Recently, my boyfriend came upon a situation where he spent more money than he realized in a rather short period of time. Of course, since I could not understand such situation, as a fellow woman I blamed it on his gender. I was upset of course since I wanted to help him save up money for his future but in just a month nearly 1/3 of it was gone. However, when I talked to my mother she told me everyone had such situation where they spend more than they thought they did: herself, my older brother who I idealize, and many other people whom I knew and respected.
When I analyzed his spendings most of it was outside food purchases or within our college. Most of the food was $4.50 or $6.40 but he purchase food and drink almost every day. The main problem is that spending $4 there or $6 here doesn't seem big of a difference. But if it is spent every day it can sum up to $40-$150 a week or two. For a college student commuting, I think that is a big sum. Since I love to eat, my allowance or paychecks are usually spent on food. But when I receive a money I create guidelines, I create a certain percentage of how much will go to savings, how much for life necessities, school, enjoyment/food. So my plan looks something like this:
I am strict with this distribution and it only changes when rent is higher or I am using my car so I can cover all my costs. So soon as I have the money, I split it up into their own envelope or container.
I have four different envelopes for each category. So the money isn't in one pile. This prevents you from looking at a big stash, thinking "Ahhh. So hungry... Hold on... Look so much money...ah...hmm...well taking out 20 won't hurt." And this is when you self destruct!
This is an example of my distributions. Let's assume it is a bimonthly check. Personally I have paid for rent a year in advance so I only have to worry about light bill and internet bill. Since it is split among 3 people, I usually end up paying around 50 dollars monthly. The rest 40 of my necessities goes on groceries, gasoline, and Netflix (remember its biweekly) this means the next week I have extra 90 again and I just save up in the same envelope. But I have a rule, if each envelope exceeds 150 dollars I follow the distribution again.
You can create the distribution based on
- your monthly spendings
- by amount you want to save in certain period of time
If you are a student who wants to save money, eating outside will greatly damage your savings. Just bare out for a month and then go eat sushi for 30 dollars or so as a gift to yourself. To avoid any spendings, I follow these routines:
- I carry tea bags with me so don't need to buy drinks
- Refillable water bottle
- Crackers - few can fill you up instantly so you can wait for dinner
- Small lunch boxes (I like to fill it up with asian food since their recipes are simple, fast and nutritious plus delicious)
- I also try to carry only few dollar bills on me so I don't go biserk and buy everything when my wallet is full and I am not.
- Gum
Another important step: write down your spendings.
I bought a small notebook on sale in Rite-Aid and every small or big spending goes in there. So this makes me conscious of the amount I am truly spending rather than being deceived by small amounts here and there.
Basically: If you don't need it, don't buy it. If you spend some, you write it down. Distribute right away and evenly. If its not for rent, don't touch the savings.
I feel the distribution process is very helpful in the future also, since it makes the income be more organized, the spendings more controlled and savings more easier accomplished. Hope it works for you. Please leave your thoughts about this. I would like to learn new techniques or tips as well.
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