What are good tips for saving money?

[Anonymous]

I’m really bad at saving money. I need to learn to budget. What’s a good starting point?

[Chazmatazz269]

If you ever use cash, never give exact change. Save everything that jingles in a piggy bank. I save singles too. It adds up faster than you think. Use direct deposit for paychecks and set it up to automatically send a certain amount into an IRA for which you’re penalized if you withdraw money, and another amount that goes into regular savings that you can tap into “in case of emergency”, so you don’t have to use a credit card. Avoid revolving credit like the plague.
You might also have other savings options through your employer like 401(k), vacation or holiday savings.

[WaterIsland]

Make a plan. Download a budgeting app. And work towards small improvements. You won’t get it overnight. But the goal is to write down how much money you make every month, and what you spend each month (food, rent, hobbies, utilities, etc). Then ensure that every dollar you earn, has a goal and is going towards something specific. Even if that’s savings. Then throughout the month, stay within those limits. If you can’t, then adjust the categories to make the numbers work. And each month do a new budget.

[UniquelyBasic]

Keep track of what you pay for. So write down everything you pay for such as bills, food or anything else to see where you can cut back. That's a good place to start.

[AnonGiraffe]

Make a budget. Cut the pork. If you have $800 leftover put half into savings never to touch until emergency.

[exitseven]

Save money every week. Put a preset amount of money into a savings account every week. do not make impulsive purchases.

[Wise4myage]

Have 10% of your paycheck put into a savings account, and don't touch it.

[slatyb]

List everyone you spent last month.

[Guy13]

Take the first 15-20% of each check

[WaterIsland]

This isn’t bad advice. But it’s also not this simple. Writing down a specific plan and creating a budget is far more effective. Most financial issues come from disorganization and not having a plan. You see it all the time when lottery winners go broke in a year or two. With all that money, how could they go broke? Because they didn’t have a plan or budget. The reason that universally saying 15-20% doesn’t work, is because every situation is different. No one spends the exact same amounts on each category and everyone’s goals are different. It’s best to develop a budget and plan specific to you.

[jamesgoldman]

Pay yourself first

[KrakenAttackin]

Find a man to pay your bills. Problem solved.

[Asker]

I’m not doing that. I’d rather struggle than marry for money.

[KrakenAttackin]

You can download budgeting software.