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fireproof posted 10/30/2013 06:25 AM

I need some outside perspective- I am a saver by nature. Paid my cc bills in full.

Divorce and bills have made that difficult - paying the minimum

I have huge expenses on the way- if things were comfortable what is the average most people save:

1. % of paycheck (not including 401k)
2. Going out $ (how many times per week)
3. Food for a single person (week)

Thank you! Somehow I graduated college made far less and was able to save. Now I am older and it is hard to find room to save and I really need to for the future.

movingforward777 posted 10/30/2013 11:06 AM

What I do when I end up with a balance on the credit card is put them away, pick one to pay down/off, and put any extra money on it until it is paid off while paying the minimum on the other one....then it's the other one's turn...
The secret is to not use them while you pay them down.....

Whalers11 posted 10/30/2013 13:40 PM

I don't save a certain % of my check - I have my paycheck directly deposited into my savings account, and then transfer to my checking what I need to pay the bills plus maybe $100 extra in case I need to hit the ATM for cash.

All of my day-to-day spending I put on my AMEX card, which HAS to be paid in full each month.

I don't go out much, so I don't allot special money for that. I have season tickets for a minor league hockey team, which is 99.9% of the night's out and I pay for the tickets and parking upfront at the beginning of the season (but works out to cost me about $22/game). I may get a pretzel or beer at the game, but that comes out of my "extra" cash transferred with my bill money.

I don't spend a lot on food. I make several small shopping trips a week and buy just what I need for a couple days so I don't let things go bad and have to throw stuff out. I try to take lunch to work with me at least 4 days a week. I probably only spend $30-40/week on food.