Of course my MOM got me on this thought train, who better to tell me I’m “living paycheck to paycheck,” and wasting my money on “going out binges.” What does that even mean? Are we a generation that doesn’t care about saving? We all, for the most part, work very hard, even feel entitled to raises and promotions (perhaps too soon), are we this jaded?
Whether your answer to that is a YES or a NO, let’s spend sometime thinking about it.
Food for thought this weekend: how can you (start to) save more money?
My mom’s right- I could probably not go out the 2-3 times I do between each paycheck, where I may not be so frugal, but let’s be HONEST. I’m young, only live once… blah blah blah. Why wouldn’t I go out and have some fun, drop some dough.. lol.
My major set back, were a couple of credit cards I racked up in college/ working at Bloomingdales (the devil.) Long story short is after I realized the APR on both was kicking my behind , I combined them on one 0%APR through December 2011. GOAL: is to pay it off by then. So, a major chunk of my checks go to that bill… what can I do if on top of that I pay my cell phone, car, gas, insurance, MTA, eating and “binge partying?”
One of my new tricks? Cash (vs my poor over-swiped debit card.) Something I’m not comfortable with, but worked last month, this way I promise myself I’ll only spend the cash I have- I was able to save a little extra last month doing this, so it’s something I highly recommend.
Otherwise, here are some other ideas via ZenHabits:
1a. Start tracking your spending.
1b. Cut up, freeze up, hide the plastic.
2. Start saving now!
3. Look at ‘*discretionary spending’.
4. Start a debt snowball, to start getting out of it, if you’re in it.
5. Make a budget.
6. Automate bills.
7. Save for your irregular (binge partying) expenses.
8. Try the *envelope system? (weird, but may work.)
9. Start thinking about your goals, and planning for them.
Let’s catch up after this weekend, let me know if you thought about it AT ALL, and what you’re planning to do if you have the
Slippers & Vino 
Since I been working I put a certain amount of money away. I have my direct deposit split into two. so a small percentage goes away before I even see it. I budget and play around with the remaining this also include my spending money. With my bills like my loan I want to be done by a certain amount so I’ll figure out what are the payments I need to make and go from there.
Budgeting is my favorite thing to do as an adult lol
If I may make a suggestion… start using Mint.com. It is a great site and really helps you track your spending, budgeting, long term goals, and due dates. It takes a little time to set up initially but once you are done, it is easy as pie. They also have an iPhone/pod/pad app.
I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately, and I’d recommend *Smart Girls Finish Rich*, its like $1 on Amazon, it may be cheaper, but it shows you how to save a little and it compounds overtime for retirement. I know what you mean about indulging while you’re young, but you can use your Starbucks money to save a fortune over time.