Advice for beginners

**Valerie in WA** · 12-30-2005, 06:55 PM

What is your best advice for newbies? It seems like we get many new members in desperate financial circumstances. Many are having trouble keeping up with the bills and have no savings. What's your best advice to get them started?

My tidbits are:

*Keep track of ALL of your spending for a month (down to 25c).
*Write down ALL your regular expense (rent/mortgage, phone, etc).
*Think of ALL your variable and irregular expenses and write them down (car insurance, medical, heat, etc).
*Write down ALL your debts. In one place. Find out how much you owe, the interest rate and the minimum payment. Write all that down.

Obviously there are other steps to take later, but those are my big 'getting started' ideas. How about you?

**forestdale** · 12-30-2005, 07:01 PM

Great idea, Valerie.

My tips are:

* stop spending
* make a realistic, but firm, budget
* stockpile to save on groceries
* put all saved money towards paying off debt

**slowtypinwoman** · 12-30-2005, 07:08 PM

~The little stuff adds up. Stop going to dinner and thinking what's $20 more?
~Until you get in the mindset that you want to get out of debt, seriously, you will nickle and dime yourself deeper in.
~Know what you owe. Scary but true.
~ Get a support system. This place is great for that!
~ Don't look at it as depriving yourself. It is a new adventure.

**canadian gardener** · 12-30-2005, 07:32 PM

snowball debt reduction using savings gleaned from:

cooking at home rather than eating out (learning to shop with a list, and figure out a loose menu for the pay period is a terrific help too)

using an allowance for all family members even if it's just a couple of dollars a payday, for some fun so you don't blow off the progress and put something on the card. It's amazing how much having personal allowances saves.

Keep from feeling deprived by making sure fun is planned in there. HM pizza night with games for the family or popcorn and a pretaped movie on TV or a game of cards are all fun as is kicking a ball around in the park, or going on a walk even.

Often times budgets are fun to start, they are new, but the newness wears off fast, and if fun and recreation aren't part of the program, it won't stick. The kicker is, fun can be free with a little advance planning.

Making a game of the grocery budget (she shoots, she scores at the grocery store! or grocery safari, where you hunt the big game bargains)

Make a game of how long you can make things last

(one time I had a little bet with myself how long I could live without an iron that broke, and it was a few weeks or months shy of 7 years and that still makes me smile on the inside)

shhhh this one is WORSE!!!!

(another time I wanted to see how long I could make my undies last, and I kept those babies going till the elastic was so gone that even my jeans didn't keep them up, and they kind of rolled down around my knees!!!)

So make it fun and it can be a way of life, a challenge.

Some climb Mt. Everest, others climb higher on the frugality mountain than they ever thought possible.

It's still a challenge and still an accomplishment.

**MelinaG** · 12-30-2005, 07:33 PM

I would write down what values you want for your family

i.e:

~family time, nature, reading and health.

Then when you are spending.....have a list of those values....would that bag of chips help out with family health and family time or would a walk to the library fit better with those values.

Also, vut back on the tv watching and magazine flipping. Marketers pay big bucks on advertizing for a reason...it WORKS! If you don't know about it you won't want it!

Come to this sight often, these villiagers will keep you on your toes and give the great support needed.

The book, Your money or your life!

Cut back on cars if you can. We are a one car family and it gets tricky at times and down right frustating at others but it saves huge $$$$ that we can then put towards retirement which we couldn't have it we had two cars.

While nickle and diming is good watch out for being excited about cutting $5 from the electric bill and celebrating by going out for dinner...

Also read the complete tightwad gazette....most libraries have it.

When you just start out it is a roller coaster. Ups and downs. just try to stay the course and come here for support.

If you have kids, put each in charge of reducing a utility bill....they can research how to reduce it and give them 50% of the savings. You save money, the kids learn and make some extra pennies...it is win win!

**canadian gardener** · 12-30-2005, 07:34 PM

I also learnt to cut my own hair, and I sewed cloth sani pads and did many other strange and new challenging things to save money.

Feels great!

Feels like you can conquer a world doing stuff like that. It's that rush that mountain climbers get I think, feeling invincible, feeling really accomplished somehow.

It's the opposite of poor me, it's more like WOW I'm GOOD!!!!!

Martha Stewart eat my dust!!!!

And that doesn't lead to feeling depressed or deprived.

It's more like life tried to put one over on you, and you turned those tables and put one over on life.

Sign me the one in the grocery wearing the safari hat, spotting the bargains, and jumping up and down yelling I WIN, I WIN!!!! when I hit a bargain.

**canadian gardener** · 12-30-2005, 07:43 PM

Don't view things as all or nothing.

Start small with those flylady baby steps. Conquer one mountain at a time.

If feeding the family is your down fall concentrate your biggest efforts there, and do what you can to help in other departments till you have the grocery challenge nailed.

Go on from there.

KEEP IT SIMPLE! and remember 80% of the benefit of anything comes from the first 20% effort so just aim for good enough and keep moving.

Perfection will bog you down if you feel you are a failure unless you hit every last bargain available.

When I win, I try to remember it, when I fail I hide the evidence and try to quietly learn from it without beating myself up.

Failures are God's little learning opportunities! People who are actively out there in the game of life, trying and learning will fail a lot.

The key is picking yourself back up and getting moving again.

Do the simplest things first, such as making a grocery list, and turning out extra lights and turning down the thermostat and bunching up errands so you make fewer car trips.

You can figure out how to save dryer lint later if that seems to be a thing you feel is necessary to acheive perfection and Zen in the budget dept.

Meanwhile do the fun and easy stuff first.

And allow yourself room to fail, it's the price of eventual success.

**Darlene** · 12-30-2005, 08:00 PM

Positive attitude, this can get you through anything. Saving money and making do with what you have isn't a sign that you've failed it means you've figured out how to make your money go further. You can live happily and fully with less money and be fulfilled. Really. Most of all Life is about living~ live well~ laugh often & love much. Those things are right there in front of you and practically free for the taking. Enjoy!

**canadian gardener** · 12-30-2005, 08:15 PM

keep a spending journal, it'll pin point the leaks really quickly.

**Jerseygirl** · 12-30-2005, 08:22 PM

Prioritize everything.
If your #1 priority is having food on the table and a roof over your head, then the chips and the McDonalds and the long distance calls to complain that you have no $ aren't part of the plan. I see so many people complaining that they can't pay their bills, but not making paying the bills a priority.
If your priority can move beyond basic needs to now paying down debt, then stop buying more, see what you can cut--there is always something your able to cut without causing yourself or your family physical harm-maybe a bit of social or emotional discomfort, but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? When our priority was to save enough for the downpayment on our house I was ruthless--I stopped going to the laundramat, we didn't pay for heat or water at our apt. so I was washing clothes by hand in the a.m. hanging them in the bathroom with the heat on and they were dry when I got home-a bit of work, but I saved about $10 per week for 3 months. I don't think I bought a paper product beyond t.p. for those same 3 mos. and we ate lots of $.40 lb chicken legs with rice and marked down veggies. You do what you need to get by, you just have to stick to your true priority. ---Kellie

**canadian gardener** · 12-30-2005, 08:36 PM

Answering in on the stockpile thread made me think of another thing

Ways to save on the groceries:

Shop less often, make a loose menu and make a list of the fixings you need, buy them and stay out of the stores in between paydays.

Start a pantry and a freezer stash of stuff you use most frequently --when it comes on sale buy enough to last a few months (hopefully till the next sale)-- this way you "shop" your pantry first, and gradually as you get more stocked up with a variety of items that you use all the time, you will be living cheaper and cheaper and cheaper.

Find a bread outlet (the McGavins outlets here in my province are quite good, bread at 50 cents a loaf all day olds but still fine)-- I pop a bunch in the freezer and they are great toasted or french toasted for breakfast or grilled with cheese or just plain sandwich material.

Learn to aquaint your family with hot oatmeal porridge. Wonderful stuff. The Scots travelled and settled all over the planet on the strength of the oat!

And it lowers that cholesterol. What's not to like? YUMMY with a dot of jam or brown sugar on top (or a wee splash of maple syrup if you are a dyed in the wool Canadian like me!!!)

I make mine with milk. 1 cup oats to 2 cups milk and a pinch of salt in the microwave in a DEEP DEEP DEEP plastic mixing bowl. (boil overs are icky, hence the deep deep deepness of the bowl). 3 minutes on high, stir, 2 more minutes on medium and we are done and eating porridge.

Other cheap breakfasts that taste great are french toast, or pancakes or waffles made from scratch.

Fixing lunches is another savings. I buy tins of salmon, and tuna on sales for sandwich and salads, Eggs are cheap, as is peanut butter and jam, and cheese is marvellous, especially with the end cuts of cold cuts at the deli (ends are the ends of the sausage, and are often a very fine price).

Vegetarian food is another wonderful option. Before I became allergic to legumes, I could fix a pretty frugal crockpot of beans into baked beans or chili. I made lentil loaf too, and bean dips as well as foods using TVP instead of ground beef and tofu instead of meat. amazing savings. brings down the old cholesterol and increases the good fats in your diet no end.

**AmyBoz** · 12-30-2005, 08:45 PM

I know it sounds simple and I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but my biggest piece of advice is to just quit buying anything that isn't essential food.

If things are truly that bad, then you don't need to buy clothing, whether at the thrift shop, Walmart, Salvation Army, wherever. Wear what you have and take care of it. But, don't buy more.

Make the choice to not eat out. Shop carefully and thoughtfully at the grocery store and then cook every night. Yes, every night. It might be a hassle, but again, if things are that bad, then you'll deal.

Find pleasure in the little things that are free. You don't have to spend money to unwind or to reward yourself. There are a million ways to enjoy yourself or to entertain your family that don't cost a cent.

I could go on and on, but basically, what I'm saying is, STOP SPENDING MONEY!

**Shell** · 12-30-2005, 10:26 PM

For me what worked was:

~Put the credit cards away and learn to live beneath your means
~Pay yourself first
~Check out the Tightwad Gazette
~Challenge yourself how long you can make something last
~Stay out of the mall
~Don't buy anything new for the house until everything else is paid for

**PrairieRose** · 12-30-2005, 11:26 PM

Mine are:

Give some serious thought before purchasing anything. Is this a want or a need? There is a difference

Took me a while to give into that one.

Cut those tubes of toothpaste in half and get every, teensy little bit of it out.

Plan to have a clean out the refridgerator nite, every week to use up those leftovers.

Don't run a short order kitchen for your kids. You cook, they eat or ..... they don't.

Organize your life....it really, really helps.

**cheapgeek** · 12-31-2005, 01:02 PM

I think a lot of what gets us into trouble financially is "sleepwalk" spending. We're not even conscious of where our money is going. So IMO, the first step is to simply make yourself aware of how much is coming in, and WHERE it's going. As soon as you start writing it down, keeping track, and really being aware of your money, you're a quarter of the way there.

Then start being aware of what's being wasted: are you wasting money on things like extra cable channels that you don't watch, etc? Do you waste a lot of food? Do you waste gas driving around when you could arrange your errands into one trip? Are you paying for convenience when you could do it yourself? Now you're half way there.

Now, you just need to decide what's going to stay and what's going to go... and then I'm with AmyBoz. Be tough on yourself and quit spending unnecessarily. Start teaching yourself the tricks of the trade. Don't make yourself miserable: start with the most painless changes... but make the changes.