Clipping coupons and looking for discounts may help you here and there, but what you really need is a system so you can take advantage of every discount possible without wasting too much time. Here a step by step guide to making that happen!
Are you too completely broke after spending all your money on Urban Outfitters, your Spotify subscription, that new MacBook for the (overpriced) Studyblr Aesthetic ™?
I recently graduated high school, and now, as a student, I can finally get my account at UNiDAYS. It’s a platform with discounts on basically everything - from the Financial Times to a cute little French Lifestyle Subscription Box I found recently. (Apparently the one for September is focused on weekly planning and stationery!!)
It’s helped me to save money immensely - for example with the 50% student Spotify discount. I’ve also planned to get a new tablet soon - both Apple and Microsoft offer discounts as well.
All you need to do is registerhere with your university email.
If you’re not in university yet - or already done - please share so other studyblrs can benefit from it!
Normally I don’t reblog these kinds of posts, but I was curious so I decided to check it out! Although the content is limited (at least in ny country), it seems to work even for international students.
So if you’re interested make sure to check it out! (But do read reviews before you spend money on anything of course)
When you hear the words South of France your first thought is probably dollar signs on dollar signs. From luxury yachts to wine vineyards, the French Riviera evokes a certain level of opulence with which your wallet is not familiar.
Trust me, I understand. I was discouraged from even trying at first but I had been dying to visit the beautiful Azure Coast and was NOT going to let my pitiful bank account stop me. Where there is a will, there is a financially feasible way. The three biggest expenses within any trip is transportation, housing, and leisure. Even if you have no plans to go to the South of France, this guide will help you budget on any trip.
Transportation
1. Getting There & Back
There’s an app called Rome2Riothat gives you the full play by play on the cost of going from point A to B by plane, trains, and other automobiles. It’s a great starting point. Once you’ve narrowed down your cheapest options, you can buy your tickets right from the site.
At this stage of my life, I value price over convenience. While an hour plane ride sounds lovely, 200 euros does not. I ended up finding a 15 euro Megabus to Marseille. Yes it was a grueling 11 hours…BUT luckily we chose an overnight bus. We left at 10pm and arrived to the beautiful sunny port city at 9am the next day. Not a bad way to wake up.
For the way back, I knew my patience for another 11 hour bus ride would be thin so I decided to spend a little more money on a faster route. I found another online app called KelBillet, where people can sell and buy unused train and bus tickets. It’s a very reliable app where vendors must be verified before posting their tickets to avoid scams. I found a girl desperately trying to sell her originally 70 euro train ticket for half the price. Winning!After traveling all week, a cheap 3 hour high speed train was perfect.
2. Local Transport
So you’re in your travel destination, HOW do you get around without paying crazy expensive taxi fares? No matter what city I travel to, I make use of two very important modes of transportation: the bus and my own damn two feet.
Let’s talk about buses. It’s become increasingly popular to use those Hop On, Hop Off tourist vehicles and while I see the appeal, they are just totally unnecessary. Why spend 40 euros to sight see when you can catch a local bus for 2 euros. It may seem scary but you will see more of the authentic, less touristy parts of town and you will become incredibly familiar with the city.
But the absolute BEST way to travel cheap is to walk. Crazy idea right? Most European cities are very pedestrian friendly. You can spend a day strolling leisurely from one historical monument to the next. You never know what you might stumble upon. A gorgeous field of lavenders, a quaint restaurant that sells regional cuisine, or a hip bar for when happy hour strikes. Walking around a city is the best way to feel within the city. So if you’re physically able and the weather permits, I highly recommend making it your main mode of transportation.
Side tip: I didn’t do this, but bike renting is another very popular option.
3. Short Distance Travel
While our main destination was Marseille, there where other small sea towns we wanted to visit only within an hour distance. We went to Cassis to visit the amazing Calanques (seen below). From Marseille it was very easy. Our hostel told us about a 30-minute shuttle that would take us there for a whopping ONE EURO! If you are ever in the Southeast of France I highly suggest you take the time to see this beautiful treasure.
We visited the ancient city of Arles by using BlaBlacar.This ridesharing app is basically AirBnB for cars. You find someone that is going the same direction as you and you pitch in for gas. Depending on how far you are going, you can pay as little as 5 euros. It’s not only a great, cheap option, but it gives you a chance to converse with locals!
Housing
For the most part, I love using AirBnB. It’s becoming increasingly popular over the past few years and understandably so. Hostels are crowded and hotels lack personality. I always check this website first but if the prices aren’t to my liking then to Hostelworld.com I go. Honestly, I don’t love hostels. Sharing a room with 8 other 20-something strangers makes me feel like I’m at some drunk summer camp for adults. But its crazy affordable. And who knows, you might even meet some buddies to explore the city with. In general, all you need is a place to lay your head comfortably at night. My only requirements are that it has free breakfast and WiFi (:
For the first few days, we stayed in a hostel but as funds were getting low we decided to take a less conventional route: Couchsurfing. If you’re not familiar, couch-surfing is when you stay at another person’s house for free. Yes, you heard me: FREE! How is this possible? What’s the catch?? Well, there isn’t any. There are some people in this world that feed off of being hospitable to strangers for the sake of cultural exchange. And ask for nothing in return but respect, trust, and a positive attitude. (Although, its nice to bring them a little something-something as a token of gratitude).
I’ll be honest, I was VERY skeptical of this option. But here is the personal criteria I follow to ensure a safe experience.
I prefer to stay with other women my age.
I only look at verified hosts with fully filled out profiles with at least 20 positive reviews.
Be skeptical of hosts that are NOT selective of their guests. You don’t want someone that just lets anyone in their home.
Using my personal criteria, I had a very positive couchsurfing experience. Our host was absolutely awesome, overwhelmingly generous, and gave us great advice on how best to spend our time in the city. Of course you can create your own criteria, but only do what is comfortable for you.
Leisure Activities
This could arguably become the most expensive part of your trip but it’s also the one you have the most financial control. For vacation, I always take out cash and refrain from using my debit or credit cards. This allows me to stay in my budget as well as physically keep track of my spending.
1. Food and Drinks
If you follow my advice from housing, breakfast is already taken care of. But for lunch and dinner you have to be careful not to spend 20 euros per meal. Many restaurants in France do lunchtime deals where you can get a lot for a low price. My friend and I took serious advantage of this. Therefore dinner always became grab something small and inexpensive.
For drinks, you can utilize happy hour to the best of your ability but honestly you don’t always need to buy from the bar! It may feel classier to drink un verre du vin at a restaurant overlooking the sea but try just buying a bottle from a supermarket and drink it on the beach with your toes in the sand, watching the sunset over clear blue waves. It’s more memorable that way.
2. Activities
They say the best things in life are free. Depending on the city, this may be easier said than done. But before you travel always look up a list of inexpensive or practically free activities. For larger cities you can use Timeout. But for smaller cities its best to just ask the locals for advice. Locals know best after all.
So there you have it. In conclusion, traveling on a budget is more feasible than you realize. All it takes is serious financial control and proper planning. Because of our extreme budgeting, we were able to see this…
You see, friends? Anyone can become financially set-for-life like Kyle if you just take a few simple tips from him:
-make sure your first job Senior Project Manager at your father’s hedge fund. Put 25% of your $250,000 salary into a savings account. I know that it’ll be hard getting by on just $187,500 a year, but if Kyle could do it, anyone can! -Why waste money paying for housing? Just live for free in your grandparents’ vacant vacation home. In Monterey. For a few years. -Getting a mortgage to buy a house is a classic mistake. Instead, just get your uncle to give you $500,000! -Be sure to reallytighten your belt. That means no vacations to Italy or Japan! You’ll have to stick to vacationing in your own country instead!
“Managing your spending is difficult, but if I can do it, anyone can!”
In 2010 I wrote the first two chapters. One month in 2013 I wrote the core of the book and started revisions. In 2016 I closed the loops and wrote the final three chapters. . No way is this as interesting to you as it is to me. I get that. Hey, I’m not even asking you to read the damn thing. If you buy the eBook it’s only three dollars, you waste more money than that throwing food away. Nice…
I got my first paycheck from my new job today, and used it as an excuse to restructure my entire bill autopay and savings autodeposit system.
It’s now super-streamlined to the point where after every paycheck I make two transfers – one into a second checking account, one into a savings account – and know that what remains is exactly how much disposable income I have for the next two (to three) weeks. The second checking account and savings account automatically disperse all the other funds (bill payments, investment deposits, mortgage, etc) I would normally have to monitor.
I feel like I need a cigarette. I’m just sitting here enjoying staring at my bank’s website like a fool.
In depth discussion regarding planning factors you should consider when planning your costume/cosplay. Topics: - Vision vs. Budget and how to get them to play nice together - Constructing a costume yourself and things you need to keep in mind - Commissioning costumes and labor costs - Searching for and incorporating existing pieces into a costume and sources - General costuming tips
stfu this price on food will keep me alive when I’m starving and putting quarters together to maybe stay alive until my next shift.
rich people: why is unhealthy food so cheap? don’t they know we have no self-control and will eat this until it causes health problems?
poor people: oh, thank god, something i can afford.
Five bucks can buy you so much more though if you take more than five minutes to prepare it.
Umm. Idk where you’re buying groceries, but $5 doesn’t get me anything.
Lol they want u to live on salted pasta and nothing else. XDDD God forbid people want something cheap that TASTES good.
Like- if u have more than $5 u can buy lots of things in bulk and per serving it’s cheaper. But for just straight $5??? Fuck outta here. $5 is like the cost of one spice at a grocery store ffs
Yeah for just straight $5 I could maybe buy a bag of rice and a jar of peanut butter, and that’s honestly less complete nutrition than that fast food, which at least has some vegetables in it, some meat, etc.
Rich people don’t get that being poor actually costs money. Terry Pratchett summed it up pretty well in one of the Discworld books:
“But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.”
In fact, it’s such a good example that one widely used term to describe this socioeconomic bullshit is literally ‘Vime’s Boots’
5 bucks: a pound of hamburger meat and box of hamburger helper.
Made it tonight.
In a pot, on a stove, with accessible clean water, I presume. Try making it while living out of your car.
I regularly watch videos of people who live in their cars doing precisely that. Some of them eat healthier than I do.
Most poor people don’t live out of their car, and they have access to clean water. Camp stoves aren’t expensive.
I’m sorry, I’m just struggling to believe there are people so strapped for time and money that they can’t slap together some sandwiches, but can stand in line for fast food. Just like the last time I saw this.
There’s plenty of healthy - or healthier - recipes for people who live in “food deserts”. Which is itself about healthyfoods, but sounds like it’s about a lack of food, period.
Some of those specifically include “fresh fruits and vegetables”, when frozen or canned food can be just as healthy.
If you don’t have access to clean water, you have a problem more serious than “what am I going to eat tonight?”
I eat healthier out of the truck on around $50 a week. That’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner. AND I have to buy lactose free milk which is expensive as fuck. Meat, potatoes, and carrots are cheap. Cereal is cheap. Bread and cheese (god help me I’m not giving up cheese) are cheap. Git gud or starve.
It always ticks me off when people are like $5 for a meal is cheap, I couldn’t buy groceries for $5. Like. Try keeping track of how much you spend a week on those $5 meals. It’s a LOT easier to buy groceries for the week with $45
Let’s look at what I could buy in the city my sister lives in for that much. This is if you have a place yo cook. This is for 1 person because that meal it for 1 person.
You will need oil. 2.98
Dozen eggs - 1.58
Wheat bread - .98
Peanut butter - 2.32(14 servings, so every other week)
Bananas - 1.33
That’s 6.21 for 7 days of breakfast. 575 calories 5 days a week and 505 the other two days(since 12 eggs would be 2 eggs for 6 days we split the last 2 into one a day)
Whole wheat spaghetti - $2(because I LIKE noodles, technically a box is 8 servings and could last a week)
Pasta sauce (3 jars, meat flavored sauce, this is double servings to go with double noodles ) - 2.64
Green pepper - .77
Can of Mushrooms - .88
That’s $6.29 for 7 meals and 591 calories. If you don’t have
Most expensive and varied meal. Dinner. We have 29.52 to work with . We are doing 6 rice+veggies+chicken meals and 1 chicken and rice soup.
Rice (5lb bag, 50 servings, buy once a month) - 2.48
Tyson grilled and ready chicken breasts- 7.32
Frozen stir fry vegetables(7 servings) - 2.33
Frozen pepper and onion blend(7 servings) - 2.33
Frozen seasoning blend(7 servings)- 2.32
Crispy Green beans (4 servings)- 3.38
Crispy Broccoli(4 servings) 3.38
Taco seasoning- .44
Stir fry sauce - 2.68
Vegetable broth (2 meals) - 1.94
BBQ sauce- .98
Total for Dinner 30.56
“SEE???? It’s cheaper to eat out” the neigh sayers are already saying
No. Because those vegetables and rice are enough for the entire month. So next week you save 13.74. And you can use that to switch things up. Get 2 1-lb packs of ground turkey for 3.64, save one for your next vegetable buying week and use the other in your spaghetti. Get some salsa for 1.46 to go with your rice for the peppers and onion nights. Get egg noodles and carrots and make chicken noodles soup, or ground beef, and beans and seasoning for chilli.
And if you can’t afford this, see if there are any food banks or churches near you that could help for your first week. Or message me your budget and I’ll come up with something just for you.
Oops my bad. I typed $45 instead of $35 and then worked with that number. To make it the $35 drop breakfast for the first week, and one of the crispy vegetables.
Not buying the other vegetables week 2 will give you the money to buy the 4th vegetable and the breakfast stuff. Week 3 when you also don’t need peanut butter still buy one and another bag of veggies to cut the cost down. Week 4 then also buy an extra bag of veggies. That way when the next month rolls around and you start over you can buy breakfast stuff still.
Queen of Going Over Board
I made a spread sheet to show this better. Sitting down I was able to really lay it out. This is 5 weeks and in my mind I’m using the envelope system to save the leftover change from each week. Everything is easy to make.
Second link is the “Menu”. They no longer have the 5 for $5, they now have the 4 for $4 or the $5 biggie stack. The highest calories those can have is 1350. Keep in mind when you see the calories per day.
I’ve recently become super focused on finance and how best to save money and put myself in a good position going forwards. I wanted to share some of the apps I have found with you all in the hopes it helps you out!
• Honey — this is a browser extension that locates promo codes for online purchases. You also accumulate points for shopping on certain websites and can use these to get gift cards (I got a $30 supermarket gift card recently)! Here’s my referral code if you want to do me a solid: joinhoney.com/ref/irhdxa9
• Shopback — similar points system to Honey where you receive a percentage of your purchase back from certain websites! Love this one as you don’t only get the offer of redeeming as gift cards, but can actually have the money put into your bank account. Referral code: https://app.shopback.com/pWHFTYomIcb (earn a bonus $10 once you make a purchase!!)
• ReceiptJar — upload photos of your receipts and earn points in exchange. These points can be redeemed for gift cards/cash!! Also just good for organising receipts if you lose things like me We’ll both get 200 points when you upload your first receipt. Use code NICOLEF11
• Spaceship and Raiz are both micro-investing apps. I won’t attempt to explain these in detail but if you’ve ever been interested in investing / buying shares but haven’t known where to start, these are a great introduction! They let you invest small amounts (like, $5 small) and are really simple!
• BWS on tAPP — this is for all my aussies! Download this app and play the daily cooler game for a chance at winning some free booze!
Those are my favourite apps currently to help me save some money and make some money!!
[please note: I am not affiliated with any of these apps but I have included my referral codes. This is not financial advice, just helpful apps I’ve discovered.]
I started properly budgeting (not just tracking expenses) about a year ago. Back then, I didn’t have a proper income, so I was very strict and didn’t buy much fun stuff, and by fun stuff I mean for example clothing I actually needed.
I got my first PhD stipend in November and since then I’m buying the stuff I actually needed, but postponed buying them, because I didn’t have the money. That’s why January is basically the first month when I’m actually saving money, not just catching up.
In November and December, I bought following necessities:
new iPhone (because the old one lasted about 30 minutes and then the battery died)
winter coat (the previous fully fell apart)
went for dental hygiene and to the dentist (because I couldn’t afford it for ages)
These were pretty big expenses and I still have to make some bigger purchases, such as new glasses and I have some follow-ups with the dentist because of cavities.
Nevertheless, I’m trying to save a feasible amount of money for emergencies and vacations.
The Budget
I won’t write down the exact amount of money, because I’m still figuring it out, but these are the categories I’ve set money limit for:
groceries
utilities
services (phone bill, Netflix, Patreon, Spotify)
sport (swimming)
dining out - because sometimes I work from a café, I meet up with friends etc. Not having a budget for that wouldn’t be sustainable for me in my normal life.
shopping - I mostly buy things I need, e.g. new trousers because the old ones fell apart. Because of basically not buying stuff like this for a year and a half, a lot of things are breaking down, or will need a replacement soon. But I also buy stuff just for fun, that’s also necessary for my normal life.
Altogether, this is about 2/3 of my income, the 1/3 is going to the savings/emergency fund. I’m using an app for budgeting called CoinKeeper, it suits my needs.
When I have some money left in the categories above, I’m planning to put whatever is left into crypto, no matter how small amount of money is left. It’s usually not much, because I’m already saving quite a lot in comparison to the amount of money that I get.
If you’re more interested in my general life of a PhD student, like budgeting, cooking, cleaning, whatever, I’m happy to share more about that!
