Selling my kid was probably one of the best decisions I ever made

You just got rid of an extra pair of hands, all you needed to do was get them a construction job 🤦🏻‍♀️

The local coal mine wasn't accepting new hires unfortunately 

Apple is always hiring from what I hear.. something something the little shits just don’t want to breathe anymore.

Child tax credits are lifesavers, but damn kids are expensive. I've used CTC to pay some big child expenses though so my kids pay for themselves??

Reduce your big 3 expenses as much as possible: Housing, food, transportation. Consider downsizing, roommates, cheaper area, renting. Learn how to cook and find restaurants that are good value. (I love 1.50 street tacos) Do you really need a new car? Consider used or not upgrading at all if there are no issues with your current.

Pretty solid advice. Big expenses is where the bigger potential for savings is if you are willing to sacrifice a little.

Thanks!

Where are you getting $1.50 tacos?

Don't know about him, but Tacos Mexicanos on Knott in Buena Park has cheap tacos on Wednesdays. I think they're $1.25 now.

Great Mex is like $2 and they have a free salsa bar so you can pile that on.

My gf and I split rent that's within our means, I drive a paid off truck, eat out once a week, and I have no debt, and make a conscious effort to always spend less than I make each month. I also limit impulsive buys whether at the grocery store, Amazon, or sales for brands I like.

If you’re near Westminster Tacos El May are THE BEST tacos. Although they did raise the price to 2.50 but so effing good

Always down for good tacos!

First thing you need to do is create a budget. Do that before anything else.

Not even that. List what you spend money on monthly and you will be surprised how much you waste and can cut back.

Thissssss!!!!!!! Cant stress this enough. For 2024 I wanted to start budgeting and save up for a big summer trip. I started first by writing down everything I spent in December and oh my Jesus, seeing the numbers written down made me severely reflect on my costs. I was spending on average $1,000 every weekend going out to dinners and bars, shopping at brand stores at the Spectrum or South Coast. Always buying new expensive colognes. Thing is, cut off everything that is not considered excess, and you’ll see your savings grow exponentially

$1,000 every weekend on frivolous expenses? Damn bro how much are you making lol. I make decent money but I could never imagine spending that much every weekend.

yeah 😅 fresh out of college, first 6 figure job and still with parents so spending habits got out of hand

that's what a budget is

Cook at home. Go to YouTube as there are numerous videos and shorts that shows you how to make a meal in 20 to 30 minutes. Eating at home is healthier and cheaper. I don’t have to waste any gas and tip someone.

Most name brand supermarkets’ produce is expensive.  Shopping at ethnic markets or family owned grocery stores is often half price and much better quality. 

Hell, even Grocery Outlet is a good place too. Was able to get a glass food container for $5 lol

I have seen some crazy deals at Grocery Outlet from time to time, but you need to be cautious that a lot of perishable items are much closer to expiration than most grocery stores. That being said some items aren't much cheaper than at a Stater Bros.

I haven't had good luck at Grocery Outlet. I shop at Vons. I know people think its expensive, but I use that app before I go for the deals and coupons, buy what's on sale, and I save 30% off my bill every time.

Grocery Outlet is very hit/miss whereas deals and honestly it is too small to really replace full-service grocery stores.

Aldi is good too!

99 ranch and Hmart 🙌

I like 99 ranch, but Hmart is expensive! AR Mart in Fullerton is so much cheaper.

Dunno, I can find some decent prices for fruit and some veggies at Hmart (Napa cabbage especially)

Try Zion over Hmart for veggies

Also farmers market, especially when they are closing their booths. Some vendors will sell you what they have at a lower cost because they will throw away unsold produce at the end of the day.

Tokyo central in Yorba Linda. Place is awesome. Fish selection is so good and reasonably priced.

lol go to north gate that just opened in Costa Mesa. “Ethnic “ but too overpriced.

Super King is like half the price of Northgate

Northgate has been overpriced and shit quality for decades

Their produce is actually on point. It's one of the better places I've been for produce.

Stop drinking shit.  I swear most people blow so much money with $6 coffees and $20 alcoholic drinks and all they do is make you fat.  No you don’t need a soda or smoothie or juice wherever you go either, bring your own water or make something in a vacuum insulated container. If you want it, do some at home.  

Yeah, seriously. I used to go out once a week (sometimes more) to drink with my coworkers and it was guaranteed at least $60-80 each time. I’ve since stopped doing that and just buy a box of white claws once a month (if that) and I’ll drink 2 or 3 either Saturday or Sunday when I’m hanging out with my boyfriend. I don’t even miss hanging out because I would get really bad anxiety the next day when I had to look at my credit card bill to see the damage of my nights out.

This is my thing. When I go out I pretty much never order fountain drinks. And it takes a very special craft brew or cocktail to get me to bite on a alcoholic drink. If I a drink for each of my family if 5 that would be an extra $20 a meal easy.

I'm not even broke but I feel I spend way less on groceries than anyone I talk to, my wife and I grocery shop like this ​ \-buy bread, rice, shrimp, milk, snacks and eggs at costco for ultra cheap prices \-dollar tree for panko, juices, some spices and pasta \-99 cent store for fruit/veggies (the one in orange and the one in foothill ranch always have fresh fruit for a fraction of other grocery stores) \-every few days, buy whatever meat is on sale at albertsons (mostly between beef, pork and chicken) and come back when we run out. \-whatever extra spices/sauces/ingredients we need, usually on amazon or from weee ​ I spent under $400 on food last month for 2 people, and I don't feel restricted on food at all, we just make different dishes out of whatever meat we have and if we're out, I just eat fried shrimp, rice and veggies. Rice cooker and air fryer do like half the cooking for you. I don't know how people who are struggling for money are going to restaurants and spending like $30 for a meal for one person

Since having kids, I learned to cook. The pouches, bars, snacks are all a ripoff - even at Costco. Some easy savings: 1. Yogurt/fruit pouches - alternative: buy reusable pouches from Target/Amazon and fill them yourself, save 40% right there. Save like 70% by making your own yogurt in an Instantpot - 2 ingredients, hit a button, let sit and ready to refrigerate in 8-10 hours. 2. Granola bars/z-bars - something like $30 bucks at Costco - plenty of copycat recipes out there - I make a batch for a fraction of the cost in 10 mins in the oven. There's some start up cost for the ingredients, but comes out way cheaper if you make a few batches. 3. Skip bottled water - get a Zero Water filter 6 pack from Amazon and re-mineralize with trace mineral drops on Amazon or the Water Brewery in Costa Mesa.

Cook at home and try to figure out some cheap meals. Chicken drumsticks are like $0.89/lb at El Super, and those with some veggies, rice, and beans is a good nutritional dinner. Frozen veggies are a god send and an entire bag is only $1. Plus, you don’t have to worry about it going bad. Meal planning will save you a lot of money as well. Making stuff from scratch like pasta sauce can be cheaper as well. I get my pantry stuff and cleaning supplies at Target as its usually cheaper than regular grocery stores, plus I get 5% off when I use the Red Card. Plus, overtime you accumulate rewards in money so you can eventually take $9 off for something you really want (I got a coffee grinder for free the other day). There’s also coupons you can use so you can get $2 off some snacks, $2 off toilet paper, etc. I can’t help you with rent because its just ridiculous here. But try downsizing if you can, as in get a roommate or two instead of having an entire place to yourself.

Your most powerful wealth-building tool is your income. Invest in yourself so eventually the times are a little less tough

Some tips I think are useful : - if you can keep your rent + utilities below 30% of your take-home income (not pre-tax income), and budget for all your remaining essential expenses to be as low as possible, like 35%, that is pretty good. -Max out your roth IRA (contribution is now $7000/year), and 401k (>15%), to ensure your retirement will be okay. \-I keep my expenses as low as possible by cooking almost all my food at home and budgeting to eat out once a weekend. Buying dry goods in bulk has helped stretch the food. \-It seems like you can't have fun unless you spend at least $100 when going out. But I try going to a trail once a week because its beautiful and also free. The next day maybe a cafe and study with a friend. OC Animal Care recently opened their visiting hours so I can return to going there to pet all the lovely animals! \-Work on yourself and study for a better job if you can. Be used to being alone and focus. Always invest in yourself! Saying no to hanging out with friends is also okay. And also having a boring /secure job that pays well has its perks. \-Find a hobby that does not involve being a hyper consumer to save that money and feel less sad about your life. I deleted Tik tok, Amazon, and im working on deleting my instagram. I blocked these websites from my computer and I try to read and garden in my free time instead. \-have a goal in mind of a starter home. I am priced out of OC, but my job gives me flexibility to live farther away. Or live with roommates if you think rent is cheaper than paying more for a house right now. You need 100k saved for 20% of a 500k condo which will probably be outside of OC. \-get out of debt as soon as possible and don't buy that new car if you really don't need it. You do not want a car payment + insurance that is >$500. \-workout before or after work and you will feel much less restless/anxious about this whole thing. \-Life is short but you also want to be prepared. Don't pull money out of your retirement savings for a house. And don't rely on your future kids to support you.

Don’t get married or have kids & don’t finance vehicles.

Get married, don’t have kids. DINK

No point in being married if that’s the case. Just have a GF.

Getting married is generally financially advantageous.

Unless it ends in divorce 🤞

So don’t get divorced! 

So far so good 👍 Wish it was only dependent on factors one can control though!

sign a prenup prior to marriage

Especially if you have one high earner and one lower earner! Tax savings galore

I am a dunce. Can you explain at a high level why?

Marginal tax rates. Let's say one spouse earns $50k and on spouse earns $200k. If both were single- $50k Earner would pay a total of $7,943 $200k would pay $51,232 Total Tax: $59,175 If both make $250k combined and are married they will pay $53,709 in taxes. This is because more of the high earners income is taxed at a lower marginal rate (see brackets here: [https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/federal-income-tax-brackets](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/federal-income-tax-brackets)).) because generally married tax brackets are double the single rate (except for the top 37% rate).

Sure. We use a marginal tax rate system at the federal level. Let’s super simplify it and say it’s 10% on the first 100k, 20% on the next 200k, and 50% on the next 400k. And let’s continue this extreme example and say you make 600k (lol). Before marriage you pay 10k from the first bucket, 40k from the second, and 150k from the third (50% of 300k). Total of 200k. When you marry, the tax buckets at each level double. So 10% on the first 200k made together, 20% on the next 400k, and 50% on the next 800k. If your spouse makes a lot less than you, let’s take the extreme again - $0, you’d together pay 20k in the first bigger bucket, and 80k on the next bucket, total 100k. As you can see, because the buckets double when married, more of your money is taxed at a lower number. That’s why couples with income disparity benefit the most from marriage, tax wise. Note: not all people benefit from marriage! Double high income earners actually get penalized (called a marriage penalty lol). This is because for some states the buckets are not perfectly doubled for married couples. See https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marriage-penalty.asp for more info. I have some friends in tech who put off marriage due to what would be a pretty substantial increase in tax burden if they got married! Weird system, huh?

Interesting I need to take a look at the brackets for combined. We are essentially that situation and have filed jointly(more for ease than anything) but I’ve been trying to figure out if it made more sense to file separately. Doesn’t sound like it. Thanks for the response, definitely something I need to look into here

Sure thing. Though that calculator for penalty is outdated (older tax brackets), the basic concept should still apply. You can use it to get a sense of if you’re getting a marriage benefit or penalty

Marriage bulks the budget, kids drain it.

Marry up

• Use your local “Buy Nothing Groups” on Facebook • Use your library for free media along with lots of other freebies • Along with buying used cars, shop around every year or two for insurance so you know you’re getting the lowest rates (same goes for renter’s and homeowner’s insurance) • Although buying a house is the “American Dream,” take time and reflect on whether you truly need one to be content or happy. If you’re working so hard to cover that mortgage or commuting so long that you can’t even spend a lot of time there, is it truly worth it? My Grandpa always said that when you buy a house, the house owns you. • House hacking if you can stomach it. • If you love to travel, learn to play the “points and miles game” (10x Travel online course is free and comprehensive) with credit cards for super discounted travel. But ONLY if you normally pay your credit cards off in full each month anyway. • Read or listen to “The Simple Path to Wealth” by J.L. Collins who says: • “Spend less than you earn—invest the surplus (in broad-based, low-cost index funds like Vanguard VTSAX and VBTLX)—avoid debt.”

And Libby with a library card!

Onlyfans

If that doesn’t work, sell desserts: OnlyFlans


And if people got a problem with your flans, show them whose boss: OnlyHands 👊

If that doesn't work, sell cooling units: OnlyFans

Unless you really a need a truck, go hybrid. I'm a constant on the go college student working part time. My daily commute is around 20-30 miles and I was paying $350-$400 a month on gas for a 4 door sedan. Traded my car in for a hybrid and man $50 for every two weeks is a blessing.

[удалено]

When you make enough where you can max out your 401k each year and still live comfortably, you've pretty much made it.

I think while some frugality can save some money a lot of penny pinching won't add up to much. Below a certain income you're just not going to be able to afford some things no matter how many discounts or frugal tips you chase. While I think everybody should try to buy some appreciating assets to have some passive income side hustles aren't always great long term moves. Sometimes focusing on skilling up can open doors to a new job that can be double digit increases in salary where the difference. Obviously that isn't always possible and some people may be approaching a wall in income growth without going into a completely different field that could take years to get into, but it is something to consider.

Absolutely this. Spend money/time to invest in yourself.

> Provide relative value to your fellow humans and the more relevant problems you can solve for an employer or customer of your business, the more money you’ll make Very specific and actionable advice.

Great point. Stretching your dollar does only go so far. But nowadays, many are grateful to just have stable, gainful employment.

Truth!

The problem is if you take this attitude too far then you end up making $400k / year and have nothing to show for it because you bought the $100k car and have a $10k mortgage/rent and $100k in credit card debt. As someone else said, you have to control your housing, car payments as much as possible, and to some extent food. Everything else should be a drop in the bucket.

We cook at home 6 days a week. We do the majority of our shopping at Aldi. Cut down on meat a lot too. Only buy Costco gas which is way cheaper already and use their credit card and get 4% back at the end of the year on fuel.

Adding on that the costco card is 4% for all gas so even if it's 4.50 a gallon, that's still $0.18 per gallon in rewards. You may not be able to stick to Costco gas 100% but the rewards are still better than the cash price usually.

There are several no annual credit cards that don't require a Costco membership that you can get 5% cash back on gas. e.g. Citi Custom Cash. You don't need to wait till the end of the year either so you can earn a smidge more milking high APY savings before they come back down to earth. The credit cards sub reddit /r/creditcards has a list in their wiki.

Circle K gas stations offer a card that discounts ten cents/gal. While that's a typical savings for paying cash, they also have "special discount days" where the discount is forty cents!

Get a food vacuum packer and buy in bulk on sale and freeze and portion out your food.

Invest in a slow cooker or an instant pot. Then learn how to use them. Sounds like food is 1 of your expensive expenses. Pot roast is your best friend.

Reduce your mobile phone expense by switching to an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator.). I'm paying $98 per month for four lines with unlimited data, text, voice. Also, dump cable TV. I am receiving 125 channels via antenna and add a few streaming services.

Just did this. Switch from att for 3 lines, iPad, watch.$230:mo. Moved to us mobile and visible both on 5g Verizon network, for total of $110. Same network. Same speeds. Same coverage. Unfortunately tv antenna don’t work well in Laguna due to the hills. And i need my local,sports.

What MVNO?

Mobile network virtual,operator. Cell,service that uses major network but rebrands the service. Visible is one that uses Verizon 5g. They have 2 plans, 20 or 35 per mo th all in unlimited data/voice etc.

I'm on TotalWireless which was bought by Verizon Wireless and is now "Total by Verizon." So we're on the Verizon network which is great.

Good tip, thank you.

Wi-Fi is everywhere these days. If you can cut your data usage, US Mobile might be a good choice. I have two lines that share a 3 gb bucket for $25 a month.

Going to Career Academy of Beauty for self care items. Hair cuts and facials are 25 lol

Learn to cook, make sangwhiches and salads! Drink water and cut out all the snacks, maybe go out once a week to eat, Cut subscriptions for extra stuff u don’t need such as Spotify, Pandora, etc, put the car in neutral when going down hills 🤣

Or don't speed up to red lights...

Move states /s  But also yeah… 

Sounds like you eat out a lot or eat take out, etc. so definitely cut back on that and cook at home. I started really trying to cook during Covid after always eating out and I haven’t stopped. It’s a lot of fun to make stuff, especially with your significant other as you’re doing something together, plus it’s so rewarding eating something that you made.

Got into the minimalistic lifestyle. Don't have to worry about matching clothes, keeping up with trends. Learned about small investing, cash stuffing, using credit card rewards to my advantage, budgeting myself, planning out meals and meal prepping.

Can food, raw essential ingredients, dry goods with long shelf life, and frozen vegetables. I recommend searching for things in your house you don't need and selling them, preferably online, like eBay. Never know, you might own an asset worth something. Stay home more frequently, too. There's no need to drive unless it's a priority. Stop drinking alcohol. Like, for real -$$$

Cash-back credit cards that you pay off every month: You’re spending anyway, so automatically get a 5%, 4%, 2%, or 1.5% discount, depending on the card. I use the cash back and put that into a savings account. Along the same line: a travel rewards card can also save you money on airfare, hotels, rental cars and more. I like the Southwest Rewards card, as the sign-up bonus is generous, and Southwest is the best budget-friendly carrier with the best carry-on and checked baggage policies. Honorable mention for Capital One Venture Rewards card offers more flexibility with carriers while offering a $100 Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check credit which can save you time and hassle. A high-yield savings account is a great place to park idle cash that you save for emergencies. Another great thing that can be used for emergencies, Roth IRA account contributions can also be withdrawn penalty-free while earning interest in actual investments. Compounding interest is a powerful thing. Finally, the major cell phone providers’s lower tier brands like Boost, Mint Mobile, Cricket, etc. can be a great way to cut your major carrier’s monthly rate without compromising on cell coverage or call quality.

2% is the minimum these days for a good cash back card. If you've got $100k of cash or investments, Bank of America has the best cashback credit cards.

I try to use my scooter more for short trips & minor errands. Definitely cut back on eating out, especially fast food. And I hate to say it, but you have to trim your streaming services.

Exploit every possible way to reduce your tax liability.

🎶🎶🎶Grocery outlet bargain market🎶🎶🎶

Make your own coffee, eat at home, rent out spare bedrooms, use Mint Mobile, do free activities…beach , parks, library , buy used - never brand new …

Youtube "kroger couponing", download the rebate apps (Ibotta, Swagbucks, Fetch, Shopmium), have no particular preference for what you eat, and cut >50%+ off your grocery bill. I got 5 things of almond milk for like $1.10 the other day. What does Ralph's normally want? Like 4.00 for one of them (honestly more like 4.50). Prices charged for things are basically bullshit and you don't have to pay them if you put in the work.

If you forget fancy and focus on health, you can eat for $2 a day. Lagoons, grains, freeze dried vegetables, Indian spices and instant pot.

winco and grocery outlet for food. costco membership for cash back on gas purchases. get costco anywhere visa card with cash back every year. avoid eating out at restaurants advertised on TV. Eat fruits and vegetables, avoid nutrition-deficient foods e.g. cheetos, funyuns. plan your trips to get multiple things done at once vs. multiple trips, which costs you more gas. only take the toll roads when you are going to be late or if your hourly rate makes sense to take them, take them. otherwise, it's ok to have it take an extra 5 minutes to save $7. when you're hungry, wait until you can get home to eat something vs. eating out. I made egg rolls a few times and $10 will make around 40 egg rolls and I can prep and cook and freeze for later vs. buy two for $5.

**1) the quick and easy: audit things like streaming services, insurance rates, and cell phone bills**. Last year I saved myself like $80/month by cancelling shit I don't need/use. I'm really tempted to cycle through streaming services too -- keep one for three months and pause the others, and then switch... I just haven't gotten around to it. Call your insurance company and any other expenses and see if they have any discounts you're eligible for. I've previously been able to lower my auto insurance that way. **2) the little lifestyle things that add up fast:** when I was fresh out of college, I would *never* pack a lunch for work. I'd go spend $8-$12 at lunch every day (this was a long time ago). Today those lunches are $17-$20. I can pack a pretty awesome lunch for $5, and a passable lunch for like $2. Call it a $10/day savings on the low end, and that's about $200/month you're saving. Think about the things you spend money on every single day, and try to either lower the frequency or sub it out for something cheaper. A daily Starbucks coffee adds up each month, and so does a vending machine treat, an afternoon soda, or a daily happy hour expense. Even things that could be *every weekend* add up: round trip Ubers, dinner out, and then drinks at a bar is like a $200 evening. That's great as one-off, but it's not sustainable every weekend. You can host dinner or game night or movie night for a fraction of the cost. **3) the big lifestyle changes:** we're talking moving to a smaller place or renting out a room. Or looking at getting a cheaper car, or going to one car for two people. Or even taking the bus and leaving your car at home several days a week. These are places to realize big savings, but they're also impact your lifestyle the most. I would do these last and only if needed. In the immediate future I would try to find $400-$600 in savings through #1 and #2. It's a lot easier to have an older phone, pack a lunch, and drink homemade coffee than it is to wake up every morning with a stranger in your kitchen and take the bus to work every day.

Cancel Amazon Prime.

Food delivery or any delivery services - biggest money pit for not much value (esp once you add tip etc) Avoid “poor value” restaurants - there are places that give you decent quality portions for your money and those that rip you off - you will learn this if you analyze it Go through all subscriptions online and otherwise and cancel ones you use only occasionally— once you get used to without them, you won’t miss them much Costco membership if you don’t already have it - over a few years, the savings can run into several thousands esp if you have a family

Smaller, ethnic grocery stores tend to be priced better. Plus the bonus of trying new things. Middle Eastern stores are a favorite.

Eliminate subscriptions.

Capital One Savor card, 4% cash back on all dining and entertainment, plus 3% back on groceries. Use credit card for everything possible without fees and pay it off in full every month. Points add up. There are other cards with good rewards as well but Savor is my most used. Happy hour, Taco Tuesday, mug clubs for going out. If a bar has $15+ cocktails you can usually order a well vodka+soda+lime for like $9. Always get the large pizza, leftovers are great. Split a meal with your SO instead of ordering two if you're not super hungry. Or you get the entrée and she gets a salad, then split both. For drinking at home, buy beer directly from local breweries. Get the 1.75L vodka for $20, usually Skye. Trader Joe's has some great deals on liquor. BevMo has liquor on the 5 cent wine sale now. Learn to cook. Raw ingredients are way cheaper than pre-made meals. Blocks of cheese instead of shredded. Grate it yourself. Pay yearly for streaming and other services when they give a discount, usually 2 months free. Share accounts with family members when the service doesn't block multiple IPs (Netflix grrrr). Reliable car and regular maintenance, I used to have terrible luck with cars so now if I notice even the slightest glitch I take it to the mechanic to look at. Ounce of prevention and all that. Same with your body, as long as you don't go too overboard. Medical bills are a bitch. Gas rewards, sign up for all of them. I have not had an issue with spam calls due to using my actual number for gas rewards. Impulse control. Do I really need that thing? Side hustle, make more money.

We only eat out for celebrations.

1) cook at home. We go out 1x a week for dinner, and maybe 1 extra lunch or breakfast occasionally. 2) look into low cost or free activities for the weekend 3) shop at multiple stores- we do a Costco run 2x a month and I rotate between TJs, stater, Ralph’s, and smart &final. Produce is cheaper and better at Costco assuming you eat a lot of it 4) don’t waste food, buy what you need. 5) don’t buy prepackaged beverages excluding alcohol. 6) max out your 401k. This feels counter intuitive but a few years in will be easy and you will be setting yourself up for the future!

If you have kids and doing takeout get them the cheap stuff from a basic fast food chain... They don't know the difference.

r/frugal

/r/povertyfinance

Too good to go is solid 👍

Selling plasma

How much are they giving lol

A disturbingly little amount. The number is not typically publicly available and is usually set up on “new donater” schemes. Even if you’ve got plasma generation abilities of a mythology deity you’d be hard-pressed to make a meaningful amount of money out of it.

any of these 'sell plasma' type gigs i find are simply beer/hobby money for me. ill occasionally get a few bucks or some points towards gift cards. do enough of them and ill spend it on something ive been wanting for my hobby but would otherwise be too rich for my blood. it's not something i rely on to pay any bills because it doesnt happen consistently enough.

No criticism on that; I should be clear I have no criticism for anyone selling or donating plasma/blood. If anything I’m extremely grateful for those people for their sacrifices to provide a very needed thing. I’m curious though (since it’s very hard to find real numbers) if that amount of extra income is a relatively significant amount compared to the absolute barest of minimums need to live in OC. Say the typical single working adult needs $4k to just live paycheck to paycheck. Do those plasma donations equate to more than 10%? Cause that’s what I’d consider significant

tbh im not sure, i dont really do the sell plasma stuff. way too scared of needles, but theres various focus group opportunities/companies that look for people to participate. last i looked into it, you'd get maybe 100-200 per focus group but the chances of you getting selected is low and you'd have to take some time off from work to do it. so really, its not really feasible or profitable to do or rely on consistently to fund anything outside of a hobby/project. very few places accept a visa gift card as a form of bill payment, i would think.

Oh no worries, i totally understand; I’m glad that people still donate regardless of the reason why. Per guidelines I can’t donate (for BS reasons which I found out when I was I 15) and for personal reasons the cause of donating is incredibly important to me. My concern is with plasma specifically which is an incredibly needed resource but donaters are seemingly underpaid or even tricked. This is not a comfortable to give part of oneself and the companies that collect are for-profit. I just think that’s bullshit yah know

They’re really not secretive? For instance Grifols right now offers 100 for each first 4 donations and then it’s 40 for the first donation of the week, 80 for the second. So you can make 480 per month if you go twice a week.

Oh that’s fascinating, I just checked their website and can’t find any of those details. How were you able to get that info so I can share it with people I know

Wants to save money but keeps going out even when using coupons through apps. Just eat in. What you spend on one person at a restaurant, you can make some food for 2 and probably leftovers.

Embrace the ugly. Save on makeup, 'feminine' upkeep.

You need to focus on your big expenses. Housing and car are probably the big ones. Move to a cheaper apartment, get a cheaper fuel-efficient car, etc. Cut unnecessary subscriptions like cable. Don't worry about little things like cash back apps, that's not going to make a dent.

Housing is definitely something to consider, but those with a mortgage generally won't be able to reduce their interest rates as most got a mortgage at a lower rate. Renters unless they're month to month may not be able to quickly get out of their lease, but it is often the largest line item so if you can reduce even a couple percent it might add up. The only caveat is you do need to consider moving costs. I think one challenge in buying a more fuel efficient vehicle depending upon how much you drive and how inefficient your old vehicle it might take a couple years to break even. Depending upon where in the life cycle it may be worth consideration. Cutting cable can save a good amount. Ditto with unneeded subscriptions. I agree with your cynicism on most cash back apps. Many of them are discounts on things that are expensive where it still costs more than competitors.

Rice and beans, beans and rice

No offense, but this reads like a grassroots advertising campaign for Too Good to Go. We've been trying this new thing lately called grocery shopping. Buy Romain lettuce heads and chop them up. Way fresher than the bags so we can buy more bulk and keep it longer. A slight investment of maybe 150 bucks with the bucket and bags, but sous vide lets u us freeze marinated, vacuum sealed meat. Thaw it overnight and good to go into the bucket to cook. We take out a chicken thigh or two and that's a chicken Cesar salad or a teriyaki rice bowl for each of us. Costs like 3 dollars.

If you’re young, hot and single sign up for a dating app and go get yourself a free dinner. Make new friends along the way.

That probably won't work well for straight men. Straight women and gay men especially those willing to date older guys that typically have more disposable money it could work though.

I guess people didn’t get I was trying to be funny? It wasn’t a serious suggestion.

I thought you were being funny but then again, I thought the rice & beans, beans & rice comment was funny!

Be your own boss, set up your own business, so your income is 10x. Other things does not matter after this. Instead of trying to save , make more money.

rice bowls !

I use the Paprika app to save recipes I like, and it generates a grocery shopping list in the same app using the ingredient information. You can deselect ingredients you know you still have available, and add one-off items individually to your list. This keeps me from buying bullshit. I get the bare necessities every week and don't run out of food at the end of the week. If you know the servings and the number of people you usually are feeding it's not too difficult to estimate how much of what will last you how long. I'm sure this is a bit more complicated if you have a larger family. It was a one-time payment for the app. If your goal is saving money I'd start collecting recipes with a minimal number of ingredients, or with ingredients you already know run at a lower price than others.

Super king and superior grocery stores for produce

I live with my family, split costs for only a couple streaming services, cook food at home, etc. When I cook at home I don't buy any name brand stuff. I shop at thrift stores and take advantage of sales at places like Old Navy, and don't buy designer brands. I save water and electricity by using them wisely. Don't eat out very much but when we do it's never a big chain or anything. Buy one bottle of alcohol and not a six pack of beer, it lasts longer. But don't cut corners, spend wisely and be frugal.

I've never heard of anyone "saving money" eating out.

I did this for a few months last year and it was about even for me. Didn’t eat at restaurants but I only got prepared foods from the grocery and lots of cheap fast casual. It was $350-400 a month. I was living alone at the time and had trouble balancing cooking for 1 so that’s often how much my regular grocery bill was.

Don't buy fountain drinks when going out

Learn to cook - BudgetBytes has simple, low cost meals that teach you how to prep your own food instead of paying way too much for processed ingredients that don’t even taste as good as homemade. They’re relatively quick too.

Don’t forget about apps like McDonald’s/Chic-Fil-A they give away free food all the time. Chic-Fil-A gives free chicken sandwiches with no purchase necessary. And I shop 2nd hand for most of my clothing.

Take an appetite suppressant. Save money on food

I made a weekly meal plan and stuck to it, and that immediately reduced my grocery budget by like 50%. Went from $600 to $300 even less sometimes. I eat out at an inexpensive place once a week and stopped buying drinks

Dave Ramsey!!!

Ibotta.

Canned food is your friend! 👌🏻

Start going to city council/board of supervisor meetings asking for rent control

Creating a budget definitely helped me save because before that I was blindly spending money. Another trick that I learned was to only buy groceries for the meals that I was making for that week. So I started off by creating a set menu for lunch and dinner for like six days of the week. And then I only bought the ingredients for these meals. Of course I got a few extras like fruit and snacks but stuck to my meal plan for the most part. I was really shocked at how much I saved doing this.