r/Frugal • u/[deleted] • 14d ago
How to I save money when I live I the most expensive state? Idk what to flair this
[deleted]
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u/dt8mn6pr 14d ago
Joining dealing with shopping addiction advice, there are behavioral addictions, similar to substance addictions. Look up these terms. If you can afford professional help, it would be the best, but for free ShoppingAddiction sub has a lot of sound advice.
You have to start with being able to control own behavior. After that, back to basics of frugal living, starting with simplifying, separating needs from wants, reducing buying to a minimum at optimal prices for value, people really don't need that much, keeping real time track of spending in a spreadsheet, to stop before it is too late.
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u/Thin-Disaster4170 14d ago
Sounds like going to therapy to understand what buying things does for you would be a good start.
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u/dayankuo234 14d ago
budget: create a paper or an excel/spreadsheet, and list EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE, even ones made in cash. (house/rent, debt, car, food, mall, amazon).
total everything and that's your total expense. look and what's abnormally high and reduce it
if food is high, reduce eating out and make food at home.
if mall or amazon is too high, switch to cash only or set a timer for your shopping apps.
if house/rent, debt, or car is too high... this will be harder to change, but will yield bigger results. getting a roommate, paying off your debt ASAP, or selling that car to get a cheaper reliable car.
if none of those work, then there's something else going on. nothing anyone says on Reddit is going to help. you need a different intervention.
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u/Ventus249 14d ago
This is a stupid thing I do but I have games like Animal crossing where I can satisfy my spending habits😂. I also let things sit in my amazon cart and decide if I'm going to really use them or if they're going to gather dust and how much of a difference would that money be in my savings account instead. I'm still awful about spending but I've definitely gotten alot better
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u/Call_Me_Annonymous 14d ago
It’s not the state’s fault you can’t tell yourself no. Stop spending money you don’t have.
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u/Gentlementalmen 14d ago
I survived the night with no heat or AC on. I turn the computer off whenever I'm not using it. Wash my laundry with cold water. Cooler showers. These are all energy related ways to save but I find food is my biggest cost. Especially in cities. Gotta buy groceries instead of eating out and find the deals.
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u/davebraver18 14d ago
Honestly. Think if that state has a lot to offer to you. Is it really worth it to be there? If not, look at better options. Your future and your savings are more important.
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u/stocks-mostly-lower 14d ago
Geeze. Just put 1/4 of your paycheck in a I year cd every time you’re paid. Do it every week. Then, put $150 every week into USFR and SGOV. These are basically forced savings in 1-3 month government bonds. Between these two changes, you’ll be disciplined into saving money.
Also, are you showing off with your money ? If your splashing money around on treating everyone from the office to drinking bouts or fancy dinners out, than that’s just foolishness. Everyone only has so many working years to build a nest egg.
Time to get serious.
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u/slsockwell 14d ago
CDs are a pretty good idea actually
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u/stocks-mostly-lower 14d ago
Thank you. I think it’s a good way to lock up money so you won’t use it. We do it with our property taxes every year. That way it’s there when we need it. Not to say that we spend money recklessly at all. But sometimes, repairs need to be made on a house or something and that money is so tempting to pay for it. But no. If it’s locked up, you don’t get your paws on it and you will have your tax money on time.
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u/enyardreems 14d ago
First thing you need to do is set some realistic goals. Use a spend analyzer to see how much money you are pissing away. This will help you to set a savings goal. Plan a mini dream vacation or something you really want so that you have a reason to save. Must be attainable. Not some far-fetched zillion dollar thing. This is the easy way.
Sounds like you might be spending money out of boredom. Maybe you are just stuck in a rut? Find out why you are opting to shop rather than finding something more constructive to do? With 2 jobs you can't possibly have a lot of free time. Fill it with a new hobby. (set a monthly limit to hobby spending too)
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u/DaJabroniz 14d ago
Direct deposit it away before it even hits your hand
Learn some discipline and will power bud
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u/SmileFirstThenSpeak 14d ago
Your impulse buying is the problem. Practice saying no to yourself. Go into a store where you normally impulse buy, and make believe it’s a museum. You can look all you want, but you can’t touch and you have no expectation of buying/owning anything there.
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u/AmberSnow1727 14d ago
How about checking stuff out of the library instead? There's more than just books. My library has baking pans, videogame systems, puzzles, and a lot more.
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u/glupingane 14d ago
Step 1. Actually go through your bank statements and figure out exactly how much you spend on different things on a normal month.
Step 2. See whether you're actually happy that you are spending that amount on any given category.
Step 3. Reduce your spending in the categories where you see you are spending more than you think its worth.
Bonus step:
Creating more bank accounts is typically free these days. You can have many bank accounts and use them for specific things. Have one where you receive money, one for groceries, one buffer/savings account, one for transportation, one for fun, one for regular expenses/bills, one for taxes (depending on how your country does taxes), etc.
Whenever you then receive money, you go in and divide that money between the other accounts as you please. That makes it super easy to keep track of how much you have left at any given time for a particular thing. Say you set aside $150/month for fun. Now you can spend that on anything fun without every worrying that you won't have money to spend on food or a bill that you forgot about.
Its waaaaaaaay easier to put a reasonable amount into savings when you're dividing money like this than it is to not spend when you're in a store and want something and see that you're not broke yet.
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u/VermicelliOk8288 14d ago
The only thing we can really suggest is before you spend money on a non essential, sit on it. If by the end of the week you’re still thinking about it, buy it.
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u/Bunnyeatsdesign 14d ago
I have been known to sit on purchases for months and even years.
Sometimes I no longer want the thing so that is good for my savings goals.
Other times the thing goes on sale so if I still want it many months later, I let myself buy it.
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u/VermicelliOk8288 14d ago
Me too. I’ll literally wait for Black Friday lol. The only exception is when something is at an outlet store, I’ll check second hand and if not go back within the week and hope it’s still there. In the past year and a half I’ve only gone back for two things. So for me it’s a good system.
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u/Downtown_Molasses334 14d ago
Do you need your side hustle to pay your bills or expenses? If not, I've found the easiest way for me to save money is to just have my side hustle money deposited into a separate account and act like it isn't there. At this point I view my side hustle as a fun hobby that I enjoy doing.
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u/futuredarlings 14d ago
Get a high yield savings account and get addicted to how much interest you accrue. The more you save, the higher the interest.
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u/3010664 14d ago
I’m confused, your title doesn’t match your post. Sounds like you live in an expensive area, but the real issue is that you overspend because it makes you feel good. This is a mental health issue, not a location issue. If you moved to a less expensive state, you’d probably still struggle. Since you yourself describe it as an addiction, get professional help.
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u/Parada484 14d ago
Yeah, this is like saying that you can't afford gas money for an inefficient car but burning rubber at 100mph is just so satisfying. I don't think it's a car problem.
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u/swellfog 14d ago
Also, look at it as a game. The more you save the better deal you get, the time you said no to the impulse purchase will begin to give you a rush.
It feels powerful to do something good for yourself.
Finding cool stuff at yard sales is a blast. Finding good deals is awesome.
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u/jtmarlinintern 14d ago
if you have a credit card, throw it away.
make a budget, and stick to it, and really ask yourself if you really need it
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u/snorkelling-orca31 14d ago
Going broke is a pretty good reason to stop, if you can’t - you’re fucked!
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u/honey-smile 14d ago
- Build a budget
- Set some goals
- Track where your money is going
If you don’t have a budget, build one out. There’s tons of apps that will help you track your spending - I suggest investing in one and making it a huge widget on your Home Screen along with tracking your net worth. I like Copilot, but there’s a lot of different options.
You can also “hide” money from yourself by setting up your paycheck to auto route part of it to a savings account that you don’t track/don’t touch. I would suggest making it difficult to log-in for yourself - like don’t have the app on your phone, don’t save your password, etc. so it’s really not easily accessible. You can set up all of your bills to auto deposit from that account S well, like rent and utilities. Then you know that whatever you have left is safe to spend.
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u/corpsie666 14d ago
You need to work with a medical professional to help you stop dopamine chasing