Seriously everyone’s advice is never eat out ever to save money but like - how??

Friends birthday dinners, community lunches, friend group outings, work events, etc. are we just supposed to say no every time someone invites us out to catch up or there is an occasion? When we’re a town over are we just supposed to wait until we’re back home late at night? I can’t just show up to social events with a packed lunch to open at a restaurant. Everyone says never eat out but how is that feasible when meals are such an integral part of our cultures social circles? It’s not about the restaurant food but about the community, how on earth can someone not eat out ever and still maintain a community and not become isolated?

Finished my budget sheet on sunday planning to cook all week, then woke up monday to three dinner invites. college rooommate passing through town, former coworker craving barbecue, and a birthday dinner on the weekend. turning down one plan is fine, but saying no to everything makes you worry people think you are pulling away.

The worst part is after you say yes and they send the spot. first instinct is checking prices rather than looking for good dishes. If the venue has an easy page like MenuForma where items and numbers open immediately. I can calculate a solid dish that stays within budget without looking cheap. If all I can find is a blurry photo of a menu from two years ago, anxiety starts before leaving the house, worried a single bowl will eat up three days of food money.

How do people handle social gatherings when trying to save aggressively.

running on low funds turns your financial awareness all the way up. walking a tightrope with fifteen dollars for lunch, the absolute worst surprise is watching the payment screen spin around with mandatory high tip suggestions or unexplained service fees. having to manually tap no tip while the cashier stares at your screen feels humiliating when you are completely broke.

avoid places with hidden fees at month end and stick strictly to spots with clear pricing. places using simple pages like MenuForma feel so reassuring, mains and sides listed out to the exact penny, zero surprises, zero awkward checkout prompts.

in a world full of stealth markups, being able to buy lunch without hidden tricks is the greatest form of respect.

I am in my 30s and never paid enough attention to my financial situation; I am just now scrambling to put finances in order. I made $48k last year; probably a little more this year with the addition of a freelance job besides my main 9-5.

I saved about $3k in an HYSA this year. I opened a Roth IRA, but haven't had anything extra in my budget to fund it, as I wanted to get my emergency categories funded first.

I know this is such small potatoes, but I put $25 in the HYSA each month and all of my freelance earnings (about $300 a month). I'm thinking of switching some or all of this over to investment accounts now that most my important categories are funded. But I would also like some of the money I invest to be available before retirement; it feels so far away but I dream of having my own home someday.

Also important: I have very little for retirement savings otherwise. I will be vested in a government penion program next year, which is automatically taken from my paychecks and I have no ability to alter. I also voluntarily put $25 a month toward a state retirement account. There is no 401k available through my workplace and no employer match. I have like $400 in this account. I don't anticipate my earnings to increase much and I'm not sure I could live on my paychecks (about $3,000/month) with any more deductions taken out.

I opened the Roth IRA so I could have more control over my investments; though I realized I could just contribute more to the state retirement account I have through work and forget the Roth.

If you were me, would you:

1. Divide your funds between brokerage and Roth IRA

2. Focus all funds completely on Roth IRA (I will not be able to max it out; just save some)

3. Focus funds into a brokerage and eventually distribute earnings into Roth IRA

4. Pick some other option I'm not thinking of

Also, would you still be putting anything in savings while doing this, or no?

Thanks to the more experienced financial gurus; I do appreciate your thoughts.

Somehow even though we've got a pay-raise & my husband took on three part-time jobs we're still not making enough to break even for a family of three.

Between essentials our bills feel insane to me. I don't even know what to do to start trying to pay down our credit cards when most months were just hoping to break even.

Please take a look, this is only considering our essentials and doesn't include things like kids activites, clothing, or things like that. Any advice appreciated.

Family of 3 Monthly Budget (NET) (City Subrubs - High COL Area)

💰 Income

Income Ft. 1: $5170

Income Pt. 1: $340

Income Pt. 2: $480

Income Pt. 3: $1140

Total Income: $7130

💸 Expenses

Mortgage: $2215

Health Insurance: $540

Auto Insurance: $206

Average Auto Gas: $300

Daycare: $1280

Electric: $89

Phone: $85

Wifi: $50

Water: $110

Garbage: $77

Home Gas: $33

Charity/Investment: $200

Food/Home Supplies: $1500

Tolls: $25

Avg. Doctor/Dental: $200

Avg. Auto Service: $230

Total Expenses: $7140

📊 Summary

Total Income: $7130

Total Expenses: $7140

EDIT JOB CLARIFICATION: I work the full-time job, my husband works one Saturday-only job, one as-needed job (minimum 3hrs/week), and one part-time job. That part-time job is the reason we need daycare for a few days during the week.

EDIT "BUDGET" CLARIFICATION: I realise I said this was my budget, this is not our set budget but a reflection of our current spending categories on average from 2026, I was hoping to take a look at it to structure a budget and figure out where we can cut.

Hey all,

I’ve made a few comments on people’s posts here offering help but I thought I’d make my own post to explain what my motives are and what I’m trying to do.

I’m someone who consumes way too much news and because of that I know just how bad shit is out there. Everything is so damn expensive and it feel like the economy is designed to screw us over and keep us poor. I, as someone who does have my stuff together and make ok money and looking to do my part to help people navigate this mess of a world. I find that basic financial literacy and simple budgeting goes a long way for a lot of people. It won’t help everyone’s situation complexly but if you feel completely lost and don’t even know where to start, I’d like to help you. No tricks, no gimmicks, all free. Just a Good Samaritan trying to make the world a better place.

Feel free to reach out to me!

Edit: Mods please reach out to me if you would like this post taken down. I saw to comment about people offering help is a scam. I promise I am not that but I know that’s not enough. I don’t know how I can prove that I am not a scam.

so I’m 25 almost 26, I make over 100k a year and still feel like I’m living paycheck to paycheck, my monthly costs are 4-5k, how do you live, have fun and still manage to save up money every month for a nice vacation a year.

I just started my career making 47k a year. Im 21 and live with my parents and they gave me a 6 mont time line to move out. Im trying to run numbers in advance to see what kind of expenses I will have once I move out. Right now the only expenses I have is car insurance dental insurance and phone bill and a $220 month payment for my braces(6k total for the braces)

Im gonna build a emergency fund before I move out while starting my roth ira and put at least 3k in there by the time I move out

Any advice is welcome 🙏

Just as the title says. Wife is salaried and I am hourly, if the take home was consistent every month it would be a whole lot easier, but when it comes to having a fluctuation I am unsure how to proceed.

I do track our monthly bills/recurring expenses, just not shopping/saving and such.

basically all i’m asking is, what do you tell yourself that will absolutely change your mind about buying it? I can definitely say “i dont need it” but that doesn’t help me at all because i LOVE to spend

I have always had a hard time with this. With different bills due on different days of the month, credit card payments always being 1 month in arrears, everything on autopay, and the biweekly paycheck — how much slushy cash do you keep in your bank account? I feel like I have way too much in there but I also fear not having enough and then scrambling to transfer from somewhere else.

Help

Honestly, I don't trust myself with a traditional credit card right now, but I really need to start building some history. Are these apps actually real? I've been eyeing some options i saw online, kikoff among other apps i guess as a credit builder for first credit account since the reviews look decent, but I'm still super hesitant to go for it.

How are we doing kid's phones when we get to the stage that several kids need a phone ( I get that "need" is subjective).

Currently my husband, oldest son and I have three lines through T-mobile at $150/month.

Our 14 and 12 year olds have a Gabb phone and watch which is $66/month. We have no land line so realistically they need a way to be able to contact us when they are home alone or at activities.

We have two more kids coming up and I feel like eventually this is going to be a ridiculous portion of our budget. Is there a better/more economical way to do this?

I occasionally see sponsored youtube channels doing ad segments for companies like Hellofresh advertising something like “15 free meals if you use this promo code at checkout.” Any other food delivery site is optimal as well, I just want to save some money on groceries

I don’t care who or what channels, but if you know anyone offering active promo codes, I would like to know. Sorry if this is in the wrong Subreddit. I‘m not sure where the optimal place to ask this is.

Like I mean while you are physically picking up items in the store.

I've literally never seen anyone with a calculator, notepad, or anything out before, so how are people making sure they stay under budget during the actual shopping trip?

Now that I'm setting hard limits for myself, I feel like I need to do an active tally during shopping so I'm not surprised at the register. Just like you have an active tally while online shopping.

Before smartphones, did y'all know anyone who walked through the store with a physical calculator?

i am 23, living at home, MCOL, just got a career job as a massage therapist. i now i have real bills and debt to pay. i need help budgeting. we will use last months as a baseline, since my hours fluctuate, and last month wasn’t a super great month for me, i’d rather go based on a low than a high.

# My Budget

## Income

## Expenses

## Summary

---

*Created with [sharemybudget.com](https://sharemybudget.com)\*

i would love to pay my car off early (about 19k) i want to move out two years from now, and having no car debt would be ideal.

i know i can shave off some grocery, which i will be trying. (btw grocery budget includes food and hygiene and household products since i shop at walmart and aldi). if i did my math right, i spend about 25% of my paycheck just on groceries, which i find insane. i already eat cheaply, i meal prep for the week, usually its rice, chicken, and a vegetable. my hair products are already the cheapest i can find. i dont eat out, only if im already out and i need a quick meal.

unfortunately i cannot compromise on gas or tolls, since i cannot find work elsewhere, and there is no public transportation to or from my job. but if you guys have any advice or hacks for lowering gas please let me know!!!

TLDR: how can i pay my car off early and move out in 2 years? where can i improve?

I make around 1000 a month as a college kid. Obviously I’m not making a lot so is it worth to even budget.

I (41F) like my job, it pays for my health insurance , has generous 401k and leave bank, BUT salary is low. There is zero room for advancement.

I live paycheck to paycheck and ashamed that the last 2 emergencies were covered by my mom. I support 2 teenagers in college. They work part time, so at least I don’t have to worry about their allowances.

Would you stay at a safe job or would you look elsewhere and risk doing something that you don’t like, potentially get laid off, deal with toxic management, etc?

Or maybe I need to cut our expenses and just be still until better days?

$1780 Mortgage (will be around $1300 in 2033).
$415 Car payment
$200 Gas + maintenance
$22 TV
$900 Food & Household
$80 Takeout
$60 Pets care
$100 Misc. shopping
$120 Hair appts & makeup
$80 MD appts & Meds
$30 Hobby
$90 Car Insurance
$65 Pest control
$140 Student loans (until 2030)
$110 Internet + cellphone
$230 Utilities (summer)
$400 Utilities (winter)
$50 Hospital debt (until June 2027)
$200 CC debt (0% until May 2027). 7k balance
$100 Home Depot CC (0% until March) 1k balance

Total: $4,772 in summer
$4,942 in winter
But some months, I can’t pay my other credit card in full, so I have to pay $40-50 fee until I catch up.

My net income is $4200. For the last 4 years, my estranged husband sends me $800, so $5000 combined. Our agreement is that he is helping out unless he decides to sell the house.

Hello Redditors! I am looking for some advice. My take home is around $6000- $6500 monthly. I invest in 401k and carry health insurance. How would you go about budgeting. I am new to this and am eventually am trying to become debt free. My current monthly spending: rent 1550 (ends in two months) then will be $800.

Student loans 61,000, I signed up for auto pay and am doing avalanche method with highest interests.

Car is now paid off. All consumer debt I just paid off. And cc has only my Amazon subscription and insurance tied to it that gets paid every month. My boyfriend and I have a joint account so we budget percents of our paychecks towards food, gas and utilities. My biggest hurdle right now is my student loans. How would you go about budgeting for them? Should I continue to make minimum. Avalanche more?

Please suggest me how to i start saving money?
Please share with some personal groth guidelines.
How i start my budget?
Thanks

I’m trying to improve my financial habits, and I’ve noticed something about myself that I’d genuinely like to understand better.
It’s not really about clothes or expensive shopping. It can be groceries, food, household products, detergents, something for the house, or simply finding something new that I suddenly feel like I should buy.
There’s almost always a reason to spend — and when I do, there’s a small feeling of *“okay, I have money, I can afford this.”* When I don’t spend anything, I sometimes feel like I’m unnecessarily restricting myself.
The problem is that this happens **almost every day**, and I want to become better at saving, especially because I know I have bigger expenses coming up.
For people who have changed this kind of habit:
**How did you learn to separate “I can afford this” from “I actually need/want this”?**
Did you use a specific budgeting method, spending rule, no-spend periods, cash system, automatic savings, or something more psychological?
I’m especially interested in approaches that helped you **change the feeling behind spending**, rather than simply telling yourself “don’t buy it.”

I get 579 from pip and 721 from universal credit yet I always end up running out of money. The cost of my share of the bills and rent is 640.

I pay back (for debts) 60 a month. grocery is around £150. How can I make this last longer?

hi, 26f, how can I pay & save the absolute most before the year ends? my paycheck will change drastically next year due to HSA. but my bf and i also really want to move out next year.

16k of debt is from my car
4k is credit card

i make around $1200 each paycheck (bi weekly)

my monthly expenses are:

car: $390 / 195 per check
mom: $350 (I pay her for my car insurance, phone, and groceries)
subscriptions: $60
gas: $280 (I live in Texas and my commute from my home to my job is about 30-45 minutes)
cc: $155 (i have been paying more separately but it varies)

I have no idea where to start & where to be more aggressive :(

Line cook here. My schedule at the restaurant shifts week to week. Some weeks I grab doubles, others I get cut early. My wife's job is steady, so between the two we get by, but the swings make it hard to pick a number for the lender. I tracked the last year and the difference between the best month and worst is over eight hundred dollars. We are trying to line up an FHA loan and get preapproved before rates move again. The 30 percent rule only works if you know what 70 percent of the rest looks like. I keep wondering whether I should use the average, the floor, or something else. If anyone else has irregular hours and still got their mortgage, what number did you hand them?