Ask Lemmy

Money is easier to spend than to make.

I had a ~20 paragraph reply on my clipboard but Voyager can't post it.

Edit: pasted it into Gmail instead, then copied it and pasted it again as plain text then copied it again and pasted as a child. Lost all the carriage returns in the process. (it's nearly 4am and I'm using my phone.)

For context, it was written for a small town Facebook group but Facebook also blocked it for breaching community standards so I never published it.

If you can afford this...

...Whenever you're at the store and make a debit card purchase with the option for cash back, get some back. $5, $10, $20...whatever. And put this into a rainy-day fund. You never know when you might need some quick cash or it'd be the make-or-break for a quick splurge.

Granted, I learned of this method from a friend of the family who used this method to hide money from her husband so take it with a grain of salt.

Spending money on higher quality products makes more sense than having to buy the lower quality product multiple times in the same span. But also don’t assume just because it’s more expensive that it’s higher quality.

I was spending $80-120 each year on lower quality hiking boots. About 10 years ago I finally spent $250 on high quality Merrells, haven’t needed to buy a new pair since. I hope the quality is still the same when I need to buy a new pair in 2035.

Baby wipes are cheap and have a million uses. Don't bother with distinguishing between feet wipes, hand wipes, butt wipes and face wipes: Normal skin doesn't give a fuck.

Pile as much money as you can, as often as you can, into VTSMX or VTSAX and chill.

Do not user Klarma-esque services unless it's important. Same with payday loans.

You can use credit cards to build your credit, but your goal should be to pay it off each month. The first month you cannot pay it off in full (sans emergencies), stop using that card until you pay it off.

Bills get paid first. For loans, if possible, try to pay every two weeks to help bring it down faster.

Having a pet is not just getting a buddy, you need to be prepared to take care of them. They cost money and will keep costing money until they pass.

Honestly, check your job's benifits. They hide a lot of stuff sometimes. It was a year into my employment before I realized my job could make monthly payments on student loans. Their payments have saved me in some tight months. 👀

Edit: if you live alone and your place is small (or at least one level) you may want to look into a portable ac, even if you have central air. I take a lot of depression naps so I'm usually in my room, so that's really the only pace I need it. My cat knows where to go when it gets warm and we usually hang out in that room until it gets cooler (of course, if it's bad, I'll turn it on). It's saved me on my electric this year enough to pay for the $160 I got it for (though I was kicking myself because Craigslist had them for cheap).

Learn about taxes and get a good tax guy. There's a lot of "hacks" you could use to significantly reduce the amount you need to pay to the tax office. Best case scenario - you own an investment property which means you can write off all expenses, including mortgage interests.

Before buying a house, learn about home loans. Get yourself an offset account and for investment property get an interest only loan. Refinance your loan every time there's a better deal.

Put all your payments, bills, rent, etc. on a credit card that earns you some points. Over time you will get free stuff just for paying your bills.

If you can afford it, put away 10% of all your income to a savings account. If 10% is too much put away as much as possible.

If you're into risk, invest into stocks. I would recommend long term investments in well established companies that will give a nice return in 5-10 years. If you're a dare devil, look into penny stocks with large dividends.

Stay away from crypto and "lucky shots". If it's too good to be true it's not worth it.

• Save first. If you aren't living paycheck to paycheck, then always put your money in a separated bank account for saving.

This help eliminating the need to keeping track of your spending.

• If you tend to be fined for overdraft, then use an overdraft protection service. The service fee is much lower than the OD fee.