Tips on maintaining a good budget & saving

[Siniroth]

Before you go grocery shopping, make sure you go with full stomach and a list of what you want to buy. Going with empty stomach tends to make you buy extra shits that you dont need due to hunger.

Either this, or get something set in your mind that you really want, ideally that you intend to buy anyway, that you'll make as soon as you get home, this method works better for me if I need to shop hungry, I only buy extra something that I want right then and there and focus on just that and I skim over a lot of other stuff I'd buy in the same situation, but without the goal of one specific thing

[Tekki]

i can second everything in this thread. ive been spending the past year trying to rebuild my credit and cut corners. i have other questions.

what about serious ways of saving money. im not talking hundreds, but thousands. is there a good, no to low risk place to put money into to save and build money?

i plan on buying a house or condo in the next 2-5 years and in the mean time i want to start dumping money into X. the last major purchases i need this year will be a new couch and pc, past that i will have extra money each month and soon will have my car paid off (extra 250 a month).

i also want to be able to dump my bonuses and tax returns into X, and not touch it until Im ready to buy.

last thing. is there a way to keep up on your credit without having to go on monthly fees with shit like free credit report.com? checking my credit was the best thing i ever did for my credit. i have plenty of positive things but found 2 hugely negative things. comcast never pulled a collections report off my credit from 2 years ago (which was paid) and i found a student loan in default which im paying in full next week. i wnt to see when that stuff gets pulled, where i stand on my credit report, but don't want to wait another 12 months to check again...

[Maguspk]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQNvdKNTZUg

This made my dick hard. I want a woman who can do this, that is so sexy. Oh yeah, save me money baby.

[gandorf]

I used to spend close to 50$ a week on just Arizona ice-tea alone. After I realized it was senseless spending I started to bring a cup to work and get water from the cooler. It's been three weeks and I actually enjoy having the extra money.

[Cream Soda]

http://georgiatechdopp.files.wordpre...n-noodles2.jpg

16 cents a packet at walmart, eat 3-5 per day depending on how much it takes to fill you. Is what I did when I went 2 months w/o power

[Osede]

Actually, I'm not recommend on eating instant noodle, because of the "healthy" part.
Cooking pasta with paste and veges is better than those imo

[Ksandra]

what about serious ways of saving money. im not talking hundreds, but thousands. is there a good, no to low risk place to put money into to save and build money?

CDs are probably your best bet in your situation, imo. You can find some that are locked in at about 6 months and can keep rerolling them in. It's definitely a good way if you want to put money away without worry (and gain some interest too).

I know BoA had a "risk free cd" when I worked there. Basically it allowed you to pull money out of it once a month if need be without penalty. Only time you would get penalized was if you tried more than once or tried to pull everything out.

[Conrad]

CDs have pretty crappy interest rates right now because of how badly the banks are doing, but it is a good way to make some small cash. I've been looking recently and many of the 6 month or 1 year CDs are rated at about 2-3% interest.

[Tits]

I would imagine, at that rate, you would be better off in a low-risk money market account? I'm no banker though, just a Heeb.

[Serif]

Pretty sure most MMA are offering like 1-2%, 2% being high.

As always if you want to invest in your future

1. Match 401k
2. Roth IRA

On top of what has already been said, keep your emergency fund in a different bank.

[Ksandra]

CDs have pretty crappy interest rates right now because of how badly the banks are doing, but it is a good way to make some small cash. I've been looking recently and many of the 6 month or 1 year CDs are rated at about 2-3% interest.

you're correct. Reason I suggest it though is because it is risk free and a good way to put money if you're afraid of spending it. It's not going to make you much money, but it will help save money.

For sure though as Serif said if you're looking for long term retirement saving 401ks and IRAs are the way to go.

I would imagine, at that rate, you would be better off in a low-risk money market account? I'm no banker though, just a Heeb.

It's been a while since I worked at the bank, but interest rates tend to fluctuate across the board. IE if a bank lowers their CD rate, they will lower their MM rate as well. And unless you get in on some special promotion for the most part they're going to give their CDs a higher rate than their MMs.

[Serif]

The only thing that really ever kills my budget, I have never once planned a budget, is drinking at a bar. I am the type who when he gets drunk gets very generous, I don't mind it too much though. Oh and the occasional going out on dates sometimes puts a dent into it but not as much as drinking downtown with friends.

Also, seeing how we live outside of Nashville a cab drive usually costs 35 bucks for a full cab of people. And with the above mentioned generosity when I am drunk I usually pay for there and back, rather my friends be safe nowadays than drive drunk.

If you have it to where you can pull money out of your account and you never touch it, it is helps a lot with saving cash. I pull out at least 600 bucks a month from my earnings, so 150 a week. Plus all the cash I make with my side job goes directly into my savings.

Oh and if you do invest for the long run, don't ever read the monthly updates you get for your investments. I usually become depressed when I read them haha