If your a teenager with a summer job and your wondering why can’t I buy that car I want or that new Ipod or Ipad then you are a victim of bad financial planning.
Here a some tips:
Make a savings account: chances are down the road you will run into problems and need money or want to buy a house or new car well with your money in your savings account it has a chance to grow rather than be spent faster than you can earn it.
Make a budget: if you make “X” amount of money (after paying off living/taxes) lets say in this case $300 a week save $250 of that money in the savings account mentioned above, and give yourself a week “allowance” of $25 and use the other $25 on buying some food for the week.
Check coupons: your probably thinking I’m too good for coupons well 50% or buy one get one free deals are very nice and can save you a good chunk of cash.
Name brand vs Store brand: generally store brand is a lot cheaper and tastes just as good if not better then that of the Name brand, its also better for you in most cases.
Buy used not new: In general new is shiny, but think about it for a moment. If you buy something used the dealer/buyer is not going to buy a crummy item back. Also, if it is slightly broken it is fixed and works just good as new some people just open things up, use it once then never again; that is basically new.
This goes for
– Video Games
– Cars (make sure the place you buy from is well known and not some highway scam)
– Clothes (careful with this one)
– Electronics
– Other
Don’t fear Ebay, Pawnshops, or Craigslist: chances are you can make money invest into these (if you know the price of the object and can find retail on it) products you can find can range from cheap watches to homes:
Cheap watches you can resell or use (normally $100-300 for a $500-$2000 watch depending results will vary though make sure you know what your doing before trying anything like this). Cheap cars that people are basically paying you to take. You might even find cheap homes or cars from police auctions ($50-500); If you’re into investing and making money this is an idea; or perhaps you just want to save a lot of money on good items.
Don’t use credit cares: even though you do need a credit care in life refrain from using it, your credit is something you can’t afford to have abused.