Are you saving money?really?

save money is not easy - how to save money?
@yanstill (1490)
China
May 23, 2007 7:39pm CST
i see a saying yesterday,'penny wise;pound foolish'.and i found i am the exact person it described. some people,including me,are thoughtful about how they spend small amounts of money,but they are not careful with large amounts of money. for instance,i will bargain with the seller for just a reduction in several cents,and if i did it,then i thought i was saving money;but,when it comes to things that are measured in dollars,i don't even think of bargain,i will say to myself,one dollar more,no big deal... lol,are you the same as me?or you are clear about this and didn't fall into the trap?does someone have a way to handle this?
3 people like this
14 responses
@bluewings (3857)
24 May 07
I think this happens to me too.I manage my finances pretty well , but there are times when I feel rich and spend like Sam Walton is sponsoring me,lol.This happens when I am excessively happy or excited and don't really care about the expenses.But those times are rare and I become responsible before I go bankrupt ,lol.I am not too worried about it because I know there are investments to bail me out just in case I need help.
@bluewings (3857)
25 May 07
lol Yes,to an extent that's true for me too.When your expenses rise you have to equate the balancesheet by raising the income bar or the maths will give you nightmares,lol.I do tend to balance my expenses by trying to earn more and so far it hasn't been a good ride,lol.
2 people like this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
27 May 07
lol,but i guess men spend less than women,they don't have to buy a lot of clothes,and most men i know hate shopping.
@yanstill (1490)
• China
25 May 07
lol,i am sure a lot of friends are willing to help if you are in that situation,but that is impossible to happen,i know that.:) someone told me,you spend more,then you earn more,i think it is true partly,when you spend more money,you will have a stronger desire to earn more,lol,is that true for you?
1 person likes this
@lkbooi (16070)
• Malaysia
24 May 07
In my normal practice I don’t bother much on small money. I tend to be lenient when buying things that cost little but I’m quite calculating when purchasing expensive items. I used to get several quotations before I buy expensive goods. I did have experience of buying an electric dryer for clothes. My son who stayed out station bought one for himself from the shop there. This cost him RM699 and he found that it’s quite nice and efficient so he intended to buy another one for me from the same shop. I advised him it’s better to buy it in my home town. So I went in one of the shops here and got the quotation and found that it was RM50 cheaper. I tried another shop and found that it’s even RM100 cheaper so I decided to purchase it. In this way I managed to save RM100 dollar to get a dryer of same brand and quality lol.
@lkbooi (16070)
• Malaysia
25 May 07
Young and inexperience always tent not to bargain too much when purchasing things. If we are too soft hearted and easily trust the shopkeepers or sellers we are bound to lose consequently lol. Not me lol, but experience will teach us to become smarter when buying things.
@yanstill (1490)
• China
27 May 07
you are right,all we need is experience,several years before i even dont bargain at all,lol,now i know i need to do it.
@yanstill (1490)
• China
25 May 07
:) your example showed that it's important to compare between different shops before we buy something expensive,i should learn from you.i remember when i buy my first cellphone,i bought it in the first shop i came into,and several days later i found other shops are much more cheaper,lol,i guess i am too easy to persuade.
@baolihua (114)
• China
26 May 07
i am saving money,and i have no expensive things to buy presently.so my bank account always rise its amount,lol,except that when i want to buy some books,i will withdraw some. but i saved little every year.
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
30 May 07
saving money to buy books is a good choice.:)
@batpig (99)
• China
1 Jun 07
i d like to save money,but it seems very hard for me to save actually. if i really like sth,i will just buy it regardless of how expensive it is.after that,i will tell myself,no next time.but...till now,it doesnt work so well. so i am learning how to save now,hopefully,at the end of this year,i can have some money on my account.
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
1 Jun 07
lol,we all have that kind of situation,after buying something luxury,i promise myself that this will never happen again,then,another time,i forget my promise. but i guess it's okay as long as your account is balanced.
• China
24 May 07
i think saving money is a must in my life in case we have problems accidentally.what's more, i like the way i live when holding enough money in my pocket.i believe money should be spent on the right thing.only in this way can we enjoy a much happier life.
2 people like this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
24 May 07
yes,economists say if money doesn't make you happier,you are spending it wrong.we should know when to save money,and when to spend it.:)thanks.
@mari_skye (1637)
• Philippines
24 May 07
yes i do save money. i save 20% of my monthly salary and invest some. financial advisers say that you should have an emergency fund of an amount equal to at least three months of your salary but the ideal is six months. this fund as the name implies is for emergencies, like when you are suddenly out of job.
2 people like this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
24 May 07
:) i think you can be my financial adviser,coz i never saved money in that way before,it is well organized. what i do is,i save a little,but i spend more.
@yanstill (1490)
• China
25 May 07
lol.we don't have to be a millinare,if we arranged the money properly,i think that will make us happier either.you see,you have done it. :) you will be a millinare if you want to be.have a nice day.
@mari_skye (1637)
• Philippines
24 May 07
thank you for that. well saving money and keeping it for that matter is really hard especially for those who have not started yet. and i must admit i have floundered a few times in my early attempts to save but then i read a book about personal finance and it strengthened my resolve to really save this percentage of my income. now i got the hang of it and i'm quite pleased with the progress that i am making. hey, i'm not yet a millionaire but i would like to be one:) we can do it!
1 person likes this
@dixielol (1579)
• United States
25 May 07
I dont do that to much. If I want to buy something for $5.00 but the price is $6.00 or $7.00 I will go on & get it but any more then 2 dollars I dont get it. But I dont really care about the few cents either. My moms ex-boyfriend did though. Some times we would go to yard sales. One time a lady had a shirt for sale for $1.00 He spent like almost an hour trying to get her to sell it for cheaper. She finally sold it to him for like .90 so he saved 10 cents. To me, its not worth saveing a few cents if you have to spend hours trying to get it cheaper.
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
25 May 07
lol,i think so,its not worth our time for just a few cents,but,actually,i will try to ask for a bargain,if they don't agree,i will never spend more than five minutes for something to be cheaper.to buy it or not,it's easy.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
25 May 07
yes, i am really careful in how i spend my money... i never fall into the trap of having to spend more than what i have to spend... i try to be really careful and wise on that... and talking about pennies, yes i save every single cent of my money as i believe it will add up to become a dollar... and a dollar will add up to become ten, hundreds and so on... so it is always a good practice to save and appreciate money no matter how small it is...
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
25 May 07
yes,you are absolutely right,take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.
• Canada
24 May 07
When we have very less amount of money we are very much careful, and try to save every penny by planning or just postponing our desires, but when we get some big amount we become very careless till we losse the amount returns to same old position. I try very hard to save but it never happened.
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
25 May 07
:) especially when i was using a credit card,i don't even know how much i have spent,and then i will be careless about the money.
1 person likes this
• United States
24 May 07
I'm really good with money and saving money. I save approximately $200-$400 each paycheck. I always get great deals when I shop (well, at least most of the time). I have budget that I go by every month and I stick to it. That's the only way really. My boyfriend on the other hand, is really bad with money. He doesn't know the meaning of "saving money".
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
25 May 07
$200-$400 per paycheck? that is really a big amount to save every month.lol,how you did it? i guess your boyfriend knows that you are good with money,so he thinks it's okay not to care about it.:)
• United States
24 May 07
We are very careful with our money, and we don't fall into that trap. Have you ever noticed that somethings will be advertized as a 'special' and will actually be higher priced than the regular? My husband worked for a grocery store, and they did that quite a lot, and people would almost fight to buy the 'specials'. Also I see people at flea markets or yard sales, they will try to bargain but if the seller doesn't come down right away they give up and walk away.
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
24 May 07
yes,many people will like to buy those 'special' things,and i think this is a way of making money.do you think that is cheating on us,by increasing the price and claimed that their price is lower? i think of those businessmen do that,they will lose their reputation,and reputation can gain them more money.
• Pakistan
24 May 07
well sometimes ill be like you. ill also think that no problem one extra cent doenst matter. but sometimes ill try bargaining and maybe leave the thing if the shopkeeper doenst agree.
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
25 May 07
:) i guess i am not good at bargain,so most time i will still buy those things,especially something i liked very much,i will care less about the price.
• China
31 May 07
before i always spend out my money,but now I only buy the right thing.i think i must have a good habit of saving
@yanstill (1490)
• China
1 Jun 07
buy the right thing?lol,you are rational enough.
• China
24 May 07
i think i have the same problem with you!
1 person likes this
@yanstill (1490)
• China
24 May 07
lol,lets find a way out together.