I'm sure I'm not alone here but do you find it difficult to save money? For me at least right now I am in a pretty good situation as in I have basic bills, no kids etc to worry about. I do live paycheck to paycheck but seems like a lot do. The issue has always been saving money. What ends up happening 9 times out of 10 is when I actually start gaining on a good savings something ends up happening and I'm right back to square one. Another thing I've always hated was the idea of having a credit card......I despise credit cards but in this world it seems like you have to have one..

Yes, but I love to invest, and to speculate.  These are 2 1/2 to 3 different things.

So saving is required to fuel the fun stuff.  Big surprise!

That is why I've always had trade fodder :) Trading has always been what kept me in the hobby.

 

To answer your question, yes, I find it very difficult.  I have two kids and life happens often for us...

It seems to be getting harder all the time.

I hear all the time "Remember when things were cheaper? Well you factor inflation in along with a lot of other things well it's really not all that cheaper.

 

Ya its tough to save...

I am very good at not buying shit I can't really afford even if I have cash in my pocket.

At times it can be 2 months between paydays for me.

Try doing that without budgeting...

I found it difficult until I started doing a budget each month. It's crazy how much you can save after you see where you are spending all your money.

I automatically save ~20% of my take home pay. 6% pre-tax goes to the 401k. Even with all the savings, plus bills, I still manage to accumulate a fair slush fun for whatever I want.
 

I am almost the same age as you (turned 30 back in August) and also single, no kids.  I admit that I was somewhat irresponsible with money while I was in college and just up until a couple years ago.  Finally decided that I'm going to need to make a few sacrifices and buckle down and get my debts paid off.  

First thing I did was moved out of the luxury apartments I had been living in for the past couple years to a very small studio apartment, effectively cutting my rent in half and eliminated all unnecessary spending (cable TV, eating out, etc.).  Next, I created a budget in Excel that includes all my monthly reoccurring liabilities and other misc expenses down the first column.  Followed by a column for "Amount" "Due Date" and "Interest Rate."  After that, I have a column for each month of the year.  Each month after I make a payment, I record the remaining balance working down towards $0.

Looks something like this:

Expense  I  Amount  I  Due Date  I  Int Rate  I  Jan  I  Feb  I  March  I  April  I etc. etc.

Debt 1      I  $xx      
Debt 2      I  $xx
Debt 3      I  $xx

At the bottom row for each month it populates my total amount of debt still owed, and also tracks amount of debt paid down YTD.  Below that, I have another row detailing monthly contributions to my Roth IRA.

I've figured out that once I started keeping conscious attention to what I owe, what I'm spending, and in general where I'm at financially, that I can finally quit living paycheck to paycheck every month.  I run pretty lean every month, but that is because I making large payments each month over my minimum amounts.  If I have a tough month money wise, I can always drop down to my minimums without affecting me significantly.  So far this year, I've paid down close to $10k and aim to be debt free by the end of 2015 at which point I'm going to buy a house.

It's fucking rough living on a bare bones budget, but the end result is going to make it all worth it.


I don't know if it's debt or bad spending habits that is the reason that you're just squeaking by, but in my experience, strict adherence to the budget I've created for myself has made all the difference for me and I definitely recommend doing something similar.


ETA:  PM me if you would like a blank copy of my spreadsheet to get you started.
ETA2:  If anyone else would like to have it also, just IM me your email address.  Had another member ask if it was just for the OP

If this kid learns of PSA, he's fooked.

exactly...or AIM....i throw 10% at savings ,4% at 401k... no meals out,drive thru.. Brownells,PSA & AIM get the rest.

We save, but then we buy.  I have an account for our daughter that gets a few hundred every month, but our personal savings comes and goes.

Overall I don't have a problem saving. I should create a budget so I can see where I am wasting $10 or $20 here and there. I'm 26, single, no kids. 10% of my income goes into a 401K and I also have a separate Roth IRA.

The biggest change for me was moving out of a luxury apartment, which I dearly miss but since my job has me away from home three weeks out of the month it was really just wasted money. I hate having roommates but I moved into a house with two other guys; financially it made more sense because of my job. My rent and utilities are probably less than $400 with the new living arrangements.

I'm not saving as much as I could because a goal of mine is to get my truck paid off by the end of the year, my monthly payments are just over $300 but I have been putting down an extra $1000 a month since July.

Yes. Nature of being human.

I have a pretty fat savings compared to my previous income history. What I have a hard time doing is investing in retirement accounts because the thought of that money being locked down for so long is just a scary thought.

zero debt as I'm not a homeowner

Wife and I and 5 kids....we suck at saving.  Someone always needs something. However it's all cash, we paid a lot off and have 1 CC.

I've always tried to live cheaply. Sometimes because I needed to, sometimes because it's just what I was used to.

That helps a lot when times are good.

meh im 29 with 0 savings and about $400,000 of 6.8% debt. no worries!

I didn't save much of anything until I found Dave Ramsey

I lived pretty much check to check, and threw a little towards retirement in a 401k, until I was a little over 35.  I spent money on toys, cars, traveling, a lot on ammo, dirt bikes, boats, eating out, and booze.

Once I got serious, and wrote out a budget and stuck to it, I found it easy to save money.  
Once I got married, and we had two incomes, it was crazy easy to save money.  We didn't change our lifestyle and put a paycheck in the bank, and lived on my salary only.

Now that she is a stay at home mom, and we have two little ones.... we still save, but nothing like we used to.  But we still save 15% toward retirement, and 15% toward personal savings, of our total income.  We do without a lot of the things that many consider "normal".  We watch our expenditures on food, entertainment costs, we watch the thermostat, we pay cash for our vehicles and buy them a little older than our neighbors do.  We cut the cable back to just the very basics.  When I get a bonus, we save 100% of it, or apply it to debt.  We don't go out and blow it like it is "extra" money.

look up dave ramsey and his book the total money makeover. once you read it you wont have that problem anymore. i used to be just like you. the two keys are not to use any credit cards and to have a written budget.

I do find it hard, but now I have to.

I have savings in my budget, and a wife to try to dig into that.

We've had money troubles over the years and it was nice to drop $400 on a dryer without thinking about it.

Like others said, Dave Ramsey's plan helped me get more organized. I had already started paying off about $15k in cc debt before I started following his advice. I am finding it easier to save money now.

On the other hand, I am not 'saving' a ton this year because I have had a ton of dental bills and coming up on my 4th somewhat big truck repair. However, I am now carrying no credit card debt and it is either coming out of my emergency fund or I just save it in my checking account.

On another note, I am not following Dave's advice down to the very last letter. I still have my credit cards but only use them to gain on a purchase I am already going to make. For example, my discover card had 5% back on gas purchases, well I have to buy that, so I would put it on the card and pay it off just as soon as it posted to the discover account. Or like some of the dental work, instead of taking the money out of savings, I put it on the credit card and paid it off before or when the bill came. I wasn't purchasing fun stuff on them, just buying what I as going to buy any way and getting the slight reward from it.

But after getting on the Ramsey plan, I now have a budget and know where I am spending money, eating out a lot less than I was it has made it so much easier to save money. There was something about having to write down what I spent that made me more aware and accountable.

Dave can be a little extreme sometimes but he is worth looking into.

Would be easier if nearly 1/3 wasn't taken away.

Money? What's that????

But it is, and it is a simple fact.  What matters is how you manage the other 2/3.

When I think of all the money I've spent on crap over the decades, I want to repeatedly punch myself in the head.

I have never had a problem saving.  My method is payroll deduction.  If I don’t see it or touch it, I don’t have the temptation to spend it or miss it.  I have some taken out for a thrift savings plan, and I have extra taken out for state tax each pay day.  The TSP is savings for the future.  The extra on state tax I get back every April.  I know it is a interest free loan to the state.  It is also a way for me to build up a niche sum.
If I have $20 extra withheld for state tax each payday, I get a lump sum of $520 in April.  If I put that $20 in my pocket, it would be gone before the next payday.

I've been meaning to try use a budget program/app called "You need a budget" or YNAB. Every time I want to start it, just like you, something always comes up. "Well now I can't save because I need to take the truck to the shop" or some stupid bill comes in. Honestly for me, it's just over spending in other areas. Mostly going out to eat. Since getting married, it's been hard financially, but we've done ok.

Anyways, if you sign up for their 9 day newsletter, it gives you all their points on how and what to do. And a lot of it as you read, you're like "this is easy! I can do this"

If you want, I still have the emails, I can send them to you. Just pm me uour email address and I'll get them to you tonight.

You can't take it with you when you die and you might as well spend it now while our dollar has some value.

glad to see I'm not alone here, age 25 just completed my first year of marriage we have a mortgage, but we only financed it on 15 years. We own 4 cars and 3 are paid for. But it is honestly paycheck to paycheck and I have informed my boss that if I do not get a 36% raise on 1/1/15 I will walk. She is quitting her minimum wage 35 hr week job in January to finish her degree, student teaching leaves no time for work. Owe about 2k to parents for school. I think about bills 24/7 it is consuming me

Yes it does seem hard no matter what. I'm 29, my wife and I are currently prepping... For a baby that is. Ever since we found out the sex we have been stocking up on diapers, baby food, wipes and other things. But even before the prepping it seems like I was still dishing out just as much. However since the prepping I have cut back on the HD movie channels from dish and been more aware of the basic bills.

It IS hard to save money, but I manage to squirrel  away about $2k a month. Why? Because I hate my job and I'd like to retire some day... some day SOON! (Really fucking SOON)

I knew I wasn't human. I find it very easy.

Track your spending for a couple months. Figure out how much you NEED + a little extra to eat out a little, etc. Have the rest direct deposited into a savings account.

I have 3 direct deposits made when I get a paycheck. The first is a large, budgeted amount in checking to cover necessary bills and a little fun money for my wife and I. The second is a small amount that goes into a savings account tied to my checking account. This money slowly builds up and is used for "extra bills" such as home repairs, car insurance, etc. That way I can pull money from it and not ruin my real savings. If this does build up enough, I'll move it to #3. The third deposit is my real savings at an investment firm. This money is not touched unless I absolutely have to.

Building wealth is simple, it's just not cool. My wife and I live below our means which means we don't have cable TV or a lot of other things people our age (20s) can't live without. I don't miss cable at all and the extra $100 a month is helping me stay on track to retire in my 50's. If you track your expenses and knock out a couple things you can squeeze out a little bit. Compound interest on savings is your best friend.

 

I have found it hard to save. But I have my first baby on the way. I am trying to set priority and make saving mandatory. I mean its hard to put my pistol build on hold. But the baby will be much better than another range toy.

1/3? I wish It was 1/3 for me. This year I'm at 38% of my salary being taken. Next year, they'll be taking 42%!   The downfalls of being a public employee under Christie

make use of allotments so savings are getting placed in investments instead of readily available in your checking account.

Everything costs more and we are trapped into things we didn't need before like phone plans, cable, internet etc etc.

Yes and I blame Palmetto State Armory.  Their specials are sucking my bank account empty.

No problem saving here.

My wife and I both max out our 401k accounts and our HSAs.
We also send monthly 2x/month to our investment accounts.

Anyone considering Dave Ramsey should google for opinions critical of him. He has good aspects and bad ones.

No.  I live far below my means.  I could cover my costs on a minimum wage job.  The rest of it gets socked away

I am like him.

 

Like many here, the wife and I subscribe to the "pay yourself first" strategy.  We each have a substantial portion of our salary pulled out and invested automatically. It goes into our 401Ks and a bit more goes into post-tax investments.  What's left gets direct deposited into our checking account.  Since we didn't see what got pulled out, we don't miss it...and don't spend it.

We also setup another monthly deduction from our checking account direct to Fidelity.  We view it as a monthly bill, so again, we don't think about it...or have to do anything to make it happen each month.  We did the same thing to fund our daughter's 529 plan for college.  She graduates in May...without a single loan.

The trick is to take yourself out of the loop...and then you learn to live on what is left.


It works so well for us that we don't even view those items as savings....and we beat ourselves up if we are not saving some of what is left.  When we save that, we put it in a separate account, which we use for larger expenses and for  emergencies.  Since it's a separate account from the automatic savings/investment accounts, we are never tempted to draw from those other accounts.

I could save more money before I found PSA and AIM.

As long as I keep my credit cards in the other room when I am looking at gun & gear websites, no.

My desire to impulse buy shit is checked by the fact that I am too lazy to get out of my chair that way.

Trying to save for a down payment on a house. Getting closer to my goal, but getting into suppressors and SBR's has slowed progress. Bad part is I am considering selling my truck and getting an M16

The truck is a toy in a reality. One that depreciates, and M16 however would appreciate(unless we can start building our own with F1's in which case F1 all the guns).

Yes, I have another vehicle, just not nearly as nice as the truck. Selling the truck should net me just shy of an M16, while removing payments and vastly decreasing insurance costs.