Saving Money, Troublesome Money

Saving money is always a problem isn't it? I have spent many hours thinking about how to earn, get or just plan save more money.

Well for the earning part, I got a job. That's easy enough, right?

Getting money without really working for it is a few and far between happening. But it does happen. It's never happened to me though!

The thing I have been most successful at is saving money. Of course, you have to have the money before you can save it. And since I have a job now, I have at least a little money to practice saving with. :)

My tips for saving money to you would go something like this:

1. Put your money in the bank! Don't keep it at home or in your wallet where it is constently tempting you and telling you, "One ice cream cone won't deplete your funds so much that you can't pay your bills. And besides, you have worked so hard today, you deserve a treat!" No sir! Put your money in the bank where it's at least a little bit of a hassle to get out.

Now, you see I don't own a credit card so I don't have to worry about that. But for those of you who do, I would suggest that you put a limit on it so that it stops working after a set amount of money has been spent per month.

2.Eat at home! Plan you meals week by week. Then when you buy groceries you know exactly what you need and don't buy extra stuff that you won't use till grama comes to visit and will have gone bad by then anyway.

3. Order water! When a group of friends are going out to eat, of course you want to go too. And you should go, just don't order food, order water. Chances are, that someone will have left over food and would be happy for it not to go to waste and be glad to let you finish it for them. Also you could sit next to a very picky eater, they always have good food that for some reason or another don't like or want.

Then you won't starve, though you may not have had as much as you would have liked to have, and you will still enjoy the company of you friends. And hey, if no one happens to have left over food or food they don't want, it's not so bad to skip a meal.

Also with this, you won't think later after a few times of missing out with your friends, "Hey, I have not eaten out for sooo long! I think I will stuff my face tonight at a really nice restaurant to reward myself!"

4. Budget! Everyone's paycheck and bills are diffrent. But by all means, find a system that works for you.

5. Set goals! Set a goal of saving money, say, $5,000. Say to yourself, "After I get 5,000 saved, I'm going to take $200 of it and buy a table. We have needed a new one so long." Unless, of course, you're saving for a trip. You won't need to reward yourself, your reward will be going on the long awaited trip.

Read Sarah's other great tips after her saving money advice.