How do YOU plan to save extra cash?

@GemmaR (8517)
September 21, 2011 11:09am CST
First of all, this is NOT a discussion for you to post links, because it will be deleted. I am saving up for a house at the moment, so obviously I need to think of any ways possible to save money or make money. I would appreciate any of your tips that you would be willing to give to me, because I am getting rather desperate to be able to save up the cash that I need so badly! What would you do if you found that you had to make some more money?
6 people like this
27 responses
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
21 Sep 11
It's a great time to buy property! I supplement my fixed income by writing and can bring in about $300 a month that way. Do you have things that you can sell on eBay or somewhere else? You'd be surprised at the prices people will pay for things you don't want. You can take in a roommate if you have an extra bedroom or even ask your parents if you can move back in with them for a few months while you save rent money for your house. I hope you find a way to get your house!
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
21 Sep 11
That's why I think I have to buy the house now, because it'll be the absolute best price now that I'm going to be able to get for goodness knows how many years now! Thanks for suggesting that; I have just decorated my bedroom and I do actually have a fair amount that I could get rid of now. I will list them later, and hopefully I'll be able to make a little bit from it. I am already living with my parents and they're letting me live on very little rent, but cannot afford to let me live rent free so I have to spend a little bit. Thank you, I hope that I find a way to get it, too!
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18164)
• Orangeville, Ontario
21 Sep 11
I'm afraid to try ebay. I purchased concert tickets to see Faith Hill AND Tim McGraw and then found out the date was the same day as my daughter's graduation. I tried to sell the tickets on ebay and got absolutely no response. Now I admit I'm not ebay selling savvy, but it was a big disappointment and I ended out losing money. I sold the tickets through a friend taking a bit of a loss, plus the money I spent to post on ebay.
2 people like this
@GemmaR (8517)
21 Sep 11
That's unlucky, but you should remember that it was just a simple unlucky clash of dates that couldn't really be helped. Also, a lot of people are a bit wary of buying tickets on the internet as well because there's no real way of knowing whether they're genuine until they get to the venue and realise that they have the same seat numbers as somebody else. At least you managed to sell the tickets in the end so you didn't lose all of the money from them. I hope you enjoyed your daughter's graduation, I bet you're so proud!
2 people like this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
21 Sep 11
How could I save extra cash as prices of gas and foods have rocketed beyond my reach. The minute I start my car it means money to reach my destination. With the unpromising global economic situation, I have no choice but to tighten my belt and probably would need to look for part time jobs just to have some savings.
1 person likes this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
21 Sep 11
That is very true. Can you carpool with someone and split the gas bill?
@GemmaR (8517)
22 Sep 11
I don't run a car at the moment simply because of the fact that I know I can't afford the fuel right now. What are the public transport links like around where you live? Mine aren't too bad, and this means that I am able to forget about using a car and just cope with trains and busses everywhere that I go instead. I save around £1,000 per year on it, because I don't have to buy fuel and don't have to pay for insurance or repairs on the car or anything like that. It's a fantastic amount to save, so I fully recommend doing that.
1 person likes this
@Vrilya (128)
21 Sep 11
Disclaimer : This does not constitute investment advice and is for information only. The way to hedge against this type of terrible food and fuel inflation is to buy gold and silver items (could be one ounce silver coins, gold from a jewellery store or just junk gold bought from someone you know). The central bankers in the US, European union and the UK are all going to print more money, which means dollars, pounds and euros are all going to become worth less and buy less food and fuel.When Bernanke, Trichet and King, of the Fed, ECB and Bank of England, respectively print more money, the price of gold and silver usually goes up, so you can cash some in at that point to pay for stuff.....it's a good way to preserve some of the wealth you have and if you can afford to buy some extra precious metals, to make a small profit too........
1 person likes this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
21 Sep 11
I make money online daily with all kinds of sites. I cash them all out throughout the year. I either leave my money in my Paypal account or transfer it to my bank account in savings or checking and sometimes they send me a check. I work onle every single day. We want and need that money so I joined a lot of sites and they all pay me throughout the month.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
22 Sep 11
That's what I used to do when I was first working online, and I ended up working on around 100 websites and would get a payout approximately every week. But then I worked out just how much I was actually working for on each one of them and I realised that it wasn't worth the time and that I should just work on the ones that I can earn the most money from, and I have done that for the past two years and haven't looked back really. I might try to sign up to a couple more websites in the next few days, just to get that extra income that I need so badly.
1 person likes this
@mensab (4200)
• Philippines
21 Sep 11
yes, we all want to augment our income. and we are looking at the internet to seek opportunities that may give some extra bucks for us. we hear people earning well here online. everyday, i would say i am learning on how to go about it. for now, i continue to build my blogs which earn a small bit every month. i know i am on the right track, just building it every content.
1 person likes this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
21 Sep 11
Yep. there are alot of ways to earn money online. Some people are restricted though and that is what hurts.
@rosegardens (3034)
• United States
21 Sep 11
Cut out all extracurricular activities, such as going out to the movies, renting movies, etc. If you have cable or satellite tv, ditch it for now. That will give you at least 50.00 a month to save for your house. Avoid ready made coffees, eating from the vending machine, eating out until you get your house. No pizza unless you buy it at the grocery store and make it yourself in your own oven. Put your change in a jar. At work, pick up empty bottles that have a return on them and cash them in if your co-workers are going to throw them away anyway. (there are people who have bought houses with the money from bottles) Avoid buying things that are unnecessary, like soda pop, candy, snacks. Save that money. Clip coupons for the grocery store, and always look for sales. If you buy the good stuff, for now settle for store brands unless you absolutely cannot stand it. (I am like that with Hellmans--it HAS to be that, or nothing!) Avoid impulse purchases. Do you really need it, can you live without it? Ask yourself this every time you want to spend money. Good luck! I hope you can soon be able to purchase a home of your own. There are some great deals out there, and I hope you are able to get one!
1 person likes this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
21 Sep 11
Very true. We hardly ever go out anymore. We save alot of money by staying home.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
21 Sep 11
I stopped going out a couple of months back as I figured that I would be able to save a lot and you're quite right, I can. It is a good idea to change my television package though, as I would be able to save around £20 per month by getting rid of that. Vending machines that serve coffee are one of my weaknesses, even though I know that I could make my own cup for a fraction of the price. So I suppose that I will have to give up on those. Saving change is a good idea, too. I will set up my own pot tonight and make sure that I put al of my spare change into it. Luckily, I am trying to lose weight at the moment as well, so saving money on the food bill isn't too much of a problem. However, impulse buys with clothes are a problem as I'm growing out of my old clothes on practically a weekly basis! But I must cut them down as there's no need to own the amount of clothes that I do at the moment.
2 people like this
@thatgirl13 (7294)
• South Korea
21 Sep 11
I don't earn money,not at all. i don't work but i do get monthly allowance from my parents. What I do to save money is, I put 30% of my pocket money in my saving account as soon as I get it. And then I forget about it coz what you don't have, you will not spend. And taking money out of the saving account is a lot of fuss too so that helps as well. The rest will be spent so quickly I know. So yeah you might try this trick. It does help believe me.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
22 Sep 11
I do something very similar to this at the moment, and I actually save around 50% of my income currently. It's not to bad when you're a teenager and get pocket money, but once you pass that age and stop getting an allowance it isn't as easy to save as much. But I work very hard, up to 12 hours per day online; simply so that I can earn enough to live and then put a fair amount aside as well. Maybe I need to be a little bit more patient and just come to terms with the fact that it's going to take a little longer than I had initially hoped.
1 person likes this
• South Korea
26 Sep 11
Wow 50% of your income isn't bad. And so do you work online as a full time?? That's great. I could never find anything legit except for mylot and a few dollars here and there. SO frustrating
@KrauseHome (36449)
• United States
28 Apr 12
Well, a lot of times lately I am always needing to find ways to make some Extra money. It always seems like I have a bill that I have troubles paying and just need to find a way to get some extra money to help pay it. I do so many things it seems to try and make extra money online and offline and sometimes it just never seems to be enough. But I have never given up and from time to time finding ways to just start saving all my extra change in a jar somewhere can really start adding up and help for sure.
@GemmaR (8517)
30 Apr 12
I like to save up my spare change in a piggy bank, because I am always shocked at the speed at which it can build up without me even noticing that it was doing so. I counted the money in my piggy bank the other day, and I found that I had £20 in there. That's enough to pay my phone bill for the month, which means that I now have a little bit of extra cash to spend on some of the other things that I would rather spend my hard earned cash on instead of bills, so this is certainly something that has worked for me, and may well work for other people as well.
@GardenGerty (157027)
• United States
21 Sep 11
I am writing on a freelance site, when they have articles for me. I am going to join another one like it. You do not say if you have a job. You can take it so far as to cash in cans, or you can make and sell things. It all depends on your time and talent.
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
21 Sep 11
Very true. I really enjoy working online daily. It is fun, relaxing and rewarding.
@much2say (53698)
• Los Angeles, California
23 Apr 12
I know this discussion was 8 months ago, but hoping you have been able to save up some more cash!! We were in the same boat - and now we are on our way to owning a house (we're waiting for escrow to close). But still, more cash would be helpful - because now we're going to have to pay for everything (maintenance, gas, etc). As we're waiting to move, I'm trying to get rid of stuff. I intend to sell them cheaply on Craigslist or the like . . . so it's a quick sale. I have tons of kids stuff . . . and instead of trying to sell these items individually, I'm just going to put up a take-all price (dirt cheap). This way I get "some" cash and clear out some old stuff that's taking up room. Don't eat out. Restaurant bills suck up money. And you figure even if you get cheap fast food, you're not doing your health any favors. So try not to eat out period if you can help it! My parent in laws are going to lose their house - mostly likely before the year ends. They are going to need to liquidate their stuff because there is no way my mother in law is going to be able to keep it all (we think she will end up in a one bedroom apartment). They have antiques, art work, and other valuables. Selling stuff you have and don't need or won't be needing would be a good way to get some cash. If you're not into your gold jewelry anymore, sell them to places that take gold for cash. Make use of coupons at the grocery store - and really make the effort to become a good shopper. Every bit helps and you'd be surprised how much you can save if you plan your shopping ahead of time with coupons in hand. I'm a stay-at-home mom, and making what I can online. But we all know there's only so much we can make online. So since I'm not getting too rich this way, I go the other way since I'm not really gaining cash . . . I just try to spend the least amount possible by saving where I can. Good luck and hope you get that house if you haven't gotten it already!!!
@GemmaR (8517)
30 Apr 12
I have managed to save a lot since this discussion was started, and I can't thank people on here enough! I have stopped eating out because I have found that I can eat the same quality food at home for a fraction of the price, so that has really helped me to cut back on the amount that I have to spend. Thank you for the tip about coupons; this is something that I have wanted to start doing for a long time but I have never got around to cutting them out and using them. I will certainly make the effort to try and do it now that you have reminded me about it.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
23 Sep 11
I've always treated saving as a form of payment. So whenever I get paid from my regular work, I always remember to pay myself first. Nowadays, it's automatically debited from my account even before I see my 'net' pay. A few months ago, I've also put up a business to suppliment my income. It's coming in slowly, but I hope that it'll become a big financial help soon.
@GemmaR (8517)
26 Sep 11
This is actually a seriously good idea, and one that I think I am going to have to think about in the near future to make sure that I am able to save enough money for the things that I want to do with my life. I feel that being this organised with money is fantastic and it means that you know more about your own financial matters which will help you in the long term. Thank you for your advice, I really do appreciate everybody who has taken the time to reply to my posts over the past couple of days, you've all been really helpful.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
4 Oct 11
Goodluck in your journey to saving!
@JohnRok1 (2051)
30 Apr 12
A couple more points: Vegetables and fruit are expensive in supermarkets (bananas and broccoli may not be as bad from that point of view as other vegetables), even in LIDL or Aldi (You've heard of that one, haven't you?). You may be able to find some nice Turkish or Tamil-staffed mini "supermarkets" that sell them for less (and their prices vary amongst themselves) - and one makes nice relationships with these people too. If you cycled into Huyton, you might find prices lower than in St Helen's (I'm assuming you're not on the Isle of Wight) - but make sure you lock your bike SECURELY and everything movable to the bike! A nice small shop might even let you bring the bike in.
@GemmaR (8517)
1 May 12
I think that the price of fruit and veg changes a lot depending on the time of year you're buying it. I do live near Huyton, but I have a small fruit shop in the village that I live in that has cheaper things available. I only discovered this when I started to struggle with money, and I am very glad that I have managed to do so now because it means that I can almost cut the amount that I spend on fruit and veg in half. I also shop at my local butcher's as well now, as I think it's good to support local businesses whilst saving yourself a little bit of money at the same time.
@JohnRok1 (2051)
1 May 12
In half! I don't think my experience beats that, except, perhaps, for tomatoes and peppers (particularly orange peppers, which are the best nutritionally, and vie with red for the best tasting).
@JohnRok1 (2051)
23 Apr 12
I do hope that after being there for 8 months this discussion is not deleted - there's a lot of valuable stuff here now.
@GemmaR (8517)
30 Apr 12
I am glad that people didn't use this discussion as a place to post referral links, because that's the way that discussions like that normally go in here, but I am glad that people have done the right thing and have given some fantastic tips. It's been great to see this discussion resurface after so many months, as it has allowed me to see just how far I have come financially thanks to some of the tips that were given to me on here. I am now in a strong financial position and am sure that I will be able to buy my first apartment one day thanks to the fact that I have been able to put a lot of money aside mostly thanks to some of the tips that have been posted on this page.
@Vrilya (128)
21 Sep 11
I've been saving a lot of cash by doing some of the following: 1) Grow your own vegetables (you can do this even if you live in a city apartment) 2) If you are a guy, cut your own hair, you can get the remington clippers from argos for less than twenty pounds and I'm saving over £200 a year by doing this. 3) Turn your heating down by one or two degrees and wear a sweater. 4) Stop using expensive supermarkets, switch to Lidl, most of the products are just as good as the British supermarkets but are a lot cheaper. 5) Walk and Cycle instead of using the car or the bus, you will save money and get fitter into the bargain. 6) Once a month make a big old army sized pot of chicken soup from all the cheap vegetables you bought in Lidl and freeze some of it, that way you will not have to buy expensive tins/cans of soup to get you through the winter 7) Learn to identify wild edibles and forage for some of your food, you can do this even if you live in town, I aquired two bags full of apples from a tree in the park because no one else picks them, there are also blackberries, sloes, damsons and other wild fruit around at this time of year and most of it goes to waste because it's not being picked. 8) Go through your bank statements and check all the direct debits and standing orders, you may be wasting money on services you are no longer using, so cancel any that you find like this. 9) Make your own soap, it's not difficult and will save you spending one or two pounds a week on shower gel etc...you may also be able to barter and trade your soap bars for stuff that you need or sell them. 10) If you've got any spare cash put it into a high interest bearing account or loan it out through a peer to peer lending platform, don't leave it in the bank where it will only get 0.05% interest. 11) Buy things from car boot sales, many of the stall there are run like small shops and sell good quality useful items a lot cheaper than the big stores, you can also pick things up there to sell on ebay A few tips to be going one with, I'll post some more if I think of any.
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
21 Sep 11
Those are some great tips. I already do alot of those too.
@GemmaR (8517)
22 Sep 11
Thank you for all of these tips, I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about them. I have had a go at growing my own vegetables in the garden this summer, and I certainly feel as though I will be able to carry it on through the next couple of years while I'm saving up for my house. The supermarket idea is good, I will try shopping in a different one this weekend and see how much I can save. I have never tried going to car boot sales, as they're normally very early around where I live, but I think that I will certainly try one in the near future to see if there's anything that I can get to sell on the internet. I also have a spare mobile phone so I will sell that, too. Thank you very much for all of your tips, hopefully I will be able to put at least a few of them into action over the next couple of weeks.
1 person likes this
@Vrilya (128)
21 Sep 11
A few more. 12) sell DVDs that you don't watch any more which are cluttering up your house, there are companies like musicmagpie that pay cash for them. 13) Sell any old mobile phones which you don't use any more, again, there are companies that pay you cash for them. 14) Go through your house and fill an 'ebay box' with all the junk you no longer want. Wait for free listing days before putting it up for sale, that way you avoid paying the listing fees and may make some extra cash into the bargain while decluttering your house and you may be surprised by what people will buy from you, your junk is someone else's useful item.
• Canada
3 Oct 11
If you are a female you could take on some extra work outside of your regular job and online earnings. You could clean houses. It is hard work but it pays really well. I do it for a living full time and I make really good money. It is a low cost way to earn too. You just get the customers to supply the cleaning supplies and so you don't need to take anything with you on the bus if you don't drive. Or just go to the houses in your neighbourhood and ask people if they want their houses cleaned and give them an amount. If that works where you live. In some countries the people are too poor to pay someone to clean their house but I know where I live it is a big business. Everyone here in Calgary has a house cleaner and they pay big bucks for it. They all work so much to pay for their houses they don't have time to clean them. Your friend littlemissy
@GemmaR (8517)
30 Apr 12
I am not sure why you ask whether I am female, because I think that men could be cleaners as well. Although I do agree with you, and I have actually found a couple of houses in my road who employ cleaners, and I am thinking about asking them whether I would be able to work for them one night a week just to add to my earnings. I would put the money to one side and not spend it, and would save it for special occasions, so that I know that the work that I have done has contributed to something and hasn't just got eaten up in bills and things like that.
@JohnRok1 (2051)
30 Apr 12
I'm not sure either why you ask whether Gemma is a female. Do you have male Gemmas in Canada? And didn't she let the cat out of the bag on page 2 when she said she wanted to be a stay at home Mum later in life?
@shaggin (71573)
• United States
22 Sep 11
I was getting $520 in foodstamps the past 5 months. But they cut it back to $172 a month now. That is a huge cut and so I will have to cut back on how much I eat and what we eat. No more buying blueberry morning cereal at $3.99 a box anymore and buying bananas to cut up a banana to go with my cereal. I eat a half a box of cereal each morning. I want to be able to feed my kids good food so I will just not eat much so I can feed them what they need. We wont be able to splurge on things anymore like candy bars and things like that. I'm sure I will loose some weight lol.
@GemmaR (8517)
23 Sep 11
I feel sorry for everybody who was receiving some kind of benefit; because most of them have been cut by a certain amount, and this means that people simply cannot afford to feed their families anymore so they're having to find other ways that they can either earn money or save money. I think that it is a very good idea of yours to cut up your own fruit to put in your cereal; as you can buy plain cereal and fruit for a low price, meaning that you'd save a lot more money than you would have done if you'd bought the ready made fruit cereal.
@katsmeow1213 (28719)
• United States
22 Sep 11
Earlier this year I had the same thoughts and feelings. I had been a stay at home mom, but ended up getting a part time job which was helping out a lot. I was able to save up a nice bit of money in 2 seperate bank accounts. However, when summer came we started spending that money in order to do some fun activities. Now it is fall and there are things my kids want to do, such as soccer, and play an instrument. So I'm dipping into those savings accounts to pay for these activities. I think a lot of it is my mentality. When I first began working we still lived the way we had been living before I worked. But after awhile I got used to having the extra money, so I'd do things that normally I wouldn't have. "Oh, we have extra money, I can afford to get all 3 kids into soccer." "oh, we have extra money, I can afford to get pictures done". Now I'm even getting my youngest son into daycare! I'm a bit upset with myself. I need to get back into saving and stop spending all my money. But I will say that our lives have been so different since I started working. The only part I don't like about our lives right now is where we live and the fact that we don't have a large amount of money saved up like I want to. But when we get our taxes back in the spring I plan on putting a large chunk into both of my savings accounts..
@GemmaR (8517)
22 Sep 11
I want to be a stay at home Mum later in my life, so I guess I need to start finding ways to make more money online so that I will be able to do that comfortably without having to end up working long hours like a lot of Mums these days. I know that my Mother has to work 36 hours every week just to pay for my brother's music hobby, which is a bit annoying as he's 16 and old enough to get a part time job of his own if he wanted one. You should be proud of yourself because you're a good Mum, and your kids will appreciate it as they get older.
@chillpill90 (1936)
30 Sep 11
Hi gemma I am also trying to save extra cash at the moment for a deposit so that when I get a job I can afford to move to the area of the job and get a place. What I do at the moment is that I use one site daily to make some money no matter what mood i am in and I let the money build up in my paypal to £50 before i get it send to my bank. then I transfer it to a savings account. I have some things that I sell on ebay and it is quite easy to sell things on ebay but sometimes it depends on the time you put things up. Remember that in December people are looking to buy xmas presents and so it might be worth selling more stuff then. I currently get Job seekers of £135 every 2 weeks when I get that I put £10 to a side. I cannot put more aside as I have to pay my mum for food and other things at the moment. I also have a overdraft to pay back.
@GemmaR (8517)
30 Apr 12
I also like saving my money up in PayPal for a while and then transferring it all at once when a fair amount has built up. The things that get sent to my PayPal account don't take very much work, and I can often find that I have £50 at the end of the month in the account that I can send to my bank account. I will always put my PayPal money into my ISA, because I see it as "extra" money that I wouldn't have had otherwise, so I don't really need it for every day spending because I have my normal wage for that.
• United States
13 Oct 11
To save money I would recommend just socking away any online earnings people make. I have to do that myself since I'm trying to save up for a PS3 and I don't have enough money for it right now.
@GemmaR (8517)
30 Apr 12
I think it's always great to have something specific that you're trying to save up for. I remember when I was a child and I was saving up for a trampoline, I printed off a picture of it from the internet and it was £400, so I split it into sections and every time I saved up more money I coloured in one of the sections, and I knew that when the whole thing was coloured in I would be able to afford it. Seeing the page coloured in gradually was a great incentive to carry on when things seemed to be annoyingly slow, and I got there in the end.
• India
22 Sep 11
I'm still planning to save extra cash but nothing come my way. I need to work very hard to get money and money doesn't stay in my hands. Hope i'l get quick money and then i'l plan to save money.
@GemmaR (8517)
23 Sep 11
I think that, in these tough times, we all have to work a lot harder than we might have done in the past in order to simply earn the amount that we all need to survive, never mind the amount that we need to be able to save some money as well. You should be aware that there are hundreds of websites online that you should be able to earn money from if you're finding things a little bit tough at the moment. That's what I'm doing online, and I am finding that I'm able to do a lot of things which are really helpful to me.
• India
22 Sep 11
Maintain a list of all your expenses for a month. After one month, make a note of the unwanted goods and extra expenses that you spent in that month. You will be surprised to see the huge amount you had spent on irrelevant stuffs. I tried this method and was able to save around Rs 6000 i.e $140/month. That is $1680 a year. Also, fix whatever extra money you have in your account for a short term and keep renewing it. Take the above example. If you fix $140 in the first month and so on for a year; you might end up with $1750 instead of $1680. It won't earn you loads of interest money but remember 'every drop makes an ocean.' All the best!
@GemmaR (8517)
23 Sep 11
I had thought about doing this but just hadn't got around to it to date. I know that it will be a lot better if I am able to do so, because I will be able to see everything that I'm spending right in front of me and will be able to choose which things I could cut back on; because I obviously need to do so. I have a high interest savings account at the moment, and am earning an extra $10 per month on that right now. I don't think that there is much better out there at the moment because all interest rates are fairly poor, but I suppose it might be worth having a look just to make sure that there's nothing better for me.