# Money & Life



## kudi (Sep 27, 2011)

Hello, this has been an issue I've been thinking about lately. The first good paying job I got 1 1/2 years ago, I went a little crazy and splurged then got scared and starting being more fiscal conservative, but I'm still kind of figuring it out. 

Striking a balance between spending money on the things you enjoy and savings/investment is not something I've experienced before, I'd like to know how do you all manage your money? What lead you to that approach?


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## cherry blossom (Mar 30, 2012)

I can't say that I have it completely figured out. Luckily I've never managed to get myself in serious debt, but I haven't been very successful at saving money. Good place to start for me - pension plan. This money leaves my account before I see it, so at least I'm saving towards my retirement. I strongly urge you to set something up for that ASAP. The earlier you start saving, the less you need to put away each month. Also, get a separate savings account and set up a standing order to go out before you can spend the money. .

Budgeting is an important skill. Figure out an easy way to do it. What I've done in the past is to actually draw cash at the beginning of the month and pay for everything with cash, not card. Seeing money go out of your wallet is a powerful reminder. Set up standing orders to pay regular bills. Look around though, there are different techniques which will work for different people. Learn to really think twice before buying stuff. Ask yourself if you really need it, perhaps say that if you still want it next week, you'll come back for it, often times the "need" will go away.

Do not get into unnecessary debt. All debt isn't bad, student loans, home loans etc are fine. Going into debt to buy gadgets or clothes or DVDs: that's bad.

What lead me to this point? I'm not sure, a global recession helped curb my spending, but I wasn't out of control before. Realising I don't have much in the way of savings also helped.


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