Lately, my medicine has affected my behavior for the best. I have been relearning to save money. For the longest time, I would spend it very easily.

I ran the gamut of the poll options. Lately, I am saving and my obsessive habits are fading from me.

Due to government regulations, I keep my money in my house as the government tracks me in a number of major ways, bank account included. If I go over a certain amount in my account, they'll cut me off.

Not a big fan of being tracked. At least the medical billing is extremely cheap.

Saving money is relatively easy (depending on life situation, of course). When you have some money you don't have to use - simply don't use it.

From I was young I've been good at saving money. I usually move a reasonable amount of money from my income account to my savings account when I get my monthly pay, and moving money the other way only happens if I'm buying something expensive (like a new laptop) or if I'm suddenly out of money on the "spend" card (which has happened once that I can remember the past 10 years or so, and only because I had some unexpected expenses that month). But it's not like I can use all that saved money to buy stuff all the time. I'm saving up for a future house/apartment and possibly car, whenever that time comes. Plus, I've got a student loan to pay off.

I never use credits or "buy now, pay later" deals. If I have the money I can use it, but except for more expensive things like a house/car or education (student loans where I live have some special benefits over regular loans), I don't see anything good in borrowing money you'll usually have to pay back double later. If you don't have the money, don't spend it...

I spend it on bills and save the rest. Then the wife finds out I have left over money, and the negotiations begins and she ends up with more until there is no money to be saved. We need to save money because now that I've retired, we're on fixed income; enough for now but not later.
I want to move to someplace cheaper since I don't have to be near work anymore. We could also do with a fixed up house and fix this house up before selling. No one likes that idea but me.

I used to live in Washington State, and from what I can tell, so do you. My old house (where I last lived 3 years ago) is about $375,000, more than what we sold it for. Washington state's housing market in the Seattle area always was too damn expensive for the need of shelter.

I'm lucky my grandfather gave us on grounds of family for me, the cat and my parents a house with one of his properties along the Eastern Seaboard. In fact, the property I am on is right next door to the house my father grew up in.

For me, being part of a big family does have its advantages.

However, I'm not yet ready to move out and I don't like roommates. If anyone finds anything incriminating, I am definitely going to plead the 5th if they attempted taking me to court. Probably enough pleading to get the case thrown out or myself held in contempt.

I don't feel secure talking about money online; but my Mum always told me "Don't ever spend money you don't have". So I've always made sure I've had when I've needed to. When I was little we were really poor, so whenever something broke - it would take months to pay to get it fixed/replaced. I spent about 2 years sleeping on a mattress on the floor when I was younger (16 or so) because the bunkbed broke, and I didn't want my Mum to splash out on a fancy new bed when there were more important things to buy.

Even now, if I want something that is expensive (really over £10 or so) I'll have to quiz myself "Will I really need it? or do I just want it?" and then how long it would occupy me for, how durable it is, etc. My brother wanted a flashy new iPhone for his birthday... but they're so expensive, and he doesn't text or call anyone anyway - just connects to our wifi (it doesn't have data) when he's at home, and he has a laptop for that anywaey so I just didn't see the point. The baby is going to be wearing hand-me-downs, second-hand clothes, reusable diapers and be breastfed all because I just don't see the point in spending so much money when I don't need to. It works though, I've never had to be without since becoming an adult, we even bought a car a few weeks ago on a bit of a whim but yet most of my coworkers work pay check to pay check.

Well, what do YOU do with a drunken sailor?

Well... you shouldn't give them more drinks, that's for sure.



I've had the same not-particularly-smart phone for over 7 years (yup, it's still alive and kicking, even after who knows how many accidental falls to the floor/pavement it's had, and with barely a scratch). No need to spend money on buying something that'll stop working (or break the screen the first time it hits a carpeted surface) after less than two years when I've got this one. Wouldn't be surprised if it keeps going for another 2-3 years. The battery life is a bit affected, and it does get some weird errors occasionally, but it's usually back to normal after a complete restart (most old electronics still seem to work with the "turn it off and turn it back on again" theory of how to fix problems). Until it kicks the bucket, I'm not planning to get another one. I don't care how old-fashion it is (it used to be one of the more popular ones on the market in its time), if it works it stays. Camera is awful, and there's no internet access, but I mostly use it to call, text, and wake me up in the morning. Having some web-free time during my workday or when I'm out and about is actually pretty nice. I spend more than enough time staring on a screen when I'm at home.

As a bonus, I can't for the life of me imagine someone wanting to steal that thing, so it's basically free insurance

Same with my old laptop. Even if I have a new one for games, I use the old one until it stops working. It doesn't like games and such any longer, but I see no point in retiring it until it's no longer working. It's 7 years old now, having so far beaten the lifespan of my first laptop with about a year.

I've always tried to take good care of my things. I'm not a 'use and throw away' kind of person. Saves some money to not throw it away on fancy clothes every week or new electronics every 1-2 years, possibly a little more environmentally friendly too.

I feel the same exact way, but I find I get too attached to my possessions to throw them away too lol. We've been through so much together, I'm not gonna throw it away too easily.

I was lucky to be born into a pretty wealthy family so whenever my siblings and I wanted to buy something, our parent's philosophy was kind of like, "Money doesn't matter, but time does." And it evolved to the point where I always ask myself "Does this improve me in any way and do I absolutely need this?" when I buy something and if it doesn't, I don't need it. The answer is no a lot so that could be a useful question..

One-third of the money buys funds, one-third of the money buys stocks, and another one-third buys fixed assets.
But stock investment is a risky investment, and if you don't have rich capital market experience, you can reduce your investment in stocks.

pic @source

I guessed @HarVee chose the drunken sailor one before I even saw the comment. And to be honest, if I weren't feeling relatively good right now, I'd choose that one to. Now that I have a job I have more money to spend per month than ever before, but I somehow manage not to do so.

Everyday is shore leave. And that's the way I like it!

Gotta go down to the red light district and get me some wenches before I set sail.

Begone, speaker of cursed words! Knowledge on the finances is witchcraft!

I suck at saving money...

What money

I usually get a weird high from coins, one I now understand that my mom would enjoy and still does.

My mother was the type to have a stash of money somewhere in the house (think Marge Simpson hiding the Christmas gift money in a condiment jar from a sandwich shop in her beehive). My mother no longer holds large amounts of money on the property lines of our house. She was the type of person that would have a couple hundred for emergencies and then one day...she decided it wasn't important. People change.

For my family, any financial situation under my grandfather's name as we live in one of a number of houses is completely understood and under control.

Any important financial urgency like rent, bills, communication expenses, service, debt, down payments...these are addressed first. Whatever is remaining I take as much without attempting to incur overdrafts.

This remaining cash is currently being saved in a jar, in an industrial 5 gallon bucket with a slot which after a set period of time, the denominations of money are then put in small piggy banks color coded to conform to the banking regulations in the case of coin. The dollar bills are put in the jar. The jars in the bucket is more a layer of complication.

When I look back at this, I hope to continue to pocket more coin from floors. My mother taught me a lesson that took me longer to learn and now that my meds are leveling me out and I have a sense of control, I can make smarter choices with loose change. Besides...it is nice to have on hand.

P.S. If a $1 is on the ground, I might wrench your arm. In the case of $100, I might rip your arm clean out of the socket. My father can vouch for this.

I spend like a drunken sailor... but at least I don't spend like the average elected official.

Beyond saving money somewhere safe, keeping track of your money requires access to your bank account through your bank's app and the use of a register app. This is key to keeping a balanced checkbook.

Because I am in the middle of paying off down payments, I would calculate the paycheck I get from my government account each month, then I calculate rent, bills, service agreements, the down payment and any debts incurred in the prior month. Then I apply that into a lump sum. Subscriptions are left alone and I belonged to 2: Amazon prime (it's a life saver when you are a constant buyer) and Microsoft (I use the mobile Office Suite)

However, I cancelled my prime membership during my time saving money for replacement of things around the house. Besides, I'm not going to be shopping any time soon. I probably would be armed with my necklace wallet scrounging for coin and rare bill notes picking up whatever I can to save.

My down payment schedule ends in December 2019, in time for Christmas. By Christmas, I probably would have to find a new laptop for my parents. The fan died.

Word of warning: Online shopping at places like Amazon is like a toxic relationship.

Right now, I'm breaking up for financial reasons. It would be pointless and counterproductive to spend money you need for the future.

I'm saving up for underwear that is nice, comes in my sizes and donates to good causes and pays the seamstresses living wages. I am currently replacing clothing that no longer fits or is beat up and damaged.

As for my lecture on keeping a balanced checkbook, cutting ties with unneeded services and the bonus for reorgs, you can take it or leave it. It's advice I dispense for the better of the matter.