Saving Dough

What do you do to save money? Eat cheaply? Avoid impulse buys?

Or maybe you don't really save. What do you do to get by when your wallet is tight?

Do share.

I'm so bad with my money, but I do eat cheep.

i simply try avoiding spending.
buy just when i really need it.
i don't impulse buy.

Less drinkin/partying and less gambling, two good ways to save dough

I look at how much I make, look at what I have to spend money on monthly (rent, insurance, car payments, utilities, food, etc) and deduct that. Think about how much I want to save and put that money away so I don't spend it as easily. Then I see what I am left with and consider what it is I want to buy.

I don't impulse buy unless I know I can do so and I make sure that the bills always come first. I also am looking to buy a place in the future so I figured I would save as much as possible since materialistic items are just that and a home is more important in the long-run. Just a matter of priorities.

Sell more stuff. Turn a trick.

When I was an English teacher it was easy to save because I got paid monthly lump sums. So I could just take a chunk off the top and there wouldn't really be an easy way for me to overspend.

But normally I just plan purchases. I don't have any really expensive hobbies or habits so instead of just buying games as they come out I'll pick one or two games for a certain period of time and limit myself to that. I'll also stop buying luxury stuff (fancier meals and alcohol and stuff).

I think as a general practice to slim down your budget (compared to just saving short term for a certain purchase) it helps to make an actual budget, plan your hobby related purchases, cut out bad habits (stuff like smoking and drinking heavily but also stuff like unplanned eating out), and learn to cook.

Basic saving principles which have been mentioned in above posts. If you're trying to save on your utility bills, there's always ways to conserve water, electricity, and natural gas.

When I do impulse buy I make sure it's a cheap one.

Deposit money to an account I never use. When I do get money in my account that I use, the saved money is gone already like it never existed.

Put it in the bank, try to forget about it, and hope the economy doesn't collapse(again). That's what I do.

Basically have planned out how much I spend each month on bills and food and then the rest of what I make I either save or spend. This month is a saving month so I cannot go out and buy anything randomly.

build a spending chart and stick to it
mine for example
25% bills
15% hidden under mattress
12.5% 401k
10% savings account
37.5% play money/food

My general rule with money is to keep at least 10,000 hidden away for a rainy day when the car breaks down or when the ac goes out.
And downsizing is probably the easiest way to save money
My mortgage is around 1500 a month, but because I live less then a mile from work. If I needed to I could save around 400 a month on a car and 200 a month on insurance.
You just have have to live within your means
an put away something be it 5 dollars a week or 500.

To save money on gas, I only use my car to buy groceries. Its rare for me to get into trouble with food or bills, even if I end up buying stuff impulsively. Bills are all paid the first of the month, and I purchase back up supplies of meal replacement shakes that last for a month in case something comes up and I can't buy regular food. The rest of my money goes towards the savings account, gold coins, and entertainment.

Well main thing i dont do is smoke. Average pack of smokes here is 10$ a pack. Smoke a pack a day and it adds up.

Also the fact i don't drive for now saves me money on insurance and gas.

i save well... i eat garbage(mc doanalds)and hardly do anything or buy stuff to save, i do buy stuff i dont need every now and then but not much, saving for a house takes dedication lol almost there, worth 4 years of nothing but work

Calculate income and expenses, create budget, don't go over budget. Make sure you have a float to handle paying off the entire budget for at least two months.

Basic stuff, really; I'm always amazed at how many people don't do this yet complain that they're always broke and don't have enough money. Of course you're not going to have enough money if you don't even have a solid idea of what you're spending it on.

i work on a budget system
paid around 400 per paycheck every two weeks
120 rent
60 gas
60-80 food
20 pepsi (a MUST buy every pay)
50 locked away in savings box
around 100 for whatever each pay

thanks to me saving up i just bought most of the parts i need to build a new computer

I try to avoid impulse buys and when going out to eat I try to order cheap items.

I have a certain amount I can spend monthly, but I've been really bad with it the last 3 months.