When i was a teen, I liked spending, partying and so on. Like us all 
i worked pretty hard, often 12-16 hour days in construction. made good money, but had nothing to show for it after all the "expenses".
So i\I tried a method my dad said he used when he tried to raise a baby and buy a house when young. Envelopes. Nothing new, people here may use them.
basically its like this.
Right down every bill you have one an individual envelope. for me it was like this:
Gas
Insurance (car i was too poor to have health insurance)
electricity
water
rent
food ( i divided it into days, i had a budget for each day)
Monday through Sunday, 7 envelopes.
savings.
spending
phone
yours will vary to your needs.
the trick is to NEVER ever take anything OUT of an envelope. no matter what. I had a lot of hungry nights, i wont lie.
Write down teh cost of each bill as best you can guestimate. A tad more is better than less.
As all the bills are paid (no penalties) you can keep th left over in that bill for the next month. When you totally catch up on say electricity bills, start putting the left over into phone, or something else you behind on. I find it more efficient to get rid of smaller bills first, despite feeling i should try to tackle the big ones first. I foudn that going after the big ones first, i got overwhelmed and gave up a lot easier. Getting rid of easy small debts first made my life WAY less stressful, really it did.
over time i got out of debt, and instead of putting the extras into otehr bills, or using it for spending i put it ALL in to saving. I had a rule. I would *never* touch my savings account. In fact i made it so i had to go into the bank in person and sign to take out money with a family member (co account). This discouraged impulse buying. Also never have a debit card...or credit card. Sorry, i have yet to meet a single person that is 100% self controlled about those things...
Also i rented with a friend, split the rent makes things way cheaper. At one point i lived in my car, and camped in the summer....i know this is not what many would do, but man can you save a TON of cash without rent/electricity and water bills....i mean a LOT! but its not comfortable, no question.
When i used envelopes, i could clearly see what cost what, i could put the mone into them right when i got paid, and when i spent my spending money, i was basically sh*t out of luck fo rht erest of the month. Its a self controll thing, but it makes self control easier. My father always says, if you have money with you, it will ge tspent. That is very true. Have a few bucks in your pocket when your downtown. "Hmmm, i am thirsty, maybe i will jsut get a drink." $2 down. "Maybe i can get a quick bite ate Mcdonalds." $7 bucks down.
I started recording everything i spent, and was SHOCKED at how about 30% of my ENTIRE paycheck went to crap. snack foods, movies, beer, random stuff that now sits at the bottom of a rubbermaid tub, which also cost me $5 and just stores other garbage i dont care about anymore.
Some thing si found really useful to at least realize.
Avoid spending on convenience. No credit cards and such.
Don't carry more money than i actually need when i go out. If i know i need $50 worth of groceries, i bring $60 and dont stop at the gas station or movie store.
dont have cable or internet. where i am from in canada, the combo sets you back $100 a month, craziness. And i find TV to be absolutely mindless now, and internet is free at the library.
ride a bike, or walk....gas adds up, really it does.
dont drive a run down car...maintenance ona beater far exceeds the cost of buying a newish, in-good-shape car.
also have a car that has cheap insurance...aka granny car. avoid the sports versions and gas suckers.
and the easiest, most common sense thing to do, don't be lazy. how much energy does it take to flip off a light switch, turn off the tv/computer/car when not used, walk to the store instead of drive etc. That was a huge saver for me, i sold my car and bought a bike. everything was within 10km for me, so it was feasible. my work wasnt, so i quit and took a $2/hour wage cut, but it worked out that i had far more $ in the end than making $2 more an hour and driving/insuring a car.
just some thoughts to hopefully help people. it dug me out of a hole. i am 24 years old, and own 5 acres with 2 houses in a decent area close to town in a very expensive real estate province. its a fixer uper, no doubt....but its mine Though i have to say i had a lot of help from family, so i am lucky that way as well.
hope you find what your looking for in your life, i did
i worked pretty hard, often 12-16 hour days in construction. made good money, but had nothing to show for it after all the "expenses".So i\I tried a method my dad said he used when he tried to raise a baby and buy a house when young. Envelopes. Nothing new, people here may use them.
basically its like this.
Right down every bill you have one an individual envelope. for me it was like this:
Gas
Insurance (car i was too poor to have health insurance)
electricity
water
rent
food ( i divided it into days, i had a budget for each day)
Monday through Sunday, 7 envelopes.
savings.
spending
phone
yours will vary to your needs.
the trick is to NEVER ever take anything OUT of an envelope. no matter what. I had a lot of hungry nights, i wont lie.
Write down teh cost of each bill as best you can guestimate. A tad more is better than less.
As all the bills are paid (no penalties) you can keep th left over in that bill for the next month. When you totally catch up on say electricity bills, start putting the left over into phone, or something else you behind on. I find it more efficient to get rid of smaller bills first, despite feeling i should try to tackle the big ones first. I foudn that going after the big ones first, i got overwhelmed and gave up a lot easier. Getting rid of easy small debts first made my life WAY less stressful, really it did.
over time i got out of debt, and instead of putting the extras into otehr bills, or using it for spending i put it ALL in to saving. I had a rule. I would *never* touch my savings account. In fact i made it so i had to go into the bank in person and sign to take out money with a family member (co account). This discouraged impulse buying. Also never have a debit card...or credit card. Sorry, i have yet to meet a single person that is 100% self controlled about those things...
Also i rented with a friend, split the rent makes things way cheaper. At one point i lived in my car, and camped in the summer....i know this is not what many would do, but man can you save a TON of cash without rent/electricity and water bills....i mean a LOT! but its not comfortable, no question.
When i used envelopes, i could clearly see what cost what, i could put the mone into them right when i got paid, and when i spent my spending money, i was basically sh*t out of luck fo rht erest of the month. Its a self controll thing, but it makes self control easier. My father always says, if you have money with you, it will ge tspent. That is very true. Have a few bucks in your pocket when your downtown. "Hmmm, i am thirsty, maybe i will jsut get a drink." $2 down. "Maybe i can get a quick bite ate Mcdonalds." $7 bucks down.
I started recording everything i spent, and was SHOCKED at how about 30% of my ENTIRE paycheck went to crap. snack foods, movies, beer, random stuff that now sits at the bottom of a rubbermaid tub, which also cost me $5 and just stores other garbage i dont care about anymore.
Some thing si found really useful to at least realize.
Avoid spending on convenience. No credit cards and such.
Don't carry more money than i actually need when i go out. If i know i need $50 worth of groceries, i bring $60 and dont stop at the gas station or movie store.
dont have cable or internet. where i am from in canada, the combo sets you back $100 a month, craziness. And i find TV to be absolutely mindless now, and internet is free at the library.
ride a bike, or walk....gas adds up, really it does.
dont drive a run down car...maintenance ona beater far exceeds the cost of buying a newish, in-good-shape car.
also have a car that has cheap insurance...aka granny car. avoid the sports versions and gas suckers.
and the easiest, most common sense thing to do, don't be lazy. how much energy does it take to flip off a light switch, turn off the tv/computer/car when not used, walk to the store instead of drive etc. That was a huge saver for me, i sold my car and bought a bike. everything was within 10km for me, so it was feasible. my work wasnt, so i quit and took a $2/hour wage cut, but it worked out that i had far more $ in the end than making $2 more an hour and driving/insuring a car.
just some thoughts to hopefully help people. it dug me out of a hole. i am 24 years old, and own 5 acres with 2 houses in a decent area close to town in a very expensive real estate province. its a fixer uper, no doubt....but its mine
Though i have to say i had a lot of help from family, so i am lucky that way as well. hope you find what your looking for in your life, i did
but so much of that post had great common sense values!
