Comments on: Generation Earn: New Book & Giveaway!

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 02:13:48 +0000

*GIVEAWAY OVER*

Here are the 3 lucky winners of an awesome book!!
1) Chung L
2) Alex Beszterda
3) Briana @ GBR

Congrats guys! Look out for an email soon from me ;)
Thanks for participating everyone, gotta another book to give away soon, keep your eyes open!

By: Meg

Meg — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:52:01 +0000

I have kept a spending diary before and found that I was spending a ton of money on eating out! I have tried to get better, but always find myself spending more then I should on eating at restaurants!

By: Glen

Glen — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:51:47 +0000

I have been tracking my spending using Mint.com since October 2009. The first time I analyzed my spending about 3 months in, I realized that we were spending $40 a month on our two little poodles. With the toys, treats, food, and grooming it started adding up. Since then we have been using coupons on food and treats, severely limited the number of toys (since they have 2 pet beds full), and my wife started grooming them herself after purchasing a set of clippers.

By: Diana

Diana — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:57:29 +0000

I couldn’t understand why I was working a full time job and still had to bum money off people by the end of the week for essential things like gas. I decided the best way to fix it was to track my expense and found that my little $50 trips to drug stores for cosmetics and makeup ended up averaging over $150/week!!! I also spent too much money on eating out!

Tracking every penny you spend is a real eye opener!!!

By: Maria

Maria — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 16:50:06 +0000

A few years ago I realised my credit card debt kept increasing each month…and I felt that I was losing control of my finances. So, I started writing down everything I spent for 6 months to see where the problem was. I quickly realised that my outgoings were much higher than my income. The main issues were eating out at lunchtime, clothes (most of which were “boredom buys”, and ‘bits-n-pieces’, like a candle, a lipstick, a plant, etc.

I then scrutinized my bills and reduce and cancelled anything that I felt wasn’t necessary for my lifestyle. I took on a 2nd job for one year to pay off my car loan and all credit cards. I also put away my credit cards and only used cash (as far as it was possible). And, I purchased Quicken software to keep a track of everything I spend.

I still keep a track of my spending but not so intensely. More of as a gauge. I still tend to by ‘bits-n-pieces’ although I try to be more conscious of the purchases. I rarely eat out ‘cos thats sure eats up your money fast. And, I can’t remember the last time I bought a piece of clothing that wasn’t on sale or I didn’t get from a thrift store. I also enjoy making my own clothes – but only by material when the store has a sale.

Tracking and budgeting is THE best way to understand your own personal spending habits. And you can see where you may have some problems and can fix it…if you want to that is.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 20:58:46 +0000

Man, we spend a loooooot of money on things! :) I like those who commented on Target & Walmart (and even Duane Reed! haha….) – it’s true, some of those places can suck us in!!!!

Another place that eats my money — Go Daddy. I am a sucker for picking up domain names, I literally spent over $1500 last year on it alone. That was a big shock for me… although blog stuff is in there too like hosting, so it’s not purely for “future ideas” :)

Will pick the winners in 2 days, keep ’em coming friends!

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 23:35:06 +0000

Several Christmases ago I tracked my Christmas spending. I tracked everything; including gifts for friends and family, decorations, holiday parties, hostess gifts, Christmas cards, travel, etc. When I added up everything after Christmas, I was shell-shocked. It was nearly three times what I had guessed I would spend. Now, I make a budget and stick to it.

By: Janet

Janet — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 22:01:35 +0000

Like the previous comments, I fall in the single category. So, I don’t like to cook. Also, Yelp is a great way to recognize the fruits of my labor! I will change once I have a family, but until then, I enjoy food too much to change this habit.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 21:50:43 +0000

I found that I was spending way too much money on coffee!

By: Ronnie

Ronnie — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 04:53:56 +0000

For me is was definately food/dining. I always stayed within my monthly income, but I never saved. I started an excel spreadsheet to track where my money was going. Well needless to say I was spending $5-$10 a day for lunch at work, then going out for dinner/drinks 2-3 times a week. I ended up realizing I was spending over $100 a week on food and thats not even including groceries!