Ask Lemmy

here's my Thursday:

• check cashing place
• cigarettes
• alcohol
• scratch off tickets

Don't see this one yet, but learn how to invest with small amounts. It first.... Do these things:

First cut loving expenses where you can, such as: use less power, eat more rice and beans, don't buy meat, take mass transit, or walk if possible.

Next ensure you stay healthy, always brush and floss, do basic exercise. Keep it simple to stuff you don't need to buy, do pushups, situps, lunges, go jogging.

Then from the cost cutting, put some money into a savings account. Try to get to at least a month or two of living expenses.

Once you're there (months of living expenses) open a free retail trading account such as E-Trade, or Robinhood. Buy what you can of the big ETF's such as VTI, VOO, SPY, SPYG etc... do this every month and don't get discouraged when it goes down. After a year you'll start to see dividends payout (literally) they will be small at first. Never sell it, always let the dividend reinvest. After 2 years you'll start to see a noticeable return on investment. After three it gets better yet.... There is a YouTube channel called Chris invests that is really good for this kind of thing. I highly highly recommend it.

I save a ton with my garden and chickens. If you got just a little land. I live in a small town but in the middle of it, but I got my yard used to its maximum potential. You would be surprised what you can fit if you do it right. You can go vertical if you need too. Where you save a so much money isn’t that “oh well, now I don’t have to buy a squash! I saved 3 dollars “ but if you let it dictate your meals it’s what you eat and then you spend 0 dollars on supper. I ate a lot of squash and bok Choy and rice and home baked bread this late summer and it was great every meal. Probably saved nearly $20,000 on groceries those two months. Give or take. (Don’t try squash if you don’t have the room. They are delicious but will straight up take over a given area with huge beautiful leaves and huge wonderful yellow flowers all summer)

This kiosk at my work doesn't have anyone working on it. There's cameras but I doubt anybody checks those. I don't steal much, but I make sure to grab an extra item to buy to make it more convincing.

If you have money going out per month, use Klarna (or similar services) for Pay in 3 set ups for better goods that may cost a little bit too much for paying all at once.

Whilst there are bargains to be had, many cheaper appliances may fail or reduce in quality so quick; however, the 'good' things are often a fair bit out of people's price ranges.
I have used Klarna for various things around the house, also good shoes, on the same day per month that I've received money. They've all lasted a very long time and much better than cheaper alternatives, and they're fully paid off in three months.

There is no interest taken, and can come in handy. I have gotten a washing machine and big fridge/freezer using no interest installment plans, and over time they've saved me even more money by being more energy efficient than the cheaper ones.