So What Are You Doing To Save Money?

[Ed Oscuro]

working at a restaurant where I ear for free everyday.

Yum, ear. :D

I'm still buying things though, but I it's mostly mvs carts and other sought after console games that tend to not lose much of their value..... right?

I can quit whenever I want baby!

Depends on the game...I think most titles have lost about as much value as they ever will. Of course the expensive games might stand to lose the most value as people will panic in a recession (or even a Depression) and sell things at bargain prices - I rather hope nobody's forced into that position, but now's the time to get a game if you have the money. Less competition on the 'Bay and all that.

[KindGrind]

You all talk about hair - I bought a clipper 8 or 9 years back, best 30$ ever spent. I do the thing myself once a week or so. Then again, the g/f goes twice as much to the salon... and it seems for them it's never under 60$ a pop. So am I really saving?

[jonny5]

lolz.....i cant remember the last time i had my hair cut by anyone other than myself.....

at least 15 years i think........

i tend to save money by not spending it .....but more often than not i end up spending it anyways

im the worst....

[Dragoforce]

I stopped cutting my hair and I only trim my beard with a scissor. I'm starting to look like my viking ancestors, but that's only cool.... I hope.

[Lordstar]

I bought a 360 and XBL. A game a month saves me a lot more cash than trying to entertain myself at the weekends. All them drugs, hookers and hotel rooms stack up pretty fast ya know.

[nash87]

This also gives me the opportunity to catch up on old favourites or watch ten episodes of King Of Queens in a row.

I'm hoping you're not talking about the american TV show. I don't know how anyone can watch a single episode of it.

I save money by eating ramen noodles and totinos pizza. i only get 1 or 2 hair cuts a year and make sure to get it done by a friend, i pay her in favors

Unfortunately, GP always seems to end up with all my moneyz

[Frederik]

This also gives me the opportunity to catch up on old favourites or watch ten episodes of King Of Queens in a row.

I'm hoping you're not talking about the american TV show. I don't know how anyone can watch a single episode of it.

No, I´m talking about the 1960s german transgender rollerskate drama of the same name. It´s awesome.

[jonny5]

This also gives me the opportunity to catch up on old favourites or watch ten episodes of King Of Queens in a row.

I'm hoping you're not talking about the american TV show. I don't know how anyone can watch a single episode of it.

No, I´m talking about the 1960s german transgender rollerskate drama of the same name. It´s awesome.

L-O-fuckin-L...those crazy german bastards....what will they think of next

[Acid King]

I only drive when I have to do an errand or go to work, which is like one or two days a week, tops. I take public transport, which I can take for free, to school and one of my jobs. Stopped drinking so much, though I am going to go and grab some bottles of Kate the Great when it is released monday morning.

[KindGrind]

Wow, just looking at the pic/description I'm drooling.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

You all talk about hair - I bought a clipper 8 or 9 years back, best 30$ ever spent. I do the thing myself once a week or so. Then again, the g/f goes twice as much to the salon... and it seems for them it's never under 60$ a pop. So am I really saving?

Tell her you like her natural look better.

[Ed Oscuro]

Or just shave her while she sleeps >)

[maxlords]

So far, what I've been doing to save money:

1. No longer buying alcohol. I was spending maybe $30 a month on it...down to zero.

2. Exercising. You wouldn't think this would save ya money...but it turns out that I no longer WANT alcohol, or a lot of junk food I used to when I wasn't exercising. It also means I'm often too tired to want to do anything else that costs money

3. No longer buying junk food. No fast food. No soda. No chips or candy bars. The exercising helps. I figured out that I was spending $10-15 a week on that stuff, so $40-60 when I'd grab a snack stopping for gas, too busy to toss together a meal, etc.

4. Downloading stuff. I'm currently downloading audio books, movies, TV shows, music, comics, and even *ugh* games. I've been forced to tell myself that I can't buy DVDs or Blu-Rays anymore, or CDs. I'm only DLing PC games though, and only a couple I wanted to try. Mostly they're cheap anyway, but I don't want to spend $10 on a game that I don't like at this point so it's more of a try it and see thing. I had plans to buy a bunch of DVDs and they've all been shelved. I'll have to tolerate the lower quality DLs for now.

5. Limiting game buying. I was going to put a freeze on game buying completely, but EB Canada has this sweet deal where you can trade 3 and get one free....and all the titles that qualify are complete junk that I can pick up for $5-15 a game. And here the new ones you can get for free with the deal are $70 + tax each. So I've spent something like $100 in the last 2 weeks on used games...but I've gotten over $300 in credit. I've already paid for the RE5 LE, FEAR 2, Devil Summoner 2, Fire Emblem DS, and a couple of other items. When I can't get any more cheap games for the deal, I'm done buying games, but my local mini-mart hooks me up Hell...picked up Dead Rising for $5 today, and it's good for that deal.

6. Liquidating trade stock. I've been selling off stuff I'm not going to play and extra trade stock at cost to genereate fluid cash rather than have it sitting here. I've also been buying items to resell....cheap ones of course.

7. Cutting back on weekend outings. My wife and I both like to shop. We're avoiding going places where we're likely to spend money. She's gotten irritated a few times, but oh well.

I think that's most of what I've been doing. I'll be hitting the yard sales pretty hard this year for stuff to sell online as well. I'm trying to convince my wife not to spend as much on haircuts...she's at around $60+ a visit and she wants to go monthly still. I've gotten her up to 6 weeks, and working on 2 months.

Other than that, aside from a radical lifestyle and diet change, there's not a whole lot else I can change. I even cut back my retirement fund contributions to free up a bit of extra cash. I'm only putting in what my company matches now. Bleah. I'm still putting $ into mutual funds, but only $35 a week, and with them so low right now, and the fund I'm in essentially stable, it'll be worth it down the road for the number of shares I'm picking up, even if it's inconvenient now.

[neorichieb1971]

Just sleep more, find a woman that wants to save as well and have long nights in having lots of sex.

You guys crack me up with haircuts and soy sauce. How can saving a few cents make a difference? If your in that situation your either in the wrong field of work or your up to your eyeballs in debt. Perhaps your outgoings are too high?

I'm just living with my mother right now. Since my quality of life is more important than owning my own home. I'd rather put up with the shit i get about living with mum than getting CC companies calling me night and day wanting my ass.

At the moment my savings are going through the roof since I don't spend bugger all. What I Do spend is on rare blu ray steelbooks that accumulate in value, some cave kits that aren't likely to drop much below the price I paid. Although stranger things have happened, like the £ being $1.30 the other day.

Be picky with what you buy and try to buy things that won't devaluate. Make your inventory your bank account if you must. Then you might be able to ebay some stuff for a haircut and soy sauce upgrade.

[elfhentaifan]

-having my hair cut by friends
-being not-smoker
-not visiting ebay
-pirating
-using tricks (uh..) to go cheaper by train
-gammeln

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

You guys crack me up with haircuts and soy sauce. How can saving a few cents make a difference? If your in that situation your either in the wrong field of work or your up to your eyeballs in debt. Perhaps your outgoings are too high?

It costs me $13 for a no-frills haircut once or more a month and I'm sure it costs other people more. Suppose you go twice a month and it costs you $20 per visit. That is $480 dollars a year. Now, that's cost in $$ signs. How about the time you spend going there, waiting for your turn, etc. A total of let's say 1 1/2 to 2 hours per trip. Don't understimate the damn pennies.

I'm definitely not spending too much, but shit like I don't know, bills, food, and some cash for the parents eat a lot of my salary and I gotta prepare just in case more shit hits the fan. A thousand or two less expenses a year from little things count.

[jonny5]

Just sleep more, find a woman that wants to save as well and have long nights in having lots of sex.

You guys crack me up with haircuts and soy sauce. How can saving a few cents make a difference? If your in that situation your either in the wrong field of work or your up to your eyeballs in debt. Perhaps your outgoings are too high?

I'm just living with my mother right now. Since my quality of life is more important than owning my own home. I'd rather put up with the shit i get about living with mum than getting CC companies calling me night and day wanting my ass.

At the moment my savings are going through the roof since I don't spend bugger all. What I Do spend is on rare blu ray steelbooks that accumulate in value, some cave kits that aren't likely to drop much below the price I paid. Although stranger things have happened, like the £ being $1.30 the other day.

Be picky with what you buy and try to buy things that won't devaluate. Make your inventory your bank account if you must. Then you might be able to ebay some stuff for a haircut and soy sauce upgrade.

if 1971 is your BD then you are almost 40 and living at home with your mother....i think your point of view is somewhat different than someone with responsibilities and living expenses.....

i think a lot of us would have lots more money to save if we didnt have to pay bills or rent.....

as for the haircutting thing....i dont do this to save money...i just dont see the point of paying somebody to do soemthing i can do myself in the dark without a mirror like shaving my head.....

when posed with the topic question this was one of the few things i could think of that i do that saves me money.....i think this is the case for most with this response.....

the only thing i consciously do to save money is not spend it....

[Khan]

Save money?....what the hell is that?

(said in dodgy brooklyn accent)

NEVER ERD OF THA BUM!

[neorichieb1971]

Just sleep more, find a woman that wants to save as well and have long nights in having lots of sex.

You guys crack me up with haircuts and soy sauce. How can saving a few cents make a difference? If your in that situation your either in the wrong field of work or your up to your eyeballs in debt. Perhaps your outgoings are too high?

I'm just living with my mother right now. Since my quality of life is more important than owning my own home. I'd rather put up with the shit i get about living with mum than getting CC companies calling me night and day wanting my ass.

At the moment my savings are going through the roof since I don't spend bugger all. What I Do spend is on rare blu ray steelbooks that accumulate in value, some cave kits that aren't likely to drop much below the price I paid. Although stranger things have happened, like the £ being $1.30 the other day.

Be picky with what you buy and try to buy things that won't devaluate. Make your inventory your bank account if you must. Then you might be able to ebay some stuff for a haircut and soy sauce upgrade.

if 1971 is your BD then you are almost 40 and living at home with your mother....i think your point of view is somewhat different than someone with responsibilities and living expenses.....

i think a lot of us would have lots more money to save if we didnt have to pay bills or rent.....

as for the haircutting thing....i dont do this to save money...i just dont see the point of paying somebody to do soemthing i can do myself in the dark without a mirror like shaving my head.....

when posed with the topic question this was one of the few things i could think of that i do that saves me money.....i think this is the case for most with this response.....

the only thing i consciously do to save money is not spend it....

I used to have the expense of running a family/household but I felt like I had two cannon balls chained to my ankles. I only went forward the way society told me I should (Grow up, educate ones self, get a job, buy a house, get laid until babies pop out, get married etc).

Then I realized something was fundamentally wrong. I was unhappy with that arrangement. I was working overtime and having the same sort of pennies you guys have to spend. Then I thought WTF is going on?

As soon as my ex wife put me in a worse situation than I deserved (no amount of overtime was curing these problems) I let her find a richer man to deal with it. Since then its been all about me and my life. My life goal isn't to populate an over populated world, its to have fun, look at big numbers in my bank account and say to the world "I can do what I want, can you?"

By following society you effectively trap yourself into giving up your freedoms. I'm happier having consumer freedom than I am calling some land my own. Most of my friends are following suit. There isn't time in this life to be screwing around being miserable.


I would advise most of you 20 somethings to stick close to family. Be productive and offer your services to them. Stick close to home (mom/dad) and put yourself in a position of not being expendable. If you want to buy a house, think of how a price drop of 30% of that property would affect your life savings!! It could cripple you overnight. If you want to buy a house, make sure you put 80% down on it and don't trust anyone with your money you couldn't trust with your life.

[Turrican]

Just sleep more, find a woman that wants to save as well and have long nights in having lots of sex.

You guys crack me up with haircuts and soy sauce. How can saving a few cents make a difference? If your in that situation your either in the wrong field of work or your up to your eyeballs in debt. Perhaps your outgoings are too high?

I'm just living with my mother right now. Since my quality of life is more important than owning my own home. I'd rather put up with the shit i get about living with mum than getting CC companies calling me night and day wanting my ass.

At the moment my savings are going through the roof since I don't spend bugger all. What I Do spend is on rare blu ray steelbooks that accumulate in value, some cave kits that aren't likely to drop much below the price I paid. Although stranger things have happened, like the £ being $1.30 the other day.

Be picky with what you buy and try to buy things that won't devaluate. Make your inventory your bank account if you must. Then you might be able to ebay some stuff for a haircut and soy sauce upgrade.

if 1971 is your BD then you are almost 40 and living at home with your mother....i think your point of view is somewhat different than someone with responsibilities and living expenses.....

i think a lot of us would have lots more money to save if we didnt have to pay bills or rent.....

as for the haircutting thing....i dont do this to save money...i just dont see the point of paying somebody to do soemthing i can do myself in the dark without a mirror like shaving my head.....

when posed with the topic question this was one of the few things i could think of that i do that saves me money.....i think this is the case for most with this response.....

the only thing i consciously do to save money is not spend it....

I used to have the expense of running a family/household but I felt like I had two cannon balls chained to my ankles. I only went forward the way society told me I should (Grow up, educate ones self, get a job, buy a house, get laid until babies pop out, get married etc).

Then I realized something was fundamentally wrong. I was unhappy with that arrangement. I was working overtime and having the same sort of pennies you guys have to spend. Then I thought WTF is going on?

As soon as my ex wife put me in a worse situation than I deserved (no amount of overtime was curing these problems) I let her find a richer man to deal with it. Since then its been all about me and my life. My life goal isn't to populate an over populated world, its to have fun, look at big numbers in my bank account and say to the world "I can do what I want, can you?"

By following society you effectively trap yourself into giving up your freedoms. I'm happier having consumer freedom than I am calling some land my own. Most of my friends are following suit. There isn't time in this life to be screwing around being miserable.


I would advise most of you 20 somethings to stick close to family. Be productive and offer your services to them. Stick close to home (mom/dad) and put yourself in a position of not being expendable. If you want to buy a house, think of how a price drop of 30% of that property would affect your life savings!! It could cripple you overnight. If you want to buy a house, make sure you put 80% down on it and don't trust anyone with your money you couldn't trust with your life.

It's all perfectly legitimate and sounds lotsa fun, but arguably some would look for less drastic measures before that... It's not like everyone's solution to the crisis is "find a richer man for the wife" - although if that worked for you, hey, props.

I think that saving pennies on the mustard and the haircut are more broadly acceptable advices. I hope the crisis doesn't last so long that we'll have to dump bigger things than games and soy sauce.

[neorichieb1971]

My advice is for those who want to dive in with 95% + mortgages at 20 something years old. Its a lifetimes work with no guarantee's. I just don't want anyone to find the road to hell that I found.

Women won't stick by a man that has to do 3 jobs or lots of overtime no matter if kids are involved. It all seems rosey and peachy at the beginning but it only takes a lay off from work and suddenly.....well you know the rest.


I will say that if your confident you can make it through the rules of society and doing the right thing then great. But for most of us its highly unlikely to be smooth road ahead. Recent times has taught us that the system can break quite easily, that people who do the honorable rightful thing are first to be slammed into the wall. I don't want this to happen to anyone.

For most people in this thread, buying a home seems a long way off anyways. With most people saving money from haircuts and buying Gradius 5 instead. But eventually that "settling down" feeling will sink into you. You will be tempted to purchase lots of things you can't realistically afford even if you can.. Your just made to believe you can. Stick on the safe side of the road and you'll be ok.

[Frederik]

3. No longer buying junk food. No fast food. No soda. No chips or candy bars. The exercising helps. I figured out that I was spending $10-15 a week on that stuff, so $40-60 when I'd grab a snack stopping for gas, too busy to toss together a meal, etc.

Exactly. The more processed food is the more expensive it becomes. Sometimes it really gets ridiculous, like these plastic-cup soups where there´s almost nothing in it and therefore don´t fill you up at all. And the interesting with junk food (especially sugar-based) is that when I started eating them less and less, I also stopped craving them as much. It seems that you can actually get addicted to sugar and fat.

Cheap food I like is making my own daal (yellow mung beans with curry paste), pasta or my main food staple: Oatmeal. I used to eat that as my breakfast, putting oatmeal, milk and some sugar in the mixer and gulp it down, but later on when I discovered that I slowly got fatter this way I switched to just adding water to the oatmeal and blend that. Most people think it´s disgusting, but it really fills you with complex carbohydrates and proteins, and it´s ridiculously cheap and very healthy and doesn´t taste that bad, unless you let it sit there for a couple of minutes and it turns into some kind of slime. It´s basically just an oatmeal "shake". It´s also a very good basic nutrition when you´re traveling and need something that is relatively light and doesn´t need cooling or much preparation.

It also helps that I´m usually VERY hungry in the morning and way to lazy to make something more complex than that.

Oh, another way to save money on music aside from pirating it are music podcasts. I discovered drum´n´bass arena that has tons of great 1-hour mixes on it that keeps me busy for months. That mostly applies to eletronic music, obviously. But there are still lots of unknown bands who offer their music to be downloaded for free.

My advice is for those who want to dive in with 95% + mortgages at 20 something years old. Its a lifetimes work with no guarantee's. I just don't want anyone to find the road to hell that I found.

Yeah, there isn´t much point in buying a house when you´re so busy paying it off that you almost never actually ARE at home.

[jonny5]

i agree with most of what you are saying richie....im of the same mind i think....to a degree

i dont have lines of credit, zero debt and i rent....no intentions of 'settling down' or buying a home.....ever.....thankfully the g/f is of the same mind....

i dont own a car or drive either

now i will be honest...i dont really save.....i tend to spend my money as i get it...which is silly, but at least i live within my means and dont go into debt.....

tbh i really dont pay attention to money.....i if need more than i have i sell stuff i dont need to make the purchase....

i also beleive that the most important thing is to be happy in life, so most of what i do spend goes towards PCB's, cabs,etc......entertainment....which if need be can be liquidated into ready cash again at any time

in this day and age the future is so uncertain i dont plan more than a month in advance.....let alone 10 years

[CIT]

i also beleive that the most important thing is to be happy in life, so most of what i do spend goes towards PCB's, cabs,etc......entertainment....which if need be can be liquidated into ready cash again at any time

That's what is good about a hobby like arcade gaming or old videogames. You're really only converting your money into assets.

Other people have hobbies such as eating out, drinking, clubbing, drugs, hookers, travelling, skydiving, going to spas, what have you. But their money is gone forever once they've spent it.

[jonny5]

i also beleive that the most important thing is to be happy in life, so most of what i do spend goes towards PCB's, cabs,etc......entertainment....which if need be can be liquidated into ready cash again at any time

That's what is good about a hobby like arcade gaming or old videogames. You're really only converting your money into assets.

Other people have hobbies such as eating out, drinking, clubbing, drugs, hookers, travelling, skydiving, going to spas, what have you. But their money is gone forever once they've spent it.

exactly....im not spending money...im investing it.....and its an investment i can play

least thats what i tell the missus ...its true tho....

[kozo]

- Not owning new consoles (I don't have a problem with them or people who use them: I just don't have them and can't afford to use them right now!)
- Buying less packaged/premade food, cooking more at home, finding deals
- Not buying anything without a sale, coupon or discount
- Double checking costs so as to not get scammed on "deals"
- Cheap/free entertainment (internet streams of Colbert, SNL, Office, etc)
- Getting in shape without any equipment (jogging, jumping jacks, situps, pushups)
- Driving less, hypermiling, owning an old beat up Honda Civic
- Splitting shipping costs by ordering stuff online with friends
- Upgraded old computer for work needs for much less than buying a new one, and can sell old parts
- Finally snuggling up and plonking down in front of the TV to play the backlog of cheap games I've amassed over the years. SMT: Nocturne is calling out to me. Wife is already enjoying the story 3 hours in!

[LaserGun]

Not purchasing a new game until I finish those 60+ DS and PS2 games I've barely touched.

[dmauro]

Can I count the fact that I put all my consoles into my arcade cabinets instead of buying PCBs as money savings even though I had to spend over $1,000 on the cabinets?

[jpj]

Then you might be able to ebay some stuff for a haircut and soy sauce upgrade.

actually, normal living costs is something i don't really spare on. i buy decent food. if it's cold, the heating goes on, etc. but to be honest, most guys i know cut their own hair or have a family member do it. maybe i don't know enough metrosexuals.

but yeah, i pay for stuff i need, convince myself not to buy stuff i *want* (or think i want), and save the rest.

my outgoings are high though i probably have about £80-100 a month for myself after bills and food.

another tip: i get paid weekly, and budget myself to four weeks of pay, even though most months are 30 or 31 days

[Sonic R]

My advice is for those who want to dive in with 95% + mortgages at 20 something years old. Its a lifetimes work with no guarantee's. I just don't want anyone to find the road to hell that I found.

Women won't stick by a man that has to do 3 jobs or lots of overtime no matter if kids are involved. It all seems rosey and peachy at the beginning but it only takes a lay off from work and suddenly.....well you know the rest.


I will say that if your confident you can make it through the rules of society and doing the right thing then great. But for most of us its highly unlikely to be smooth road ahead. Recent times has taught us that the system can break quite easily, that people who do the honorable rightful thing are first to be slammed into the wall. I don't want this to happen to anyone.

For most people in this thread, buying a home seems a long way off anyways. With most people saving money from haircuts and buying Gradius 5 instead. But eventually that "settling down" feeling will sink into you. You will be tempted to purchase lots of things you can't realistically afford even if you can.. Your just made to believe you can. Stick on the safe side of the road and you'll be ok.

Too late for me… I'm already fucked, eh?
wife √
kids √
house √

Oh, to put a cherry on top of my shit life pie, I work for a US automotive manufacturer…