Issues on How to Save

Money is normally earned, spent and earned again. Still I think it should be earned and saved until you buy your condo, property or whatever it takes to be able to break into the money market by having some capital. Paying rent forever won't have you save easily; there your hard earned cash is going down a hole, never to return.

One realizes the pressures are high when you are asked to put thousands aside for. Since living on the plateau, a trendy area of the city, I have become aware of the increase of property values from 60 to 250 thousand over a space of 8 years.

Then I was reminded of the exorbitant costs for equivalent property in the eternal city, Rome and how people would spend their entire lives just to afford a concrete box. Here paying yearly taxes was equivalent to paying almost my entire rent. Here are some tips on saving.

1. Learning priorities in spending helps to defray costs. The fact that I have both a visa card to pay up as well as a line of credit would mean that it would best to concentrate on paying back the higher interest amount and concentrate on more on the loan. Credit cards are a scourge anyway, so one issue to work on when saving is learning how not to depend on credit where the individual might depend on paying a minimum and forget that he should pay up for his purchase before interest is added to his account.
2. Students sharing a living space help to overcome the cost of an expensive apartment. It also helps to cover common costs such as heating, telephone bills and electricity. In Italy I had to worry about paying a tax for garbage removal, which was included in the rent. One could always ask if the rent includes some hidden costs that the tenant can avoid.
3. I always try to delay the payment of my rent to later during a paid week so that I can benefit from the fact of having more money in my account. I would not recommend this if one has a strict landlord who wants his rent the first of the month but since I am in a slumlord situation and am living in a complex where there is always something in need of repair then I took it upon myself to pay when it is more convenient for me.
4. Subletting is ideal if you are thinking of travelling and want to have someone physically in the apartment to make sure the plants are watered and the lights turned on and off plus collect rent. One should sign an agreement so that you are covered during the time you are absent.
5. Going away to teach in a foreign environment where living expenses are lower and coming back with a wad of money to pay back debts is a means of saving. This advice is good for students and adults who like the bohemian style of living. It helps if you have a little adventure in your blood.
6. A registered retirement plan was out years ago for people who knew how to save their money and it meant your interest would grow so that you could cash in and enjoy the comfort of a nest egg. The catch of course was that you were not allowed to touch your money otherwise you could not collect that interest.
7. If you already have money then buy property, an uncle suggested to me years ago. You can never go wrong with this. This day and age property usually goes up in value, so it is a great hedge on inflation.