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Christine
I'm paying $300 or more on my car, $100.00 on car insurance, roughly $80 on gas, and $40 on the gym. I also pay the electric bill for my parents in place of rent, which can be anywhere between $140-$220. My credit bill tends to be around $400 (it includes the gas and I know I really need to get a handle on it).
When I did a budget for this month, I only had $186 left over (yikes!) and I am trying to save so I can pay for spring tuition and to move out with my boyfriend, so I'm looking for all the dirty tips and tricks I can use to cut down my expenses. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Just to clarify things - my spending habits are usually pretty good. The past couple of months have just been killer with paying for fall tuition, textbooks, and I very expensive vet bill. I went from having over $3,000 in my checking account to $400. I've been doing over payments on my car so I can get it paid off sooner, and I tend to buy a lot of things for my parents.
The gym membership is here to stay though, it's the only thing motivating me to get off my lazy butt and get in a good workout instead of reading all day.
Answer
180 divided by 3=your personal budget, savings budget and food budget. Stop eating out, you'll save, stop drinking cokes, things from vending machines, you'll save. Write down what are the absolute essentials and eliminate what is not. Can you get by on a bike instead? Instants major savings. Just saying. If you can't what about public transportation? Major savings. Ditch the car for awhile, that's all I'm saying while you save for spring tuition.. Libraries are free if you want to read I love to read also. Water is free. Teabags are cheaper and more economical than coffee and lattes, expressos so forth. Don't buy them individually. Look up thrifty living online you will get a lot of useful information. Gym memberships are useful and pretty practical, so ignore the peanut gallery. Parks are free if you want to walk while looking at the scenery. If you want to make more money, collect aluminum cans for recycling. See if there's other metal that they buy but you'll need your driver's license.
180 divided by 3=your personal budget, savings budget and food budget. Stop eating out, you'll save, stop drinking cokes, things from vending machines, you'll save. Write down what are the absolute essentials and eliminate what is not. Can you get by on a bike instead? Instants major savings. Just saying. If you can't what about public transportation? Major savings. Ditch the car for awhile, that's all I'm saying while you save for spring tuition.. Libraries are free if you want to read I love to read also. Water is free. Teabags are cheaper and more economical than coffee and lattes, expressos so forth. Don't buy them individually. Look up thrifty living online you will get a lot of useful information. Gym memberships are useful and pretty practical, so ignore the peanut gallery. Parks are free if you want to walk while looking at the scenery. If you want to make more money, collect aluminum cans for recycling. See if there's other metal that they buy but you'll need your driver's license.
How can I live a more environmentally conscious life?
Q. I am learning more about global warming and the impact a family of four has on this earth versus 250 people in an undeveloped nation. Things like this really make me want to get more involved and lessen my footprint on the earth, but how? Where do I start? I want to vote for the right laws to help this but I don't understand them all. I can't afford an electric car or to start using a solar panel for energy, so how can I help?
Answer
The four corner stones of the current environmental movement are Reduce, Recycle, Re-use, and Re-purpose with a theme of Sustainability. The good news is that most of us have plenty of eco-friendly opportunities available to us with equally commiserate financial rewards. In some cases, it does take an investment of time or money before the savings can be realised.
I often suggest that people start scouring the "frugal living" sites and boards for as whole host of money saving ideas. Money is but one resource we use. What we spend our money on involves a whole host of additional resources. Saving resources is what the Reduce, Re-use, and Re-purposing cornerstones are all about. For a personal inventory of opportunity, start by peering into your garbage, recycle, and waste cans and bins. Do you see paper napkins, paper towels, disposable wipes, or individual serving containers in your waste stream? What types of chemical based items do you see in terms of cleaning, garden, and other non-food items? Start with those things that are easy to remedy even if they are a small, over all portion of your waste stream.
Another area to take a personal inventory from is your budgeting system, check book, credit card receipts, cash receipts, bills, etc... These also tell you what you spend your money on, buy, and consume. You may want to address utility bills and/or the resources used that generate those bills. This could be things like using less electricity or water, using less vehicle fuel through combined trips, and so on. Or you could discover that maybe off-road racing could be replaced by pedle bike racing for both an economic and an environmental savings. Some people take up visiting their local library more often for both an economic and environmental savings.
Reviewing one's spending habits also brings up the idea of doing more active purchasing decision making which can also reduce certain types of consumption and hence resource use. Doing things like taking an closet inventory before hitting the mall can help one realise that what they really need is a coordinating piece to something they already own versus a whole new outfit. Developing honest needs criteria and purchasing decisions on tools, equipment, and supplies for either the home or garage; you can add additional environmentally conscious criteria such as durability as you choose too.
For many, minimalist living is not particularly functional for most of us trying to also be environmentally conscious. You may see the need for better window treatments, different landscaping, or some just plain caulk even if you are "only a renter". Cloth linens like napkins, towels, and scrub rags may be an investment opportunity for both financial and enviornmental returns. Individual glass serving containers, a stainless water bottle, and so on may work for you. To be able to honestly Re-use and Re-purpose, most of us need some tools of the trade, to learn some skills, and be able to think outside of the box within the Do-It-Yourself (DYI) frame of mind too.
Start small and with the easy stuff; what may be easy for you is not necessarily going to be easy for me. It's a whole life style change with a number of economic and health benefits that simply happen in the process. And, the opportunities simply keep on coming in easier and easier modes as the rest of the community comes on board.
The four corner stones of the current environmental movement are Reduce, Recycle, Re-use, and Re-purpose with a theme of Sustainability. The good news is that most of us have plenty of eco-friendly opportunities available to us with equally commiserate financial rewards. In some cases, it does take an investment of time or money before the savings can be realised.
I often suggest that people start scouring the "frugal living" sites and boards for as whole host of money saving ideas. Money is but one resource we use. What we spend our money on involves a whole host of additional resources. Saving resources is what the Reduce, Re-use, and Re-purposing cornerstones are all about. For a personal inventory of opportunity, start by peering into your garbage, recycle, and waste cans and bins. Do you see paper napkins, paper towels, disposable wipes, or individual serving containers in your waste stream? What types of chemical based items do you see in terms of cleaning, garden, and other non-food items? Start with those things that are easy to remedy even if they are a small, over all portion of your waste stream.
Another area to take a personal inventory from is your budgeting system, check book, credit card receipts, cash receipts, bills, etc... These also tell you what you spend your money on, buy, and consume. You may want to address utility bills and/or the resources used that generate those bills. This could be things like using less electricity or water, using less vehicle fuel through combined trips, and so on. Or you could discover that maybe off-road racing could be replaced by pedle bike racing for both an economic and an environmental savings. Some people take up visiting their local library more often for both an economic and environmental savings.
Reviewing one's spending habits also brings up the idea of doing more active purchasing decision making which can also reduce certain types of consumption and hence resource use. Doing things like taking an closet inventory before hitting the mall can help one realise that what they really need is a coordinating piece to something they already own versus a whole new outfit. Developing honest needs criteria and purchasing decisions on tools, equipment, and supplies for either the home or garage; you can add additional environmentally conscious criteria such as durability as you choose too.
For many, minimalist living is not particularly functional for most of us trying to also be environmentally conscious. You may see the need for better window treatments, different landscaping, or some just plain caulk even if you are "only a renter". Cloth linens like napkins, towels, and scrub rags may be an investment opportunity for both financial and enviornmental returns. Individual glass serving containers, a stainless water bottle, and so on may work for you. To be able to honestly Re-use and Re-purpose, most of us need some tools of the trade, to learn some skills, and be able to think outside of the box within the Do-It-Yourself (DYI) frame of mind too.
Start small and with the easy stuff; what may be easy for you is not necessarily going to be easy for me. It's a whole life style change with a number of economic and health benefits that simply happen in the process. And, the opportunities simply keep on coming in easier and easier modes as the rest of the community comes on board.
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Title Post: How do I make an effective budget on $1,200 a month?
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Rating: 83% based on 9498 ratings. 4 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming T0 My Blog
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