money advice

[amandamayaaa]

so eric and i right now are not in the best financial position to be buying plane tickets to see each other. it's my turn to go out there next (he's been here twice in a row the past 2 times) and i hate knowing that i can't just book a flight tonight because of money issues.

i want to see him more than anything, and it's tearing me up not knowing when i'll be able to see him again, i hope it's sooner rather than later

the one great thing that we do is split the tickets in half money wise for each visit. the tickets normally cost between $400-500 so we usually end up paying $200 or a little more a piece. it helps out a lot so we're not spending as huge a chunk of money as we would paying for the whole ticket by ourselves, but it still does not mean that it's easy to pay for

does anyone have any tips on earning some extra cash(besides getting a second job)?

[Silviar]

The best piece of advice I can give is to give yourself a budget -a sensible, reasonable budget - and stick to it. Many times we spend money in ways we don't realize - you might be doing that. Also, if you set aside a certain amount of money from each paycheck, then you'll be able to make the ticket a priority.

I know you said you didn't want a second job, but have you considered a different job? You can earn more money at a better paying job.

[squiddie]

Think about what things you do that normally cost money and see how you can reduce it or make it free.

For example, instead of going to movies or renting from netflix, rent from a video store (usually $2-3 per movie) or from the library (free!!).

There are also websites that allow you to swap things like books and movies for only the cost of postage.

[amandamayaaa]

The best piece of advice I can give is to give yourself a budget -a sensible, reasonable budget - and stick to it. Many times we spend money in ways we don't realize - you might be doing that. Also, if you set aside a certain amount of money from each paycheck, then you'll be able to make the ticket a priority.

I know you said you didn't want a second job, but have you considered a different job? You can earn more money at a better paying job.

yeah thats something i'm tryin to do, i'm not a big shopper, so i don't have that problem
the things i'm mostly spending money on now are gas and school

and also.. the reason i say not a second job is simply because i don't have time for a second one.. and i love the job i have now-get $10 which is well above minimum wage, so i can't complain

i just need to keep saving, it just feels like i'm never going to get there with the expensive things i have to pay for

but i do like the idea of just putting away some money each paycheck, i have done that before for other things and it's worked out well!

[Zephii]

You say that the biggest ways your spend money are petrol and school right? Then see how you can reduce those costs. Could you carpool with someone? What about changing to public transport and taking your car off the road? (Yes, I know that would suck, but perhaps it's an option) If you're buying your own textbooks, look into second hand ones. That kind of thing.

You can also sell things on ebay, mow lawns for people, do odd-jobs, baby sit or pet-sit, or ask for more hours at your current job if possible.

Eating out, even a random snack here or there really adds up. I save a lot of money simply by eating something before I go anywhere, and by not carrying my wallet with me. Often I'll see something I want, but not having money on hand makes me have to really think about if it's worth it or not - especially seeming I'd have to walk home, get money and then go back out.

You can also ask for money for plane tickets at birthday and Christmas times if your family and friends are into gift giving.

What Silviar said about a budget is very important. Budgeting, even when your incoming and outgoing funds are simple, really puts things in perspective and helps you plan.

A good idea my sister swears by is to "pay yourself first" - That is, put aside your savings before you spend money on other things. Budget for it in the same way you would for bills - non negotiable.

Another thing to think about is how your spending now affects your long-term goals. $200 here or there doesn't feel like much at the time, but over the course of a year or so it really adds up. So make sure you're using these visits wisely, if that means waiting for a visit until you have enough time to stay a little while, then it might be worth thinking about. I don't know how frequently you see each other, but consider that a lot of visits now could be harmful to your financial future together later. I know that's not what you want to hear, but I had to mention it.

[faith5x5nomore]

I also am trying to save every penny I can so I can go see my SO and here is just some suggestions on making a little extra cash...
1. Try ebay, sell your old stuff or go to a thrift store and see if there is any items you can buy that you can make a profit on. The holidays are coming up if you can get a hold of something thats most likely going to sell out around christmas time but them up and sell them. EX. A few years back I bought a bunch of boxs of perfume that was in high demand and made a 20$ profit off of each box.
2. Try offering services on craigslist... Cleaning, babysitting, house sitting or dog walking...
3. Make and sell crafts, Halloween is coming up and one thing I am doing is making halloween costumes. I made tutu's and t-shirts with wings (check out ehow)
4. Alot of places are hiring for part-time work for the holidays.

[princessmia]

Whenever I pay for something I always use cash--simply because I don't have a credit card at the moment. When I get home, I put the bigger coins into one container, and the smaller coins another $1, $2, $.25 for the bigger coins (I'm Canadian) and the rest (.10, .05., .01)
Then one i have enough to fill up a coin roller (or whatever they're called, i can't quite remember at the moment) I put the coins in and seal it off. That way its closed up, its easier to store in a roll, and I have no temptation to buy little things the odd time.

it's a bit of a slower way to do it, and it can come in small increments at first, but after a while, you'd be surprised on a chunk it can go towards your portion of the flight.

[squiddie]

Ooh, thinking of school expenses...you can rent textbooks now!! My sister's been renting hers since her first semester. it's definitely a lot cheaper than buying.

[twolips28]

I have two separate bank accounts, 1 chequing and 1 saving. After all my bills are paid I transfer the remaining money into my savigns account. I have higher interest in my savign account also so I get a bit extra bonus at the end of the month. I Leave about $100 in my chequing for "free spending". I set it up that when I do go shopping I have no way to access my savings account except through internet banking or a bank machine, My debit card is only able to be used for my chequing account. I save alot of money every month this way. I managed to save about 1000 a month cuz I dont have access to it. When I dont see it I forget about it. Im not a big spender anyways, if an emergency did happen it takes 24 hours to transfer the money into my chequing account.

Might be worth a try. I dunno...


Oh another option to think about is becoming a Mystery Shopper. You get paid to go out!!https://www.applymarketforce.com/index.aspx?source=72

[loveonspeedial]

I would say Ebay but I ended up losing a lot of money that way.
Begging your family members..
asking your current job for an advancment..
Yard sales..

[loveonspeedial]

What twolips said could work, I'm a waitress and I use my pay checks for my rent/bills and I take my tips and split them in two one for what I like to call savings the other for "seeing my baby/free spending". By doing this I saved up over 200 dollars and I'm taking my baby to sea world next week! I paid for the tickets yesterday and it only took me a month to do it!

[Karringtyn]

I have a degree...yet the best money for me is truly waitressing....I can make fast cash...I needed an extra 200 last week for example for a bill...and I picked up simply 2 extra shifts and had it. Especially right now with the holidays coming...

[NikkiP]

https://www.chegg.com You can rent textbooks here

https://www.daveramsey.com/ Dave Ramsey's website, awesome tips/ways of life!