Comments on: What it Means to Save: A Year in the Life

By: ThatJenn

ThatJenn — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 03:24:28 +0000

@ThatJenn P.S. I am aware we are the same age. (Well, I think so, anyway.) I have always maintained that being grown up is actually pretty awesome when you do it right, and you do it the way I aspire to.

By: ThatJenn

ThatJenn — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 03:22:51 +0000

Just read this for the first time. <3 you, Mike Dang. I want to be as awesome and brave as you when I grow up.

By: nadineB

nadineB — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Saving is really a great thing as it helps during emergency purposes. :)

By: Unique Gifter@twitter

Unique Gifter@twitter — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:34:17 +0000

Loved this. Especially this part: “I don’t remember the drinks I had, or the clothes I bought, the cab rides I took, or all those times I bought my lunch.”
Thanks for sharing.

By: cmcm

cmcm — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:32:52 +0000

@audrey I second the call on having friends who make more money than you. Having lawyer/banker friends when you work for a charity blows and there if someone can give me advice on how to get out of unnecessarily expensive cocktail bars or all chipping in for someone’s over the top bachelorette weekend, it would be much appreciated.

By: themegnapkin

themegnapkin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:50:33 +0000

@OneTooManySpoons “Whereas I always ask myself, “Do I want this enough to make the instant gratification worth it?” If so, I’ll buy it and not feel bad. But I often decide, nah, not worth it. And I forget it in five minutes.”
I do the same thing, but I build in a reward – when I successfully decline to buy something I (momentarily) want, I take the money I would have spent and transfer it into an ING account called, imaginatively, “Money I Didn’t Spend.” That way, I get the fun of watching my savings grow (that’s fun, right? Even if it’s “I packed my lunch today so I didn’t spend $5,” it’s still fun), and also I know that if I decide I really want the [] sometime down the line, I have the money for it set aside. I’ve never changed my mind about something and used the money in my “Money I Didn’t Spend” account.

By: mouthalmighty

mouthalmighty — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:59:03 +0000

Oh how I love this site. Thanks for this!

By: Trilby

Trilby — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:45:01 +0000

Hi Mike! I am thrifty too. No-spend weekends sound great. Sometimes I do one by accident. Here is something thrifty for you to try if you don’t already do it– eating down the food supply. By which I mean, sometimes I about about to go out for groceries, then I realize there is a lot of stuff on hand and I should “eat it down” before I get more. It is easy for a single person living alone to acquire more extra food that will go bad if not addressed. I also keep a post-it list of what fresh fruits and veggies are inside the fridge so I remember to eat them in a timely manner.

By: Veronica Mars is smarter than me

Veronica Mars is smarter than me — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:40:35 +0000

This is where I’m going wrong. I’m not making any money! I made roughly what Mike saved last year. #FML

By: Emma

Emma — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:15:43 +0000

I’m really enjoying the conversational style of the posts on the Billfold, especially yours and Logan’s – I feel so much more engaged in thinking about my relationship with money. Other financial advice sites I’ve been to tend to either frighten me: “You’ll die in poverty!” or give me a false sense of optimism: “5 easy steps to financial freedom”. You guys rock.