The best way to save money?

Rental Property Investor · Norman, OK · Member since 2018 · 156 posts · 529 votes

Yet another chance to be featured in the next issue of BiggerPockets Wealth Magazine!

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

By responding here, you're allowing us to print your name and response, if chosen, in the next issue of the magazine. We're excited to hear what you have to say!

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Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member

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

@Kaylee Walterbach Shut down your Amazon prime account

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Eric James
Investor · Malakoff, TX · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
You see that money in your wallet? Don't spend it.
1 Reply
Dave G.
Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 349 posts · 418 votes
4y
Spend less than what you earn.
1 Reply
Jessica Starr
Chicago, IL · Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 2 votes
4y
Budgeting is, in my opinion, the heart of any money-saving strategy. You can't put anything else into practice efficiently without a good budget. That being said, paying myself first has been a real winner. I started by withholding money from my paycheck for retirement, which allowed me to save 3x as much money as my coworkers. Then I started saving a few dollars automatically each week. I slowly increased that amount over time. I don't notice the automatic withdrawals at all and I'm up to $125 weekly.
1 Reply
Lacey Chandler
Santa Cruz, CA · Member since 2021 · 4 posts · 6 votes
4y
QUANTUM PHYSICS! Just pay friggin attention to your business! Analyze your income and expenses to the detail at the very least every quarter. Analyze all reports and analyze the work of your support “cast” at the same intervals. One expense that gets out of control can throw off your numbers. It’s quantum physics!!-watch your numbers and they behave differently than if you don’t!! Same with kids I guess, and gardens, and bodies, and…
2 Reply
Michael J.
Real Estate Agent · Greenville, SC · Member since 2021 · 210 posts · 142 votes
4y
if you like eating out, become a secret shopper and get paid to eat out. This will save you hundreds a month!
0 Reply
Donovan McCoy
Member since 2022 · 1 post · 0 votes
4y
I may be late to the party here, but I can relate with this question. There are tons of books talking about reducing your expenses & increasing your income. I'm not going to get into that. I'll just talk about some experiences and practices that have worked out for me, so far.
My first job was at Wal-Mart. What's one thing almost everyone had in common there? Living paycheck to paycheck. It was insane to me.
Luckily(?) I have hobbies that have an expensive entry fee. Growing up I'd always wanted a dirtbike. So as soon as I started working, I knew what my money was going towards. I knew the price range that was realistic, and I was saving for that. Every time I bought something I didn't really 'need,' it was only going to take longer for me to achieve that. That made me question every purchase, and look at it as: 'is it worth it to not have a dirtbike for another week?' Soon enough, I had the cash. But get this, I didn't buy a dirtbike for a few months after that. I knew what it took to get there, & I wasn't keen on just parting ways with this money (really, the potential of it.) I realized that by having that money, I had options.
I think this is where my saving really kicked off. If you've never had more than a paycheck 'floating' in your account, I'm sorry. It is liberating. I remember realizing that I can pay for a major vehicle repair, help someone in a tight spot, or afford that dirtbike I had been waiting for. Having that liberty was mind melting. It may not seem like a lot to a lot of people here, but it was my first taste of 'freedom.'
So I found a bike I liked, & moved on it, but I started saving again. This time I had a different 'why.' I wanted options & security. I approached every purchase like I was saving for my dream. I calculated the weight or qty per dollar of items I was buying. I bought healthy, filling foods. I didn't eat out, etc. I only spent money on things that truly brought value or meaning to my life.
After a while of doing this, I had a decent amount saved for my age and occupation. So the next question is, how do you avoid impulse buying when you have money saved? What worked for me, is having a 'new zero.' Every time I hit a milestone number, that would be my new 0. The first time I hit $500 saved, I never wanted to go below $500. It became my new zero. Over time that number just kept growing. Sometimes I would even set my zero as the next milestone before I even hit it. I remember wanting to buy a graphics card for my PC that would cost $250. I had saved $1,900 at the time, and decided I wouldn't buy it until I hit $2,300. That way I wouldn't go below my new zero, or lose progress.
On some purchases, this approach doesn't make sense, but I still generally live my life this way, even after some serious career & income changes.
Basically
-Have a why.
-Question/analyze every purchase & understand how it impacts your progress.
-Think about what your money is capable of.
-Create a new zero. (This works. I shared it with co-workers at Wal-Mart and many of them saved more than ever.)
-Spend money on things that bring significant value to your life, not emotional impulse buys.
-Practice delayed gratification, and set goals, even if you can already 'afford' what you want.
I hope this helps.

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Usman S.
Investor · Greater Chicago · Member since 2022 · 26 posts · 7 votes
4y
Great comments so far..

My two cents. Some of this may have already been covered.
i think taking a more holistic approach with savings would help. Having goals (what are you trying to achieve by saving) will put savings into perspective. i think it comes down to mindset and developing good habits.

Budget was mentioned a few times and i would agree that if there is one thing one that you are planning to do then budgeting should be it.

I recently starting using YNAB (they offer a 30 day trial). i have used excel sheet in the past and i think i may have tried other programs long time ago but did not really like any of them.

YNAB looks promising so far. Using excel sheet has not worked for me so I am planning to sign up for YNAB. I even updated the excel sheet that I was planning to use to capture all areas and I think it would be great if "excel" is the route you want to take but after using YNAB for 20 days i am leaning towards YNAB. i have been tweaking it to make it work for me..At the end of the day excel or YNAB, it is a tool. Pick the one that works for you or no tool.

To add to the budgeting, if you have a partner/spouse then it is important that you both are on board with whatever your goals are. In my case, i am mainly using the YNAB and review it with my wife. Our goal is to live on my income and invest my wife's income. See what works for YOU.

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Bud Gaffney
Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Forget saving. Invest Invest Invest! Borrow against your property if you have an emergency. Inflation wipes away saving liquid $.
INVEST IT!
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Amish Patel
Investor · CA · Member since 2022 · 13 posts · 22 votes
4y
3 Steps:
1. Calculate and pay your fixed expenses (i.e. mortgage, loans...)
2. Pay yourself as if it were a fixed expense ( i.e. $500 a month )
3. The rest is used for everything else
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Nicholas McGuire
Member since 2021 · 2 posts · 2 votes
4y
Zero Based Budget:
Breaking your own finances down into a business financial sheet. Essentially categorizing every income, income type, asset, expense (fixed and variable), savings, and saving goals into its own columns.
I use to know where each and every cent is going and know exactly what i have disposable for ventures.
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Jake Wiley
Investor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2022 · 233 posts · 198 votes
4y
I'd come at this from a slightly different angle. The biggest cost out there is opportunity cost. Sometimes you have to get out of your own way to speed up. For example, we recently made an investment and were looking at properties in several states. Things were getting bogged down because we just couldn't quite get a feel for the out-of-state properties and as a result, there was a lot of talking and rationalizing, but the inability to pull the trigger. Once we shelled out the money we were trying to save to jump on a plane and spend thousands of dollars to get in the market, we were able to make the right decision and actually find a deal, which turned out not to be anything we fancied online.
I am not proposing that you should justify spending money on just anything, because that is easy to do.
However, sometimes you have to take a big step back and look at where you are trying to pinch pennies and appreciate whether it's holding you back from being able to move forward. Can't pull the trigger because you are afraid of making a bad decision, hire a mentor. Can't see all the potential opportunities, because you are on a free subscription, pay for the subscription. The opportunity costs in life are massive.
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Billy Smith
Shawnee Mission, KS · Member since 2016 · 716 posts · 313 votes
4y
Originally posted by @Jim K.:
Give up on the new car and the car payment. Before we got out act together, we bought three Toyota RAV4s in six years. Every two years, new car, new bumper-to-bumper warranty. We told ourselves the most idiotic lies to justify it. Well, we live right next to the service center. Well, my wife's job requires for her to make critical house calls. We NEED an absolutely reliable car.

Seven years later, we're still on the last RAV4. Platinum-grade batteries with a three-year warranty, brake pads guaranteed for life, windshield wipers changed every year, Michelin tires changed every 2 years, oil changed every 5000 miles. Triple-A tow-100-miles membership for $100/year. We have a long-term understanding with a local mechanic, we do business with a local service garage. We live just outside the 66th largest city in America, with full access to Uber and Lyft. Give up on the new car and the car payment.

Agree new cars a huge waste of money ,I did also buy a new Rav4 for the wife ,I drive a 10 year old F-150 I keep it Mechanical great shape, showing rust I don't care .

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LaMancha SimsBusiness Member
Lender · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2019 · 240 posts · 41 votes
4y
@Kaylee Walterbach. The best tried and true money saving strategy of all time still remains for people to shop 3 quotes on big ticket items, prior to making a decision.
Sims Ventures.
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Aldrin Gacuya
Member since 2019 · 13 posts · 6 votes
4y
I would say one of the things I've learned over the years and heard a lot of individuals say in the forum already is to always pay yourself first. In the last couple of years I have also applied minimalism to my life by decluttering, selling or getting rid of things I once thought I needed but only realized that I never needed it in the first place. I sold a lot of shoes/clothes I had bought over the years that just collected dust in my closet. By doing this it not only simplified my life exponentially, it has kept my life stress-free and my bank accounts happy. We don't need to keep with with the Jones and having to buy the latest and greatest.
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Bonnie LowPro Member
Lender · Asheville, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Keep it simple. Set it and forget - automatic deductions. Make it a pain to access. Don't link it to your other bank accounts or it becomes too convenient to transfer money out of it.
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Keisha Rae M.
Investor · Member since 2021 · 15 posts · 7 votes
4y
@Alex Gurvitz how do you close more deals?
1 Reply
Alex Gurvitz
Lender · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2015 · 42 posts · 37 votes
4y
Good question Keisha,

I focus my 85% of my attention on the more likely deals to close, and only 15% on the less likely ones. I also work hard, and surround my self with professionals. Positive thinking also helps.))
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Wesley MullenPro Member
Investor · Norman, OK · Member since 2021 · 56 posts · 21 votes
4y
I'm sure this has been said often, but the easiest way is to set an auto-deposit to go from your checking's to savings or investment account. This could be either just from paychecks, or set a criteria to take a portion of any deposit over a specific amount. For example, anytime a deposit hits my account over $1000, $100 automatically gets moved to my savings.
Another less efficient method is finding some sort of side-hustle to make additional money. This can be difficult to find something that is worth the time invested, but can pay dividends. I did meal prep for people for nearly a year, but soon realized I was spending too much time on it vs the profits I was actually receiving. I'm now learning a new skill/trade and while I learn, I'm also helping out and earning a few extra bucks along the way. This money, instead of saving, is going straight to my debt (admittedly a truck loan), to get it paid off quicker.
Where there's a will, there's a way!
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Charles Graves
Member since 2022 · 3 posts · 0 votes
4y
Learn to value your time, and also constantly be learning and learn how to make a lot of money
if you’re constantly working, building a business and making a lot of money, then you naturally will spend less money when you’re focused on earning it

also learn how to value and manage your time properly.
Example: you don’t “save money” by driving to the grocery store to buy groceries, because you’re too cheap to pay Walmart $10 a month to deliver all your groceries to you. You actually LOSE money that way, especially if your time is valuable.
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Amanda Bruneau
Real Estate Agent · Providence, RI · Member since 2020 · 41 posts · 29 votes
4y
I am an impulse buyer. The best money-saving strategy for me is not to go into the store. This applies to all things, including grocery shopping. On average I will spend $300.00 at the grocery store a week! I am buying for a family and I like to eat healthy and cook, but I have started buying my groceries online through Superwalmart and my grocery bill has been cut in half which is a huge savings over the course of the month. In addition, it saves me a ton of time. I never buy anything full price with it comes to clothes, etc. I have direct deposit that automatically deposits half of my income into a separate account for investing so I never touch the money. I budget weekly and I write off as much as I can through my business using an app called Hurdlr so I am keeping as much of my income as possible.
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Anthony Nunez
Real Estate Broker · NY · Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 18 votes
4y
I invest into a 403b and 457 plan. I live my life with whatever is remaining. I like dividend yielding stocks as I build up the funds for a real estate purchase. Make the money work.
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Anthony Nunez
Real Estate Broker · NY · Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 18 votes
4y
Don't let your lifestyle expenses grow faster than your income.
0 Reply
Zachary Inman
Specialist · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2021 · 312 posts · 282 votes
4y
The solution is simple but not easy: increase income, and reduce expenses.
I always advise making a list of the things you genuinely care about in life (family, hobbies, REI, etc..) and then try to best match your income to go towards those things — and ruthlessly cut the rest. Live lean.
Lifestyle inflation is an easy trap to get pulled into as you accumulate more money. But in the marathon of life, what gets put on your scorecard isn't your income; it's your NOI and how you spend your time.
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Zachary Cummings
Real Estate Broker · Berkley, MI · Member since 2021 · 62 posts · 47 votes
4y
1. Lowering your expenses which increases your income. This is easier said than done but with a little self control and determination, this is doable. Get rid of unnecessary expenses, cook meals instead of eating out, get rid of subscriptions you don't use, maybe try app streaming services instead of cable, drive a used car with little to no payment, etc. Invest in yourself first.
2. As you lower these expenses you can pay off these larger bills such as credit cards, student loans, the car payment you may still have, etc.
3. Househack. Getting your #1 major expense even lower. Whether it is buying a single family home fixing it up then doing it again, buying a single family home and renting out the other rooms or buying a 2-4 unit and renting the others out. There of course are other options but this allows you to save as much money as possible.
4. Invest in real estate.
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Jonathon Hunt
Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2016 · 26 posts · 17 votes
4y
My three simple strategies to increase savings:
1. Live in a campervan - save that rent money!
2. YNAB - You need a budget!
3. Earn more - its salary negotiating season!
Let's make that bread and achieve financial independence together!
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