shorter duration and end up being dis comfortable anyway. Maintaining a bike is compulsory too when riding heavily, especially to ensure that the bike is working to avoid injuries. Everything is very expensive, I know, that's why I've taken up the hobby of saving.
Good tips, but most of them sound like you're being a massive leech. Eg, you want to have the privileges of a car, but you don't want to buy you're own. I understand that some people can't sustain the purchases of a car, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one if you can just to save money.
Being too cheap is stupid IMO. You're becoming a young adult now and you should try and enjoy at least a portion of your money. No point saving everything and then getting to you're late 20s and being like "wtf, no experiences."
You can still enjoy your life without excessive spending. I know some people have more obligations so they are forced to spend more. I think one of the main sources if not the main source of money wasting is food. I know a lot of people who visit restaurants occasionally, get fast food every night and drink beer too often. Really, it's very expensive. I understand that you want to go out sometimes and enjoy yourself, but you can quite easily spend $30-50 at a restaurant nowadays. I could make 15 meals at home for that price. I know that my sister uses all her wage money on restaurants and going out, then she complains to me that I've got more money than her (and I've been unemployed just until a week ago).
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I'm not sure if this is a viable idea but I did online surveys and got money from them (~$40-45 in 1 week) from legitimate websites, of course. It can take a lot of time though, which might be an issue during uni or work.
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Completely agree with pi and Hancock. It is definitely important to save up and not overspend, but I think the tips you've talked about are over the top... technically speaking, you've got to spend money in order to make money. A few things...
If you're saving all your money, how come you are still leeching off parents and friends...?
This is probably getting a bit excessive - yes we all try to manage our spending and 'budgets', but being absolutely precise to the coin and the 5 cent is just crazily excessive I think... Most people these days use cards anyway.
This is a good tip!
This is getting too serious now lol.
Don't you feel awkward having Shapes, chips and a free water while everyone else is having normal food... :/
Isn't this time consuming???
Surely you spend SOMETHING?!!
I wouldn't go to this extent to save money... It's just a classic case of being cheap rather than saving money. I personally never buy the clearance items etc cause it's clearance for a reason!
What exactly are you saving up for lol?
This is just sad...
Surely you buy something? Or pay for SOMETHING??? Shopping doesn't become debting unless you have a credit card, and the majority of people our age don't have credit cards. You can only spend what you have.
But I thought you don't do shopping...
I'm pretty sure everyone here would agree that you can only borrow and use family members' cars for so long. Car usage is one thing you can't leech forever. You'll eventually need to get your own car, and by eventually, I mean only a matter of months. I'd be surprised if you can last longer than that. I'm getting my first car next month and I'm more than capable of managing my money etc... car is $20k and I am more than aware of the added fees and ongoing costs. It's just something that has to be done considering my distance from uni... If you're complaining about a car that is $2k you must be a real cheapo haha.
Can't judge people on those 3 things though...
Overall I think you might need to evaluate exactly why you're saving, how you're saving and how you're (generally) going about life. Spend your money, have a bit of fun and don't have the whole 'I want to save up for my house deposit' so early on in the game. I'm sure you will have plenty of opportunities to save in coming years. If you're this cheap with an OK part time wage as a student right now, imagine how you'll be when you work full time! Like I said, saving is good and a must, but don't go to crazy lengths to do so. I don't know, this is quite a sensitive topic and I think that it's important you don't get bogged down in the 'I can't spend a cent' mentality you've got going. The way I see it, it's quite selfish to do all these things to parents, friends, store managers, companies etc for your own personal savings balance... :)
But you need to spend money on the right things in order to make money. I've spent money to make money and I've saved money to save money.
In response to all of your responses;
#1 - because the objective is to continually save. Don't settle for $x, you wan't to save as much as you possibly can.
#2 - it isn't obsessive though, it's a good idea. Just be aware of situations when you'll be receiving a lot of coins back, you'll be surprised how much it helps. I can't be thankful enough to my mind for considering it.
#3 - thanks
#4 - Not really. It helps you eliminate poor spending habit. I'm sure a lot of people can agree with me here.
#5 - Normal food, like? I'd consider McDonalds abnormal, now that I've had experience working there. I'll never touch it again. Even though shapes/chips are somewhat processed I guess, McDonalds is completely processed food, I don't consider it normal. And nope, I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Save yourself $5 a few times a year.
#6 - Not really. Just a few calls and emails.
#8 - Nope. In year 10 when I went out quite frequently, I'd go to the mall with $30 and always come home with $25+. I still follow this idea.
#9 - It's clearance for a reason, the reason to reduce stock in order to make way for new stock or that it's been slightly damaged usually. I don't see a problem with this.
#10 - Emergencies, home loan down payment.
#11- You could say so and it probably is my most 'saddest' point out of the ones in my OP. Use it however you like or neglect the idea, my parents are happy to give me food. I don't obnoxiously pig out once a day and demand food, it's more of like requesting lunch and dinner at home. There should be no issue with this at home since your parents are your caretakers and it's completely normal for them to take care of you.
#12 - Nope. When I go to the shops with any family members, usually I either get a snackbox from McDonalds and a water or I go to Coles and spend a few bucks.
#15 - When you're forced to buy something you want the cheapest way out. Some items are unavoidable, for example I need to buy a laptop soon for Uni (for an I.T course) so I'll be spending a long time bargain hunting in order to get the best deal. This is simply an unavoidable cost as a laptop is pretty much mandatory.
#18 - Suit yourself. I don't think a person needs a car unless they must travel somewhere regularly. Yes I don't think $2k is reasonable for a car, I simply don't want to fork out that much. It's $2000, two thousand dollars. Some people spend weeks trying to earn that.
#19 - I don't know what you mean here sorry
Thanks. It's more of a habit though. I don't think I'm doing it just to please my selfishness. I'm just actually amazed at how much people can spend. After lightly saving money for a bit I've really gotten into the act of saving. I just want enough money as I can get in order to fund myself when I need money most. I see your viewpoint though.
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I'm not sure if this is a viable idea but I did online surveys and got money from them (~$40-45 in 1 week) from legitimate websites, of course. It can take a lot of time though, which might be an issue during uni or work.
Also, I'd like to add that I made this thread because I see a lot of uni students claiming to be broke. Just trying to help out.
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I'm not sure if this is a viable idea but I did online surveys and got money from them (~$40-45 in 1 week) from legitimate websites, of course. It can take a lot of time though, which might be an issue during uni or work.
Do you mind sharing the website(s)?
I only know of a website that gives out rewards in terms of Coles/Myer vouchers - not the most viable.
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Do you mind sharing the website(s)?
I only know of a website that gives out rewards in terms of Coles/Myer vouchers - not the most viable.
These are the ones that I use:
Pureprofile (http://www.pureprofile.com/au)
Mysurvey (http://www.mysurvey.net.au/)
Make sure you have a credit card account if you want to send cash. If you're going to use Pureprofile, make sure you read 'redemption' details before you actually make a transaction.
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Everyone should check out this website: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/
I've been looking into starting a savings bank account for a long long time now, do any of you guys know what the best way of doing this would be? :)
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Just something to consider: As far as I am aware, banks and mortgage providers do credit checks before giving preapproval for home loans. Most people I know who have credit cards, pay their bills using it, primarily for the sake of it appearing on credit checks and giving good credit. I dont think most people who have credit cards have them because they need credit/funds: most people have the funds available, its just that its a tad more convenient and turns up on credit checks as a sign of good and adequate saving and spending. Would be such a shame for you to seek a home loan only for banks to turn you down just because they have no evidence of good credit besides a shitload of cash. Perhaps not at this stage in your life it is important, but I think once you get to a stage where you have bills to pay and can sustain the spending, a credit card is a good idea, before you go to get a loan.
For me, there's something empowering in spending my own money, and something slightly undignified in leeching. But to each to their own or whatever. Some people I know feel very guilty in asking parents for money and using their cars and stuff. That said my parents bought me my car, but I paid for all its upkeep and only started asking them for money when I quit my job after I got burned out. Eitherway, I feel everyone will have travelling expenses, whether it be by car or by public transport, and sometimes private transport is cheaper just based on how much time you save. Eating from home- I think most parents love their kids to take food from home, but sometimes monetary leeching off parents can be a burden on them as well I feel.
I do have to agree with the ebay shopping though, Asian sellers have very cheap, decent quality goods. I also have standards as to how much I spend on each item of clothing. For example for a dress my max is like $20-30, a top: $15-20, bottoms: again $15-20 max but for good quality branded clothing. Average I spend on each is probs about 10 bucks though. Also I like to heavily shop at places like Supre factory outlet, where you can get basics and good clothing for less than 5 bucks. Once I spent $21.50 for about 10 pieces of clothing.
I'm going to message you about ebay selling though! Got some clothes I want to sell
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Everyone should check out this website: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/
I've been looking into starting a savings bank account for a long long time now, do any of you guys know what the best way of doing this would be? :)
Yup thats been added in my OP. Don't get carried away with the good deals. Only buy what you need and get every freebie, everything. I still have some really weird stuff in my freebie draw.
ANZ have the best interest rates when I signed up. Very easy. Just sign up and transfer all of your money the bank staff will be happy to help they thrive on customer service.
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Everyone should check out this website: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/
I've been looking into starting a savings bank account for a long long time now, do any of you guys know what the best way of doing this would be? :)
Ozbargain is great, been using it for years now. Always heaps of deals
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Just something to consider: As far as I am aware, banks and mortgage providers do credit checks before giving preapproval for home loans. Most people I know who have credit cards, pay their bills using it, primarily for the sake of it appearing on credit checks and giving good credit. I dont think most people who have credit cards have them because they need credit/funds: most people have the funds available, its just that its a tad more convenient and turns up on credit checks as a sign of good and adequate saving and spending. Would be such a shame for you to seek a home loan only for banks to turn you down just because they have no evidence of good credit besides a shitload of cash. Perhaps not at this stage in your life it is important, but I think once you get to a stage where you have bills to pay and can sustain the spending, a credit card is a good idea, before you go to get a loan.
For me, there's something empowering in spending my own money, and something slightly undignified in leeching. But to each to their own or whatever. Some people I know feel very guilty in asking parents for money and using their cars and stuff. That said my parents bought me my car, but I paid for all its upkeep and only started asking them for money when I quit my job after I got burned out. Eitherway, I feel everyone will have travelling expenses, whether it be by car or by public transport, and sometimes private transport is cheaper just based on how much time you save. Eating from home- I think most parents love their kids to take food from home, but sometimes monetary leeching off parents can be a burden on them as well I feel.
I do have to agree with the ebay shopping though, Asian sellers have very cheap, decent quality goods. I also have standards as to how much I spend on each item of clothing. For example for a dress my max is like $20-30, a top: $15-20, bottoms: again $15-20 max but for good quality branded clothing. Average I spend on each is probs about 10 bucks though. Also I like to heavily shop at places like Supre factory outlet, where you can get basics and good clothing for less than 5 bucks. Once I spent $21.50 for about 10 pieces of clothing.
I'm going to message you about ebay selling though! Got some clothes I want to sell
That first paragraph was very informative. I'll need to consider that and do more research.
I see, it depends on your parents' financial situation I guess. If your parents are struggling, I wouldn't be able to do it. My mums actually happy to cook me food, she won't let me stop eating so I don't have a choice regardless. Depends on your parents I guess.
Yes that's true but don't get carried away there. As long as you know that $21.50 of clothing will be used and didn't buy it for the sake of it being cheap then it was a smart decision. I don't see the point when people buy ultra cheap clothes then go buy some expensive piece of clothing because they like it. I'm not into fashion though.
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Thank you! With university expenses, this will become a lifesaver next year!
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Thank you! With university expenses, this will become a lifesaver next year!
Thanks for that
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There's some good tips in there, however, saving will come down to the individual's circumstances and lifestyle. If you have a job/income then as long as you're saving a certain proportion of it it'll be okay. You need to have a goal for saving i.e. I want to save $10k by the end of this year, I want to save $50k in 3 years then invest it in the stock market or whatever.
Personally, I save most of my income and am quite good with that and usually only spend on necessities, however, you also need to enjoy yourself. You just need to know your limits.
My best saving tip is pay everything with cash, so withdraw $100 then as you're going shopping and you find you've spent $50 at one store you'll know oh shit I only have $50 left. Whereas if you're paying everything by card you'll just keep spending without keeping track of it. (But that does depend on the individual, when it comes to shopping most people I know can't resist and will just spend this is why I think only paying with cash is good)
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There are some good tips here but it made me pretty sad too.
I mean, it sounds like if someone followed all these tips, you'd end up with a lot of money in the bank, a few friends who think you're pretty stingy, and no balls to actually spend your money on something fun because 'saving' is too ingrained in your psyche.
Believe it or not, people actually really enjoy having a few beers and going out for dinner once a week... I agree to not do *anything* in excess but your post does kind of imply 'eat nothing except what your parents give you and drink only water'. People should definitely follow most of these tips if they have a low income stream but hell, have some fun too! Going out and drinking a glass of water when all your friends are having a nice meal and a beer... Yawnnnnnn. And that kind of mentality, how will you ever psych yourself into forking out a few grand for an awesome holiday?
It's all about balance... And those tips, whilst some of them are definitely good, don't result in a good life balance.
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I don't think these tips are intended to all be followed. Just pick a few ;)
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A few more good tips :
* When you think your toothpaste is empty , cut it in half and it can last you another week .
* Always have a bucket of water with you when washing your dishes , or changing temperatures in the shower . That way you can use it on the garden later , and save water prices .
* Instead of buying junk food from fast food outlets and supermarkets . Make it at home , its much healthier and cheaper .http://www.youtube.com/user/robjnixon , this channel on youtube shows how to make all the fast food recipes you love .
*Instead of paying money for something like foxtel . Most of the things on TV are on the internet for you to watch freely .
* Dont smoke or do drugs , and they dont drink oftenly . I can't stress enough the economic and health dangers .
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I appreciate everyone's contributions to this, but some of these are getting a tad ridiculous. But, each to their own.
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I'm probably going to be spending the next hour writing this as a response to O.P. (LALA) as I feel as though it had really good intentions but could be slightly misinformed, subjectively. I'll be playing the devils advocate for this entire thing so don't take any of this personally, I just enjoy partaking in this subject.
For starters, HECS debt is essentially zilch in the long run. You pay it back through a fraction of your income and it doesn't compound above the rate of inflation, so it never grows in real terms so I don't see how that can put a hole in your pocket. As I'm the guy you talk to on Skype I'm going to be writing this as detailed as possible to call you out just because I'm a naughty trouble maker and am here for a debate with the mystical Lala so this is written with good intentions for a bit of fun and for a debate. People who are just coming out of school like yourself wouldn't have that many debts that set you back a whole lot; you may get your first car soon and thus pay for petrol which completely contradict the 'Lala Saving Tips' so unless you are taking out a mortgage at the ripe old age of 18, in which this person wouldn't be hanging around an educational forum, you won't have any major debts.
I know how you get your source of income but let us pretend I don't know. Let us say for the average joe, you have a part-time job at a minimum wage organisation with no real benefits asides from experience - you can easily make ends meet. We live in a country that has some of the most expensive material possessions such as cars being 2 1/2 the price of what the US pay and people constantly talk about what is bad in our country. What about the good? For someone looking at buying a house, there is a first buyers home owners grant. We have one of the most amazing educational resources available to us, proven with websites such as these to supplement our learning and it shows the level of motivation and commitment some people in Australia have for their desire to succeed. Australia is a great place and you can make ends meet, regardless, no matter the position you are in unless you have a financially deficient hobby just as a substance addiction which can end your life financially and physically. To finish the pep talk now ...
The target audience for whom you are writing to I'm guessing is people from this website and those who are just coming out of school and into the real world, right? Well when you are satirically addressing the idea of 'staying at home -> leech off parents' equals automatic wealth it just doesn't give a great image. Within the animal kingdom a mother raises a their baby until they are at the age to go off and live their own life in which 18-20 seems to be the stereotypical age of moving out acceptance. What then? After 18 years parents would have the desire to live their own life, get together with their partner of by themselves and explore another avenue of life so they can move on, but if you have an 18 year old kid staying home, tying down your plans and leeching off you financially to just suddenly 'take off,' it's just morally inept; that is of course unless you are paying an agreeable amount for board (food, utilities, rent etc.) so you can show you can live a basic adult life. If it's all about 'me, me, me' and your own future, you are impacting someone else's who may selflessly sit in the corner and say nothing.
Talking about a hypothetical here, but let us say you are 18 years old and the last 'expensive' material possession that was bought for you was in 2007 when you were 12 years old, I guess it comes down to what you categorise as 'expensive.' You may be trading your parents money for their tax money when you receive from Centrelink (I'm guessing as you can't have an income otherwise at 12) so that isn't exactly portraying an independent image - not everyone can receive funds from the government for whatever cause. If you were working since 12 and honestly bought everything you own that is considered expensive ($100+ I'm guessing) such as clothing, insurance, occasional school fees such as camps etc. What about the costs of utilities, rent or mortgage that your parents had to pay off? You are a contributing member of your family and your parents have put a roof over your head, so it is unfair to say you've paid for all 'expensive goods' since you were 12, you are underestimating what your parents would have done for you; its these little things that are overlooked that can really create costs as the 'expensive goods' you would have been referring to would just have been material possessions I'm gathering, but you would not have been able to fend by yourself since 12 years old.
1 - Save all of your fucking money ; This is stupid again. Your 20's is a period in your life when you have extreme freedom to work out who you are and the general direction that your life will go. If you were financially conservative throughout your 20's and owned an investment property or two but didn't know anything about yourself as you saved, didn't go out nor travelled internationally to uncharted territory to see life on another set of pastures outside of your geographic region ... How would you reach inner peace or spiritual depth? How do you know you would have chosen the right career field when you didn't consider the opportunity cost of purchasing a Porsche instead of 'saving' your money for future investment when you didn't take up that new experience that could have opened up another door in your life - instead of becoming say, an anaesthetist, how do you know you wouldn't have been best in becoming a mechanic and been most satisfied? The experiences in life are the things you will remember, not the amount that your balance had when you were mid 20's and what material possessions you owned. You need to live.
2 - This is just ludicrous. If you wanted to be financially savvy, get a debit card and set yourself a limit. Therefore with less cash in hand, you'll have a more secure level for inventory control with a permanent record for your account balance, where as physical money is something that can be lost, blown in hand etc. If you are worried about this, a limit is much more efficient that not spending your dollar coins.
3 - This is a good idea in utopian realms but $300 is not a lot of money. $300 will get you a few t-shirts or something, but if you really want to 'save' put a limit on the amount of money you can spend through a credit/debit card each month that correlates with your net income so you can have some saving and spending money, reaching a happy medium.
4 - Good idea again but I'd suggest Excel if you want to personify. Then again, if you get a credit/debit card, their records pretty much have a more accurate reading for spending habits etc. There are only 10 or so categories that you can put under 'expenditure' and where your money goes, such as rent, utilities, insurance etc. so it doesn't accurately show where your money is going when debit/credit card records specifically detail where your money is being chewed up, such as $40 a month to a magazine subscription which eats up $480 a year which could be spent otherwise.
5 - Do what makes you happy but don't put your parents under the hammer to purchase your fast food for the rest of your life. There will be a time when you realise you need to be independent and if you never want to eat fast food again, for both your health and financially, that is fantastic.
6 - If you are doing this inauthentically, that is just morally corrupt once again (without being rude). If you are calling up companies that you have no association to, claiming their goods or services were poor for a 'free score,' the hole in your pocket is going to another innocent, struggling entrepreneur trying to meet their own ends in life. But if their goods and services were actually poor and you paid for them, by all means ask for a refund or replacement.
7 - Instead of wasting $5 on unhealthy food, make a healthy, yum sandwich at home for $1.50 and throw the $3.50 in your money jar that you were mentioning.
8 - $100 a night is not that much if you do it with moderation, such as once a month. You can't go out like a regular person in university on $5 as that would barely get you the ice in a glass, let alone a single glass of alcohol at a cheap bar. That $100 could be spent otherwise, such as 'saving' or 'investing' but I think there is a time in everyones life where you can't be so serious and you have to live, or you will live in regret and will ultimately have no life. Fantastic idea as a hypothetical but not so great in application as depression and other extraneous problems could intervene.
9 - People have time management issues, let alone weighing per /l or /g or /kg which would never happen, but once again a great idea. If you want to shop cheap, go to Aldi or find those savings that Woolworths loves to sing about 'prices are down. down down down.'
10 - Yep, this is true. 10 steps forward and 5 steps back, having a taste of greatness and falling back on it is never a great feeling.
11 - A good idea for yourself but people will look down on you. I'd rather have integrity and respect for myself than 'leeching' off my parents for every box of Shapes that they have to pay for.
12 - If you didn't shop, you'll rot and die as you won't get any food or anything, unless you are completely reliant on your parents. Although I think it would be better to say 'don't shop until you drop.'
13 - If you are taking down notes for your monthly expenditure and have financial managing skills (spending an amount that is reasonable for your net income) then you can get a credit card, borrow money and pay it all back within the 30 days without interest.
14 - Online banking is great. Don't know why you said that.
15 - 100% agree but always look at the % their account has. 95% or less, don't deal with them.
16 - Yep, working to receive an income is your first step in the door to the 'money world' before you should begin worrying about 'Lala's saving tips.' :P
17 - Yep, goals in all aspects of your life are handy, but must be realistic and achievable. Use the SMART principle from any accounting/finance managing website.
18 - Registration and Insurance are totally wrong but why does everyone go down the car avenue? You can get a motorcycle with fantastic fuel economy at 1.5l/100km which I'll be doing this upcoming July! Wooo!
19 - Drinking has several benefits but I think the greatest benefit would be letting down and living. This will be looked down upon and there will likely be disagreement in this environment, but in order to live you have to damage your liver every so often. I despise smokers more than anything and same with drug addicts but they both have their benefits. I'm not condoning drug use but I'd love to go to Ecuador and experience the drug 'Ayahuasca' which several normal people experience and conform to it as a life-changing notion. Some people can excuse these three categories as 'living their life' and I hate the latter two with a passion but I believe there are exceptions such as possibly Marijuana (no experience with it, just doesn't seem harmful and has benefits).
20 - This is a good idea if the product is $100, otherwise, don't really bother. If a company is offering 'savings' on their products, are well known and competitive, it's safe to say they will be savings or else they can lawfully get in trouble for misleading advertising. A quick google search eliminates the possibility of being scammed regardless.
21 - Loans are bad but are mostly essential to life, unless you are planning on living with your parents until your mid/late 20's, can save up a fortune and then buy a house/car without one. For a IP, a mortgage is essential usually at a young age and you can choose to put it up for rent and have someone else pay the interest which is commonplace. Loans suck for the consumer but there are always ways around paying them.
I won't comment on the VCE section as 95% of people here will destroy me in scores and information in regards to it so I'll just trust you on that one. :)
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A few more good tips :
* When you think your toothpaste is empty , cut it in half and it can last you another week .
* Always have a bucket of water with you when washing your dishes , or changing temperatures in the shower . That way you can use it on the garden later , and save water prices .
* Instead of buying junk food from fast food outlets and supermarkets . Make it at home , its much healthier and cheaper .http://www.youtube.com/user/robjnixon , this channel on youtube shows how to make all the fast food recipes you love .
*Instead of paying money for something like foxtel . Most of the things on TV are on the internet for you to watch freely .
* Dont smoke or do drugs , and they dont drink oftenly . I can't stress enough the economic and health dangers .
That's getting really specific and being a cheapskate. They do work though.
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Try this website for money saving tips- http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/
The guy retired at 30 just by using money saving tips.
Here are some quotes:
"If you can save 50% of your take-home pay starting at age 20, you’ll be wealthy enough to retire by age 37"
"Your current middle-class life is an Exploding Volcano of Wastefulness, and by learning to see the truth in this statement, you will easily be able to cut your expenses in half"
"Happiness comes from many sources, but none of these sources involve car or purse upgrades"
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That's getting really specific and being a cheapskate. They do work though.
LMAO what?
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Some useful tips which I think are of a similar standard to many posted in this thread
1. Collect cans and bottles from train station bins and wait for a friend going to South Australia to deposit them for you. Don't give them a cut of over 5% of the total value. To save more money, tell them they can be rewarded by taking a couple bottles for themselves to reuse
2. Go to Fountain Gate shopping centre every sunday. I can confirm that there are several coins there which are available in the water fountain area. Take this money and open up a bank account to accumulate interest in the CBA opposite the fountain, and celebrate with a glass of water from MacDonalds.
3. When out with friends, many will actually consume most of their drink but leave traces in it along with the ice. Order a glass of water (not filtered or mineral as this often costs money), and calmly wait for them to finish with their drinks. Kindly offer to take your drinks back to the waitress for them. As you take all their drinks, shoot a couple careful looks back and forth to make sure no one sees, and quickly spill the remainder of these drinks into your glass. Ask the waitress to microwave these for you and you will have a delicious concoction of flavour, all for FREE!
4. Left over food at restaurants. After you have been banned from most restaurants for falsely manipulating their good will as suggested by OP, head to those restaurants in a disguise (I recommend a moustache generated from chewing gum beneath seats and leftover hair at the local hairdresser) and pose as a waiter. When patrons are done with their meals, move all the food into one plate, move to a quiet corner of the restaurant and remove your waiter outfit and proceed to eat your delicious meal.
5. Free samples at supermarkets. Take your girlfriend on a date to coles between 11am to 3pm from Thursday to Sunday and you should find someone handing out samples of sausages/meat or something similar. She will appreciate this, and want to stay committed to a long term relation with you. Once you gain her trust, proceed to go to more expensive restaurants and as OP says, start to 'forget' your wallet each time you go on a date. She is your guardian and therefore is there to feed you.
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Some useful tips which I think are of a similar standard to many posted in this thread
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And you win the thread Sir, I'll be at Fountain Gate tomorrow to try this! I might give #5 a go while I'm there too, thanks :)
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Not all credit cards are evil guys. I've never paid a cent of interest on my credit card, because I pay it off in full every month. In the meantime, I get to earn interest on my own money sitting in my own bank account. I'm essentially using someone else's money for free while I earn interest on my own.
If you're responsible enough with money such that you don't spend more than you have, it is possible to use a credit card to your advantage.
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Some useful tips which I think are of a similar standard to many posted in this thread
1. Collect cans and bottles from train station bins and wait for a friend going to South Australia to deposit them for you. Don't give them a cut of over 5% of the total value. To save more money, tell them they can be rewarded by taking a couple bottles for themselves to reuse
2. Go to Fountain Gate shopping centre every sunday. I can confirm that there are several coins there which are available in the water fountain area. Take this money and open up a bank account to accumulate interest in the CBA opposite the fountain, and celebrate with a glass of water from MacDonalds.
3. When out with friends, many will actually consume most of their drink but leave traces in it along with the ice. Order a glass of water (not filtered or mineral as this often costs money), and calmly wait for them to finish with their drinks. Kindly offer to take your drinks back to the waitress for them. As you take all their drinks, shoot a couple careful looks back and forth to make sure no one sees, and quickly spill the remainder of these drinks into your glass. Ask the waitress to microwave these for you and you will have a delicious concoction of flavour, all for FREE!
4. Left over food at restaurants. After you have been banned from most restaurants for falsely manipulating their good will as suggested by OP, head to those restaurants in a disguise (I recommend a moustache generated from chewing gum beneath seats and leftover hair at the local hairdresser) and pose as a waiter. When patrons are done with their meals, move all the food into one plate, move to a quiet corner of the restaurant and remove your waiter outfit and proceed to eat your delicious meal.
5. Free samples at supermarkets. Take your girlfriend on a date to coles between 11am to 3pm from Thursday to Sunday and you should find someone handing out samples of sausages/meat or something similar. She will appreciate this, and want to stay committed to a long term relation with you. Once you gain her trust, proceed to go to more expensive restaurants and as OP says, start to 'forget' your wallet each time you go on a date. She is your guardian and therefore is there to feed you.
You just made my night. Remember there is also free gum under public tables and chairs!
EDIT: I wrote this comment at the end of comment 3 as I couldn't wait and had to congratulate you - turns out you already covered it!
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Here's few advices from my experience
-Just add some water into a shampoo bottle when it is just about to finish. You can save a lot with this method.
-Collect yesterday's bread from bakers.It's much cheaper and still edible.
-Cook your own food. Eating outside is a luxury now
-Don't own a car. Use the public transport. You save a lot.
-Purchase homebrand or coles branded goods.
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Here's few advices from my experience
-Just add some water into a shampoo bottle when it is just about to finish. You can save a lot with this method.
-Collect yesterday's bread from bakers.It's much cheaper and still edible.
-Cook your own food. Eating outside is a luxury now
-Don't own a car. Use the public transport. You save a lot.
-Purchase homebrand or coles branded goods.
Yeah, I loveeee stale bread.
Other tips are better than most in this thread though.
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Yeah, I loveeee stale bread.
The other tips are better than most in this thread though.
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Try this website for money saving tips- http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/
The guy retired at 30 just by using money saving tips.
Here are some quotes:
"If you can save 50% of your take-home pay starting at age 20, you’ll be wealthy enough to retire by age 37"
"Your current middle-class life is an Exploding Volcano of Wastefulness, and by learning to see the truth in this statement, you will easily be able to cut your expenses in half"
"Happiness comes from many sources, but none of these sources involve car or purse upgrades"
Thanks for this, will read it myself, brings up a lot of good points.
Some useful tips which I think are of a similar standard to many posted in this thread
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Not all credit cards are evil guys. I've never paid a cent of interest on my credit card, because I pay it off in full every month. In the meantime, I get to earn interest on my own money sitting in my own bank account. I'm essentially using someone else's money for free while I earn interest on my own.
If you're responsible enough with money such that you don't spend more than you have, it is possible to use a credit card to your advantage.
But that's you though, some people aren't able to control their urges to spend.
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One more thing: Sell your old crap on ebay. Go to garage sales with your smartphone and search up the price of easy to ship items you find there and see if you can buy it very cheap at the sale and resell it on ebay for a profit.
More of a money-making method than a money-saving one, but anyone can do it and it's not a bad way to spend the summer (better than working at Mcdonalds IMO).
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I come across the statement "I need more money", sometimes from people who work good jobs.
Reminds me of a quote. Someone once asked the multi-millionaire (yes, the old timey one) John D. Rockerfeller "How much money is enough?", he replied "Just a little more". If you have more money you'll definitely find a way to spend it.
10. Savings account. Ever since I've signed up for my savings account 21 months ago, I've only made one urgent withdrawal. The interest that you accumulate is amazing and if you withdraw it, you lose a months worth of savings. It's a really good incentive.
For this i recommend uBank (owned by NAB). They tend to have the highest interest out of absolute anyone. If your money isn't in a savings account, its slowly losing its value due to inflation, not to mention that the bank is short changing you on all the interest you could have been making.
13. Credit cards. No. I will probably never sign up for a credit card, even though I do have control it's still a hassle. You don't want to be paying more fees and having the risk of going into debt. Use a debit card, or better than that just use bank cards with a reloadable visa from the Post Office (my method).
All one big scam. A credit card companies favourite customer is a poor one. They will just pay off the interest and not the balance, they'll be a constant cash cow. One of the reasons they exist is because employers and people who control the money flow weren't paying their workers enough. If you don't pay your workers enough though, they cant continue to consume and buy the things you make. They didn't fill that gap by massively lifting wages, the average person has the ability to consume more because of credit.
18. This leads me to my next point - CARS. Now I know many of you are 18+ so getting a car is mandatory, right? No. Cars are expensive as shit and degrade in value a lot. Let's do some math:
Forgot fuel in that alongside maintenance and other things as well. I read an article the other day that riding the bus instead of taking your car can save you ~$10,000 a year but i think it was written for America. Unlike most of your other tips though, i feel like it doesn't apply to everyone. Some people just plain need a car, maybe you have really shitty public transport either from your house or at the destination to where you're going, it might make either so impractical or perhaps even impossible to get where you need to go. A lot of jobs require you to have your own transport as well, so, by trying to save money you could actually be costing yourself money.
There's also the money value of time (i'll mention more below). If it takes you 3 hours to get where you want by PT but its a 40 minute drive, that time can really add up. It might justify the money cost to save all that time.
Just keep in mind what the teleological (end goal or purpose) of what money... is. At the end of the day its a medium of exchange, it lets you buy things, thats its purpose. There is no use hoarding money like a squirrel hoards nuts if you have nothing to spend it on or no goals to spend it on, ever. You'll just be inflicting pain on yourself (although if you ask a Buddhist monk, you shouldn't desire these things in the first place). I think the real idea here should not be just saving for the purpose of it but saving so you have more money to spend on the things you want to spend it on (wisely) or your goals.
Reminds me of one particular forum member. They don't spend much on other things but when they do spend their money they spend it on a good whiskey because thats what they enjoy. I think its important to take into account the joy and happiness value here; sometimes that exceeds the monetary loss of a product (bonus). Almost everyone is looking to lead a good or happy life, so, constantly saving on absolutely everything might not be all that pleasant.
Lastly, i just want to mention the time factor. Time is the only thing you cant buy or bring back. Sometimes you have you ask yourself whether saving X money is indeed worth the time or the forgone pleasure. If i save $10 by walking home from the station instead of walking 1 hour home from the station, thats not a trade im going to make. To me its not worth sacrificing an hour of my life (which we'll never get back) doing something i don't want to, in order to save $10 every now and again (not to mention friends have had weapons pulled on them/beaten up around here, its a rough area to walk home at 3am on a Saturday night). It's the same deal with spending hours to find $0.20 off a cable or $5 off a computer part or something, it might just not be worth it. Similar idea with all the transport related ones as well, time is valuable (according to Deloitte, your free time is worth $8 an hour apparently).
Finally, as someone else pointed out, avoid being unconstructively critical. Like anything in life, these tips won't be for everyone. It's fine to point out things that might not have been considered but everyone has different goals and ideals. It's also important to keep in mind intent; people who have shared tips in this thread did it with the intent of helping people in this community and contributing regardless of the end product of that intent and how you feel about it. Finally, lets not forget one of the prime rules of this community, no personal attacks (either implied, by intent or overt) or insults.
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One more thing: Sell your old crap on ebay. Go to garage sales with your smartphone and search up the price of easy to ship items you find there and see if you can buy it very cheap at the sale and resell it on ebay for a profit.
More of a money-making method than a money-saving one, but anyone can do it and it's not a bad way to spend the summer (better than working at Mcdonalds IMO).
Yes, I also do that, we have a lot of junk in our house so I try to sell off my unused items. Yep, thats such a good method with the garage sales. Two years ago Dick Smith had some gigantic games sellout and I made up to $1000 going around to pretty much every Dick Smith in Melbourne looking up prices on eBay and buying games. The problem with garage sales are that there arent very many and people just sell old crap.
Also, yes, but saving requires hard work. I've been selling on eBay for quite a while, but I figured that I want to save more, so I'm working now.
Thanks for your response. That sure is a good quote. ANZ were paying 4.6% when I signed up, now 3.90% so I might need to make a switch. I agree with everything you said about credit cards. Banks have no mercy on poor people, its just a two factor hierarchy with banks and everyday people, where banks profit off of the (already) poor. And yes with the cars, sometimes without a car life is impractical so I guess for some people it is a necessity. I'm willing to sacrifice enjoyment for $10k/yr!
And yes I do believe a goal is important if you want to save hard. Even without a goal, it still good to save money aside. You may be shocked one day where you need to pay for something expensive. I believe a goal not only makes saving purposeful but drives you to save even harder.
Yes we should be enjoying life with our money but in the right way. As mentioned above by someone restaurants are a luxury nowadays, but if you're on a $50k p.a salary, I think going out to a restaurant maybe once per Quarter is fair enough, paying $15 per person for a meal (and a drink from home of course.. unless you're feeling very generous to yourself). If you're just a student, I don't think going to a restaurant would be suitable at all :/
And yes we should set aside some money for things we enjoy but not all of it. I too don't want to be 30 and look back into my 20s and regret not enjoying my money. I want to enjoy my money but in the cheapest and non-regretful way. As a student, like pretty much all of us are, we don't really need to spend all of our money. Some of you might even be thanking me in a few years from now and I'm sure everyone here won't regret saving their money. I mean even saving 50% of your money is still a lot to save while spending a lot of money at the same time.
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Added in a few more things.
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All one big scam. A credit card companies favourite customer is a poor one. They will just pay off the interest and not the balance, they'll be a constant cash cow. One of the reasons they exist is because employers and people who control the money flow weren't paying their workers enough. If you don't pay your workers enough though, they cant continue to consume and buy the things you make. They didn't fill that gap by massively lifting wages, the average person has the ability to consume more because of credit.
Strongly disagree. Credit cards are incredibly useful.
I travel regularly, and my credit card gives me travel insurance without me having to purchase it as an add-on. This saves me >$200 every trip, even after I consider my credit card fees.
I purchase things from shops overseas, using a second credit card specifically for this purpose, which gives me the wholesale mastercard forex rates and doesn't charge commission. Also extremely useful for travelling.
Many people do make mistakes with their credit cards, but there are times when credit cards are very good ideas, so long as you have the self control to use it appropriately.
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Oh dear, I'm quite alarmed by Lala's tips, and various other tips being thrown around.
Saving is not a one-size-fits-all thing. What works for Lala does not necessarily work for everyone. The key to saving is not limiting yourself to less than $5/meal or "buying something, which you shouldn't be too often I hope". It especially shouldn't be "Leech from everyone and every damn thing.", because that's one sure way to lose friends very quickly.
Much of the advice here would be ridiculous for a majority of people. If you drastically change your spending habits without some kind of compassionate grounds, expect to see your friendship group to suddenly change as well.
The key to saving is setting a cap on your disposable income as a proportion of your regular income. Once you have a limit, then you can prioritise your spending into things you enjoy (travelling, going out to bars), and limit the spending for things you are willing to sacrifice on (lunch). Your spending habits will depend on how you choose your disposable spending cap. My cap is 50%, that is my lifestyle choice. Lala's might be close to 10%, but that is not a lifestyle that suits everyone.
And here is my most important point, saving for the sake of saving is not always a good idea, especially when you are a student, and especially when it is disguised as "saving for the future" without a detailed plan to back that up. Money is just a currency, there is little point to hoarding money without converting it to something with value.
Remember that your earning power ramps up significantly as you get a fulltime employment. As a student, $1000 is a lot of money, and represents a large amount of a student's social spending. $1000 becomes a much smaller amount once you have a fulltime wage (relatively speaking). Let's say you are saving up for a house deposit in 5 years, then the impact of the $1000 will be a delay of a month's worth of savings. Ask yourself, what do you have to sacrifice now for that $1000? Is it worth the benefit in 5 years? In 5 years time, would you rather place a deposit 1 month sooner, or be able to remember some great experiences you were able to have with that $1000 (such as travelling)?
Spending money is not always wasting money. Save wisely, but not every penny.
Reminds me of one particular forum member. They don't spend much on other things but when they do spend their money they spend it on a good whiskey because thats what they enjoy. I think its important to take into account the joy and happiness value here; sometimes that exceeds the monetary loss of a product (bonus). Almost everyone is looking to lead a good or happy life, so, constantly saving on absolutely everything might not be all that pleasant.
Is that me? :P
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Strongly agree with both Mao's posts.
Some of these tips even go so far as to disgust me a little, and I feel sorry for friends and family members who have to put up with that kind of behaviour.
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I think you've misinterpreted the leeching part I don't recall ever asking friends for money or anything at all, not even a loan. I've always used my own things, and I know people from my school use this forum so I wonder if they would comment for me :P. I just thought it would be a good idea to prevent buying fast food so that will be taken out.
I know what you mean, but if you work during vce and uni, you could save up to $35000 or so especially if you're on Youth Allowance. Five years working. A lot of money to give yourself a good headstart in life.
About the credit card reply, that would be one good use for it, I don't know. All I know is a lot of people fall for the trap of having an unlimited spending cap and struggle to pay off the debts. I know people who think they are invincible and start buying stuff with their credit card because they think and act as if they have the right to do so.
@Fyrefly I didn't think this thread would go so far to inflict guilt on people. Keep your own perception of me out of this thread or PM me to make this personal don't sabotage my thread.
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Not trying to sabotage, just trying to share another point of view.
I feel that abusing the good will of restaurant owners by trying to scam them into giving you "freebie" meals is wrong, and I should be free to share my opinion on "tips" like that without being accused of sabotage. If you're feeling guilty, then it's because I've pulled you up for something you know is wrong.
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Not trying to sabotage, just trying to share another point of view.
I feel that abusing the good will of restaurant owners by trying to scam them into giving you "freebie" meals is wrong, and I should be free to share my opinion on "tips" like that without being accused of sabotage. If you're feeling guilty, then it's because I've pulled you up for something you know is wrong.
Like I said it is "greyhat" so use at your own discretion. I don't feel guilt whatsoever from doing it. Don't try to shift this from family and friends not putting up with my behaviour because it wasn't a suitable argument and now to managers at stores. Not going to bother responding to your messages anymore if you're not going to contribute. I don't feel guilty in the slightest way I just find it rude how out of all these people who've replied, you've made it personal, when others are criticising my """""tips""""" not myself.
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inb4 lock
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I meant every word, and I'm not backing down or sidestepping it. But I'll say no more and leave it at that.
inb4 lock
I'm obviously not impartial so I'll be leaving this thread alone, but the other mods will discuss and make a decision.
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inb4 lock
:3 locked
This thread has veered away from being constructive. Thinking about being financially responsible and these kind of things are important, but at this stage we're just running around circles with the same type of responses to the original post. I also have opinions on this, but I think we'll have to wait for another day to have a more constructive discussion about this topic.