The best way to save money?

Rental Property Investor · Norman, OK · Member since 2018 · 158 posts · 529 votes

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Calling all finance savants: What money-saving strategy do you swear by?

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Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

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Jonathan SmallPro Member
Investor · Suwanee, GA · Member since 2020 · 182 posts · 151 votes
4y
us a dry erase marker and post your debts on the mirror in your bathroom. post your savings goal as well.

update it weekly. this helped me because my wife and kids seen the vision. they knew the goal. you have to create an environment where you can succeed. In my case the environment was my family.

Share the vision and your goals with your family. You will spend less.
1 Reply
Jenna Sutherlin
Member since 2019 · 18 posts · 7 votes
4y
1. Meal prep at home for the week. In the time it takes to drive/ walk to restaurants multiple times a day, you can grocery shop and meal prep for a fraction of the cost of eating out. It is healthier, too.
2. Run errands in a loop or schedule them on the way home from work. With gas even more expensive than a pound of beef, this helps cut down on both gas, time used, and wear and tear on your vehicle. It adds up over time, especially if you live on the coasts.

2 Reply
Account Closed
WI · Member since 2019 · 77 posts · 10 votes
4y
Rich dad, poor dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Hands down best comment here, thanks guys.
0 Reply
Scott Willms
Investor · Arvada, CO · Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 0 votes
4y
I have to agree with everyone who said BUDGET! I have started using a budgeting app (yes it costs money) but I can tell you I have already saved thousands of dollars. It is based on the envelope theory some have already mentioned. Having a plan for your money BEFORE you get it is huge and also stashing away money a little at a time for once a year large ticket items (i.e. car insurance, holiday gifts, etc) is equally as huge. Assigning every dollar to some purpose limits you having "spending cash" just waiting to be wasted. Consistently and frequently seeing where your money goes has a definite effect the next time you think you need a $3 energy drink.
0 Reply
Zach Grigg
New to Real Estate · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2021 · 15 posts · 9 votes
4y
My wife and I have turned saving money into a game throughout the year. One of the things we do is 'The Savings Game'. The game is simple: We have two ziploc bags, one is labeled 1-50 and the second one is labeled 51-100. Every Sunday one of us draws the high bag, and the other draws from the low bag - then we split the total sum in half and move that amount to our general savings account. It's a simple and fun way to save $5,000; plus it gets you thinking about your savings/finances every weekend. For us, this stimulated new savings techniques for paying off our vehicle or other lines of credit by using things like the 1/12 rule.
Another thing we do that we have found super helpful is getting a credit card that accrues points every swipe, and immediately moving that money into our 'credit card payment' checkings account that covers that expense plus a little extra (basically rounding up to the nearest $5-$10). So now we accrue points for traveling for free, always pay off our monthly balance on time, and sometimes easily save a few hundred bucks a month just doing this. It may seem mindless at first, but it adds up after gas, groceries, and misc expenses. I mean, who doesn't want to fly to Cancun or Italy for free!
0 Reply
Alan Bostick
Homeowner · Orrville, OH · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 31 votes
4y
Live frugally. Under your means. You don’t need the brand new car. You don’t need to eat out 7 days a week. Use credit cards for your monthly bills ONLY - and pay the bill.
Me personally, I bought an 04’ Chevy Impala 6 years ago for 3k. I’ve put less than 4K into repairs. 7k for 6 years of transportation is a good deal to me.
0 Reply
Carlos Garibay
Rental Property Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 2 votes
4y
@Kaylee Walterbach
Money you don’t see is money you don’t miss. The best thing to do is open up a savings account at a credit union or bank that you don’t currently bank at. This way you won’t see your balance when performing normal bank functions (ie pay bills, manage budget etc.) Add that new account to your direct deposit and deposit 10-20% of your paycheck into that account. Or whatever percentage you think you can tolerate. This way you never saw the money in your regularly banking account and it didn’t hurt to physically transfer over to a saving account. Next Cut up your atm card to that new account. This removes the Convenience. So you can’t just pull out money when you’re at the casino. The money is still accessible, you just have to actually go inside the bank and provide your ID to withdrawal the money. The hassle itself will make you less likely to touch the money for dumb reasons. Then when you reach a monetary goal such as enough for a downpayment, you go in and pull out the money or just wire it from the account.
Pro tip: Use a credit union that doesn’t have zelle, so it isn’t easy to just send yourself money from that account lol.
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Carlos Garibay
Rental Property Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 2 votes
4y
@Nathan G.
Well said. Money you don’t see is money you don’t miss!
2 Reply
Tom Puiia
Portsmouth, NH · Member since 2019 · 13 posts · 14 votes
4y
Pay yourself first & live on less than you make.
Set up your direct deposit to stash away a determined percentage that isn't in your normal bank account. Out of sight, out of mind.This can be a separate savings, retirement account, etc.
Every time you get a raise or a bonus stash that additional amount there, you won't even notice the difference since you've been living on less.
BUDGET - Just like diet & exercise. Numbers on the page will make you think twice. You can exercise an extra hour or eliminate one snack both have the same net outcome.
1 Reply
Mike Eichler
Realtor · Pocono Pines, PA · Member since 2019 · 183 posts · 108 votes
4y
I like to use an app on my phone called "mint" mint allows you to create separate budgets for whatever you want, whether it is the next rental Property, the next vacation... whatever, it also pulls all of my accounts all into one place which allows for easy tracking of all my finances in one place. #NotSponsored just really love the app and have found it to be very helpful for me.
0 Reply
Garrett CrosbyPro Member
Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles, United States · Member since 2021 · 392 posts · 162 votes
4y
Personally, I dedicate all my funds to automate towards certain accounts to prevent myself from overspending or dipping into savings. So for instance, my rent payments go directly into an account where the funds are automatically deposited into high-yielding index funds. Deposits from commissions, jobs, or other means are budgeted for ahead of time and automated to pay bills, deposit into other investment accounts/savings accounts, or pay the credit card balance. At the end of each month, I'll assess the funds remaining and either add them to my index fund account (where I typically save for buying more properties) or will use the additional funds for an extra fun family day. :)
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Matthew Kloc
Member since 2022 · 1 post · 0 votes
4y
Forget nice things! Instead of buying a new car ( monthly payment). Or getting that new golf club set you've been dreaming about.. Put that money away because you don't need it. Wants and needs are two different things. Above I used two examples of expensive purchases, but the real way to save money begins with: that cup of coffee you order at Starbucks instead of making a cup at home..Or going out to eat instead of making it yourself. Just those two simple small things, you'll notice your bank account RISE!
0 Reply
Stanley D florence sr
Member since 2022 · 2 posts · 0 votes
4y
Keep your money moving! Saving is good if you can get a good return 5% to 10% return a year on your saving & investment.Building a tax free shelter that will protect your assets and profits and constantly aloud you to reinvest and take profit from the yield or dividends, depending how large your investment portfolio is structure and reinvest or go on a nice vacation.I am learning everyday through groups like this and others that help me try and understand the financial mindset of building long term wealth I am starting late! Better late the never!
0 Reply
Stanley D florence sr
Member since 2022 · 2 posts · 0 votes
4y
Keep your money moving! Saving is good if you can get a good return 5% to 10% return a year on your saving & investment.Building a tax free shelter that will protect your assets and profits and constantly aloudsreinvest and try and live off the yield or dividends on your return depending how large your investment portfolio is structure.I am learning everyday through groups like and others that help me try and understand the financial mindset of building long term wealth I am starting late! Better late then never!This is my person opinion no financial advice.
0 Reply
Dell J.
Member since 2010 · 210 posts · 158 votes
4y
If it is a B or C Neighborhood, restore instead of replace kitchen cabinets if possible
1 Reply
Tanner Sherman
Real Estate Broker · Omaha, NE · Member since 2020 · 329 posts · 203 votes
4y
I have tried many different money saving tricks in the past, the envelope method, swear jar, 52 week plan, you name it. The one trick that always worked for me was the $5 Bill savings plan. This one is pretty simple, every time you come into contact with a $5 bill, you put it into an envelope. If you spend a $5 bill, you must put $20 into an envelope. This method is extremely effective if you work a tip-based job like bartending. I was able to save up thousands of dollars in a couple of months, and it shifted my mindset to break down my large bills and consolidate my $1s into $5s; I got excited to hide money from myself.
The most important thing I learned from this, I now know as Pay Yourself First. Working in the 21st century, most jobs utilize direct deposit so savings tricks that require you to put aside physical dollar bills are more of an inconvenience when you factor in having to remember to withdraw money. Luckily, setting up allotments with your employer is fairly easy to do, and you don't necessarily need to invest this money. If you put it into an account that you don't check very often and just forget about it, you will be amazed at how quickly this account can grow.
0 Reply
Adeva Edobor
Banker · Huntington Beach, CA · Member since 2018 · 99 posts · 100 votes
4y
@Kaylee Walterbach DIY. Those three magic letters will save anyone a lot over time. Learn to do simple tasks first then complicated ones later. As simple as changing a tire, (I learned when I was 27🙈) to remodeling a kitchen. I spent $10k on a $35k kitchen remodel and $3k on a $16k bathroom remodel. (Thanks to Jeff from renovision)
0 Reply
Dwayne Poster
Investor · Van Isle · Member since 2021 · 455 posts · 226 votes
4y
The way I see it is that there are two types of people, consumers and producers.
Consumers save, so they can spend. Producers don't save so they can generate wealth.
As a young man I saved because I had nothing to do with my money. Once I learnt how to make my money work for me, I stopped saving. Sure, I have a cash account for security, but I ensure a degree of liquidity in my investments to call upon when needed.
The definition of 'saving' is up for grabs, but I see it to mean, setting moneys aside as contingency, and for soothing financial stress. Having too much money set aside, not producing more than savings account returns, would be stressful for me.
0 Reply
Joshua BreslinPro Member
Investor · Mohrsville, PA · Member since 2015 · 2 posts · 0 votes
4y
Pay yourself first!
Save 10% of gross income.
Set up automatic transfers to savings accounts.
It takes time, be patient!
0 Reply
Axel MeierhoeferPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Escondido, CA · Member since 2017 · 684 posts · 550 votes
4y
To me there are two steps to take to save money with great returns:
1. Set your goal for passive income and put any money you can possibly identify into an "Accumulation Savings Account" to shorten the time for you to reach the "Time Freedom Point".
2. Each time the amount in your Accumulation Savings Account reaches $50 or multiples of $50, but Lofty tokenized real estate that meets your investing criteria and hold them until the total amount/balance on Lofty is high enough to purchase your next high-performance cash-flow property in a B-class neighborhood.
0 Reply
Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
4y
Started with my Grandfather who lived through the depression ( the real one) his motto was pay NO interest.
So he paid off his home in Milwaukee WI in less than 10 years on a bus driver salary and my Grandma working at Gimbles.

then most of my very successful early clients same thing they simply paid cash and borrowed very little if anything.

We see it today with so many getting heavy into CC debt and other finance deals which carry very large interest rates.

So I guess I am with everyone else on the thread if you cant pay cash for it dont buy it. ( other than real estate and Vehicle)..Pandemic has really showed me how much money we save not eating out.. In my business .. lunch out with clients was SOP everyday or just with work mates etc.. And when I am entertaining clients on my trips around the country those are tax write off marketing expenses but those 1k dinners do add up :).

Pandemic and u tube has created a new hobby for me cooking and now I do ALL the cooking and ALL the shopping leaving my wife time to be the top producing agent that she has been and some free time as she works so hard. And i really enjoy the cooking and creating meal plans etc.. Shocked the heck out of me.
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4 Reply
Patrick Snyder
Real Estate Consultant · Lansing, MI · Member since 2011 · 356 posts · 306 votes
4y
@Kaylee Walterbach
Recognize that money is easy to make, but hard to keep. Everything you do and everywhere you go costs money, so adopt daily practices to maximize monthly saving/investing strategies.
2 Reply
Jason R.
Investor · Denver · Member since 2018 · 16 posts · 13 votes
4y
Try to live within our own means. This means, don't go out and buy that new Ford Lightning that everyone's raving about, even though we have the money to buy it. Don't buy or wear flashy clothing, jewelry, ext. I used to buy expensive clothing at the high end mall in town every so often when I was a student. I'd try to look as presentable as possible while going out to bars and clubs. Most of the time, it was a huge waste of time and money. Now, I simply buy most of my clothing at COSTCO. I don't go out to eat as much as I used to (much healthier that way) and I refuse to go out to bars. We will occasionally visit a local brewery, that's about it. Our friends who eat out and attend the bar scene quite frequently are always living paycheck to paycheck. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. The savings might seem small now, but it adds up over time. Who knows, this could be used as a down payment for your next investment property!
2 Reply
Ty AshBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2018 · 201 posts · 132 votes
4y
1.Educate yourself and start to plan/envision where you'd like to be
2. Track your spending
3. Align your spending with your values
4. Give your cash a job and automate it if possible within your accounts (Retirement, Travel, Emergency, Investing)
5. Be creative about how you entertain yourself. It's not where you are or what you do, it's who you're with that makes anything in life worthwhile and enjoyable!
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1 Reply
Austin McClainBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · OH · Member since 2021 · 350 posts · 603 votes
4y
It's a small thing, but packing a lunch to work has saved me a lot of money. It only saves about $8 per day. Still, it can add up to $40 per week or $2,080 per year.
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