Inspired by my colleague's empty bank account and mounting credit card debt (despite our equal paychecks). Mostly passed down from my dad, who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do.

1. Begin with your rent. Your rent should be about 1/3 of your monthly paycheck (after taxes). This should include utilities! If your rent is more than 1/3 of your monthly paycheck, you should probably move or get another roommate.

2. Examine your monthly expenses. Monthly expenses are a great way to quickly drain your bank account without even knowing it. Pare down your monthly expenses to the absolute minimum needed to survive and get to work. (You probably don't need cable, but you might need car insurance.)

3. Examine your daily expenses. A daily $3 cup of coffee could add up to $1095 over a year... a lot of money you could be spending on other things! If you bring your lunch to work everyday instead of buying it, you could also save a huge amount of money (probably at least another $1000).

4. Don't be cheap on important things. Here are some cases where saving a buck now might be much more costly later:
a) Paying fines and bills. Pay them on time to avoid late fees. If you don't have enough money to pay them now, call the people to whom you must pay the fine or bill and explain the situation. In almost every case they will be grateful that you called them instead of hiding from them and you will be able to work out a deal. Even if they won't let you work out a deal, they know that you aren't paying because you can't, not because you're a jerk, and that wins you a lot of points in later dealings. It puts you and your creditor on the same team instead of making you enemies. Remember: prioritize the expenses that will incur the worst late fees.
b) Buying insurance. Most insurance is cheaper than you think, and if you get caught without it it can wipe out your entire savings. Health insurance is expensive, but being sick or injured without insurance can bankrupt you. Most states have special programs available for young, healthy people where your insurance is discounted. There are also discounted rates available for people with very low incomes (even if you make too much to be on a government program).
c) Fixing things. If you patch your tire, it might cost you $10. If you blow your tire on the highway, you could total your car, which could cost you thousands (even assuming you're not injured). Fixing a cavity could cost you $100-$150 without insurance. Having a root canal can cost you $900. Always think of everything in terms of current costs and future costs.

5. Try to avoid borrowing money. Almost all the money you borrow has an interest rate. This means that you are paying for the luxury of having the money now instead of later. This means you are paying more for the money than it's actually worth! Think about it. If you find you have to borrow money, it is time to re-evaluate your expenses and cut back or get another/a better job.
a) Pay off your credit card every month. When you get your credit card bill, it seems great, because even though you have a huge balance, the little box says you only have to pay this small amount this month. However, if you don't pay the whole amount, they charge you 15% in interest, meaning that they make you pay 15% extra just for the luxury of not paying it all now. That is a TERRIBLE interest rate. Compare that to the interest rate for student loans, which might be around 6-7%. If you pay off your credit card every month, you will only have to pay for exactly what you bought, and you can spend the extra you save on something important (like food!) Plus, you will build good credit, which can be very important later on when you are trying to buy a house, a car, or starting a business.
b) Don't buy things on your credit card that you couldn't put on your debit card. That is another way of saying, "Don't buy things that you don't currently have the money for in your bank account." Many people spend ahead of themselves, meaning that they've already spent their next month's paycheck before it even arrives because they've put everything on their credit card. Sometimes your paycheck is late, it is incorrect because of a clerical error, or you get FIRED. In any of these cases you have to panic because you can't pay your credit card bill. If the money isn't physically in your bank account, in your hands, or under your mattress, you have to treat it like it doesn't exist. After all, nothing is ever certain. If you can't pay off your credit card bill completely every month, stop using your credit card until you can.
c) Don't spend loaned money on luxuries. You might have student loans, which are great as we saw above because of their relatively low interest rates. However, if you have $50,000 in student loans, that's still ~$3500 per year, and it might be compounded every six months or every year. The less you owe the better. So when the student loan money comes rolling in, constantly remind yourself that none of that money is yours. Use it to pay for tuition and books, if you must you can use it to pay a portion of your rent... but you might want to get a side job to pay for your food, your clothes, and anything else you might need. The less you borrow, the less you'll be paying overall, and the sooner you'll be out of debt. When you take out loans you are gambling that your degree will give you opportunities for higher-paying jobs that you can use to pay off the loans in the future. But nothing is certain, so it's a good idea to keep the margin of debt as low as possible so that you can pay it off if you get a mediocre job as well.

6. Expect the unexpected. Life is uncertain. Life is also unfair. Bad things are going to happen. You can never know for certain what bad things are going to happen or when, but you can know for certain that something bad is going to happen, and when it does, it is going to cost MONEY to fix it. You might get a flat tire. You might break your leg. Maybe your car gets hit by an uninsured driver. Maybe your apartment burns down. Maybe your cat gets sick. Maybe you spill coffee all over your computer. Whenever something like this happens, you say to yourself, "I am so unlucky! Every time I think I'm going to get ahead, something like this happens and plunges me back into financial insecurity! Why does this always happen to me?" The truth is, stuff like that happens to all of us. So while you can't anticipate the bad thing that is going to happen, you can anticipate that SOME bad thing is going to happen, and put money away to cover this KNOWN expense. So if you find yourself magically with some extra money at the end of the money, you shouldn't actually go crazy and blow it all on cocaine, even though it might be tempting. This element of surprise is the reason that living paycheck to paycheck is dangerous. So now you can't say that you haven't been warned. This year, in the next six months, something BAD will happen. It will be less bad if you've been taking the precautions mentioned above and doing regular preventative maintenance on yourself and your vehicle and your pets. But it will still happen. You'll need $500-1000 for that at the VERY least. Think of it like your rent or your car insurance. You have to pay a set amount for rent each year and a set amount for car insurance. You have to pay a set amount for DISASTERS, too. Don't let that surprise you when it happens.

7. Make a budget. Sit down and write on a piece of paper how much money you have coming in (after taxes). Write down all your automatic monthly expenses. Write down all other expenses. Add in the money that you'll be spending for DISASTERS. See how much money you have left. [It's a common rule to put 10% of your income directly into savings (your disaster fund and your investment into your future). Sometimes you can arrange with your employer that 10% of your income goes directly into a savings account without ever passing through your hands. This is a good way to keep from being tempted to spend it and it's actually very easy to do.] Even if you've never made a budget before, even if you don't know anything about math, even if you already know that your finances aren't in a great spot... make a budget. It will help just to have it all written down in front of you. It will empower you to take control of your finances. You will probably realize a lot of things about the way you spend money that you can change to make yourself richer and more secure. Decide on a set amount of money that you can spend on whatever you want, after all the necessities are subtracted. This way you don't have to feel guilty about buying something nice for yourself because it's calculated into your budget and it isn't sabotaging your long-term happiness and stability.

8. Remember that nobody deserves anything. Ads will tell you that you deserve a new car or a new pair of boots or a manicure. You don't, actually. Nobody deserves any material thing. You have to earn everything. Everything. And if, after earning it, you actually get it, you can be supremely grateful, because nothing is ever guaranteed in this crazy world.

9. Only rich people can afford to break these rules.

I want to be rich. D:
» randomjunk on 2010-02-07 07:59:57

You are awesome.
» middaymoon on 2010-02-07 10:18:13

I concur:

I want to be rich

You are awesome

Texas Rangers> Rockies yo
» Dilated on 2010-02-07 11:34:26

For your comment
You have my
» elessar257 on 2010-02-08 02:59:14

E>
» elessar257 on 2010-02-08 03:03:06

Thanks.


I did an E and > because the < and 3 didn't come out for whatever reason. (along with the rest of my comment.)
And your blog is cool too...
» elessar257 on 2010-02-08 03:04:43

This is really cool. If only I could really commit to not buying lunch at McDonald's four times a week, which seems so cheap! :P
» acidbathx on 2010-02-08 09:48:49

I didn't read all of that but most places won't let let you rent unless you make 3 times your rent so apparently they agree with your dad lol.

On a side note, I don't have anymore credit card debt!! I have paid them all off..credit cards are evil! lol
» lyndeep on 2010-02-09 03:30:53

"What did the nanny goat say to the billy goat when he tried to...er, mate with her?
"Are you kidding me?"

But yours is much much funnier.
» middaymoon on 2010-02-09 10:19:24

I'm bookmarking this.
» Mockiller on 2010-02-09 11:27:10

I'M DOWN! to not do any of those things

Can't we just watch bad movies again? that was fun.
» Dilated on 2010-02-11 03:06:43

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