35 Ways To Save Money That Don’t Require A PhD To Grasp, As Shared By People Online

Add me to your family if you find him.

I'm in the market for an older, rich relative too. I'm not picky about relation or gender!

It does, but that is the purpose of having it. When disaster strikes and the heating or car is broken, you have a cushion to make sure that your life goes on uninterrupted. I may take months or years to get it back again, but it is still better than having to borrow money to pay for these things.

Kathryn, yes, if you’re dirt poor it’s impossible. I think I have a lot of money in my bank account when it sometimes goes to over £1k, but it’s soon wiped out by all my bills, it’s so demoralising. I’m selling as much stuff as I can to make a bit of extra cash. My emergency fund is luck.

Only works if you have some extra money to tell yourself is "un-spendable" to begin with. Not everyone has that.

The easiest lies are the ones we tell ourselves... I agree with u though, it sounds ridículous.

I have multiple and use them vigorously. They've given me more than a few free flights and hotel stays thanks to the rewards. Just make sure to pay them off before the month ends and you won't pay interest.

Using a credit card will help you in the future. If you ever want to purchase a car , house, condo, etc. You will need a credit rating. If you never use credit, your rating will be very low. This will result in you paying higher interest rates for mortgages, car loans, etc. However, if you use a credit card for minor purchases only -- say 50 bucks a month -- and pay it back in full every month, then you can increase your credit rating to the highest bracket. This will save you tens of thousands of dollars over the course of your lifetime.

i have two credit cards, mostly use them to pay bills, both give cash back, and i pay them off every month without fail. been doing that for 35 years. free money!

One of the best ways to establish and grow good credit is to have a credit card that you only use to buy things you already have cash for, and pay it off every month. Just never carry a balance.

You're short changing yourself. Using your credit card responsibly by charging things you would already buy and paying off the balance fully each month earns you points or airline miles

Because no one taught you how to use it correctly. In fact no one gets that important lessons in life and we should.

I have one just for the bonuses, and I pay it in full each month. Also, having no credit history is bad for your credit, a ridiculous rule but a real one.

I have in the past. I couldn’t afford parking at the hospital; so used the card to pay for parking to visit my terminally ill husband and best friend for 40 years. He was 56 when he passed. I had to declare bankruptcy a year later. No more cards and I’m very reluctant to get one.

We have credit cards, but pay them back immediately. One card I only use a couple of times a year to keep the account open, since that account is my oldest one, and has the biggest credit line. In all the years I've had it, I've maxed it out once, to pay for a funeral, which was paid off, as soon as the insurance money came in my. Another card is the Costco card, which we put everything on, including some utilities, and pay off at the end of the month. Then we have cards for specific stores that will give us stuff like a percentage off of certain amounts, but we always make sure we have the money to pay it off. When you have a house that needs work, it's nice to get any discounts you can.

I have one and I just use it to pay for bills I already have enough for in my bank account. That way once the bills go through, I pay the credit card using the same money, and the payment on the card counts towards my credit. That's it. Thanks to that, my credit went from very bad (cuz I quite literally had no credit history) to very good in only a couple of years. Which will definitely come in handy the next time I'm ready to move because there are a LOT of places out there that require a credit check. Last time I had to hunt for an apartment with no credit, it. Effing. SUCKED!

I know people who put everything on credit cards but pay it off. They get a lot of cash back. Must be nice to afford that, lol.

Unfortunately, the system is completely against people who do not own or use a credit card (UK at least). You need to prove you can repay credit in order to get the best deals, and the types of mortgage available to those without credit cards are terrible. A simple solution is to use a credit card for certain things, such as petrol or bills - which you pay of in full every month. You don't have to spend more than you have in the bank just because you can. In this way, you will spend the same money but improve your rating and so become eligible for better deals. Credit cards also make more sense when traveling. You can still stick to the same budget

We pay cash for almost everything

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Shopping online for groceries has saved me hundreds in the last year. I don't wander through the store going, "This looks good." I get what I need to cook the meals I have planned, and then run to Aldi for anything I am missing or for fresh produce during the week. It is amazing how much that has saved me.

We do the same, but for pickup. We keep each other a little more on track.

That does help, plus you see totals and can adjust your cart to easily remove expensive items. You also often get instant coupon alerts, by shopping online.

Good thing about going to the store for me is seeing the deals though. A lot of times they don’t have the same deals online or I just miss them. BUT of course that could mean buying more if you think it’s a really good deal or you find too many deals on other things lol

But also, then I have a week to place candy in the basket... 😅

The flip side of the coin: shopping on a full stomach either makes you forget half the stuff you need, or you don't know what you want to eat and go home with too little

This ^ I work TWO full time jobs and according to the newly released statistics, I still fall about $5,000.00 short of the lowest number for middle class. In ARKANSAS.

But that only works if the cost of living doesn't increase. If prices go up, then even if your salary increases you cannot save it unless you are eating less.

You're not wrong, but those aren't things individuals can control. The point is that about half of people spend all of thier money. There's always a way to cut a little and build a savings account. Get a roommate, live in a crappier apartment or house car pool. Learn a skill. Any individual can dig themselves out of that life. If you want something anyone can do, turn to the trades. There's a shortage of plumbers, electricians, HVAC professionals etc and they all pay as much as a job that requires a degree. Do what you can as an individual and vote your ideals to try and fix the big problems that you can change yourself.

I can't help but think that your "living" consists of a new-version smartphone and daily Starbucks.

Absolutely! If you don't get caught you now have tons of money. If you do get caught you no longer have to worry about bills. Either way your money problems are gone!