/biz/ - Business & Finance

How do you only spend $160 on groceries? I spend probably $400 a month.

>>582785
Out of necessity, mostly. I receive about $375 in subsidies, so I can't really afford to spend that much on groceries unless I want to have nothing else. Note that those $160 also includes stuff like shampoo, shaving gel, etc.

I really need to get a job, but "the economy" and all that. Besides, most companies don't want to hire students part-time here.

Put restaurant alcohol and tobacco and snacks in savings

~biz

The fact that your grocery budget is only twice as large as your alcohol/tobacco budget should tell you something.

I understand the need to enjoy some things when you're recuperating from school or work or whatever other terrible shit you do, but still.

>>582789

lol. You sound lazy. There's nothing hard about finding a job. Apply to grocery stores and fast food. Call the next day and ask for an interview. Worked everytime for me since I was 14. 21 now. And I live in the middle of nowhere Virginia

>>582801
I don't know. Maybe I am lazy, but I don't think so. Fast food is impossible though, those jobs are so highly sought after by students it's ridiculous. They only have open application times between June-August anyway, so it's some time away.

The same goes for grocery stores, especially part-time. In truth, I actually don't know ANYONE who works in a grocery store part time.

>>582800
I guess the big one is that I smoke. I buy around 6 packets a month (A significant reduction for me) and that goes for maybe $50 a month. The rest is alcohol, I go out bi-weekly.

Your budget is 380.
Your alcohol and tobacco budget is 80.


That's over 20% of your budget right there.

>>582781
Spend less on groceries, for one person you can do on about 60 dollars a month if you only buy actual produce instead of a bunch of prepackaged garbage. Just meat vegis rice eggs milk and stuff to season it all.
Spend a little less on your vices. Maybe take 30 of that and join a gym or if you're uni has one use that and save the cash.

>>582824
>$60 a month for groceries
Are you serious? This is actually possible? I'm gonna have to look up some shopping lists online.

>Spend a little less on your vices. Maybe take 30 of that and join a gym or if you're uni has one use that and save the cash
I might be able to cut the cost of alcohol and tobacco down to $45 a month, and I think the monthly cost for a gym membership goes for about $40, so that should work.

>>582824
>>582827
This can't be true, I did some math on what I eat each month and $60 just seem too little.

I spend roughly $15 on milk each month, two 1.5 litre packs every week.

Cheese goes for $12, once a month.

Bread is around $10 a month, one pack of bread a week.

There is no way the remaining $23 can cover meat, veggies, eggs, etc. for a MONTH.

>>582833

goddamn you are a fucking goy.

>milk
>meat
>cheese

lol milk is fucking pointless and meat and cheese are luxuries you can't fucking afford nigger. Get used to rice and beans faggot.

>>582847
I went off the list the other anon posted. And I like milk.

But I guess ramen noodles and beans is my life until I can get a job and/or finish my education.

>>582847
hungry skeleton detected

>>582785

This.

I feel for you OP this is one mother fucking tight budget.

>>582781
Is this per week or month?

>>582889
Month.

>>582781
If you pay for everything on a debit card you can use mint.com to better organize a baseline to what your spending habits are, then budget from there by decreasing everything you can by 5-10% at a time

>>582806
What country do you live in?
Da fuq?
I can find a job in like a week in Massachusetts.
Sure a totally shitty job since I go to a university right now, but still

>>582898
Sweden. Roughly ~50% youth unemployment (18-25 year olds) in the city I live in, roughly ~25% youth unemployment nation-wide.

>>582785
It depends on the country. I spend about 20€ a week in groceries here in Spain, and I am cooking "good" food, not noodles and shit.

Monthly wage: ~650€

80€ for food (100€ if you count restaurants)
100€ for diesel
100€ for electricity, water, internet, etc
I inherited my house, so no rent
about 50€ mixed expenses

I manage to save about 50% of my salary, but I am lucky cuz no rent. Rent is about 150€-250€ per month in the city center

Things poor people should buy for food-
Beans
Ramen
Cheap Graying Slabs of the toughest cuts of meat on sale
If you must have cheese- Kraft Cheese Slices

>>582781
>entertainment
>A&T
gone, +$100

>snacks
>restaurant
>groceries
no more snacks and eating out, no more spending on brand names, ready meals and things that are overpriced, learn to cook, beans, potatoes, rice, some fish, cheese and milk for protein (look up recommended daily allowances), economy OJ, maybe hot sauce, garlic and vegemite for b vitamins and flavor, get a thermos flask and fill it with salsa if you want to eat at work or college, could probably whittle your food spending down from $225 to $125 or something, you could reduce it by $50 easily

>savings
convert to a diversified equity portfolio, also begin stock market research and search for opportunities for swing trades as well as be prepared to switch to bond ETFs when this bull market ends, it you have good critical thinking skill you should beat the market average, possibly 15%+ annualized

Just a simplified equation, obviously this is mathematically perfect whereas in real life your returns will vary. Let's say you gain 2% returns a month and put $190 into your portfolio each month

$=(1.02^m-1)*190/0.02 where m is the number of months passed, so in 37 months you would have over $10000

with $240 a month this would only take 31 months, try to stay rent free

>>582966

>get a thermos flask and fill it with salsa

wait, what?

>>582781
You're spending too much on restaurant, tabacoo and alcohol as well as entertainment.
All of those should be 0

>>582982
I think that might be a bit extreme. I mean, the restaurant only covers eating out 4-5 times a month. You're probably right about the Tobacco though, and I'll stop smoking. Maybe I'll pick up running instead.

Entertainment is literally one movie in the cinema + popcorn a month.

>>582974
you heard me

>>582781

Stop fucking smoking, your throwing money away. Find a job, and sell some adderall/weed.

>>582993

why on earth would you want eat a thermos jar of salsa

how about some cup noodles or something

or even beans and rice

what is your response to people asking you if you're eating a thermos of salsa

>>583022
i pour some into a paper cup and pressure them to try some out of politeness

>>582781
Ignore everyone here that is telling you to cut back on anything. If your entire monthly budget is $380, there is no way you're going to save any meaningful amount of money. Putting away anything at all is good in case you have a small emergency, but its not like saving $10 a week is going to make a dent in your retirement savings needs or anything. As long as you're not going into debt while you're in school, you're doing fine. Once you get out of school and start making real money is when you need to get serious about sticking to a strict budget.

>>583028

well

best of luck to you in your future endeavours

Here's mine.

Groceries: $120
Going out to eat/Entertainment: $40
Savings: As much as possible
Gas: As needed
Stocks: 1/3 of Savings
Clothes: Buy clothes/shoes once they wear out.
Drugs/Tobacco: Used to spend 150 a month on this.

I spend about 200-400 a month. I save around 800-900. I don't make shit, and I live like a peasant.

>>583031
thanks, I appreciate it

i do what I think is right but some people just don't understand my ways

>>582966
>Let's say you gain 2% returns a month
kek

Work nights. Half of my engineering class worked 20+ hours a week so I'm sure you could do something living with your parents and having a lighter course load

>>582847
>>582870
Beans have more complete proteins then most meat (excluding chicken and tuna).

Tuna
Chicken
Beans

Potatoes
Rice
Oatmeal

Broccoli
Spinnach
Cauliflower

That's 3 good protein, carb, and vegtable foods. Everything else is unnecessary.

>>583038
as I said this is a simplified example, you can't make money in every market but during this time you can leave it in bonds or some sensible index funds and you will earn about the market average then when the market changes and your research starts to reveal more opportunities you can start moving money into various individual stocks and gain higher returns

>>583060
To continue my post, iun order to eat cheaply you need to look at calories differently. The media makes you think calories are bad for you, but calories are what you need to survive. You need to be buying food with the best price/calorie ratio. For example, I bought 3,000 calories of oatmeal for $2. Or I bought roughly 2800 calories of spaghetti for $1. Basically both of these purchases combined could feed me for 3 days and for only 3 dollars, that's a dollar a day.

Vegtables are less calorie dense, but they are more vitamin dense so you still need to buy them. You can look up online (nutriondata. c o m or something) and you can see what the most efficient vegtables are to buy.

>>582781
Stop eating out at restaurants, and cut your alcohol/tobacco in half. Thats an extra $90 a month. Also, you NEED to be saving more money.

When I was in college, I spent $100 a month on food. Rice, beans, chicken, brocolli, milk, bread. Buy sugar, salt, and spices in bulk. I stole extra ingredients I needed from the school restaurant I worked at.

If I were you, I would do something I call the envelope system. If these are your monthly expenses, divide by 4. Get 7 envelopes and label them for each expense.

Each week you get paid, divide your 7 expenses in 4 and put the money in the envelopes.

>>582988
too much faggot.
YOU do not have the luxury of going someplace nice such as a movie when you can pirate and watch at home.
until you get that through your thick skull or get a job you must save every penny until you no longer need to.

alternatively go to movies on tuesdays( here its toonie tuesday) and bring your own snacks.
i just reduced your entertainment bill by 95 dollars.

>>582806
>Fast food is impossible though, those jobs are so highly sought after by students it's ridiculous.

You're the reason 3-4% unemployment is considered full employment.

>actually spending 80 dollars a month on alcohol and smokes when you're this fucking poor

JESUS CHRIST

>bu-but I deserve a ch-chance to unwind as well

Bullshit you do. People who get to have vices are people who have actually accomplished something. Don't start wasting such cash on smoking and drinking until you are financial independent.

>>583035
>savings
>as much as possible

Bad attitude. First thing wealthy people do when they recieve payment is take out the savings first and spend what's left. Don't just leave it up to life to work out what you get to save.

Bro don't listen to these clowns

Live your life, the fact that you're not spending all your money already is great

At least you're TRYING to save something.

What you should do is simple, start an online business.

You're a guy in college, you must play some PC game right?

Even if you don't, just start playing games and selling the accounts you make for $ on eBay or in real life

Sell things you don't need, or tell your friends you'll sell their junk for them, they will be happy you're getting rid of it

Put an ad in the newspaper that you take peoples junk

Then sell it online

Broken cell phone? iPhone? Nexus? Blackberry? Easy $50 in parts or $40, it'll sell instantly

So yeah, just do this, its literally free $

Then eventually when you start making $400-$500 per month off selling peoples junk just buy a cheap apartment for like $250/month under your parents name and rent it out to students for like $300, you'll have to do some work, but its worth it after you get your initial $ back.

Also this is all stuff you can put OJ your resume (house flipper)

Basically ANYTHING is money making, you just gotta make it make money for you, not take it from you.

Good luck OP

>>582781

>poor student
>alcohol and tobacco : 20% of monthly expenses

fucking retard. ever wonder why you're poor?

>>583093
Shit I forgot. Also buy flour in bulk, and get a bread maker. Cheap, quick, and easy.

>>582781
You can shave down that grocery budget. Learn to cook, nigglet. Everyone on /ck/ is poor, they know how to cook on a budget if you need that.

>>582964
Also
bread
grape jelly
peanut butter
spaghetti
cheap tomato sauce
beans

>>582781
You can spend less on nutrition if you switch over to (DIY) Soylent. Cut out alcohol/tobacco (or at least reduce it) and cut out snacks. If you save 50 dollars there I'd add more into clothing (5-10) and savings (the rest).

>>583175
what a fag. let me guess you got through college without spending a dime on alcohol, tobacco, or condoms, right?

>>582998
3 good points and stupid idea
3/4 aint bad

>>583065
Also no one ever should buy ANY low fat products. People need some fat to function properly and the low fat products usually are less healthy because the fat is replaced with something even worse.

All the demand for low fat shit is from pressure on people being skinny and then them creating stupid diets because they don't have the will power to cut their daily caloric intake to a level which would let them lose weight.

>>582781
are you fucking serious? you don't need any of that shit. buy wholesale, bulk food once a month. do a monthly cook, store it and eat for under $5 a day.
>restaurant
you don't need to eat out.
>entertainment
study.
>clothing
passable. except put it into a savings fund and buy yourself something decent once every few months. take pride in your possessions and make them last
>alcohol and tobacco
you don't need either of these things
>snacks
no

>>582781
OP. I'm poor as fuck too.

Cut restaurant and add it to savings.

Cut clothing, add to savings and deal with how you look.

Stop drinking, stop smoking. Add to savings.

Find an entertainment source that's not as costly, learn to play guitar, draw, read etc.. Add to savings

Buy cheaper food/ get food stamps if you can, but $160 isn't bad by any means, and add what's left to savings.

You'll have a shit load more in savings, then if you're in a real tight spot or feeling depressed, THEN go out to eat, go buy some clothes or some booze... Don't budget those luxuries in, those are bad things.. Things you should feel guilty about purchasing, not planned expenses.

>>582781
I'm a poor student too, I'm also living rent free.
This is how much I spend each month:
>Groceries: 70 AUD
>Transportation: 50 AUD
>Entertainment: ~20 AUD
Entertainment spending varies a lot.
Diet is repetitive but it's easy and cheep. Oats with fruit for breakfast, Chili con carne with vegetables for lunch and dinner, and finally snacks are fruit and vegetables. I don't drink or smoke.
Transportation used to be higher, but I started riding my bike instead of catching the bus every so often.
Other than these things, the only time i spend money is when something breaks and needs repairing/replacing.

I believe in you anon, you too can cut expenses.

>>582847

>be me
>latino
>eat pretty much nothing but rice and beans for the first 18 years of life
>not even poor just the culture
>go to college
>know how to make 40 different bean/rice dishes
>Get girlfriend
>budget goes straight into the trash.

But seriously, women will fuck with your budget soooo hard

>>585702
That's because you are a weak sjw and your girlfriend wears the pants in the relationship.

Currency is GBP.
First time in a job, First time living alone with bills to pay. Not paying rent (parents paying it).
I'm hoping to get to learn to better manage my money and reduce costs as much as I can.
I spend way too much, especially on food.

>>582781
>be a poor student
>take up smoking and have regular restaurant meals

I bet you "need" Apple products for uni too, huh.

>>583678
you can get free condoms, or buy them in bulk. going out is a luxury, not a right. same with restaurants and smoking.

>>583678
No, i did spend on alcohol. Never tobacco because it's stupid. But the difference is I wasn't fucking poor, idiot. Like everyone else is saying, spending on luxuries is something you earn, not a requirement. And you're only hurting yourself if you do it when you're in no position to.