I need some tips!!!!

I HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM..I'M ALWAYS SPENDING MONEY ON THINGS THAT I REALLY DON'T NEED!!!! JUST WANT TO KNOW IF ANYONE COULD GIVE ME SOME TIPS ON HOW YO SAVE MONEY!!!!!

i heard once that some people do this:

take a plastic container, and fill it with water. put your credit card in the water. put the dish in the freezer. the next time u want to take it [your credit card] out, set the dish on the counter and wait for it to thaw- no cheating, it needs to melt on its own. by the time it has melted, most people dont feel like shopping anymore.

hope this helps!

Are you serious????.....yea, I don't know about that but thanks...lol

Krs, The best advice I can give you is to take it to God in prayer, and ask Him to help you. Ask Him to fill you with The Holy Spirit, and let you not need material things. I am praying for you also! -JIM

Someday you will want to retire, but you can't do that until you can afford to.

Someday you likely will want to send your kids to college. You need a lot of money to do that.

Sometimes emergencies arise, and you need lots of money to deal with them, such as surgery (insurance only covers part of the cost).

I had this problem. What helped me was setting a goal toward something I want or need that is expensive.
Like a lap top, down payment on a car, or an apartment.

It's surprising how much more you want to hold onto that money when you're saving up for something like that.

I have never heard this suggestion before and thought it was very good!

I suppose it all boils down to exercising some 'self-discipline,' a good way to save money is setup some sort of standing order each month which would automatically take out a set amount from your current account (the one your pay is paid into) and put it into a savings account, or maybe some kind of long term bond that you can pay into but not take out for a fixed period, say like 2, 3 or 5 years...

I never buy anything the first time I see it. No matter how bad I want it, I make myself walk away. If I really need it that bad I'll go back.

Another answer is to shop to your heart's content. Then take it all back the next day.

Good advice. It's important to think about the future and save for it.

Lol. I know some people who boast about this...buy an item, use it for a while then return it.
It doesn't always work as some stores have no refund policy.

I've always wanted to try that!

Oh gosh that is brilliant I love it rofl.....gooooood tip. Maybe I can put a piece of tape over the numbers so neither myself or my husband can just take the credit card numbers through the frozen glass lol thats a good facebook post I tell you

Having possessions are not sinful in themselves, but when they possess you then become a god to you then this is wrong. I struggles with this for many years as a professed Christian, I got myself in great debt with credit cards, unnecessary loans so I could have to best cars, house, filled to the brim with excess.

When I came to repentance and faith, through getting fired From long term professional carreer, I woke up, and donated and sold tons on my possessions, and fancy sports car, and home, plus thousands of dollars of things I collected, what a miserable mess I was!

God soon lead me out of my great debt and idolitry, as I submitted myself toHim, was led into a few jobs paying alot less that what I made before, but taught me to save, and give as He called me to, so now I live a modest life, a small apartment, all debts paid off, even my car is paid off, and kept some furniture, clothes etc.

Now I pay cash for things I want and need, asI gave away alot of things that were unecessary.

I enjoy camping in the mountians on occcasion, and have purcheced items for this, especially items for safety, and enjoying Gods great creation etc.
I felt guilty as I purchaced thngs back after I had so much, but now have my priorities in order, as I dont see having things or purchacing things such as clothes, going out for lunch or dinner on occasion, plus some items for camping, outings etc, are wrong in itself, as there were many wealthy men and women in the Bible who were blessed by God, were righteous men and women of God, and thier heart attitude towards thier possessions were right before God, just tempoary things we must be willing to give up and let go of when the spirit calls us to.

But if we worship these things, make them god in our life, forsake God and His truth to have these things, such as to be better than others, have the best car, or the nicest house, etc, then the motive to own these purchaces is wrong, and they become idols, instead of nice additions to our life, which are here today and gone tomorrow.

So be sure you are in the faith, have come to a saving faith through repentance and faith both proven by deeds, walk in His power and strength, we willl make poor decisions at times, or wrong purchaces, but it shouldnt deter us from our mission to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength!

I pray this helps,coming from a person who worshipped things over God and His truth. but now my life in centered on Him and His truth, enjoying things and purchaces in moderation, and correction mistakes I have made, being generious to share what I have with anyone in need, who asks, or is shown to me they are really in need, and I must give it up in a heart beat, as I did several years ago when I ran my debt up and up to apease my flesh,while my heart was still defiled,and double minded, serving two masters, so again for whom do you serve God or your possessions? Your heart and life(fruit) willl reveal this!

Put all of the money you don't need to live on into an IRA. Keep doing it. Problem solved.

Make a monthly budget, and include funds set aside for miscellaneous fun expenses. And adhere to the budget. If your income is all accounted for, there's no room for consistently buying on impulse. Some categories for your budget may also include rent, utilities, food, gas, tithes/charity, revolving debt, loans, emergency savings (build this up to 6 months of expenses), etc. I can't stress enough the importance of putting this in writing. Evaluate your monthly expenditures, major expenses that are coming up, things you would like to save up for (car, trip) and list them accordingly. I like to manage everything on Microsoft Excel, personally, but even a spiral notebook will do. The best way to reach your goal is with a plan.

Also segregate your funds between different accounts...if you know you will need to pay for taxes or car insurance in 6 months, you don't need to have all of those funds easily accessible in your checking account. You could have one savings for emergencies, one for vacations, one for a future home or car purchase, one just for clothes, one for furniture purchases, and so on. While CD rates are absolutely terrible, for someone who spends impulsively, it can be a great tool for locking up your funds for a few months until you actually need them.

You are young, you should also be considering investing if you aren't doing it already. Contribute enough to get the full match from your employer's 401k plan, don't leave free money on the table. If they don't offer a 401k with a matching contribution, or if you already max out the match then you are at the prime age for contributing to a Roth IRA. The beauty is that if you have an emergency, you can still pull out all of your principal tax-free. (Any GROWTH is subject to an early withdrawal tax penalty before age 59.5)

You are at a great age to build a serious nest egg if you can implement some changes to how you approach your personal finances. I urge you to play around with time value of money (TVM) calculators online, so you can see for yourself. Make a written plan, segregate your funds to suit your personal needs, and start being proactive in saving and long term investing.

I have a buddy who does that all the time. He calls it "the Costco rental program". Embarrasses the heck out of me.

I was suggesting the item be returned unopened and unused.

A few other suggestions for saving money and curbing your spending:

Be mindful of how much advertising you're exposed to on tv, the internet, wherever.

Distance yourself from friends who are always spending, going out, eating at restaurants, etc. Don't get me wrong, its ok to have fun, but you can alleviate some of the pressure to spend by not putting yourself in a position where you feel compelled to keep up with a friend.

Don't go food shopping when you're hungry.

Make shopping lists, don't go into a store with no idea on what you plan to buy.

Sell and donate things you currently own and don't need...you can use the cash you generate from those sales to purchase clothes or whatever it is you spend on. Better yet, take that cash and put it in savings or invest it.

Do it yourself: I am a HUGE DIY-er. Rather than paying for things and services, see if you can do the work yourself. I've painted my piano on my own, modge-podged cute fabric onto old boxes for extra storage, etc. I am currently working on making my own upholstered headboard (the wood and fabric are significantly waaaaay cheaper than buying an already upholstered headboard) and creating a cover for my kindle, but you can learn to be crafty and make new stuff out of your old stuff. Its fun, I promise.

Don't underestimate dollar stores...I buy staple items almost exclusively at the dollar store, like paper towels, aluminum foil, nail polish remover, etc. Heck, I buy eggs and peanut butter from the Dollar Tree (don't judge). I'm no couponer, but I will often stop in at the dollar tree to see if they have what I'm looking for before I go somewhere else.

One thing that works for me is limiting almost all of my shopping to only on paydays, also. You shouldn't have to stop in a retail store every day. If you can reduce the number of times you go to a store, you reduce the amount you spend as well, so make sure you get everything you need on that first trip.

Hope this helps!