Need help with good spending/saving habits

[Denny Crane]

You are young and making good money, so ...

make it rain at the strip club as often as you can

you won't miss the money when you're 80 years old.

 

[Buzz Killington]

You are young and making good money, so ...

make it rain at the strip club as often as you can

you won't miss the money when you're 80 years old.

+11111

Plus if you get married, your wifey is gonna steal half yo shit!

 

[Buzz Killington]

you don't need shitty lunch meat sandwiches, you can make extra food for dinner and have LOTS of leftovers! I'm just starting to do this, and they taste quite a bit better than tv dinners and cheaper/healthier than eating out.

meh. Wahoo's fish tacos combo = $7. Big whoop! don't have to do any fucking dishes either!

 

[Colonel Ronan]

You're right, fuck it. I'm becoming a coke addict.

 

[maxiep]

you don't need shitty lunch meat sandwiches, you can make extra food for dinner and have LOTS of leftovers! I'm just starting to do this, and they taste quite a bit better than tv dinners and cheaper/healthier than eating out.

The wife taught me how to do this. She makes twice as much as we need, portions the rest and freezes it. When she makes our lunches (yes, she actually makes my lunch), she just pulls something out of the freezer and puts it in Tupperware. It thaws a bit on the way to work and in the workplace refrigerator. I then nuke it.

Today is Pad Thai.

 

[Buzz Killington]

The wife taught me how to do this. She makes twice as much as we need, portions the rest and freezes it. When she makes our lunches (yes, she actually makes my lunch), she just pulls something out of the freezer and puts it in Tupperware. It thaws a bit on the way to work and in the workplace refrigerator. I then nuke it.

Today is Pad Thai.

what do you do during lunchtime then?

 

[Buzz Killington]

Do you eat at your desk?

 

[Colonel Ronan]

what do you do during lunchtime then?

I, and many other people don't have time for a full lunch break. The most I do is run to a fast food restaurant, get it for take-out, come back to work and eat it at my desk.

 

[Buzz Killington]

Oh. If I worked like that, I'd probably bring my lunch too. I like chillin, running errands and sitting down and eating out for lunch.

 

[Colonel Ronan]

Oh. If I worked like that, I'd probably bring my lunch too. I like chillin, running errands and sitting down and eating out for lunch.

Yeah, I would love to do that but I don't want to jeopardize my job.

Sometimes I head out for a while when we have enough coverage and it's a slow-ish day.

 

[Shapecity]

Ronan have you heard?


In a tweeted goodbye, the chief executive of Sun Microsystems bowed out with a haiku.

Jonathan Schwartz's haiku on Twitter reads as follows: "Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more."

 

[Colonel Ronan]

Ronan have you heard?


In a tweeted goodbye, the chief executive of Sun Microsystems bowed out with a haiku.

Jonathan Schwartz's haiku on Twitter reads as follows: "Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more."

Yes, I did hear about that. We all made up Haikus for our AIM away messages... I just copy and pasted.

 

[Colonel Ronan]

The President of Oracle reminds me of Obama!

Not just visually, he has some Obama mannerisms.

 

[maxiep]

what do you do during lunchtime then?

Eat at my desk or work out. The only time I eat out is when I have breakfast or lunch meetings. If I'm just eating, I'll only take 10-15 minutes for lunch.

 

[Paxil]

I'm going to head down to the library after class tomorrow evening and make a list like you said. When you say "things I wanted to accomplish", do you mean financially or just in life?

The list I made was not just financial... I know I put these things down on my list

Have my own house
Run a marathon
Finish school
Write a novel
Get a job I love
Get married & have a happy family

I am sure I listed other things, but those are the things I remember off the top of my head. At the time... they almost all seemed impossible... seriously... I was in dept, couldn't run a mile, had no money or time for school, wasn't writing at all and in a dead end job.

Now I am happily married with a beautiful 1.5 year old baby girl, have what I consider my dream house (and a beach house)... finished 3 marathons, graduated from college, have my dream job, no CC debt at all. Maybe I was lucky... maybe it was the list (or just very blessed for some strange reason)... but I really think just putting down on paper what I wanted to accomplish helped me a lot. One each item I put down what I would need to do to get there... to buy a house I needed to be out of debt and save a down payment etc... etc... None of those things happened over night but if you just keep heading in the direction you want... you will get there. (haven't written that novel yet... but there is time)

From a blog I write about running when I first started training for a marathon

I am going to run a marathon. Twenty six point two miles. Why? I don’t really know. Midlife crisis? Maybe… maybe. I suppose I really should have a reason… a GREAT reason really… to go though that torture. My wife thinks I am crazy. I say… in this world, you have to be crazy to be sane. I guess the biggest reason I am going to run a marathon is because I put it on a list of things I wanted to do before I died, and at 40, I know it isn’t getting any easier.

 

[Colonel Ronan]

The list I made was not just financial... I know I put these things down on my list

Have my own house
Run a marathon
Finish school
Write a novel
Get a job I love
Get married & have a happy family

I am sure I listed other things, but those are the things I remember off the top of my head. At the time... they almost all seemed impossible... seriously... I was in dept, couldn't run a mile, had no money or time for school, wasn't writing at all and in a dead end job.

Now I am happily married with a beautiful 1.5 year old baby girl, have what I consider my dream house (and a beach house)... finished 3 marathons, graduated from college, have my dream job, no CC debt at all. Maybe I was lucky... maybe it was the list (or just very blessed for some strange reason)... but I really think just putting down on paper what I wanted to accomplish helped me a lot. One each item I put down what I would need to do to get there... to buy a house I needed to be out of debt and save a down payment etc... etc... None of those things happened over night but if you just keep heading in the direction you want... you will get there. (haven't written that novel yet... but there is time)

From a blog I write about running when I first started training for a marathon

That is awesome, Paxil.

Many of those do seem impossible to me right now (apart from the job and marathon ones). I'm going to try this out and get back to you in 30 years!

 

[BlazerWookee]

Hey everyone,

I've been working at Sun Microsystems (soon to be Oracle!) for about half a year now in their Control Center. I get paid a fair amount for my age and I'm extremely lucky to of had this opportunity. I feel like i used to be good with my money but in the past months I have grown to see that it is no longer the case.

I seem to spend my paychecks (I receive one every two weeks) almost instantly but I can't seem to think where it goes. I don't smoke marijuana any longer, I rarely drink (and if I do, I ain't spendin'!), I have a minimal amount of subscriptions, and the bills I have to pay aren't too great.

I actually seem to a pretty stingy mindset when it comes to spending money but maybe that is when it is for other people. When it comes to buying something for myself, I see myself buying shit almost immediately. Then again, I can't think of anything that I have spent money on that I now regret. Usually it is pretty generic items such as clothing, food, etc. but I still see my money disappearing.

So obviously, I'm having issues saving my money. I usually put away half of my pay check towards bills, gas, rent, necessities, tax and the other half is usually just "money." At this rate, I should have enough money to buy a brand new car but for some reason I just can't seem to save it.

I have a savings and checking account at SunTrust with the savings account currently not activated. Would setting up the savings account help me keep on to my money? I don't see how it would stop me from just buying shit with it as well. I have also signed up on Mint.com but I usually just delete all of the emails at it tends to clog up my corporate email and I rarely check my personal accounts.

I feel like I am sometimes pushing it when it comes to paying for things that I truly need (I was in the double digits after I had to get my car serviced) when I should have a comfortable cushion with the amount of money I am bringing in with little demand for fees.

On top of that, it feels nice to have a couple of hundred in the bank with no need to spend it, you know?

So, to the point: I'm looking for some helpful tips from anyone that will help me save my money. Anything will help. Checklists? Spreadsheets? Mental challenges? Whatever.

Thanks in advance.

Send 1/4 of your paycheck to me, and I'll make sure you don't spend it on something stupid. PM me your bank account information and I'll take care of setting up the transactions...

 

[Colonel Ronan]

Send 1/4 of your paycheck to me, and I'll make sure you don't spend it on something stupid. PM me your bank account information and I'll take care of setting up the transactions...

Deal.