What is Digg?61 Comments
- RichPowers, on 10/12/2007, -2/+64Rule 1 - 99: Don't buy ***** you can't afford. It baffles me that millions of people fail to understand this (including the U.S. Congress - thanks for the $8 trillion national debt, *****).
- chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -2/+30"Getting emotional about your investments."
I love you Google stock, don't let us ever be apart again.
Hugs and Kisses
- Chris - antikewl, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25Some good tips there. Obviously, in the UK you would fund your "personal pension" -- funding the IRA has slightly different connotations here. ;)
- eplawless, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23So I save up a ***** for school, right, and then it turns out I'm autistic and I don't have to pay to go to university at all? So now I have all this money. I might get a pony.
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21I have the opposite problem.. I have trouble spending money and save obsessively.
..I blame my dad. - lcarsdeveloper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19I'm not good at saving, except when I'm saving FOR something. I wanted to go overseas, so I worked very hard and saved $16,000. It's easier to sacrifice when you know what you want. But when you have no goal, just 'generally saving', it's much harder to do.
It doesn't help being unemployed now either :p - gl00pp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18I eat out too much.
/i am getting chub things on my sides
//i sit on digg all day... - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18Yeah actually it's 8.5 trillion. http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
(funny how 500 billion dollars can seem so insignificant these days) - duzytata, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18I would be more than willing to help you out with that. Just send me a check for $10,000 and you'll never feel better!
- logic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14@stonebear:
You mean like how I have none of my own, but I'm pretty careless with other people's? - iamexcite, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18Agreed - see the "Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford" SNL skit :)
http://www.salon.com/ent/video_dog/comedy/2006/02/06/debt/index.html
Saving and spending for the US Government, however, are slightly different from my personal finances. Sure, $8 Trillion is huge (try to picture that on a table... or better yet, imagine swimming in it), but at least -some- of that money went to services you use or might need to use someday. Additionally, there are quite a few articles out there debating how much national debt is considered ideal, as opposed to personal credit card debt where that figure is $0.
Of course everyone's desire to flame me at this point depends on his/her political standpoint.
Just remember our tried-and-true USA national debt solution... pass it on to the next generation. - TheZetetic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Wow... I immediately took your comment as innuendo. I must have a sick and perverse subconscious.
- dazwan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12I was wondering why you'd fund a terrorist organisation.
- PhoenixR, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Cannot agree more. Always have a goal!
- cadavreexquis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Single best tip for saving money? Quit spending so damn much on eating out. In fact, don't spend so much money on food, period. Most of us could do with losing a few pounds, so buy some bulk brown rice and beans, cook it up, and live off of it for a week. Diversify with fruit and veggies where desired.
- linuxlizard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Amen!
It's amazing how inexpensive it is to eat healthy than it is to eat crap. Three years, 10 months ago, I changed my eating. Lots of veggies, fruit, a little meat. No more fast food--ever. Lost almost 100 lbs (45 kilos) in 7 months and inadvertently saved enough to pay cash for a Powerbook.
All the rest of my spending remained the same. I just quit eating crap. The extra money was a bit of a surprise.
(PS--I've kept the weight off by doing the same.) - n8r0n, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9The key to saving money is to live below your means. If you can train yourself to live on less than you make, than saving money is simple. Your income is your best tool for getting wealthy, unfortunately most people are caught up in trying to keep up with the Jones' and seeing who can horde the most material possessions.
- Torx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Well, what about people like me who, when, get depressed, spend money.. And its usually ALOT. By no means am i broke, complaining, or spending money I dont have just a bad habit. Its all about budgeting your money plain and simple. Know when and how to spend it.
- tmilam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+71. Save money
2. Don't waste it
3. Profit!!! - linuxlizard, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I have the same problem. Get depressed, buy neat toy, feel better...for a while. Get depressed again, buy neat toy, feel better...for a while. Repeat for the last 20 years.
My solution? I keep my money as far away from me as possible. I sink it as fast as possible into investment accounts. That way, it's more trouble than it's worth to get to it. - SaciPerere, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Really? Send some towards "The Gate's Foundation"...
- WillyMF1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"Never change your underpants, saves me loads of money."
Yeah, dating is expensive. - OneEye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Save FOR retirement.
- picaro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The challenge is finding where the excesses are. For example, if you rent, a roommate can save you hundreds of dollars a month.
After salting away most of my check, I live comfortably on less than minimum wage. ...still have enough money for rent, food, gas, highspeed internet, movies, etc. - caffiend, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Remember, this is digg, home of the "Basement Dwellers Anonymous." Nothing should be taken as innuendo. :)
- BrasilianMK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Many people try to "pretend" that they are rich by buying lots of stuff. But the millionares and Billionares (did i spell that right - spell checker took too long to load) got their wealth by saving it, not spending it. Get a decent paying job and keep your expenses down while living comfortably.
Try to avoid using a credit card whenever possible. You tend to spend less if you pay in cash. (There is something about parting with your hard-earned cash.) - aquax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Agreed. Eating out often is a great way to spend silly amounts of money.
My girlfriend and I eat really wonderful, gourmet meals, and it doesn't cost us much, simply because we do all the cooking, and we do it almost always from scratch.
It's taken a few years of practice, and an initial investment of kitchen tools and appliances, but as compared to my other college friends who can't cook, and subside on delivery pizza, and kraft mac & cheese, we're doing quite well. And it's much healthier than eating out.
Not to mention, it's an enjoyable, relatively inexpensive hobby. Certainly a lot cheaper than the tech toys I want to buy. - netburnr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Why is it articles about saving money, or reducing debt always tell you to save some money for emergencies, etc.
If I had money to save, I wouldn't be broke now would I? - caffiend, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Your goal is to save in case you no longer have income. Based on your current savings, if you suddenly were no longer able to work, how long could you pay your bills? Have a mortgage? Better save a bunch.
- stonebear, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4One of the things I have learned about people, is that there is often a strong correlation between how they handle their money, and how they handle their feelings.
- Sabot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The best book I ever read on learning how to live in your means is Your Money or Your Life. It transformed the way that I looked at money and helped me to learn to save. This book will change your life.
The key lesson for me was that money is just what I trade my time for. Why not spend my time on what I want to do instead of just trading it for money.
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence (Paperback)
by Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin - muftak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Never change your underpants, saves me loads of money.
- yzerizef, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The one lesson I always learned was "pay yourself first." So when you get that paycheck, put a good chunk of it away for yourself and then worry about where the rest is going to go.
- blackb0x, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2it's easy to talk about putting $500/month away into an IRA or savings, but if you combine some of advices, you'll quickly run out of money.
You can't live within a budget, put $500/month away, live below your means, and have a family all at the same time. The kicker is the family part. There will always be unknown expenses.
for example, I send my kid to private pre-school. That's almost $250/month. Now i know i don't HAVE to send my kid to a private pre-school, he could be watching cartoons all day long, but he's learning about stuff most kids won't learn for a few more years. he's also learning good social skills early, so when he's 10, he won't be the little ***** i have to listen to at Wal-mart yelling about how he wants this toy and that toy.
Kids are their own investment, and when it comes time for me to retire, i'm going to lean back on my kid for support, whether he likes it or not. HA! - yllabianbitpipe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The hardest thing I've found is to not let your "needs" rise with each rise in income. There is a temptation when you get say, a $10,000 raise, to start thinking of all the crap you could get to "improve" your life. So we look around at people in 4 bedroom homes filled with 10 tvs and they think they need all of it. It's too easy for the human condition to get used to a new situation as a baseline. I hear a lot of "I'll never go back".
So it's tricky sometimes to take a step back and realize when we were in college, all you needed was a small dorm room and 20 bucks a week for pizza and beer. Remember all the fun we had, hanging with friends. Why is it that so many people recall that time fondly? It certainly had nothing to do with scads of money. - shosterman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Bah, I was going to post that video!
Great article, great tips. I admit I have a hard time with the “Little Items Add Up.” Think about the last time you went shopping. You might have grabbed some low cost impulse items not realizing it would push your bill over $100. Stretch that hour's shopping to multiple events throughout the month and things can easily get out of control.
My best method for controlling impulse purchases; an honest answer to “Do I really need this?” - liuite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1my friend and his siblings all retired by age 50. the secret was not inheritance, but rather by saving 30% of their income and living below their means.
- himay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dude, you got it *almost* right. Step one is actually: Collect underpants.
- smergs, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2You're probably broke because you don't handle your money right. Everyone should check out http://daveramsey.com/
This guy is really good with this stuff. He was once a multi-millionaire and then he lost everything. He started from scratch and has pretty much became rich again buy teaching broke people how to do what he did which was come back from it. You can listen to him for free on the radio (he's on all over the US).
I personally do not have a big savings or anything, but I've been on the plan for a few months now (I'm debt free and pretty much always have been) and the point of having a small savings just for emergency's is so you don't have to get in to your other money when something comes up. Sure it doesn't get put into stocks or mutual funds or anything fun like that where it can make a lot of money, but it's just enough to fix a car or something like that. That way you don't have to run and put ***** like that on a credit card to get yourself out of a ***** situcation. - grungyhamster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hey, does that work with Asperger's also?
- MrC539, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Starbucks.
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You must live in Theoreticaland.
- skinnyinvestor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have to say that many people don't pay attention to the actual cost of credit. Financial companies that offer creative credit alternatives like "Do not pay for one full year" etc. often reap huge rewards in terms of the interest rate charged on the purchase.
All people seem to care about these days is if they can afford the monthly payment. They don't care or don't know that the $600.00 couch that they bought for $50/month over 36 months actaully cost them $1800.00. It is sad, but it is our own ignorance that allows these organizations to thrive using these "easy credit" programs. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Federal Reserve policy destroys the value of your savings:
http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2006/tst071006.htm
And that's just one of the vast number of problems they create. - Fijufic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sage advice
- skinnyinvestor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree. Living below one's means is an effective way to reach early retirment. However, there must be a balance between saving for retirement and enjoying the present. Finding that balance is the key to a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Great Comment! - AdverseE, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just a small tip: If you're credit cards have an APR of 18% to 26%, get a new credit card or call your credit card company and get them to lower it. I mean, most credit card offers for people with good credit offer APR's of about 7%-10%. (Of course, if you've missed payments or have a bad credit history, you're screwed.)
- mousky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Then how do you expect people to buy a house or even a car? Debt in of itself is not the problem. It's the amount of debt and the lack of any financial cushion during unforseen 'bad' spells that is the problem. Debt can be very good when used properly.
- CutClose, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I aint gon' be broke no more!!!! You saved me from hittin the street corner….thank you Digg!
- NanoStuff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Actually US debt is 8.84 Trillion.
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html
Last time I checked it was 8.5, wow. They sure love spending non-existant money. -
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