Following the credit card thread, I’ve learned that some people use credit card points and miles to pay for hotels, that seems pretty interesting.
Children toys being second hands comes to mind too.
What are your ideas?
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Strangest thing that has worked for me is finding out that deposits are sticky: money tends to stay where you put it. So, switch your direct deposit to your savings account and then transfer out what you need for bills. More of it will tend to stay in savings than be the “i have extra money this month, maybe I’ll go shopping” money you discover at the end of the month. This is related to pay yourself first, but it makes it much easier. If you automate your bills – from your checking account, not through the biller’s site – you will very quickly start to see your savings grow. Change that savings account into an investment account and things start to build even more.
Pay yourself first.
You’re sitting down on payday, paying your bills.
Put a certain percentage in your savings account FIRST, then pay your bills.
This is the way. And don’t touch that savings account.
Start logging your entire budget. Then make an anonymous account, post your budget post your location. And ask people to help you review your budget. For suggestions.
Logging and transparency force yourself to look at patterns you may subconsciously ignore.
If you have a really trusted friend, ask them to be your pseudo accountant. And have them look at your expenses every month. This is a healthy form of feedback.
Credit card points can be used for many things, depending on the program, and the top things to consider are redemption options that fit your needs, existing wants, and budgets…air miles, hotel points, student loans, mortgage payments, and the biggest, cash. It’s a long term game, and if you can plan ahead a year or two as far as what you need miles and points for, and strategically get cards in certain programs/airlines/hotels you can get free access to otherwise unaffordable experiences.Having a partner/spouse you 100% trust you can play with doubles your effect, I mention the trust because ID theft is all too common as is financial fraud within the family. You also need to be flexible about where and when you travel to get more out of your points, if you’re using points for that
I’ve been in the churning game for 10 years and paid off the last $13k of my school loans, and didn’t pay for an airplane ticket or hotel for 10 years while flying around the world several times and taking many trips(miles redemptions are so bad after COVID and dynamic lricing for awards I bought a plane ticket with cash last month and just felt dirty.
I feel the need to counter this comment and point out that while churning is a cool thing, it shouldn’t be on anyone’s list of ways to save or make money.
For all the planning, opening and managing new accounts, fulfilling requirements, and then jumping through hoops to take advantage of those rewards, you really have to be committed and give up some sanity and freedom for a pretty marginal gain at the end of the day.
It shouldn’t be on anyone’s list of ways to save or make money if they’re not capable of organizing a basic spreadsheet, and if you don’t have a solid understanding of the world of credit and finance, as well as the willingness to learn the ropes of how to get higher returns for your time and credit score, yes the juice is not worth the squeeze.
My returns have been anything but marginal, but I devoted a lot of time early on to reading it as a hobby and curiosity. Like everything else, if it were super easy everyone would do it–but I’ll say it’s not THAT hard to get really decent results for marginal organization. 20 hours of startup reading and you’re looking at free flight and hotel vacation in perpetuity most places on the globe every year once you get going, on-going time is an hour or two a quarter at most.
General things. Live below your means. Find the cheapest housing that suitable for you. No matter how much you’re spending, you’re probably spending more than you have to. No shame in having roommates.
Once you pay off your debts start doing long-term low cost investing. Index funds and the like.
Don’t feel like you have money to spend until your passive income covers your optional expenses.
Learn to repair your own car, and when buying a car, estimate the cost of repairs over the remaining life of the vehicle.
I paid ~$10k for my car (Prius) when it had ~60k miles, and now it has ~140k miles after ~9 years, and I’ve paid ~$2k for repairs and maintenance. I do oil changes, replace spark plugs, brakes, and even replaced a coolant valve. It’s not hard with YouTube at my side.
Had I taken it to the shop, I would’ve easily spent double that, perhaps triple. Had I bought new, I probably would’ve spent even more in depreciation (car was $25k new, so it would likely be <$10k by now).
Hi OP. Keeping your spending from getting out of control is important. But most people, especially in today economy, don’t have a spending problem, they have an income problem. There’s a finite limit to the ability to cut expenses. Once the “rice and beans” answers you’ve already received are implemented the only viable strategy is to find ways to increase income.
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