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How do you make the most of your money?

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Retired Community Manager

How do you make the most of your money?

How do you make the most of your money? Get to know the real possibility of taking control of your finances. Find easy-to-use tools and helpful tips for making the most of your money. Go to AARP Money>>

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Coupon like crazy and only shop sale items.

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Periodic Contributor

One of the biggest ways I save money is to use coupons, paper & digital. Where I live, all supermarkets make coupons worth $1.00 no matter the face value, unless it's worth more than $1.00. Also they now all offer digital coupons that are attached to your loyalty card. Then on the 1st Wednesday of each month, 2 of them give seniors (55 & over) 10% off their shopping, not including the usual products such as alcohol & tobacco. Add all this up and one can stock up and save quite a bit of money. I take the time every Wednesday morning to go through all the ads online so I can add coupons to my digital shopping list & card. I also create a new handwritten shopping list based on need and items currently on sale. This is time-consuming, but well worth it at the register. And if I don't need to go to a store for something specific, I go to Walmart where they price match everything. This way I save time, money & gas by not running to each store. I've saved a lot of money through the years. 

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Honored Social Butterfly

@AARPLynne wrote:
How do you make the most of your money? Get to know the real possibility of taking control of your finances. Find easy-to-use tools and helpful tips for making the most of your money. Go to AARP Money>>

I just reread this topic, and thought that the best way to make the most of your money, before worrying about "tools", is what Suze Orman talks about .. know what are "needs" and what are "wants". If you're not able to save money, or pay your bills, you sure better justify "wants" before spending money on them!


Registered on Online Community since 2007!
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Newbie

Ok, you caught my attention with, Don't throw away those egg shells. Then nothing about it. Can't say I like it.
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Periodic Contributor

Same with me. What happened to the info on eggshells?
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I grew up seeing my parents getting two houses forclosed on them, all the while living from paycheck to paycheck. We only would have food for the first few days (we would usually go out for dinner), after that, we would get some food from the government, & some from the food shelf. Even with the little help from outside resources, I remember going to bed most nights with my stomach turning & cramping from not having any food in it. I also remember that about every six months or so, we would either have our lights, water, or gas shut off due to months of bills that were unpaid. There were numerous times that I recall having to get snow from the yard to boil on the stove for cooking, washing dishes, sponge baths, & any other reasons we needed water. We didn't have any snow left & we had a huge yard!
I remember hearing my parents say something about Chapter 13, but I had no clue what that meant. My mother would always hang onto any money that I would receive as gifts, saying she was going to save it for me. Although any time I asked for some of it, she would talk me out of buying whatever it was, saying I should save it for something big. In the end, I never saw a penny of my $3,000! Since I was under 18yrs. old, by law, she could keep it!
My parents NEVER taught me about financial responsibility. They never said that I shouldn't waste my money on unnecessary things, the importance of paying bills (& paying them on time), I never new anything at all about my credit (that it's basically THE most important thing to manage & maintain) until it was too late! Your credit is SO important! You really can't do anything, or get anywhere in life with bad credit! EVERYONE looks at your credit! Employers, banks, & they base their opinion of you on your rating, & your history! It only takes a few mistakes, to ruin your credit for years, decades! Depending on your mistakes, you can make it virtually impossible to get your head above water, & start to clean the mess you've made up! I bounced a handful of checks when I was 17 because the family I was staying with for free, didn't have appropriate clothing & food for their kids! I also paid for parts for their cars, so the dad could go to work. I had just lost my job & I thought I could get another one quick enough to put the money back. Of course that didn't happen, & then they expected me to pay for a new car for them because the one time I used one of their cars it blew a rod through the engine because the oil reservoir was bone dry, & they never said anything about it needing any oil. I always put everyone else's needs above my own, & I paid for it for years!
I have said for years, that there should be mandatory class time throughout a child's time in school, that teaches them responsible spending, saving, & borrowing habits! If it's a class that they have to take, then those kids that have irresponsible parents, can learn to break the chains that they were born into, & they will have a chance to be more than just a statistic! Heck, maybe they can teach their parents something!
Most of us in this country, don't have enough money saved for retirement. In fact, a lot of us may not be able to retire at 65yrs. old, & have to continue to work into old age just to have enough!
I know that teaching our kids to be responsible with their finances, doesn't benefit certain companies (ie. debt collectors & law offices across the country), but I don't think that we can afford NOT to teach them!!! I CERTAINLY know that I would have benefited IMMENSELY from good, accurate information!!!
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Not true for many of us. I started saving in my 20's and could have easily retired at 50. I did not, as I would have been bored to tears.
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Honored Social Butterfly


@s804940b wrote:
Not true for many of us. I started saving in my 20's and could have easily retired at 50. I did not, as I would have been bored to tears.

If you would have been "bored to tears" by early retirement, then you weren't focusing enough on building a network of friends, getting involved with volunteer & other organizations, or developing hobbies, WHILE you were working! I did retire at 50, and couldn't wait to start doing things with friends, for which I didn't have the time while working, as well as being able to take on leadership responsibility in organizations in which I was already involved.


Registered on Online Community since 2007!
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Don't judge unless you know someone. I have always had a network of friends and am involved with my community and church. I love to be of service to others in my paying job as well. I am glad your choices have worked out for you, but there are other satisfying ways to live.
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I totally agree that schools should put finances above algebra or trig. My dad gave me a booklet "How to Handle Money" when I was young and I'm in my 60's and still have it. It taught basics of saving, banking, buying a home, understanding interest on loan, etc - all the basics and I read and learn with the times as they change. Also taught me not to buy things I cannot afford. You save for what you want and it helps not to buy impulse purchases that way. To this day, I'm debt free, own my home and car out right and retired. Thanks to my dad who was so level headed.
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Honored Social Butterfly

@RobertaWMancillas wrote:
I totally agree that schools should put finances above algebra or trig. My dad gave me a booklet "How to Handle Money" when I was young and I'm in my 60's and still have it. It taught basics of saving, banking, buying a home, understanding interest on loan, etc - all the basics and I read and learn with the times as they change. Also taught me not to buy things I cannot afford. You save for what you want and it helps not to buy impulse purchases that way. To this day, I'm debt free, own my home and car out right and retired. Thanks to my dad who was so level headed.

That sounds like a good basic book; I wonder if it's ever been updated .. some things have changed since the 1950s & 60s. Maybe more about credit cards, and them being a real commitment even though they're not "money", online & TV shopping, phishing & other newer scams, etc.


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Retired Community Manager

How do you make the most of your money? Get to know the real possibility of taking control of your finances. Find easy-to-use tools and helpful tips for making the most of your money. Go to AARP Money>>
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Honored Social Butterfly

Do you think that schools should include more about finances, in an age-appropriate way, as children go from kindergarten thru H.S. & college? Maybe more math examples that tie in with a child's allowance & dealing with holiday/birthday presents, and becoming more complex as students look forward to being able to drive & go to college?

 

Children whose parents include them in family finance discussions, have to wind up better at handling their money as adults!


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Periodic Contributor

I could not agree with you more. If the schools would give creedance to the importance of money in all our lives, they could add subjects or courses in helping kids learn how to handle money. From the simple things to the more complex as children go through the grades. My Grandson is 5....and I have already explained to him that I don't use credit cards...debit only. He now asks me questions like this one....Grammy, how does the money go from the Debit card to Whole Foods. It was then that I wished I hadn't told him...haha...hardly. I explained to the very best of my knowledge...how it worked. It's a beginning, but he is only 5...and since our schools won't be doing the teaching...I will gladly take it on. I work with lots of young people and I see the damage done to them by having no knowledge of handling money....debt...college loans and more. 

Jazzy
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Honored Social Butterfly

."... My Grandson is 5....and I have already explained to him that I don't use credit cards...debit only....".

 

   And the corruption is started. As most money managers and experts will tell you, never use a debit card. Not protected as well as a  cc, no rewards for using it, less security. No one should be using a debit card.

  


"...Why is everyone a victim? Take personal responsibility for your life..."
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Honored Social Butterfly

 
"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." Julius Erving
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Honored Social Butterfly

I second that! Circle Bar Debit Cards!

 

 

"....Long called "piece of trash fake Visas and fake MasterCards" by Clark, debit cards are overwhelmingly inferior to credit cards for several reasons.

    If your credit card is compromised, the harm to you is relatively small. You contact the issuer to report false charges.....but no money leaves your hands. With debit card fraud, however, there is money that leaves your hands........".

 

 


"...Why is everyone a victim? Take personal responsibility for your life..."
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Honored Social Butterfly

 
"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." Julius Erving
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This is a great idea, and agree that there should be more "finantial" training/education.  We tried to teach our kids about finances from an early age, and think we did okay.  All three of our kids are home owners, and our middle son and his wife (in their late 30's), are debt free.  That's way ahead of their mother and I who have been essentially debt free for almost a decade.

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ALWAYS pay every bill on time ESPECIALLY credit cards!

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This is no doubt a good idea. How is it that schools don't teach more about finance and how it relates to everyday life?  It's one of the biggest issues people face their entire life yet it's hardly  part of the curriculum in schools!

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I ABSOLUTELY DO ~ in a world where parents want to provide for their kids the gifts they wish them to have, we do not guide the kiddos to learn how to budget and earn for themselves. The GIFT should be to empower them via loving guidance so they grow in abilities and opportunities.

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I 9th grade, at a small junior high school, I couldn't take algebra but they taught business math instead. That class was worth more than any other class I've taken. They don't mind making you read books that aren't even written in English. But they don't teach kids about the very things that will really help them make it through life, finances. Interest, savings, borrowing (the cost of borrowing), insurance, investments, etc.
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Super Contributor

I took it too and learned so much practical knowledge. Balancing a checkbook, doing a tax return, compound interest. How to add up long columns of numbers quickly. Just a few. It actually made me like math and I took algebra later on.
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Retired Community Manager

Growing up I'd sit with my father and watch him pay the bills at the dining room table. I remember one day adding up all the expenses in the checkbook and gleefully showing him how much money he'd have but for all the bills. I suppose that was kind of bratty of me...at least I was getting the concept of bill paying!

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