$1 at a time

This is a thread for people who are saving up for something, or who want to start saving up for something.

Could be a new gadget or toy.
Could be for your retirement.

Saving money is similar to managing your weight.  If you want to have more money (fitness), then you have to spend (eat) less than you earn (burn).

So we'll talk about

• ways to spend less money on the stuff we need
• how to figure out if something is a need or a want
• (legal) ways to earn more money
• practical strategies for saving
• safe places to put our money (hint: not Nigeria)
  

and we'll encourage each other and cheer for each other for however many dollars we've managed to save.  And we'll profusely congratulate you when you manage to reach your savings goal.

(I will probably be the only one in here.  ::giggle:: oh well!)

I'd like to join this as well.  I'm not in any debt right now.. but I would like to save money as I applied and want to go to grad school full time in the fall and may not be able to work full time then.

I know I should transfer from checking to savings but I am not in that habit.. I guess I should do the automatic option?  Chase has this (which I have).

My big question:  How do you save money on night/weekend activities?  I'm early twenties in NYC and it is really hard to save money without getting very bored.. or at least I haven't found anything.  Once a week bar night can get really expensive and I go out to dinner like once a month.  We also stock a case of wine (really cheap 12 bottles 36 dollars) but that gets a little old too.  Museums are expensive too!  And it's cold so walking around a lot isn't great.. and movies are over $12 for an adult! What to do? 

And finally,  I really try to not use my debit card/credit cards.  I even took out most of my credit cards but damn emails from online shopping can get tempting...  Also, I take out $x per week from the atm but I some how ALWAYS go over (on unneccesary stuff) and I can't stop.. need more discipline.

Heh, in my experience, NYC has a decent number of businesses that take cash only (for obvious reasons. :D).  I never see the problem of using a debit card as cash, though, as long as you keep track of your balance.

If your income has enough of a buffer, you can go the automatic option if you want to.  I'm quite risk-adverse, so the automatic part of it makes me nervous if it's coming out of a checking account (what if my expenses skyrocket and don't have enough to cover the automatic payment?).

NYC is expensive.  That's all there is to it.  The NYTimes runs articles on great places to eat out at for less than $25...of course, if you're not in Brooklyn, you have to get to them. :D

One trick, if you have no pride, is that you can get into the Met for free...the admission is a "suggested donation."

Good luck with trying NYC on a budget, and if you come up with any free things to do inside (how many times can you just stand in Grand Central's Main Concourse, I suppose? :D), pass them on!

haha - no the debit card thing is I don't want to just use it and use it and not keep track of what i've spent per week - so i try to just get cash and forget about the debit card.. but i seem to use it anyway, but I don't want to not have it on me in case of an emergency.

and I do go to the met for free :) I also went to the american folk art musuem which is free on friday nights (moma line is just ridiculously long), and will eventually go to the other ones that have free hours but they are sunday mornings!

30 things to do for free in NYC: :D

http://gonyc.about.com/cs/freestuff/a/aa04090 2a.htm

i found this article on frugal living in nyc, but these people are artists -- sounds like they can amuse themselves

i love to browse in bookstores

this is usually free

but it requires me to exercise self-control and not buy books!

if there are comfy chairs, sometimes i will sit right down and start reading the book - then the next time i come back, i'll get the same book and pick up where i left off

it's like i think a book store is just a library that doesn't lend its books     ::giggles::

however, i am extremely careful not to bend the spine or otherwise make the book less suitable for purchase

I got a notice the other day for F& M back they are adding all these charges to any accts at their bank. I refuse to pay 12.00 a month for every acct with them which is 4 total. I'm closing them and going to the credit union for the school. They added all kinds of crap. I bet the figure people won't take the time to change and close accts but 48.00 amonth for the HONOR of having a acct. to do business with them and have acct with them - they just need to get over themselves.  bye bye bank.

Original Post by dnrothx:

30 things to do for free in NYC: :D

http://gonyc.about.com/cs/freestuff/a/aa04090 2a.htm

i've looked at a lot of sites like that (freeinnyc is the best so far its a little more unique and up to date) but that one is pretty darn bad. 

Well, you've done your research!  You may have drained the well dry. :D

Original Post by gypsierose:

I got a notice the other day for F& M back they are adding all these charges to any accts at their bank. I refuse to pay 12.00 a month for every acct with them which is 4 total. I'm closing them and going to the credit union for the school. They added all kinds of crap. I bet the figure people won't take the time to change and close accts but 48.00 amonth for the HONOR of having a acct. to do business with them and have acct with them - they just need to get over themselves.  bye bye bank.

 totally agree with the point you make here

if you have a way to join a credit union, do it

I've been using a credit union for about 15 years and i love it

the only fee i pay is $1 a month for my checking account, but it's an interest-bearing checking account so I earn more than $1 in interest each month --> free or profitable checking!

my savings account is at 3.5% which seems puny, but i haven't found much better than that anyway

(p.s. i hate banks)

In this day and age, you should not be paying any service/maintenance fees at all for your banking.  Period.

At my credit union, there is no minimum under which they charge you a fee (i.e. if you go under...$200 or whatever, they charge you a $1 maintenance fee -- none of that), for either checking or savings.

That said, when you open an account, they hold $25 hostage in your savings account until you close the account (it gets returned to you).  That is it.  The $25 accrues interest to boot (woo-hoo!  A penny!).  I actually use ING for a higher savings rate, so I don't care about the $25 in the savings anyway.

As long as my checking account is above $250 on average, I accrue a tiny amount of interest (.25% -- note the decimal point).  In other words, instead of charging me a maintenance fee for being under $250, they just don't let that accrual take place.

Again, these conditions apply no matter how much I have in the accounts (except for the .25% accrual in checking).  These aren't "premium" accounts; they are the most basic my credit union has.  My account balances are...pathetic (which is why I post in this thead :D).

If you're paying any sort of maintenance fees for accounts, I'd change banks.

Oh, and my credit union is open to the entire public.

Nomo:  Is that 3.5% savings through your credit union?  Is there a minimum balance to achieve that rate?  Is it fixed or variable (I take it fixed)?

well, i pay $1 a month for my checking, but i earn 1.25% on my checking account -- like i said, the interest cancels out the fee

and there's no minimum balance or anything - it would be $1/mo whether I had a M3 or a H4 or a L5 balance.

i also have to keep $25 in a savings account, but i also don't care about that $25 - it's not doing much there

i get a better savings rate on a  money market account at 3.5%

that's really cool that they let any member of the public join the credit union!!!  i don't think it's like that down here

Original Post by dnrothx:

Nomo:  Is that 3.5% savings through your credit union?  Is there a minimum balance to achieve that rate?  Is it fixed or variable (I take it fixed)?

 yep, through the credit union - minimum balance of $250 on a money market account

and it's variable and i just looked it up to see that it's still 3.5% and it's down to 3.05% 

That's still a heckuva rate.  Sweet.  Thanks. :)

...and I've ended up with a smidge more money at the end of the month due to one company not billing my credit card by the end of the cycle...and, I got a small, unexpected refund to my credit card.

W00t!  Who's up for Denny's? :D

Original Post by dnrothx:

...and I've ended up with a smidge more money at the end of the month due to one company not billing my credit card by the end of the cycle...and, I got a small, unexpected refund to my credit card.

W00t!  Who's up for Denny's? :D

 denny's always seems like a good idea.  until the food arrives...  :)

i tend to be let down.  but if you're paying, i want waffles with whipped cream and apples.  and a side of sausage (or maybe bacon).  thnx dnrothx<3

It's in the mail. :D

Dang, Nomo.  I've checked the local banks and can't find a Money Market or any other savings account type that has a rate higher than 1.5%..."long-term" (18-month plus) certificates get up above my ING rate, but I'm wary of holding money hostage for more than a year.

You've lucked out!

wow, who'd a thunk it!

i do love my credit union...

it's not open to the general public - i wonder if that's why?