Shopping: Addictions, Budgets, and Questions

[Anonymous No.8158085]

We haven't had this thread in a while. Are you finding yourself spending way too much money on j-fashion or cosplay? Afraid to start getting into either hobby because of costs? Have any budgeting tips or stories to share?

Lets talk about how we budget for our hobbies.

[Anonymous No.8158122]

Slightly related but I will make all the room in my budget to get that game in OP.

[Anonymous No.8158141]

>>8158122
Looks like you don't have to!

http://froufro.us/lolitopoly/lolitopoly.html

I googled it and here's a printable download set. Not sure if it's identical to the picture, but it's def a loli monopoly set.

[Anonymous No.8158153]

>>8158141

[Anonymous No.8158184]

>Boss offers me (his secretary) an after work position tutoring his 6 year old in reading.
> Eh... it's an hour drive... Probably not worth it.
>He's rich, and really wants me to do it.
>Offers me $100 an hour 3 days a week
>Can now afford a new brand dress literally every week.
>mfw

[Anonymous No.8158215]

>>8158184
Holy shit. I came to this thread to talk about tutoring too, but I make nowhere near that.

I get $15 an hour to tutor an 11-year-old in math and English and starting this week I'm getting $25 an hour to tutor a seven-year-old. I was surprised anyone would want tuition for someone that young, and pay that much for it, but apparently she's behind in school because she had some time out and the parents want her to catch up before she falls further behind (also are rich). Hopefully it should be an easy job, but I'm a little worried she's behind because of a deeper problem, like dyslexia, that I don't have the training to spot. Both jobs are one hour a week, but the 11-year-old's parents have mentioned moving up to two hours without giving me a concrete date they're going to start that.

I'm a student, but after essentials like groceries and rent and a tiny bit of social money, I have $25 a week left over for frivolous shit, which usually all goes on lolita.

It's $65/week for lolita all told, which adds up to a largish Taobao order every couple of months. I reckon in a year I'll have got a good enough basic wardrobe down to start buying branded goods, which at the moment I only do for small things or on auctions.

[Anonymous No.8158217]

>>8158184
>$100 an hour for secretary work
I think your boss wants to fuck you

[Anonymous No.8158218]

>>8158141
Thanks for the link anon, this'd be a really good game for a meet.

[Anonymous No.8158231]

>>8158215

That's a good rate for tutoring bro. Like a I said the $$ my boss is paying me is because he really wants it to be me (I have a degree in teaching and he knows me) and he's rich so he's willing to pay a premium to get what he wants. I think he feels guilty about the job being so far from my house so that's probably part of it too.

Sounds like you've got a good plan for wardrobe building. Mturk ain't a bad way to make a couple extra bucks either. You can make like $25 a week doing that.

[Anonymous No.8158234]

>>8158141
ilu anon

[Clockwork Loyalty !!AeVd1sjJ70p No.8158238]

>>8158217
You've been watching too much porn.

From the sounds of it, he sounds like old money.

[Anonymous No.8158242]

>>8158234

[Anonymous No.8158255]

>>8158231
I don't live in the US so my rate's actually not that high for tutoring, although it's twice what I'd get in any other job. Adult tutors where I am get $30-45 an hour, especially if they do tutoring for entrance exams to good high schools. My parents have both tutored in the past (one was a qualified teacher and did it on the side, one was just a teaching assistant but had a good degree) and they got at least $30 apart from when they were first starting out.

I tried Mturk for a while (admittedly, it was a few years ago) and didn't make enough off it. I was thinking of using some of the more reputable survey sites. At the moment my extra money comes from relatives at Christmas/birthdays (or the money saved by allowing relatives to buy me stuff like a bicycle as a present that I'd otherwise have to pay for myself), and some incidental work doing guided tours around the university. I've applied for a few jobs but most things seem to be either zero-hour contracts that give me barely any shifts (the McJob I had in high school was like this - gave me 8-16 hours for the first couple of weeks and then dropped me down to 4 for the rest of the time I worked there), or minimum-16-hours-a-week jobs that are hard to juggle with the high number of contact hours my course has.

[Anonymous No.8158256]

>>8158238

He's head of engineering at a big fancy company (So actually new money). He cares about his kids a lot, he's got the money to back it up, and he decided that I'm the right person for the job. So yeah, there's no funny business going on here lol.

[Anonymous No.8158259]

>>8158238
Some people are just rich and will offer stupid money, especially if it's for someone they already know and trust, or if they're desperate. A friend of mine's older brother tutored A-level students while he was doing a biochemistry degree and close to exam times some parents were giving him 12 hours a week at £40 an hour. It's crazy money for the student tutor but it's kind of depressing that kids of rich parents get such an advantage in their exams, but that's the way of the world I guess.

[Anonymous No.8158276]

I have a genuine shopping addiction. My life is so empty and shit but shopping makes me feel so much better.
It's gotten so bad my mother has taken over my finances for me temporarily until I sort myself out. I'm a grown woman and this is so depressing

[Anonymous No.8158281]

My bank has recently put an option online where it automatically sorts my finances.

In the past two months, nearly half of my budget has gone to lolita. Seriously.

I was about to buy a jsk and seeing that stopped me.

Fuck my life. But bless my bank.

[Anonymous No.8158303]

>>8158281
I spend all my disposable income on lolita and don't really regret it.

But I'm a poorfag student who wouldn't be able to save up enough for anything sensible anyway, and I reduce the guilt I feel over how much I spend on lolita by comparing how little I spend on other things to my peers. A lot of students I know who complain about having no money and gasp at the idea of me buying $150 dresses occasionally spend $40-50 a week on takeaways and alcohol, neither of which I buy. If I get a proper job when I graduate, I'll budget savings for a car or deposit on a house or similar.

[Anonymous No.8158310]

>>8158141
Thanks for sharing...had no idea it existed until this thread happened.

[Anonymous No.8158371]

Lately I've been trying to be smarter about my money. I started using mint.com a few months ago to track my spending. What I actually spend my most money on is getting take-out multiple times a week! So I'm learning how to be a better cook and to budget my groceries, so I can put that money into savings instead of blowing it on lolita. I've also tried to be strict with my purchases by buying only off my wishlist. However, I splurged on 4 items today. Old habits die hard!

[Anonymous No.8158396]

>>8158217
she's getting $100/hr for tutoring. rich people pay a lot to for tutoring, for whatever reasons. sounds like she has a good job though for sure

[Anonymous No.8158400]

>>8158371
i was thinking about starting to use mint.com soon too. do you feel like it's working for you, anon?

[Anonymous No.8158410]

>>8158085
I dunno whether it's a budgeting tip anyone would be interested in, but I try to keep the cost of essentials down so I have more money for luxuries.

Case in point: I live off £15/week for food. I got into this habit when I was a student and still do it even though I have a job now. I could go lower, and in practice I often have some money left over, but I try to get my 5-a-day and it's boring just eating really cheap veg like carrots all the time. I suppose it kind of works for calorie control too. I work out how many portions of fruit and veg and protein I need a week, and only buy that much. Carbohydrates are a slightly different issue because most things like rice and pasta keep for ages and are cheaper bought in bulk, so I set £5 of that £15 a week aside for restocking my storecupboard of items like pasta as well as items like oils, spices, tea and jam.

At 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, I need 35 portions a week. The UK's portioning advice is a little arbirtary, especially when you consider that the 80g arbitrary portion size was only arrived at by dividing the 400g of veg the WHO recommends people eat a day into a round number they thought would be easy for people to remember, but I find it makes a good rough guide to what I could/should eat in a week. Before I started adding it up like this I'd often either find food going off in the fridge or run out before the end of the week. I buy as much veg as I can for a fiver, make sure it adds up to at least 35x80g=2.8kg, and avoid buying more than 7 portions of something at once unless it's something that will keep frozen.

Same thing with protein, trying to get enough for 14 meals and some snacks for a fiver (this one's a little trickier, I used a table of the protein content of different foods compared to my RDA when I started out. Also vegetables contain protein and if you're eating 400g a day of them that'll be 6g-ish).

Feels weird being so stingy, but only in order to facilitate buying crap.

[Anonymous No.8158412]

>>8158371
I'm jelly of USanons with mint.com, I wish there was something that worked as well as mint for the UK. I do my budgets by spreadsheet.

[Anonymous No.8158448]

>>8158400
Not that anon, but I've been using mint for a couple years. I'm Canadian, so it doesn't have quite the same features, but I love it so much. I used my past purchasing history to create budgets for a whole bunch of categories and update them periodically to match my spending habits. It takes a while to have Mint start sorting all your transactions where you want them automatically, but it's super quick to retag them and split them and otherwise move them around.

Using Mint was the thing that made me truly realize how much money I was spending on frivolous stuff like lunches and coffee.

It's also great for tracking loans, retirement savings, credit debt and all your regular bank accounts. The mobile app is also good and I've only had good experiences with their customer support when things aren't working properly. It's free, so you should give it a shot.

As for my shopping habits. I went nuts last year on a six week trip including three weeks in Japan and racked up a couple thousand in credit debt. I'm paying it off quickly and saving for another Japan (shopping and vacation) trip at Christmas.

[Anonymous No.8158688]

>>8158396
>for whatever reasons.
It's his son. Rich people know that having some brain can be useful.

[Anonymous No.8158723]

>playing a game
>oh no I shouldn't spend that dosh I could save up and get this blah blah blah

>real life
>yeah I only have 80 bucks in my account and rent is coming soon but I NEED THOSE LOLI SOCKS

>knowing this is true even though my mom's shopping addiction ripped my family apart
>my dad made 120k a year and she managed to spend it all
>insisted I not get surgery that my doc was pushing for 'because we don't have the money'
>two days later bought an ipad
>+ a million other stories

I refuse to become my mother. I swear to you, /cgl/, this addiction stops now.

[Anonymous No.8158762]

>>8158723
Good on you.

[Anonymous No.8158835]

I don't have any specific tips, I simply always stay aware of what my expenses are. An average month is like this:

Car insurance and credit card bill is due the first week of the month. Have $135 ready.

Auto loan and electric bill is due next week. Have $160 ready.

Phone and and internet bill is due week after that. Have $75 ready.

Rent is due at the end of the month. Have $350 ready.

I make to sure to never overspend before a bill is due and plan around may paychecks accordingly.

[Anonymous No.8159333]

I'm pretty bad at budgeting, and my spending fluctuates throughout the year. Some months I'll have a ton of extra money leftover, some months I'll use up my entire paycheck.

>pay rent, utilities, car payment, insurance, bills, important stuff are paid first
My payments are split into two. First week is rent, utilities, and bills. The third week are credit cards, bills, and so forth.
>$100/week goes into my savings
>$100/week goes into lolita shopping sprees
>whatever money I have left by the end of the month goes to lolita or other hobbies (cosplay, music, video games)

[Anonymous No.8159400]

I want to stop buying bodyline and start investing in brand.
What are good ways to get second hand brand? I know lace market but I've heard and read some bad stories about it.

Also, what taobao brands do you recomend? I'm into gothic and simple prints.

[Anonymous No.8159466]

>>8158412
http://www.youneedabudget.com/

[Anonymous No.8159951]

>>8159400
Lacemarket is good, EGL comm sales is okay, the Facebook sales are popular but their feedback system is weak so you're more likely to get scammed on there than on the other two sites. You can get cheap deals from Yahoo! Japan Auctions and Mbok but it's not as cheap as it seems once you factor in shopping service fees. Closet Child is more expensive than auctions but doesn't require a SS.

As for Taobao brands, lrn2research. There's a long list on Hello Lace and another long list in lolita-tips' "Useful Links" section. For gothic and simple embroideries, Surface Spell are great.

>>8159466
I tried that and just felt like it was like a budget spreadsheet for people that have no idea how to use Excel formulas. I didn't stick with it long-term. I might give it another go though now they've released an app for the OS I have on my phone.

[Anonymous No.8159965]

>>8158410
You don't live with your bf do you?

[Anonymous No.8159975]

>>8159965
Nope, I live alone. I did this while I was in a shared house as well, but it involved some fridge wars.

[Anonymous No.8159987]

>>8159975
Its a really great way to cut costs but wouldn't work for a couple

[Anonymous No.8160005]

>be me, student
>living with parents because city's too expensive and I can't afford to live on my own
>(parents actually asked me to continue to live at home bc it's cheaper for them and they didn't want me to go in debts)
>have part time job, ~350€/month (sometimes a bit more more, sometimes less depending on the hours)
>spend every cent on Lolita, make up, food, and other frivolities

I'm failing University, I lost contact with many of my friends due to them moving or me being just a shitty friend, I barely talk to anyone at Uni or in general aside from my family (no way to avoid that since I live at home), I don't have a boyfriend, I don't know what to do with my future and every single aspect of my future sounds shitty anyway. I'm absolutley not excited for anything.

So Lolita is one of the very last things I actually enjoy. Meet ups are about the only time I actually go out and meet people. I'm failing in social life and Uni so spending the money I earned by myself is the only time I feel vaguely "adult" and like I accomplished something.

[Anonymous No.8160026]

>>8159987
Theoretically you can go even cheaper for a couple, because of perishable foods that are cheaper in bulk (I know that during lean times my mum spent ~£45-50/week on groceries for our family of four, and that if we were all spending what I was spending it would have been £60), but if you've got someone that overeats it doesn't work, although it kind of can if they're only gorging themselves on extra helpings of cheapo 20p/500g spaghetti. Basic principles like getting value stuff, having a budget, going to a couple of different supermarkets so you can buy certain items where they're cheaper, and being careful not to buy too many perishables that then go off before you can eat them, and not buying takeaways except as luxuries, still apply though, but you're probably already doing those.

Since I live alone at the moment I end up doing things like buying bigger bottles of milk, then freezing most of it because otherwise it goes off before I can use it up, which a couple or family can avoid.

[Anonymous No.8160048]

>>8160005

You should consider getting your shit together and see if that helps.

I'm not trying to be cruel, but it's obvious you feel like crap, and the reason you feel like crap is because you have nothing fulfilling in your life. And no, Lolita does not count as fulfilling. Either drop out of uni, and get a full time job, or start passing your classes.

Good luck anon.

[Anonymous No.8160061]

>>8160048
Yeah, I know that too. You are absolutley right, yet I just cannot bring myself to do anything. I just don't know what would be fulfilling to my life. Every option seems like boring, wortless crap. I don't want to do *anything*. Not that I had the energy or motivation to do more than sit on my bed all day and bitch around on the internet anyway.

That's probably why I cling to spending too much money on Lolita. It's the only thing that makes me somewhat happy and spending my own hard earned money is the only accomplishment I ever feel.

M-maybe I should take it to the feels thread but I was hoping there might be people with similar experiences...

[Anonymous No.8160072]

>>8160026
Having spent most of my time cooking for myself, I would say that in my own experience, it doesn't really work for a couple because one can't buy in bulk for a lot of things because two people still isn't enough. My own personal problem with groceries is buying ripe fruit - I find it's my biggest expense. I spend about £10 a week on groceries, then maybe £10 - £15 on fruit.

Although, I agree with milk. I can't finish a 1/2 pint but with two people it's no problem.

[Anonymous No.8160078]

>>8160061
I'm in a similar boat anon. I'm retaking a class I dropped last year because I didn't know how to time manage. If I fuck up again, I'll definitely fail and I'm scared I won't be able to balance my social outings on the weekends.

I also overspent on auctions because I underestimated the fees and shipping and then I had to buy my textbook subscription again so I'm in debt. I'm already selling my dream dress and a few other items but I'm scared it won't sell on time.

I think my situation is a bit better since I haven't hit rock bottom and I still have friends and a bf but at the same time, they're part of my distractions and I need to get some time to myself to get ahead and get my finances balanced again. What sucks is I don't have a job with steady income, I help out with family business so its flexible with hours but I rarely get paid.

[Anonymous No.8160087]

>>8160061

So if lolita is the only thing you like, what are you doing in your life to make that a priority? Pursuing something you like will help dig you out of this hole. You'll feel like you're doing something, you'll make friends doing it, and likely discover something else more fulfilling along the way. Its totally fine to make money and leisure/hobbies your life's priority. Instead of doing that, you're making a pittance at work, and failing out of university. Figure out what you want and then decide what the steps are to getting it.

Stop being a lazy fuck anon.

[Anonymous No.8160095]

>>8160072
Yeah, personally I virtually never buy fruit except as a treat or a luxury. I just buy vegetables. Most fruit (apart from things that are technically fruit but treated as vegetables, like tomatoes) is way too expensive for me, especially since I don't really like apples and bananas, which are the cheapest. They also come in multipacks I struggle to finish before they go off. When I do buy fruit I always want things like melons and pomegranate and lychees that cost a lot. Now I've got my own place I've got a blackcurrant bush on the balcony, because I used to have one at home and we got loads off it and they freeze well, but I won't find out whether that's been a success until this summer. The other thing I do is have pots of herbs instead of buying them, because I really like using them in cooking and they make cheap ingredients taste so much better, but buying packets of fresh herbs is really expensive. I have a chilli plant as well, which saves me money in the summer but doesn't really produce anything during the rest of the yar. I used to diligently grow stuff in university too, which made for a memorable train journey when my parents couldn't pick me up and I had to take the windowbox with me on several hours of trains.

The other thing I have problems with at the moment is cheese and yoghurt, which have their texture ruined by freezing but I can't eat a lot of because I'm lactose intolerant. Properly wrapped, hard cheese will keep for a few weeks but yoghurt only lasts a week and it's cheapest near me in litre tubs. I used to split it with my flatmate but now I live alone I end up having to buy more expensive brands that come in smaller sizes. With cheese, I sometimes solve the problem by getting expensive cheeses from the cheese counter, but in the small amounts I require rather than in the large amounts that cost me the same price but I can't eat before they go off.

[Anonymous No.8160118]

>>8158281
Basically me. I now have a totally different living situation but I'm glad I still have all my brand instead of vague souvenirs of restaurants and clubbing ... So I think it might have been a great thing actually. (Also I saved up a lot on the side which helped me get a new flat and furnish it with real furnitures and kitchenware)

>>8158303
Same. One of my friend would poke fun at me because I'd spend 160€ on a skirt but bitch ate for 10€ everyday for lunch while I'd cook beforehand and it'd be probably like 2€ or less.

[Anonymous No.8160126]

>>8160061
It sounds like therapy might be a good option for you, anon.

[Anonymous No.8160132]

>>8160126
Was thinking this.

[Anonymous No.8160143]

>>8160095
Not sure if this will help, but sometimes blending yoghurt can recover the texture. It does of course require a blender, though.

[Anonymous No.8160168]

>22, student
>parents fill up bank account whenever I take money out (they're not rich but not poor either)
>start spending more every month
>spend 900 on fashion in january
>promise self not to spend anything for 3 months
>spend 600 on fashion in february

a-at least it's less...

>promise not to spend in march
>2 meets in march, stress about coords not being good enough
>march 4th
>buy tights
>buy shoes
>prepare taobao order full of blouses and accessories
>mfw

[Anonymous No.8160181]

>>8160005
That sounds like me a couple of years ago.

My suggestion to you would be to skip uni and start getting into job training. University these days is more about networking and even if you get a degree in the end your career options will remain uncertain or very limited with no solid network behind you. You are supposed to build this network at uni or at internships, but if you don't even talk to anyone there, I'd seriously start to reconsider if that's the right path to go. I'd also strongly advise saving that money from your part time job, and if you got enough savings for a small room or flatshare, I'd consider moving out of your parents. It will help you meeting new people and becoming more indepent.

[Anonymous No.8160207]

>>8160181

I'm really scared to do that because I'm afraid that without a degree I'll never get anywhere in life. And I WANT that degree, it's just my stupid lazy ass brain that prevents me from being productive.

Besides, if I cannot even get a liberal arts degree and talk to the people at Uni how will I ever manage to hold or even get a job and do networking? Not to mention I have zero clue on what I want to do. As said, every opportunity in my life just looks like the same boring uninteresting shit. All I want to do is sleep and never wake up so I never have to deal with real life or any responsibilities again.

[Anonymous No.8160208]

>>8160168
Yikes, anon. This is all your parents' money? They don't question your spending at all?

[Anonymous No.8160227]

>>8160168
Make a budget and stick to it. Unless your parents are rich, you're being frivolous with their money that they could use for retirement, or to enjoy themselves. It's ok to spend a little bit on yourself but that much sounds pretty selfish. You seem to feel pretty guilty about it. You could always ask them to only give you a set amount each month.

[Anonymous No.8160239]

>>8160207
Sounds like you should speak to a therapist. Your campus probably has staff. Try it out. It may not work out with the first person, but keep trying different people.

Everyone has issues with direction and motivation at some point.

[Anonymous No.8160290]

>>8160208
My mom thinks I don't spend much, somehow. (then again, she has ~20 cats and spends a lot on them, and hundreds on lottery per week)

>>8160227
I think technically they're retired already (stopped working after a bad car accident ~14 ys ago), but I hadn't even thought of that (I'll keep it in mind from now on). My problem's that I don't have anything else that boosts my mood. I keep telling my doctor that I have no motivation/energy to do anything and it makes me more depressed (=more shopping), but she hasn't suggested a different medicine yet (>adderall pls).

[Anonymous No.8161398]

>>8158400
Mint is absolutely amazing.
I'm Diagnosed as Bulimic, non-purging subtype. I tend to go months at a time binging, then months at a time fasting.

Using mint helps me pic up on when I'm hitting a binging phase, and just how badly it's hindering my finances because it sorts it all in such an easy to access way.

It also made me realized that I save mad money when I'm in a fasting phase, and spend 3x that when I'm in a binging phase. I knew I spent a lot on food, but until I got Mint, I didn't realize I was spending almost $1800 a month on binge food alone. This is money that is supposed to be going to books, which I would just not get so I could continue binging. It really slapped me in the face and got me back to working through my issues and taking my medicine so that I can control my finances better.

tl;dr: get it, it's pretty great if you have a shopping problem, especially food (which can get out of hand if you don't realize just HOW much all that take out and starbucks costs by the end of the month)

[Anonymous No.8161402]

>>8158723
Same here, anon. My mother's a hoarder with a shopping addiction who self medicated with that instead of getting therapy for her depression and complex ptsd. It really messed our family up, and I also start to freak out once I realize I'm impulse buying because I'm so afraid to end up like my mother.

Even now, I cannot stand clutter of any kind. So why the fuck do I waste all my money on frilly dresses?

[Anonymous No.8161409]

>>8160290
>adderall pls
Adderall has made me even more depressed in the long run.

[Anonymous No.8161503]

Pottery, sewing, and drawing give me meaning and make me happy. I enjoy creating. I purchase from time to time, but I've made a rule not to go over $100 for a dress which has helped me not to get too invested, anything higher than that and I start to feel guilty. Even still I feel ridiculous after a while paying so much for dumb dresses, I've got plenty of money, but it's not a means to happiness. Being focused and in a flow, accomplishing something gives you happiness. Enjoying a process and not being concerned with the outcome, but simply enjoying the journey is happiness. Instead of buying a dress, put it towards a weekend class and learn a new skill, do something to feel good, invest in yourself.

[Anonymous No.8161524]

I'm a college student, and I usually get refund checks that go towards my hobbies. My mom doesn't care because I work part-time and I only treat myself once a month.

I'm just afraid my spending habits will get out of hand once I move into my apartment in fall. I keep track of EVERYTHING I buy, and I'm obsessed with prices and yet I still end up impulse buying things because I'm like "Eh I have the money, and I can make that back soonish."

It's probably because I grew up poor I feel shitty for buying so many 300 dollar dresses, I've even cut back on my cons and seeing friends for lolita.

[Anonymous No.8162634]

>>8161524
I don't think it's cause you were poor, even upper middle would see buying $300 on a consistent basis as just straight up frivolous, it's a lot of money that could be going towards something more important. It's a crazy amount of money to simply spend on clothes, especially for someone in college. If you had a lot of disposable income I'd say fine, do whatever, but you're in college, at the beginning of your life, where saving up money makes a huge difference in quality of life, don't blow it all on dresses.

[Anonymous No.8164945]

>>8158723
use a budgeting service. if you really can't control yourself, seek out a therapist. it will help. if you have the desire to prevent it from happening, you can do it

[Anonymous No.8164947]

>>8159400
use closet child if you want it to be easy, you can just order directly from their website and don't need a shopping service. otherwise, if you get a shopping service, use m-bok and yahoo!japan auctions. you get some awesome shit for very little money, especially now with the yen low

[Anonymous No.8164950]

>>8160061
get a therapist, anon. you sound like you're in a period of chemical depression

[Anonymous No.8164955]

>>8160143
i'll second this. and add that frozen fruit is cheap and you could just use the frozen yogurt to make smoothies. freeze it in ice cube trays instead of in the tub

[Anonymous No.8166488]

This month, I've spent $110 on Lacemarket, $375 on Taobao and $120 on Bodyline (just for shoes). It feels like a huge amount for me but it's partly done with savings and I know it's less than some other people spend.

[Anonymous No.8166526]

>8160061

I'd suggest that you try volunteering for a charity or such. You don't have to commit a huge amount of time every week, but it's something that will get you out of the house and give you a sense of contributing to the world. Won't cost anything but the time & transit costs to get there and back, and there's a definite satisfaction in helping out people who are in a tough spot.

I mean, therapy might help too, but volunteering is also very cheap...

[Anonymous No.8166552]

>>8166526
Oh, and sometimes it won't even cost you transit because if you keep the tickets or receipts some charities will refund you the money.

Plus I've found some awesome accessories and jewellery for lolita while getting first pick of thrift store donations.

[Anonymous No.8167708]

>>8158085
Apart from /cgl/ things, I spend most of my money on vidya and comics.
I shell out around 40 bucks for these per month.

For clothes, I don't have a set budget. Whenever I see something nice, I check if I'd still have enough money for it left after having paid the bills and food. If I do, then I buy it, if not, I'll buy it after the next pay check comes in and spend less on other expenses in return.

>tfw if everything goes well, university fees will go down 100 bucks next semester and I'll become rich

[Anonymous No.8167716]

>>8158835
Jesus, anon, apart from the rent, that's expensive as fuck.

>no car insurance or credit card for me
>electric bill, gas, water is 50€
>internet bill is 15€

[Anonymous No.8167748]

>>8167716
Yeah well
At least we don't have costums!

>Mfw living in America is so expensive

[Anonymous No.8167751]

Seeing these posts helps me remember to budget even though I don't need to at the moment. I just got a new job that pays enough for a new brand dress per week, plus I have no expenses of my own. It's tempting to spend it all, but I'd like to rebuild my savings account and help my mom with her bills that she's racked up taking care of me and herself.

[Anonymous No.8167778]

>>8158085
I'm spending a lot too much on lolita when what I really need is a good haircut and new hair color and some normie clothes I can wear to my day job.
I've installed a budgeting app last month and it's only making me feel guilty about my lolita spending.. so I'm also getting the haircut next week... and the normie clothes at the beginning of next month

[Anonymous No.8167787]

>>8167748
>thank god for cheap on-campus apartments
Most of the apartments meant for students in my college town are around ~300 with utilities (water, electric, heating, etc), and meant to be shared with two or three people.

[Anonymous No.8167796]

>had credit card since 17
>make good credit history
>initial $250 limit is now $1800
And that's my secret, well, for the places who can accept my specific card. Unfortunately most overseas don't accept Discover...

[Anonymous No.8167803]

>>8167796
Oh and I have $2000 limit with Paypal credit too, but that's essentially worthless outside of ebay. You can't use it with etsy or anything.
What can I say? I'm a poor grad student with a shitty minimum wage part time job.
Sage for recommending credit usage and not some grassroots way to materialize money.

[Anonymous No.8167809]

>>8160168
>parents fill your bank account with $1500 in two months
>implying they're not rich
Anon....
My parents chastise me if I ask them to send $50 for groceries and they're "middle class" Americans. If your parents aren't rich or poor, then your happiness must be at least a pretty damn high priority for them to be sending you over $1k in dosh. Make sure you take care of them in old age.

[Anonymous No.8168049]

The limit on my credit card just went up 4x what it originally was... And I had just told myself a couple days ago I was going to stop buying things I don't need..
The temptation to buy some cute clothes or a figure or something is so bad right now ;;

[Anonymous No.8168064]

>>8167796
>>8168049

>be Eurofag
>Credit card is only given to people with stable jobs/income
>it's hard to get a higher limit
>we also pay mostly with cash and not (credit) cards

The American system seems so fascinating to me. ...

[Anonymous No.8168069]

>>8168064
it's similar in Canada, but a lot of places will give student cards with a 500$-1000$ limit which is how you build enough credit to get a real card.

[Anonymous No.8168097]

>>8168049
Anon, you can set your credit limit to be lower than what you're allowed. I set my credit limit to $1000 even though I could have it set much higher so I don't go nuts and over spend. I also always pay off my credit card before it incurs any interest.

[Anonymous No.8168135]

>>8168064
I'm a Eurofag too but we have separate services like Klarna which let you pay for things in monthly fees. I like our system better tbh, we're not mad with consumerism just yet

[Anonymous No.8168156]

>>8168064
Well, I also am an eurofag and have a credit card since I'm 16 (normal VISA one), with a really acceptable limit I chose myself and can change if I need to. Also, where I live, you can pay with credit cart barely everywhere (just not at flea market, for example) if you buy anything that cost more than a certain amount, like 10 or 15€.