How to properly save money?

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Aside from the other good advice so far in this thread (create a budget, pay yourself first, etc.), here's a huge one: don't buy a home in the suburbs where you need a car to get anywhere. Live somewhere within short walking/transit distance of your workplace and common errand locations like a grocery store, pharmacy, liquor store, restaurants, pubs, etc. and ditch your car. Most people spend $10,000 or more annually on their vehicles after all expenses have been taken into consideration (car payments, gas, parking, insurance, maintenance, etc.). Instead, invest half the amount you would spend on a vehicle and keep the other half to freely waste on hookers and blow.

Your drivel would make more sense if all the posters on here that brag about living in the inner city didn't also own a car.

Even Bunk drives to work.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

If you're not paranoid about Internet security, you should check out www.mint.com. It's a great free financial management tool that I use to track my budget. It allows you to set different budgets for different catagories, and then tracks how much you are spending within those catagories. Once you do it for a month, you can really see where your money sinks are.

I suppose even if you are paranoid about internet security, you can just not input your bank info and punch in all your expenses and income in manually, which, if you have trouble saving money, is probably a good idea anyway.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Your drivel would make more sense if all the posters on here that brag about living in the inner city didn't also own a car.

Even Bunk drives to work.

What drivel? It's well-documented that car ownership is both expensive and not strictly necessary. I live in the Beltline and don't own a vehicle; I get around just fine.

This site is from 2005, so the numbers undoubtedly look even worse now, but back then they estimated a minimum $6,000 annual expense for owning a Toyota Echo or $10,000 for a Dodge Caravan. Are you disputing those numbers? Or do you dispute my assertion that one can easily live in Calgary without owning a vehicle?

http://www.autos.ca/auto-consumer-in...car-isnt-cheap

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

What drivel? It's well-documented that car ownership is both expensive and not strictly necessary. I live in the Beltline and don't own a vehicle; I get around just fine.

This site is from 2005, so the numbers undoubtedly look even worse now, but back then they estimated a minimum $6,000 annual expense for owning a Toyota Echo or $10,000 for a Dodge Caravan. Are you disputing those numbers? Or do you dispute my assertion that one can easily live in Calgary without owning a vehicle?

http://www.autos.ca/auto-consumer-in...car-isnt-cheap

I'm sure its not cheap living in war-time homes that require expensive repairs just to remain livable. Also the higher cost of taxes, initial purchase price, and interest on your mortgage. Not having a car in Calgary definitely limits how much you can enjoy the things outside the city.

[V]

Car ownership doesn't have to be that expensive. I bought a little Mazda for 700 bucks last year and have already paid for the cost of the car, all my gas and maintenance with mileage claims at work.

10 years before that I bought a Buick for $2200 and put very little work into the car over those 10 years.

Maybe if people weren't so adamant that they needed a shiny new car they would be able to afford them.

[Kybosh]

My method to save more money was to earn more money. Screw you academia!

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by V

Car ownership doesn't have to be that expensive. I bought a little Mazda for 700 bucks last year and have already paid for the cost of the car, all my gas and maintenance with mileage claims at work.

10 years before that I bought a Buick for $2200 and put very little work into the car over those 10 years.

Maybe if people weren't so adamant that they needed a shiny new car they would be able to afford them.

this
although I spent a bit more than you, same idea. I spent under $5000 for my toyota 6 years ago, still driving it, no payments ever. just insurance and gas plus routine maintenance. yearly cost=about $2500 + 7 or 800 depreciation

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I'm sure its not cheap living in war-time homes that require expensive repairs just to remain livable. Also the higher cost of taxes, initial purchase price, and interest on your mortgage. Not having a car in Calgary definitely limits how much you can enjoy the things outside the city.

1) My Beltline condo (which is not a war-time home requiring expensive maintenance) was purchased for about $300,000, which is comparable or even cheaper than a typical Calgary suburban home.

2) Fair point on taxes, but even if I pay more for property taxes, I still have more leftover disposable income by not having a car.

3) If I want to enjoy things outside the city, I can rent a car for a weekend for about $100 + gas. Even if I go on one out-of-town trip per month, that's still significantly cheaper than owning my own vehicle.

Finally, how much do you value your time? My "commute" is a 15-minute walk to the office each way, so 30 minutes total daily. For many suburban Calgarians who commute via private vehicle during rush hour, it's common for a one-way drive into the core or back to take 45 minutes (90 minutes round-trip). The delta between their commute and mine, then, is one hour each day. Assuming 240 working days in a year, the opportunity cost of living in the suburbs and driving to work is therefore ten full 24-hour days. Over the course of a 35-year career, you're sacrificing a year of your life to be stuck in traffic if you choose to live in the suburbs and drive to work.

[JiriHrdina]

Part of the problem is that Calgary has very few communities where you can walk to everything (including work) and are also suitable for families.

So even though you are saving money on your vehicles expenses - your housing expenses are through the roof.

[burn_this_city]

Not everyone in the burbs commutes downtown. My commute from my suburban home to the office was 10 minutes on nice days, 15 on snow days. Not really that different from your time spent. Renting cars is a hassle, like other posters said, you don't need to throw $30-50k into a car, you can buy something older for a few grand and drive it until the wheels fall off. When I was younger I had a couple cars that I drove for a year or two and sold for the same money I paid them for. You'd be surprised how much vehicle you can get for $1000.

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

1) My Beltline condo (which is not a war-time home requiring expensive maintenance) was purchased for about $300,000, which is comparable or even cheaper than a typical Calgary suburban home.

2) Fair point on taxes, but even if I pay more for property taxes, I still have more leftover disposable income by not having a car.

3) If I want to enjoy things outside the city, I can rent a car for a weekend for about $100 + gas. Even if I go on one out-of-town trip per month, that's still significantly cheaper than owning my own vehicle.

Finally, how much do you value your time? My "commute" is a 15-minute walk to the office each way, so 30 minutes total daily. For many suburban Calgarians who commute via private vehicle during rush hour, it's common for a one-way drive into the core or back to take 45 minutes (90 minutes round-trip). The delta between their commute and mine, then, is one hour each day. Assuming 240 working days in a year, the opportunity cost of living in the suburbs and driving to work is therefore ten full 24-hour days. Over the course of a 35-year career, you're sacrificing a year of your life to be stuck in traffic if you choose to live in the suburbs and drive to work.

the points above are very true, although some people don't want to live among the noise and crowdedness of the inner city. but they do pay more to live in the suburbs.
by the way, i live near fish creek park (bonavista area) and my commute is 15 minutes each way by car

[V]

I live in the burbs, but my job is also in the burbs. I have a 6 minute commute each way.

I used to live in the burbs in Calgary and worked downtown and it took me 20 minutes to take the train each way. I think you've got to be quite a ways out in the burbs to be driving 90 minutes a day.

[afc wimbledon]

Unless you plan on driving a different Jaguar each day of the week it is still cheaper to live further out of town and drive in than to buy a place in Vancouver.

[BBQorMILDEW]

I would honestly say that the majority of my spending habits are from eating out.. After the ex and I split, I just don't put in the time or the effort to make myself a good dinner. But it's definitely starting to put a huge dent into my bankroll.

I'm really going to use these tips that I've heard from here, thanks for the help everyone..

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Part of the problem is that Calgary has very few communities where you can walk to everything (including work) and are also suitable for families.

What defines being "suitable for families"? I think it's a myth that so many people have themselves convinced that they need to buy a single family detached home in the suburbs once they have children. In my Beltline condo, there are two families each with one or more children. I'm good friends with a couple who live in Lower Mount Royal who are currently pregnant, and they have no plans to leave the downtown area once their child is born. There are two schools (each with a playground) and several other parks within a very short walking distance from my home.

So even though you are saving money on your vehicles expenses - your housing expenses are through the roof.

I don't think that's true. My total monthly housing expenses (mortgage, property tax, condo fees, heat, water, and electricity) is about $2,200. I think that number compares very favourably to what I'd be paying for a typical $300-350k Calgary starter home in the suburbs.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by V

I think you've got to be quite a ways out in the burbs to be driving 90 minutes a day.

Since I don't live there, I can't verify from personal experience, but many of my suburban-living coworkers state that roughly 45-minutes each way is typical for them. Mayor Nenshi claims in this TED Talk that driving time from his NE home to downtown during rush hour takes 45 minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNAMH2_CLfo

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by fotze

Don't put money into mutual funds, the fund managers just realizing we have caught on to that scam

Oh-Oh, Slava and MoneyGuy are going to be visiting you.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by BBQorMILDEW

Hey, I am truly having troubles saving money. I am hoping that some people on here can give me some tips on how to do it properly.

Besides from the obvious gem.

Stop spending it!!

Any tips, stories or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks..

Give all of it to me and I will manage it all for you. I'm highly qualified. And you'll sleep better at night.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

What defines being "suitable for families"? I think it's a myth that so many people have themselves convinced that they need to buy a single family detached home in the suburbs once they have children. In my Beltline condo, there are two families each with one or more children. I'm good friends with a couple who live in Lower Mount Royal who are currently pregnant, and they have no plans to leave the downtown area once their child is born. There are two schools (each with a playground) and several other parks within a very short walking distance from my home.



I don't think that's true. My total monthly housing expenses (mortgage, property tax, condo fees, heat, water, and electricity) is about $2,200. I think that number compares very favourably to what I'd be paying for a typical $300-350k Calgary starter home in the suburbs.

If you are raising a family with 2 or more kids you ideally need a 3 bedroom condo/townhouse which dramatically changes the housing costs and the selection available.

There are some areas that work but finding a place large enough within
And some other areas arent suitable because of problems with crime etc still (e.g. Bridgeland).

If there were more of these type of communities the cost to live in them would be lower. But in Calgary there is a very limited supply and high demand.

Your housing costs in your condo aren't really relevant - we need to look at apples to apples...what is a family of four paying to live inner-city v. the burbs.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Get married!! Two salaries and expenses that are not that much higher provide opportunities to build your savings. You'll have to wed someone who shares your goals and values to spend less and save for a wonderful future together. The kids will cost but it all go helps you build a great, well-rounded life. It's not all about money but about having enough to provide the life you want.

Then you both need to make good financial decisions. That's all the common-sense stuff you mention.

I know FIRST-HAND this stuff works. If you do it.

Until she meets some younger musician from Australia and leaves you behind with the kid and when you divorce her she takes you to the cleaners even though she was the unfaithful bitch. I would pass on the marriage thing.