Are you good with money?

I'm pretty good at dealing with my money. I have a set amount go into my savings account each paycheck, so I save up money there. I only use my credit card for things, and that is rarely. And I pay my credit card fully every month so I have no interest.

My boyfriend and i have only bought 2 major purchases. One was a bed which was $1200, paid off within the year and a half with 0% interest. And the next was a 42" plasma. Amazing deal, so we couldnt turn it up. (He works at Best Buy) So we'll have that paid off within the 0% interest period.

I'm still saving and not in debt. I feel I'm doing alright.

Yes, i'm pretty good with my money. I pay myself first (save) with every paycheck i get and i make sure i have enough money before i buy things and i only use cash. I don't have a credit card,i don't feel like i need one. I pay all my bills eithor early or on time and NEVER let myself get behind. I saw how horribly my mom and aunt struggled to take care of my sisters and I and my cousins when we were little- i don't want that for myself.

I took personal finance in high school and learned a lot of good habits from that. I try to keep a list of everything i buy so i can make sure i keep my spending in check. (for me, it's not the big things- i never really buy big things- it's the small things that add up so i watch that and try to have some self control.)

The BEST advice i've ever recieved as far as money goes is PFY (pay yourself first.) From every single check you should be saving some. I also have my retirement account set up in a CD that i do not touch- i only add to it. I have a Savings Account (emergency money, whatever i need) and a Miscilianious account for things i want to save up for - like the wedding, having our bathroom painted which i just did...etc. I also have a little "emergency fund" set aside for the animals if they should need it.

I think credit cards (even though i'm pretty disciplined about saving) would be too much of a tempation for me, so i don't have one.

I've always been good with money.

My motto is "If you havent got it then you can't spend it, and if theres something that you want, then save for it".

I'm fortunate that i've never needed a credit card and i havent got any debts, but i've seen people where they buy sofas on interest free credit and don't have to pay for 4 years, but once the novelty of the new sofas worn off and they finally have to pay for it they get depressed because they have to find the money

I'm pretty good with my money.

The trick is (as most people were referring to here) is to make your money less liquid. If you have all your money in a checking account (completely liquid), get it the heck out of there and into a savings account or a CD, and just leave enough to survive off of, or minimum balance in the checking.

If you have a lot of credit cards, try to reduce it to just one, with a lowish limit (like $500/mo). That way you're limited on how much money you can spend off credit, plus if you credit card/personal info gets stolen they'll quickly max out and limit the amount of money you lose. Your savings will have a limited number of checks you can write, so use those to pay your big bills that don't fluctuate in value (mortgage, loans, etc, same amount every month).

If you have to spend a lot of money (medical emergency), you can use up one of your savings transfers (gov't limits it to 6/mo). If you're saving for a car or house, open up a savings or IRA specifically for it, so you're not tempted to touch it and you know exactly how much you have for it. The same can be done for like shopping/rainy day. Stick in the amount of money you want to give yourself for that purpose, and then take it out when the time comes.

Also, internet banking is your friend. Use it if it's available to you, and become very proficient at it. You'll become very familiar with your account and if ANYTHING happens, you'll know before your bank does.

My DH is the poster child for spending all of his money. If he has $10 in his pocket he will spend it. If he has $1000 in his pocket he will spend it.

After about 15 years of trying to coach him on the topic, I finally got him to pay off all of his credit cards. He did that right after I paid off the mortgage to our home. Once he realized how good it felt to be debt free, he started paying attention to where his money goes. He's been much better since then.

I'm the one that is good with money in our household. Other than the mortgage, I've been debt free for about 25 years. I even pay my cars off within 6 months.

I am the one with all the money power in our home. Dh has a debit card though. I know how much he spends, when and where. I am anal about money like I am about my house. I have to have enough of it or I get very nervous. What is enough? I really don't know. I just know if it gets under $500.00, I get very panicky. No idea why. I know that we will have this much each week, and every other week mine will be there too. so why do I panic? Oh well, the cats are taken care of, the bills are paid, we have food and necessities, and money to spend on what we want, etc so I guess I can't complain.

I grew up with a family income that the government considered poverty apparently. (we already owned the house which helped). So I learned early you don't spend money.

And I appreciate it so much on the rare occasion that I buy stuff that it makes it easy.

I almost NEVER eat out. Not even fast food - it adds up. Always cook or bring your lunch to work and only let yourself eat out 1-2 times per month. You'll be shocked how much that will save you. If you don't know how to cook - learn. Those microwave dinners aren't much cheaper than eating out.

Never shop for food hungry - you'll spend way too much.

Only buy clothes when you absolutely need something and only get what you need. Shop at places like Marshals, Ross, or the garment district if your in Southern California. No the clothes won't last forever but they don't really need to - and most of my stuff has lasted over 5 years and it is all SUPER cheap.

Pay with things with your debit card, that way you only spend what you have NOW and you don't just hemorrage cash with no clue where you spent it. You can go online and account for every penny and see where you are spending too much.

See if you can get by with a cheaper cell phone plan. It amazes me how many friends I have with $80+ cell phone bills. Do you REALLY need instant internet access wherever you are? Didn't think so.

Make a realistic budget and stick to it. Cut things as needed until you're not spending more than you're bring in. When I was in college I lived on $800/month. And $625 of that went to rent. (granted my parents paid my cell and car insurance but everything else was mine). So I did food, bills, and fun stuff on 175/month. Its COMPLETELY doable - yes it sucks and you never get to do anything fun. But you aren't going into debt.

Thats what I do and it works for me. It all is really perspective you have to reconsider what you can and cannot live without and if you really think about things you don't think you can give up - you'd probably find you could give it up if you had to.

I totally suck with money. I don't go shopping either, I always blow it on crap like fast food or junk at the gas station.

I have double standards on the money. I refuse to pay over $30 or $40 for jeans or a shirt (or most anything for that matter) that I like. I buy things on sale or discounted for myself. But when I buy for my family or the cats, I will spend it.
I nickel and dime my money. Never spend a lot at once, but little by little. I am so afraid to be broke. I want to provide for my family and myself.
But, I manage my money well, I think. I am very meticulous with paying my bills and stuff. And I've been trying to rub-off onto the BF.

Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only one.

You guys have some good advice! I really do try, I get by on about 1k a month, but it's hard to try and pay off debt doing that

I have the cheapest cell phone plan you can get... my only luxury with bills is really my cable (broadband internet access is kind of a necessity with how much research I do).

I think it's just little things here and there that add up big time at the end.

Originally Posted by alwaysaangel

Only buy clothes when you absolutely need something and only get what you need. Shop at places like Marshals, Ross, or the garment district if your in Southern California. No the clothes won't last forever but they don't really need to - and most of my stuff has lasted over 5 years and it is all SUPER cheap.

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Haha, seems like we have two completely different ways of doing the same thing. I buy functional clothing, and it's quite expensive ($40 for a shirt, $100-$200 for a pair of pants, $400 for a jacket). But these clothes do their job very well (keep you cool in the summer, warm and dry in the winter, shirts never stink because of the silver in them), and last forever. Plus some have a lifetime warranty (if my jacket or pants ever leak or get a tear, I send it to manufacturer to get it repaired or replaced, free of charge). In essence, I never buy new clothes and I have very few sets.