Advice for the starving person just out of college

RageUnleashed · Jul 2005

So I know I've been really inactive (for those who've noticed). But basically here's what I've been up to in a nutshell; graduated college, did contract work for Victory studios, doing alot of website/flash/graphic design, odd jobs involving digital art basically. So I recently got a full time job here, pay is decent. Moving into an apartment with a roommate this weekend.

Now I'm sure many of you have gone through this, so I was just wondering for whatever advice you can give a n00b to "living on his own". It'd probably be of benefit to others here. Mostly wondering what advice you can give about keeping costs low, thrifty shopping, etc etc I'll appreciate anything.

Rwolf · Jul 2005

Wal-Mart is your friend, although the the customer service is crappy. In canada we have "Super Store" I don't know what the USA equvilant that is.

Also buy in bulk if possible (ie COSCO). Avoid pricy resturants and fast food joints.

PaK · Jul 2005

The 3 main drains on disposable income are:

High monthly expenses
This includes cars, cellphones, high rent....basically unecessary bills. Try and live without a cellphone if you don't already have one.

Laziness/poor planning
If you don't plan your life often you spend money on dumb shit, like a cab or expensive lunches when yer hungry and you have to eat cuz you're away from home. There is no reason to eat out every meal. If you really wanna save money then don't eat out often. The rule I've made for msyelf is to only eat out when i have nice company. Make it a special event not part of your daily routine.

Impulse buys
Like cravings of anykind, just resist for a while. if you feel like buying 'anything' just wait, force yoruself to wait a week or a month. then....if you really want it you'll still buy it. Think back....how many things ahve you bought that you wish you didn't? That's wasted money.

Developing good spending habbits serves you for the rest of your life. Aquire them now if you can, you'll be hapier in the long run. i'm lucky in that i'm inherently cheap and my culture inherently is frugal.

I have a friend who has a crazy lifestyle of spending every dollar he has, so does my roommate. These guys make over 100K but have no money at the end of the month.

-R

iansnyder · Jul 2005

These guys all have good advice, here's some more I thought of:

Try to cook all of your own meals, and buy some decent food; if you buy a bunch of really cheap stuff that you won't eat it doesn't matter. So buy a bunch of spaghetti or something else that is pretty cheap and you don't mind eating a lot. Some good foods that are pretty cheap:
spaghetti, beans, rice, frozen veggies. Using these things and some flavorings, like canola oil, you can make a large variety of meals using really basic stuff. You can make your own sauces and stuff from canned tomatoes and spices.

Another thing: cook a bunch of food and seal them in tupperware and freeze it; if you need a quick meal you can grab one out of the freezer and microwave it. Works pretty well with noodles and soups.

Like PaK said, impulse buying is something that is good to avoid throughout your life; if you do that, start training yourself to wait a week or so before buying something to make sure you really want it. It took me a while to get used to that

I'm sure you know this, but if you have a car, using the air conditioner uses up more gas, so don't use the A/C unless you need it.

Sorry for the list, but I know what its like not having much money, so I'm just trying to help

Also, just google "frugal living" and you should find plenty of stuff. There's also a pretty good book called the "Tightwad Gazette" that has some good stuff in it if you can get it cheap

Hope this helps!

Mark Dygert · Jul 2005

Avoid over spending and buying things on credit unless you really need them like a car. Going out and fournishing your new pad on a deal like "no payments for 1 year" or "90 days same as cash" will more than likely bite you in the ass. If you don't manage to pay it all off before the time runs out you normally get charged back interest and they keep charging interest until you pay it off. Its easy to get caught in a loop of making the min payment(which covers the interest) and not actually making any headway on the loan. Not only is your "new furniture" not so new and you are starting to get tired of it, but you end up paying way more than what it is worth. IF you do manage to fall for a "deal" like that, try to pay it all off before the time runs.

Look in the paper and local online classified ads for things like couches, TV's, bed frames. My first pad was made up of hand-me-downs from a guy I knew that was moving across country.

Try and sock some money away, even full time jobs can turn into a lay off at the drop of a hat.

Cook at home. I don't like buying in bulk, because I am always sick of it in a week or two. There are only so many ways I can eat 40lbs of cheerio's. I also don't buy bread in bulk, it always goes green before I can eat it all, same for costco muffins and veggies. Unless you plan to freeze or use it all soon, it might go to waste. If you can stomach alot of the same thing then costco is your buddy. I would suggest making regular shopping trips and stocking up. Buying things that make more than one meal are good. Buying things you can make different kind of meals out of is always a smart buy. Things like pasta and meat to freeze. You can do more with pasta than just make spagetti

Check on like for easy recipes.

When I first got out on my own I lived off of BBQ chicken, rice (bag from costco) and baked potatos(bag from costco). I would buy bulk chicken and freeze it with a vacume sealer. I would take the meat out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw. Then when I got home I would boil it with some water/sause then toss it on the BBQ or it go straight to the BBQ and I would add some sause when it was almost fully cooked. I even started poking the chiken with a fork and letting it soak in some sause before sealing/freezing it. With meats the more you are willing to clean yourself, the cheaper it is. Buy it in bulk, clean it, freeze it. There is a lot you can do with meat. I would also buy bulk fish and cook it sort of the same way but you have to be careful with fish, there is a fine line between good fish and bad... My girlfriend (now wife) liked how clean my stove always was, that is because the only thing it did was boil water. She also showed me I could do more with meat than BBQ it =P

ElysiumGX · Jul 2005

Don't waste money on soft drinks, meats, beer, or cigarettes. Cans of tuna cost about 50 cent each. One gallon water refill, 40 cent. Pasta takes 10 minutes to boil. Slowcookers rule. Throw random objects in, walk away, 4 hours later, good meal. Peanut butter is good. Use credit cards for gas. Pay it off quickly. Ignore fashion trends. Shop Ebay. Thrift stores. Yard sales. Google. Enjoy.

I'm living proof these methods are life savers.

doc rob · Jul 2005

If you're in a major metro area hit craigslist for furniture or other significant purchases. I know it would have been a godsend when I was in school/poor. You can often get things for dirt money or even nothing. My wife and I hardly buy anything new anymore.

Moving in with a roomate is obviously a good idea, so you've got that covered. Renting houses tends to be cheaper for the space than apts, so if you can get a group of trusted folks together that can be cheap.

I'd stay away from spending money you don't have (maintain zero debt). When I was on my own I always adjusted my lifestyle so that my savings account was going up in the long term. That gave me some extra cash to work on my folio full time when I needed to.

PaK · Jul 2005

I second that, I never buy anything new if I can avoid it:

-used speakers
-used camera equipment
-used bike (to get to work)
-used briefs j/k

Accually, the only thing that i bought recently that was new was a pair of sunglasses cuz people usually scartch good lenses.

credit is a 'huge' mistake if you abuse it. The only reason i have a credit card is because it makes life convienient

-I can't rent videos w/o a credit card
-I can't rent a car w/o a credit card
-I can't get a cell w/o a credit card (or a blood sucking rate and a huge deposit)

I might add though that establishing credit in the USA is seriously important. credit cards are great for establishing credit. it's important to establish credit so when you need it uyyou have it. For instance; if you want to buy a home one day you need a decent credit rating to lock in a low rate for your morgage. I would suggest establishing your credit with a nationwide Bank.

Right now I'm sliding by on my Canadian credit but this card is expensive to use here.

-R

sonic · Jul 2005

Hill Country Fair (HEB BRAND) Pizza = 2 bucks, takes 10 min to cook in oven (assuming you have an oven or similar tool), and tastes excellent.

If you're a person who likes to buy random toys and junk, avoid eating out a lot and spending useless money. If you don't usually buy lots of things, then I'd say eat out whenever you feel like it and enjoy yourself. Have a good time, and don't feel too constricted by a "budget".

steady · Jul 2005

this is a great thread.
If you need to buy tech stuff, keep an eye on
http://www.bensbargains.net
Prices for moniters and dell computers keep going down, the rule is the longer you wait, the cheaper it gets. I got a 19" moniter for $360, the next month i saw it for $300.
Also, Ramen noodles are your friend

rawkstar · Jul 2005

enjoy it beeeeyatch! and go buy some food, RAMEN = always a good choice. and stock up on roommates that are all cool different and all do game art... and ur set

(thats how I live)

scout some dumpsters for funiture. we found a couple of badass couches and some cool lamps and all kinds of stuff really... I don't tink we actually bought any furniture in the place, besides computer desks.

hawken · Jul 2005

pay all your bills on time, if you have extra cash floating about pay them in advance.

don't get a credit card, don't borrow money.

theres my two main fuckups right there

Pseudo · Jul 2005

What Hawken said. I had to get a credit card and borrow money in order to afford the deposit on my apartment, a bed, and a desk. The problem was I also used it for food, and then I started getting careless and buying games etc, and now I have 2,000 worth of debt.

I recommend getting a credit card if you don't already have excellent credit, but use it sparingly. Buy 1 game a month and pay it off before the month ends, or something similar.

KDR_11k · Jul 2005

I have a credit card but rarely use it. Your best bet is to treat it as if it doesn't exist and keep it for emergencies only. Anything can be bought in cash. Unless it's something huge like a car you should save up the money instead of loaning it (and make sure you absolutely cannot go without the car or whatever you're looking at). Buying a house is likely something you'll want to wait with.

Food is cheaper the more you have to do yourself but sometimes you don't want to spend half the day cooking. Balance money vs. time.

Vary your eating habits, to stay healthy you'll need a very varied menu.

If you can, buy at a discounter. I doubt Aldi has already come to the US but you probably have comparable stores. Not too sure if Walmart is as cheap, most discounters cut a LOT of corners compared to the bigger stores (mostly on variety and extra staff) and while there might be some inconveniences with those the prices make up for it. Usually the stuff they sell is rebranded, it's not necessarily any different from the expensive stuff you can get in other stores.

As for games, try to go for bargain bin stuff, there's more than enough of that.

sal_manilla · Jul 2005

I couldn't read all that but did anyone mention planning a budget?

gauss · Jul 2005

i know it's right out for a lot of people because of the cultural stigma, personal/work circumstances, blabbity blah... but staying with folks a little while longer is a nice way to build up a little cash

Erol · Jul 2005

99 cent/$1 stores are great for household miscellany (sponges, kitchen utencils, etc).

Goodwill was a great place to get some dirt cheap fluorescent lamps (so easy on the eyes). I also snagged a drawing table for $7. Here in AZ every other Saturday at Goodwill is 50% off day, so it was a great find to get some cheap tables and lamps.

If you're a soda drinker, it's a lot cheaper to buy 12pk cans or 6pk bottles from the store rather than out of a machine. Even when the cans and bottles aren't on sale, it's still cheaper. Avoid the machines; no matter how much you may like the ka-chunck sound it makes. : )

Advice for the starving person just out of college

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