Just did a quick skim of the above advice, which seems pretty good for finding some extra money in your budget. I'd say though that once you have some extra money, don't save it right away. Instead do the following.

1) Pay off all credit card debt in full. That's more important than trying to kick start your savings. If you're paying a credit card company high interest rates, it totally eliminates any gains from what your savings earn.

2) Pay off c.cards fastest by calculating which card (or other debt) you can pay off first. Let's say for example you're able to save $500 per month based on the other changes you're making. Take that $500 and make it an extra payment on whichever card you can pay off in the fewest months using that $500 as an extra payment on that card each month. The interest rate being charged on the debt is NOT really important. Just divide the balance owed by the additional payment and pick the smallest number.

Then, when the first card is paid off, take that $500 PLUS whatever the payment was on the card use that total to pay off the next card with the shortest payoff horizon. So if the original payment on the c.card was say $100, once it's paid off take the $500 + $100 = $600 dollars you now have and put that as an extra payment on the next debt on the list that you can payoff the quickest.

Repeat until all high cost debt is paid off.

Once you have your high cost debt paid off, then you can start saving the initial $500 amount, plus the amount you were paying every month on all the other debts.

Pick one credit card if you want and run all your monthly groceries, petrol, etc. through that card - but be absolutely sure you pay it off in full every month. That way you don't get charged any interest for using the card.

This will get you to the maximum savings in the least amount time, with the only assumption being that your savings rate of return now is less that what you're paying in interest rates on your high cost debt.

quote:

Originally posted by Dan:
Pick one credit card if you want and run all your monthly groceries, petrol, etc. through that card - but be absolutely sure you pay it off in full every month. That way you don't get charged any interest for using the card.

I like this approach because it's simple and it doesn't expose you to the possibility of being charged not only interest, but a late fee, if you just have a disorganized month and pay it a day late. Using multiple cards just multiplies that risk.

If you can arrange for this card to be one with incentives that pay you back in cash, even better. Airline miles, discounts for luxury purchases, and restaurant gift cards are appealing bonuses that credit card companies use to get your business, but sometimes the miles go to waste or you end up spending money for an item or meal that you wouldn't have bought. Cash is cash, and those 1 to 5% kickbacks add up.

Check electric bill to see if there another supplier that may offer lower rates. There is only one electric company that can deliver electricity to your home, but there may be options to source the electricity from different generator/supplier thanks to deregulation that gave rise to Enron. Maybe there is some money saving opportunity there that you may be able to take advantage of. Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Anna:

quote:

Originally posted by Dan:
Pick one credit card if you want and run all your monthly groceries, petrol, etc. through that card - but be absolutely sure you pay it off in full every month. That way you don't get charged any interest for using the card.

I like this approach because it's simple and it doesn't expose you to the possibility of being charged not only interest, but a late fee, if you just have a disorganized month and pay it a day late.

If you can arrange for this card to be one with incentives that pay you back in cash, even better. Airline miles, discounts for luxury purchases, and restaurant gift cards are appealing bonuses that credit card companies use to get your business, but sometimes the miles go to waste or you end up spending money for an item or meal that you wouldn't have bought. Cash is cash, and those 1 to 5% kickbacks add up.

You also often get nice bookkeeping options with CC payments, and you can dispute charges on your CC.

What Steve, SK and Dan said is my go to..

I have paid off two mortgages early by playing a pay off game. If you only pay a few bucks but just bring your balance to end in zeros..that was my 'game'. Sometimes that is five bucks sometimes $99 bucks..If you can do it online, do it whenever you can to pay down the principle balance. Every dollar of principle paid down is that much less the interest is applied to.

If I got a windfall (bonus, lottery ticket , gift) , my plan was always to split it..1/3 to mortgage, 1/3 to pay off debt, 1/3 to savings.

And little things add up..cook at home for one.

But also here in our area of Massachusetts, our public libraries have museum passes. Aside from borrowing books for free, you can borrow passes to all sorts of venues, sometimes free, sometimes for greatly reduced prices.

Last for me was cell phones...plans are better now but when I divorced I was stuck with a $189/month plan for me and Shorty. The MINUTE that plan expired, I went for a low cost carrier..the two if us went to $70/month with no significant change in plan.

Pull the cable plug...There is tons to watch online, if you must watch a series, sign up for month or two then cancel.

This all brings back memories of how I saved up, at age 24, to get enough money for a down payment on a house. (Back then, 1984, I needed $10K, about 20% of house cost.)

My friend and I would play a game..We would go as many days as we could to NOT spend any money...So if we were going out on a Saturday night, she might bring over stuff from her fridge and we would cook together before we went out. We would use subway tokens we had bought at the beginning of the month for transport and our entertainment was walking around downtown Cambridge listening to great street musicians and meeting all sorts of people on the street.

I guess the bottom line is gamify it!

Thanks again, everyone! BeeLady the “game” element is what Rob and I are doing. We also have everything in Mint and Quicken (I prefer Mint be he prefers Quicken) so we are seeing and tracking and discussing everything. We have found a few small but repeating items that way!

I know this is probably not for everyone, but we have signed up to use our insurance company’s driving app which tracks how our driving is and then gives us discounts. I know that there are privacy concerns there but it was a significant enough savings for us that we felt it was worth it!

Dol, speaking of driving...not sure if so in Canada..but if you are safe drivers and can have a bit in savings in reserve...Insure yourself by opting for the highest deductible.

My car deductible is $1000..I figure if my car is damaged below that I will just fix it myself...not bring the insurance into it.

By upping your deductible, you can lower your insurance premiums.

That said, talk to your agent as you can also bundle your car and home insurance under the same plan (with the same high deductible) and save quite bit.

If you are careful person, have a reasonable savings in reserve just in case, you can save quite a bit.

Another I am not sure applies to you...Property taxes...

I challenged a property tax assessment in years past as I thought it was WAY high. I went to town hall and looked up my neighbor's homes assessments that were used in comparison...Turns out...I was taxed appropriately for what I had but my neighbors were not (they had building projects that were never added to the tax rolls).

A bit obtuse BUT...the lost tax dollars from those bad assessments would have been put on me and others in our tax bills...

Oh and buy used things..just sayin'.

When you are about to check out of the grocery store, examine your cart and put back three items you don’t really need.

Drop Verizon and go with Consumer Cellular. Buy used cell phones or keep your phones until they no longer work.

Raise your homeowners deductible as high as it can be because it is risky to file small claims.

See if you can get by with one car plus Lyft.

Oh, and become a vegetarian.

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Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Oh, and become a vegetarian.

And work for an urban farm that provides all veg to staff..just sayin' (but also sacrifices salary relative to corporate norms) .

Do what you can and make the purchases you do make matter...It might cost more, but you could spend it once, rather than spending on cheap stuff over and over again.

It is never about price, but about value.

Cindy’s right. And I never readjusted my food purchasing when the kids left home. Plus, we’re eating less. I still tend to overbuy. I need to recalibrate.

I get the psychological trick of having one less credit card by paying off the lowest balance one first, but from a strictly financial standpoint, it makes more sense to pay off the highest interest rate one first. Make minimum payments on all but the highest interest one, then put all available cash to the high one.

I am not trying to sound sanctimonious, but I have not had a balance on any credit card for 20 years, and that was only because I put $8000 of a car on a card, then paid it off in three months (beware the rolling three month average when you do this). I have not had a balance on more than one card for over 25 years. I don’t buy anything I can’t pay off at the end of the month.

I had $20,000 of credit card debt when I graduated from college in the late 80s (that was a lot of money then). As soon as I had an income, I started paying it off very aggressively. I haven’t carried unsecured debt since then.

Never run the dishwasher or clothes washer with less than a full load. Run the dryer on low heat, dry things long enough to get the wrinkles out, then hang them up to finish drying.

My experience with cell phones is limited, but I’m a little skittish about a used phone. But, shortly before Apple stopped making the iPhone 5S, we bought two of them for $300 each brand new… about half the price of the new model.

You all inspired me to save some money.

I cancelled HBO. Savings of $15.

Cancelled New Yorker. Savings $60 a year.

Changed Nyt to be $12/four weeks from $25.

Cancelled NYDaily News saved $15 a month.

These changes cover my Peloton subscription, which I actually do use.