Finding it hard to save?

[trd-benji]

i am 22 living with my parents, i was out of work for 4 months lost all my savings to bills and stuff, now 3 paychecks back in i have 2 grand saved thats all. Do you peeps have a lot of savings? I feel like i missed the boat and should of started saving years ago? why does money depress ya so much?

[DJKOR]

Yeah. Saving sucks in a way, but it's one of those things you should really do. I can agree with you there though. I like to just think of ways to spend my paycheck when I get it. Mostly it always goes towards the car. But then again, once I pay for bills, fuel, etc, it doesn't leave much for the spendings fund. When I see it like that, I then realise that it would be better off going into savings. It's reasons like this that I don't get new wheels for my car or lower it etc, etc.

I'm not the best when it comes to saving money, but after a 2 month period of no work, I learnt that I need to save what I earn and keep it as reserve just in case.

Damn Commonwealth Dollarmites taught me nothing about savings.

[BYL05R]

DJ you have a point, i started saving up and blew all my money and now once more i am going to blow my money every month on paying my new phone, well for now on i am starting to save eveything that is left over on after the week, but i guess it all comes down on how wisely you spend your money, and how much hours/work you get and the pay rate =]

[Rolla Boy]

I save every cent I get from working...

Weekend work and after hours mechanical work pays for my bills and cars, everything I earn from mon to fri goes in the bank and stays there...

[Mole]

Im also 22 livin folk my folks, but no probs saving here. Theres only a few things I spend any great amount of money on, usually video games n stuff and car parts. All I need to do is to restrain myself a bit, if I need to save for something I just dont buy anything I dont need. Simple stuff.

Although I am a bit short on money right now, currently sitting in London on hols...

[akuma]

im 21, worked full time for 3 years. i have no savings, and cars on finance. still owe a bit of money left on it. live with parents too. i SUCK at saving. im thinking about opening them 1st home buyers savers account :/

[Speedz]

I've been working on 2 jobs now to save money one is govt temp atm and one is doing pathetic dominos driver thing during nights and weekends...

i also would like to earn more for my 2nd job but i got friends there so i sometimes can relax alot more than i really should... savings wise all my savings is in my tax refunds... lol last year alone i got back 2.5k in refunds but i blew all away after quitting my FT job @ southport to go back studies for a bit...

tbh driving from brisbane to gc doesnt save you much coz you blew alot away on petrol and generally running cost anyway...!!!

hopefully next year i can get a more decent job so i can kiss the 2nd job goodbye and look for something more decent, iam living with parents atm and i dont see the point of moving out at any stage unless im buying a house... (being chinese also helps...!!! lol)

[cruzer]

being 16 its so difficult to save like i will get money and spend it straight away but i am starting to save so say everyweekend i will get 50 i will put 20 away

[httttt]

i am 22 living with my parents, i was out of work for 4 months lost all my savings to bills and stuff, now 3 paychecks back in i have 2 grand saved thats all. Do you peeps have a lot of savings? I feel like i missed the boat and should of started saving years ago? why does money depress ya so much?

Hey trd-benji, Savings tend to have a snow ball effect until they hit the cabin at the bottom of the slope. What I mean by that is that once you save A LOT then it seems to just pile on nice and quickly until something gives and you need/want to spend.

I attribute my excessive spending to unhappiness... that is to say, if I am unhappy or simply not content with life then I tend to spend more. For me I had to make some life style changes to stop that excessive spending. These changes included letting go of a few mates, trying to fix relationships with my fams and focusing on meaningful work instead of cars and xbox games.

What I do is have 70% of my wage go into a separate savings account. This worked great because you learn to live below your means. You also need a purpose to saving..

Unfortunately or fortunately for me I have had 3 life style changes in the past month that all but depleted all of my savings.

1. I bought the Aurion with is slightly more expensive on fuel and insurance than my previous car that I owned out right.

2. I quit my job and start my new one in around 2 months.

3. I got engaged!!! So buying a ring that is half the cost of my car also set me back.

With all that in mind, over the next year I will be:

1. Saving for and getting married.

2. Getting a home loan and buying a house.

3. Starting UNI.

I WILL be poor in terms of savings but "rich" in life for the next 2 years.

I guess what I am trying to say is that you need to look at your life style choices and live below your means.

BTW I am 24 and living at home.

[ELEGNT]

im 19 and live with my folks. im actually pretty good at saving and did so from a young age and spent my money on decent stuff. thats probly why i have a nice car being so young fully paid of by myself (no mummy and daddy didnt buy it). i brought my firt moto when i was 14 had 5 others since then, brought a tiny, brought my first car ($3k) from selling the moto, that got stollen and got payed out more brought my 1zz after saving for a few years had that for a year, sold the last 2 bikes the tinny and the corolla and brought this stright up, and now have recently brought a daily. this was when i was working in an engineering firm form 08-09, then feb this year i lost my job so mow im sposered by centerlink and work in a car yard selling aurions whilst studying. i still find it easy to save but not as easy now seeing im not working full time and work is a hike to get to

but my biggest offload of money in the last year would be my car, ive slowed down now so im saving a bit

[jaderd]

no real savings at all....some extra cash sitting ontop of loan for rainy day / holiday and just got a house so putting as much into that....but in an offset so access to it anytime but whilst in their lowers the interest on the loan by that amount etc...

[Lawz]

i am 22 living with my parents, i was out of work for 4 months lost all my savings to bills and stuff, now 3 paychecks back in i have 2 grand saved thats all. Do you peeps have a lot of savings? I feel like i missed the boat and should of started saving years ago? why does money depress ya so much?

It's never too late to start saving mate. The question is where can you begin saving from.

I'm 24. I'm currently employed permanent full-time with the Government. Living at home with my folks paying $100 per week, 1/4 of phone/electricity/water bills and 1/2 internet bill with my brother. Just about to move into my first home which I purchased few months ago... hello mortgage! This is my first ever loan... woot clean slate!!! My entire salary goes into my home loan offset... reduce that bloody interest.

I have always learned from my (asian) parents to manage my money using only my savings. That way I can gauge what I can afford. I bought my car 2 years ago with my savings and for modifications with savings too. I have never owned a credit card either until it got offered with my home loan. I always use cash or savings account (debit card).

The way I have been taught has allowed for me to understand how difficult it is to earn a living/money and how EASY it is to lose.

To be honest since all savings went to lowering my home loan amount I have been feeling the bite to stay away from clubbing, eating out, spending on unnecessary items, alcohol, etc. However since my first 2 home loan repayments I have managed to sit down and figure out where I can save.

That is catching the train to work instead of driving (So I save on parking, fuel and maintenance/running costs), taking a packed lunch box instead of buying, learning to shop around at various shops to keep within budget/make savings (it takes more time and pain in the **** but it's the only way to save even a few cents makes a difference). I know that saving will only get worse next year as I plan to return to university.

So yes I find it hard to save because I have all these burdens. I only wish money grew on trees. But to survive I must adapt to social economy changes in order to keep myself happy, healthy and as distant from stress as possible.

I believe there's always ways around everything... just sometimes we need guidance to get out of the hole we just fell in.

Edited September 7, 2009 by 11TWO

[TOYTRD]

im 21, live at home, dont pay bills and no board!

im the worst in saving money! i've had full-time jobs for abt 3 years now and have no savings!!

i have attempted to save a few times but once i hit a certain amount of money i spend!

but over the past 3 years i have gone oversea's twice, gone to q'land with the misses, most long weekends i go away with the boys!

never used to be a drinker till about this time last year, so now on a nite out in town, can set me back around $200-$300... but now i try not to go out as much!

i have owned 3 cars, i have never paid for any! i only pay for petrol, rego and insurance... have been sponsored by my parents!

BUT!! im going overseas in 2 days again, once i come back i plan on saving up big time for a ring to put in my partners finger... and maybe coils! =]~

on the other note, my brother who is 2 years older then me, has worked full-time for 2 years, have bought himself 2 motor bikes, his first was 5k +1.5k on gear, second bike [2007 R6] he purchased for 13k, and he went to euorpe last year with his mates, all up he spent 25k, came back and he bought a new LCD TV and a home theatre system for his room

how he saves up to have no farking clue! but i do know on most weekends, he stays at home doing nothing!

i personally cant live like that! on a weekend for me to stay at home for an hour, im bored outta my brain!

so thats my story! =]

hopefully i start saving up now!

[whitestivo]

If you want a performance car, than buy one.

A 1zz modified is rarely going to be better than a 2zz. Especially when you consider resale.

whitestivo

[SuperDave]

To be honest since all savings went to lowering my home loan amount I have been feeling the bite to stay away from clubbing, eating out, spending on unnecessary items, alcohol, etc. However since my first 2 home loan repayments I have managed to sit down and figure out where I can save.

That is catching the train to work instead of driving (So I save on parking, fuel and maintenance/running costs), taking a packed lunch box instead of buying, learning to shop around at various shops to keep within budget/make savings (it takes more time and pain in the **** but it's the only way to save even a few cents makes a difference). I know that saving will only get worse next year as I plan to return to university.

I prefer pubs to clubs as they are quieter, my hearing is stuffed enough without loud music adding to it. I home brew for my booze, so works out at like $20 a carton and tastes so much better than anything under $50 a carton from the bottle-o :D

Last nights left overs FTW! I hate it when there are no left overs, working in South Bank doesn't leave many cheap options for grub. There is one place that makes a monster sanga for $5 so it gets a workout. Otherwise the kids meals at the local pub are big enough for lunch and come with a free softdrink ;)

I found with saving that people tend to hold off on everything they want. This allows for a short term saving rush, but then as said earlier the snowball hits the cabin at the bottom of the slope. They then spend more than they should. It helps to make small purchases of items during the mad saving period. And don't impulse buy.

[Leroy]

I would encourage all of you feeling the pinch to read the book 'French Women Don't Get Fat'.

Although its about weight loss, the principle is the same... discipline without depriving yourself.

As SuperDave and others have said above, you will go for a while saving everything... but all that hard work goes down the tube when you eventually justify to yourself that one big splurge.

So if you really feel the need for that food/videogame/car part, budget for it and buy something small every couple of pays... Better to have constant minor satisfaction than one massive binge that will only satisfy you until you look at your bank account.

[spillige]

ill make it simple for every one here, if your buying any thing other than necessities your not saving hard enough.

im a firm believer that if your going to do some thing, do it to the best of your abilities.

saving money is very simple, and forget about the past and what you could or should of done, starting thinking about tomorrow.

and remember money breeds more money.

[Eargunk]

been trying to save money for the last 6 weeks, but stuff keeps happening (birthdays, early christmas, "lets join money and get dad a present, oh wait, you gotta pay 1/2 cause you work), im the only one that works out of the 3 siblings, im the middle one and its always "maccas run?" cause im the only one that drives. burning money, petrol and everything. a taxi for my brothers. but i still allocate 20% of money to a special tin box. calculate weekly usage and write it on a piece of paper, thats kinda working for me...

[addy287]

turning 19 at the end of september.

I'm a full time uni student so thats about 30hours a week in class, plus study, assessments etc.

I'm also a driver for dominos currently working 35 hours a week.

Trying hard to save money, but petrol is taking alot away from me, and now i need service and new tyres. plus i still owe a little of the car, but its to my dad so he understands. As for spending it going out and such, i dont really have anytime to socialise.. lol work every night, and my 2 days off so.

i have started to try saving my tips which is tax free cash in hand for a rainy day. but the temptation is there to spend on the car :P

[mrs.sportivo]

LMFAO moneys meant to be spent ! nah :( i need to save for my evo8 HAHAHAHAHAHAH, im just $35000 short !

[Chrono Trigger]

LMFAO moneys meant to be spent ! nah :( i need to save for my evo8 HAHAHAHAHAHAH, im just $35000 short !

yes.. very hard to save, but very easy to spend!

ps. EVO 7 is better !!!

[mrs.sportivo]

LOL if your finding it hard to save, just go on a diet LOL i swear that always works for me !! all that money i save from not eating out LOL

plus not being in a relationship is pretty good too :)

[DJKOR]

Or go on a Mi Goreng noodle diet. Saves me lots of cash when I'm away for work. Easy savings FTW.

[DHC09]

If you have absolutely no self-control with saving money, could try the following:

1. Decide on a realistic amount you would like/can save a year

2. Open an account in another bank

3. Lock your new atm card and its netbank login details away somewhere

4. Set up automatic transfers from your "everyday" account to the new account one day after your usual paid day

This way you wont be tempted with the wealth of savings you have in the "other" account, and the pleasure of spending every last cent of what ever is left in your everyday account (although you should be sensible enough not to spend it all :P)

In the end of the day, it comes down to how mature you are and your will power. Much like smoking, if your stupid and weak, your F**K'd :)

[lateralus]

Or go on a Mi Goreng noodle diet. Saves me lots of cash when I'm away for work. Easy savings FTW.

im sure what you save now could pay for the cardiologists bills later on :P