The title is misleading because it would imply that you are actually "trying" to save. But it sounds like you're just spending without budgeting. You need to itemize every cent that goes out the door and open a savings account you don't touch.
[you need to do a budget.](https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/budgeting)
gather up all of your bank statements for the year and start categorizing everything you have spent to see what your current budget is like. then evaluate the things you are buying a decide what items dont need to be bought.
It's not rocket science. Spend less than you make.
If you find that you cannot have money and not spend it than ask a parent or loved one for help in maintaining accountability.
Sit down and write out a budget. Where every dollar you spend goes. Don’t skip things. How much goes to bills, how much to entertainment, food, gas, etc. Be thorough. My guess is you’ll be surprised how much is just being frivolously spent
I’m 21F and going through something similar except I live with my boyfriend and have actual living expenses & bills though I can have poor spending habits. From my experience, I would suggest having a safe and pulling out physical cash amounts of what u want to save per paycheck. Have a monthly saving goal that will add up to your end-of-year saving goal also helps. Or open up a savings account that’s not tied to your bank and put it there. Out of sight, out of mind a form of discipline that works in my book. I get pissed when I have to dig into my savings for something non serious.
And like others said, having a budget really helps! as well as changing your mindset. Stop thinking about pointless wants or consumerism, stay on what you need. Keep your disposable income for emergencies and perhaps, buy 1 thing u really want for yourself once a month. The older you get, the harder it is to change that habit of spending for the sake of fun or personal wants, just think about ur future and where you want to be.
Start by tracking EVERY dollar you spend. Put in a spreadsheet each day, every dollar you spend. Analyze where it’s going at the end of the month. Then make a budget of what you want.
Chances are money is slipping away in areas that you don’t even realize.
Do this. When you get paid, give your parents $500 to hold for you. Tell them NOT to give it back. Do that every paycheck. Do not "forget". Make it a PRIORITY.
Also, learn to budget. Seriously. I \*highly\* recommend YNAB - you can find out all about it on r/ynab
Once you get some self-discipline you can quit using your parents as a bank, and take over your own finances again.
Make a budget. You make 2800, where's the 2300 going? You need to figure out where your money is being spent and then cut back on the unnecessary/excess spending until you are saving the amount you want to.
I honestly have no clue and that's what annoying me. I did spend almost around $380 on prescription glasses and another $180 on headphones this month. Other than that I think I go to Walmart alot and spend but it still baffles me
The backwards look at spending is helpful in making a budget, but it’s not a budget. A budget is a forward look at what you WANT to be spending in each category. My living at home young adult is a decent saver even without a budget, but we’re helping him practice budgeting anyway. The hardest thing is the non-recurring expenses that are big later - healthcare, Christmas, etc.
Categories my live at home young adult has:
- Regular savings - also saving in his 401k, but since he doesn’t see that it’s not in his budget.
- Car expenses - insurance, gas, maintenance (which goes to savings since it’s not every month).
- Phone
- Healthcare - still on our insurance, but covering out of pocket costs - not every month so goes in to savings
- Groceries/personal needs- occasional stop at the store to pick up a few things for the house and personal needs (things like shampoo)
- Eating out/door dash
- Gifts (Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, weddings, etc.) - also goes to savings since it’s not every month
- Entertainment/subscriptions
- Clothing/shoes
- Travel/camping/road trips
- Haircuts/personal care services
Things that have worked for me to curb mindless spending.
1. Before every trip into any store, make a list. Stick to the list.
2. If the list is small (Walmart for Shampoo and toothpaste) don’t grab a cart or a basket.
3. Know the areas of the store that are problems and avoid them - crafts, snacks, makeup, jewelry - whatever your, “this is so great, I need one!” area is.
4. If you see something you must have - I don’t care if it is $5 or $100 - leave it. Sleep on it. Check your house. Do you really need it? Where will you put it? What will you purge to make room for it? In three days, is it worth a trip back to that store to buy it?
Get an old school calendar. Put a star on every day you spend zero.
What are you spending your money on?
Do you have direct deposit? Open a savings account and have part of your payroll transferred to that account automatically.
Well, make it less accessible, or open a savings that is more inaccessible.
I can recommend BMO Alto for that.
Did your mother (who is currently disappointed) ever teach you about budgeting as you were growing up? It's hard to suddenly do adulting when you have never practiced it. What happened to your money as you were growing up?
That's what the teen years are for, to teach us to be adults before we actually are adults.
this'll probably be very unpopular here but this is what worked for me.
I found that when I lived with my parents, most of my spending was related to just wanting to get out of the house.
thinking back, it sounds like a bad idea, but it worked really well for me. I moved out from my parents house and split an apartment with a friend. This did 2 things for me:
1. I wasn't really trying to get away from anything, so I was pretty content most days to just stay home (this is where I saved a lot)
2. I worried about money, and it motivated me to work more, to the point where the weekends were the only time I really had free, and not always every weekend.
I've never, even to this day kept a budget, but that was the first move I made where I started to see my bank balances climb.
The title is misleading because it would imply that you are actually "trying" to save. But it sounds like you're just spending without budgeting. You need to itemize every cent that goes out the door and open a savings account you don't touch.
you are definitely correct.
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/budgeting
[you need to do a budget.](https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/budgeting) gather up all of your bank statements for the year and start categorizing everything you have spent to see what your current budget is like. then evaluate the things you are buying a decide what items dont need to be bought.
It's not rocket science. Spend less than you make. If you find that you cannot have money and not spend it than ask a parent or loved one for help in maintaining accountability.
Sit down and write out a budget. Where every dollar you spend goes. Don’t skip things. How much goes to bills, how much to entertainment, food, gas, etc. Be thorough. My guess is you’ll be surprised how much is just being frivolously spent
I’m 21F and going through something similar except I live with my boyfriend and have actual living expenses & bills though I can have poor spending habits. From my experience, I would suggest having a safe and pulling out physical cash amounts of what u want to save per paycheck. Have a monthly saving goal that will add up to your end-of-year saving goal also helps. Or open up a savings account that’s not tied to your bank and put it there. Out of sight, out of mind a form of discipline that works in my book. I get pissed when I have to dig into my savings for something non serious. And like others said, having a budget really helps! as well as changing your mindset. Stop thinking about pointless wants or consumerism, stay on what you need. Keep your disposable income for emergencies and perhaps, buy 1 thing u really want for yourself once a month. The older you get, the harder it is to change that habit of spending for the sake of fun or personal wants, just think about ur future and where you want to be.
Thank you for your insight
Take your weekly paycheck and divide by 5. Take that amount and stick it in a savings account. Act like it doesn't exist.
Start by tracking EVERY dollar you spend. Put in a spreadsheet each day, every dollar you spend. Analyze where it’s going at the end of the month. Then make a budget of what you want. Chances are money is slipping away in areas that you don’t even realize.
Do this. When you get paid, give your parents $500 to hold for you. Tell them NOT to give it back. Do that every paycheck. Do not "forget". Make it a PRIORITY. Also, learn to budget. Seriously. I \*highly\* recommend YNAB - you can find out all about it on r/ynab Once you get some self-discipline you can quit using your parents as a bank, and take over your own finances again.
Warning: if your parents were the type to hold ur birthday money and you never saw it again, I would not recommend lol
My folks would take all my birthday money and put it in a savings account - which they did give to me eventually.
You had it good pal
Thank you will do
Make a budget. You make 2800, where's the 2300 going? You need to figure out where your money is being spent and then cut back on the unnecessary/excess spending until you are saving the amount you want to.
I honestly have no clue and that's what annoying me. I did spend almost around $380 on prescription glasses and another $180 on headphones this month. Other than that I think I go to Walmart alot and spend but it still baffles me
this is why you need to track All you expenses, to see exactly where your money is going.
The backwards look at spending is helpful in making a budget, but it’s not a budget. A budget is a forward look at what you WANT to be spending in each category. My living at home young adult is a decent saver even without a budget, but we’re helping him practice budgeting anyway. The hardest thing is the non-recurring expenses that are big later - healthcare, Christmas, etc. Categories my live at home young adult has: - Regular savings - also saving in his 401k, but since he doesn’t see that it’s not in his budget. - Car expenses - insurance, gas, maintenance (which goes to savings since it’s not every month). - Phone - Healthcare - still on our insurance, but covering out of pocket costs - not every month so goes in to savings - Groceries/personal needs- occasional stop at the store to pick up a few things for the house and personal needs (things like shampoo) - Eating out/door dash - Gifts (Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, weddings, etc.) - also goes to savings since it’s not every month - Entertainment/subscriptions - Clothing/shoes - Travel/camping/road trips - Haircuts/personal care services Things that have worked for me to curb mindless spending. 1. Before every trip into any store, make a list. Stick to the list. 2. If the list is small (Walmart for Shampoo and toothpaste) don’t grab a cart or a basket. 3. Know the areas of the store that are problems and avoid them - crafts, snacks, makeup, jewelry - whatever your, “this is so great, I need one!” area is. 4. If you see something you must have - I don’t care if it is $5 or $100 - leave it. Sleep on it. Check your house. Do you really need it? Where will you put it? What will you purge to make room for it? In three days, is it worth a trip back to that store to buy it? Get an old school calendar. Put a star on every day you spend zero.
Thank you, I will test this out
What are you spending your money on? Do you have direct deposit? Open a savings account and have part of your payroll transferred to that account automatically.
I have a direct deposit and savings, the only issue is that the savings account is easily accessible by me and I'm always withdrawing money
Well, make it less accessible, or open a savings that is more inaccessible. I can recommend BMO Alto for that. Did your mother (who is currently disappointed) ever teach you about budgeting as you were growing up? It's hard to suddenly do adulting when you have never practiced it. What happened to your money as you were growing up? That's what the teen years are for, to teach us to be adults before we actually are adults.
When you want to save money bad enough, you won't have trouble finding the discipline to do so.
This was so helpful omg! I did not know that wow!!
this'll probably be very unpopular here but this is what worked for me. I found that when I lived with my parents, most of my spending was related to just wanting to get out of the house. thinking back, it sounds like a bad idea, but it worked really well for me. I moved out from my parents house and split an apartment with a friend. This did 2 things for me: 1. I wasn't really trying to get away from anything, so I was pretty content most days to just stay home (this is where I saved a lot) 2. I worried about money, and it motivated me to work more, to the point where the weekends were the only time I really had free, and not always every weekend. I've never, even to this day kept a budget, but that was the first move I made where I started to see my bank balances climb.
So, let’s take May as an example. What did you spend the money on?
I spent $694.76 at Walmart. $332 on dining out and skip the dishes
That would leave you with $1,800?