How to cut down your personal spending

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Andrew

Andrew

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Jun 24, 2006
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If your dead broke you should be saving up your dollars for domain names and advertising, not new shoes and video games. Starting years ago I would bookmark items in a "to buy" folder rather than ordering them right away. I am going through the folder right now and finding tons of stuff that I wouldn't want even if it was free.
 
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Yeah, being without any income for a while last year tought me to save most of the money I get (some might call it cheapness), instead of buying things I don't really need. Even now, when being on a really low monthly income (student loan), I can still save some of it. My soft spot is computer hardware though, that really tickles my buying bone! Bought a new server recently, so now I'm working on resource-heavy projects to justify my purchase. I think I'm mostly cheap when it comes to clothes, something that usually bothers my girlfriend :)
 
Good tips, Andrew. Personally, I divide things into "want" and "need" categories. I focus on needs first. Invest the cash saved into assets. When there's enough income, focus on "want" items. Usually, by the time I get around to them, I no longer want them. LOL
 
Andrew said:
If your dead broke you should be saving up your dollars for domain names and advertising, not new shoes and video games. Starting years ago I would bookmark items in a "to buy" folder rather than ordering them right away. I am going through the folder right now and finding tons of stuff that I wouldn't want even if it was free.
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Yep, that's what I'm doing right now. Sure, I'd like both Wii and PS3, but I'm going to wait for a while until I am happy with my earnings.

Good thing is that my parents still support me due to the fact that I'm still in school, so it's rather easy for me to save.

Good tip though and I 100% agree with ya.
 
Since you mentioned video games, here is another tip. Think not only about the upfront cost but also the oppurtunity costs. That $45 video game might actually end up costing you thousands.
 
Yeah, I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy series and FF12 came out here in the US today but I won't be touching that game for a while.
 
I stopped playing online/PC games after my wrist really really got bad a year or so ago. It was amazing after a month of healing how much it got better.... Now it hurts but NOTHING like it did then and a totaly different pain.

PC games = bad for $ out of pocket, wasted opportunity cost, possibly injury so you can't perform your other onine work duty. Basically "Momma says PC Games are tha debbbil!".
 
Todd.. get that ergo keyboard I recommend in my thread on wrist pain.

I have to admit I on occassion play computer games. And its bad. If I find a game I like I will play it non stop for 6-12 hours depending what point in the day I found it. I will then play for 12+ hours the next day. I'll feel so much like crap I will never play the game again. This seems to happen to me every 4-6 months. The past 3 months its happened twice.
 
Andrew said:
Todd.. get that ergo keyboard I recommend in my thread on wrist pain.

I have to admit I on occassion play computer games. And its bad. If I find a game I like I will play it non stop for 6-12 hours depending what point in the day I found it. I will then play for 12+ hours the next day. I'll feel so much like crap I will never play the game again. This seems to happen to me every 4-6 months. The past 3 months its happened twice.
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I am similiar. I play a game (COD & COD2 come to mind) for 6-12 months then don't game and work hard for 6-12 months. Lately I haven't gamed but as you know wrist issues.

I've got that ergo kb on order :) As well as a damn USB HUB heh.

I already told myself I am going to try COD3 when it's out. I'd really like a new C&C but damn talk about time waisting. haha.
 
Learn to cook if you don't already. It is a lot cheaper in most cases to cook at home than it is to eat out, even if you are just eating crap fast food. Plus it is a lot healthier.
 
aeiouy said:
Learn to cook if you don't already. It is a lot cheaper in most cases to cook at home than it is to eat out, even if you are just eating crap fast food. Plus it is a lot healthier.
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It costs me more to cook. I have been trying to cook because my wife is pregnant and I have fucked up more dinners than I would like to admit.
 
I look at something and think about how many hours I have to work to pay for it and that puts it in perspective real fast right now, for me.

My splurge lately.....I've decided beer in the frig every week is worth the hour or two that I have to work to cover its costs. I rarely go out lately and a couple beers fast forward me to relaxing when I get off work, so its worth it.
 
This thread has really helped me think a lot about how I act with my money.

At the moment my income has severely dipped from around $4,000 per month to around $800 - $1,200 per month. Purely because I've been spending more time offline and trying to have a life. During this time I've been spending money I don't really have. I've been going on nights out on the town courtesy of my credit card company and the bank I have an overdraft with.

I support myself at home and I run my own car so costs each month aren't exactly small, however not extremely large. Most of the money I spend is on the things I think are really cool, the little luxuries of life. A plasma television here, some expensive shoes there...when in actual fact the things I have more than suffice as it is, it's not a waste of money it's purely bad timing in accordance to my financial status.

I've started this past week cutting back on buying tunes from itunes, buying clothes when I clearly need no more and most of all, I've stopped smoking. This was setting me back $60 per week on smokes alone. I don't drink much since I drive every day and it's impossible to find the time.

I think the problem is that companies and businesses make it way too easy for you to buy from them. It's so easy for me to pick up the phone, dial dominos or pizza hut and order take out, or go through a drive thru, or log onto ebay or amazon and buy stuff I don't need.

Most of the time it's boredom also.

My top tip - Keep yourself busy, with earning more money. Reading and writing is a great way to keep your mind in focus.
 
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