How do You Stop Yourself From Wasting Money?
Title says it all, how do you guys stop yourself from blowing through every penny you have? Given the long hours and perpetual stress inherent to finance I always find myself daydreaming of the "next big purchase" that I can make. Not that I'm swimming in debt or anything, but definitely not saving as much as I should.
Perpetual next-thing syndrome is going to keep me chained to a desk forever unless I can figure a way out of it
You only live once, so fuck it.
What kind of stupid shit you buying? I just bought a $600 chair and an Oura. Buying shit is fun sometimes.
I don't.
Get a couple sugar babies, let em blow through it for me.
Maturity, financial sense, and self control?
pusssyyyyyy
roasted
I don't stop. Last night I drunk bought the Lego car that WSJ did an article about. Its great fun.
What car?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-too-can-own-james-bonds-aston-martinso…</a">This Car
Not sure what your hours are like, but if I think of something I need/want, but don't necessarily care too much about, I check out a couple thrift stores around me. Can find shit there for cheap and that lets you blow your money on cool shit
Seems to take people different amounts of time to realize that material possessions are meaningless and won't make you happy. Maybe more comfortable but in most cases it's questionable. IDK though, I'm weird because I only bought a $5 footlong from Subway with my first big pay day while my partners bought a Ferrari and a Porsche lol.
My advice is to wait 30 days instead of making whatever dumbass purchase you're contemplating and then see if you still want it. You probably won't. Or start investing the money instead in opportunities that give you learning exposure. I've found that to be the most rewarding thing to spend money on.
Need to find the strategy that works best for you. When I first started my career, I always saved 100% of my bonuses and even saved a good portion of my base. That said, I did have the benefit of not working in NYC.
I more or less track my savings so that I feel the pain when I make a big purchase. I still spend a fair amount of money on international trips, some electronics, and a few other misc. things, but it is relatively small compared to my income. A couple years back I took on a 7-figure mortgage in order to buy a home. I don’t regret the decision one bit, but seeing the debt balance and the amount that I pay each month in principal and interest encourages me to avoid being wasteful in my spending. For any meaningful purchases ($1,000+), I evaluate it in the context of “would I rather use this money to prepay my mortgage?” This helps me make sound decisions most of the time.
Want to save a ton of money? Be celibate.
Did you pull that strategy from theaccountingmajor ?
He's probably speaking from experience - either that, or he was mentored by GoldenCinderblock
You can still be celibate and have a girl spending all your money.
Figure out what it is you want to buy and then completely forget about it / don't think about it / don't look it up on amazon for two to three weeks. If you then still really want it / it pops back up into your mind then buy it. Most things I really want in the moment but don't care much for once the initial hype has passed.
As others have mentioned, track your expenses to the dollar. Make a budget. Set up a savings account that automatically withdraws a certain % from your paycheck and don’t touch it.
Idk why this stuff is so hard for people and I don’t even make that great of money compared to a lot of people on this forum.
My buddy the other day mentioned how he was still paying off vacation from like 4 months ago.... wtf?
I just think of all the money I could save by switching to geiko
The trick is to make more money. I make $150k so I could pretty much never go thru all of it
No offense, but $150K is like $105 after tax, which is like $75k after rent alone. $75k is nice and all, but take out groceries at 400/mo, restaurants at 400/mo (if you like food and have a gf), car payment of $500/mo, insurance of $200/mo, gas $150/mo, you're down to like $55k already. This isn't even including random shit you may want to buy or other expenses like utilities and shit. Factor in bullshit purchases of ~$1k/mo and you're down to $43k after tax. Say you want to take a vacation (heaven forbid) and it runs you $5k (low estimate) across the entire year (probably more like 2-3 vacations) $38k after tax. Sock that away sure, but still... it doesn't add up to much.
Or maybe the above is why i'm fucking terrible with money who knows lol
TBH, personal finance can simple be about following rules and spreadsheets, though it doesn't have to be, but at least when you break it all down you know where the money goes. Basic stuff, max out 401k, 3-6months cash reserve (savings/moneymarket/CDs). I think I've written the three buckets thing on another post somewhere so I won't copy paste here, also don't think it's necessarily the answer being looked for but always something nice to know/google/follow.
Spreadsheet, income, expenses, doesn't have to be broken down to the candy bar at the walgreens but take a look at your credit card statement (or use MINT) and see where the money is going, then see hey maybe I can trim this expense while still enjoying the benefit (buying something in bulk etc.)
It's amazing to me how people just never look at what's coming in and where it's going, if you like expensive things great, just know how to save for them/how frequently you can buy the vacation/watch/car etc.
As for the next big purchase thing, maybe convert this into a longtime hobby? I know legos were mentioned but essentially anything, golf, aircraft flying, reading, etc. Don't know if you have the time though.
delete
$800/ month on groceries + food is impossible for me. I spend significantly more than that and I live in a LCOL city. Maybe if you don’t workout or something that’s how much it costs.
Yes.
Delete
Dump the desired amount into ETFs the day of paycheck; when I make promotions I only increase post-rent spending money by 10% and put the now larger remainder in ETFs again.
You shouldn't feel deprived of anything, but I don't miss buying random stuff as much as I love never having financial stress again.
I was broke AF in school (lived in London on 1240GBP as a 100kg guy), and I never want to be broke again. Not buying new shoes as often as I want is a small price to pay.
Keep track of every expense
Find other entertainment that’s cheap. Get into a video game, go to the bar and just order a regular beer like everyone else, get laid on tinder, whatever. Stop using shopping as your entertainment.
Realize that the more you save, the more you invest, the more wealth you build now....the faster you can get out of this godforsaken rat race once and for all
Set a certain amount to enter your Savings account. Doesn't have to be much, but reasonable enough after expenses like rent, utilities, fun etc. And try not to live a material life. Always buy what you need, and in good quality so that it lasts for a long time.
I spent a LOT on dumb shit today.
i impulse bought a money plant. expecting infinite returns
Simple, just look at the homeless people and ask yourself do you want to join them?
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