Lala's saving tips

[lala1911]

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.

[grannysmith]

Woah, very informative and nice tips.

[lala1911]

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.

[Stick]

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.

[Lasercookie]

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

[lala1911]

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.

[Stick]

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.

[lala1911]

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 

[MJRomeo81]

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.

[lala1911]

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.

[brenden]

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.

[pi]

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".

[brenden]

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.

[brightsky]

These tips are gold...should totally be stickied!

(...and why would anyone ever want to buy anything from Maccas...:p)

[Lolly]

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.