You know you’re back to your old spending habits when you realize you’re scourging Internet deal sites like:

slickdeals.net
bensbargains.net
fatwallet.com

and buying random unnecessary crap. After purchasing  a whole bunch of things which will lose its novelty by the time it reaches me, I’m certainly going to have buyers remorse after this.

Discount products online are discounted for their apparent reasons [going out of style, low demand and overstocked items, etc.].  These sites are evil, especially after depending on them for so long as a college student.  You still go with the flow.  Albeit there are some hidden gems at these sites, the rest are crap items.  So the next time you end up on one of these sites, you need to ask yourself…

“Do I really need this?” or “What am I going to use this for?” or even “If I buy this am I going to use it more than once?”

The cool thing about these sites is you’ll come across a lot of stuff that you passed up as you were window shopping through the mall since they were too pricey.  I’ll admit some of the items may be a bit dated, but in some people’s eyes they are steals!  For example, Newegg.com is selling Soul Calibur IV for Xbox 360, brand new, for $17!  To think I was going to plop down $40 for this game used only a couple of months later to find the game cheaper, brand new.  If you throw in NBA2K9 for about $20 in there too, I bought 2 games for the price of the used game I was going to buy. Note: This only works if you’re willing to wait out on it, you won’t find a deal on popular games yet.

I would only recommend visiting these kind of sites when looking for a deal on a TV, Monitor, Laptop, PC, Cameras, Hard Drives [Ok tons of Computer accessories], and cables [Why cables? Who in their right mind would spend $100 for a 6 foot HDMI cable? When you can get it for only $15].

Although I may have gone back to my old spending habits, I’ve managed to catch myself before I piled up my apartment with worthless crap. Then again, I can always use them for Christmas presents.

I look at the same time frame now and I’ve spent $1k less!

Now this includes a raise in salary and putting more money into savings too, so I’ve probably saved a lot more than that.

Don’t you find it interesting when you go over your expenses and see how your spending habits are? It’s puzzling to see where you spend your money and ask yourself why and how did it end up there. Despite of being in a recession/depression (whatever you want to call it nowadays) you can still spend for the luxuries you enjoy! You just have to know how to save and spend wisely.

Well what do you mean spend for luxuries and still save?

I like to do a lot of things, which means I have to spend money to enjoy them. If you really want to do something, you do it.  So I wanted to save more money.  Sacrifices had to be made, but I can still have fun!

I’ve cut back on my “entertainment” and “hobby” expenses, which include going out to the club/bar ($40 a night) and snowboarding ($150 a trip). Since I’ve been cutting back on that, I’ve actually reallocated the money spent on those activities to either travel, put more into savings, or put it into my business.

I’ve also scaled back on eating out as well. I love to dine at fancy restaurants; can’t help it, it’s just something I like to do. Who wouldn’t love to dine on a steak and lobster meal every now and then or maybe have a fancy salad for lunch.  Yea.. I was feelin’ the pinch on this too. So I had to make some sacrifices on it as well..  make your own meals and eat in!  On the plus side, it teaches you how to be a better cook too!

Money saved from cutting back can go to doing more fun things or getting that “toy” you’ve sought after for sometime.

Now what do I do with all this extra money and maintain it?

This is where it gets fun… get an Online Savings account (or a regular one). Doesn’t matter with who you sign up with. Just find one you like, especially one with a good interest rate (it’s really low right now.. I know it sucks).  ING Direct gives you $25 if you sign up with them and if I refer you I get like $5 bucks, so if you’re interested just drop me your email address.

So what the heck do I with this thing after I sign up?

Put money into it of course!  I have mine setup to take $25 out of my checking account on a weekly basis.  I call this account my “fun” account; i’m putting $100 a month into savings. Big deal it’s just $100! Look at this way, $100/month equates to $1200/year! Of course it’s a big deal, when you’re going to splurge on a cool toy or do something “fun” just pull it out of this account.  This is so you’re not spending it once your paycheck comes in.  Pay yourself first!

Be realistic when setting up financial goals for yourself. I was pretty optimistic myself, but when you look at how the money grows it becomes substantial. Maybe I’ll try saving up for that trip to Australia or London next year…

Cheers!