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How I Saved For My New Ride

Posted on 17. Aug, 2009 by Justin in Money Tips

You know what really sucks? Is having a piece of sh#t car. I finally bought a new truck last year. Well, it was actually used but hey it was new to me. It took me a dreadful six long months to save for it, but trust me it was way worth it.

I had a 1989 Chevy S10 Blazer. I bought it when I was 17 and kept it cruising till I was 22. Calling it a piece of sh#t car would be an understatement. If you know something that is worst than a nutty smelly piece of crap, then my hobo friends that is what my Blazer would have been. Most people open their driver door to get inside their vehicle. Well, I had to open my passenger door to get inside of my Blazer. What really sucked was crawling over to the driver side while my long ass legs were getting abused in the process. After starting the car, I would then reach to turn on my radio, but wait I couldn’t because I didn’t have one. There was no heater or air conditioning to rescue me from the wrath which Mother Nature would cause. The worst was when it was raining because my windshield wipers didn’t work. So you know what I had to do, to compensate for my malfunctioning wipers? I had to take two rags and creatively wedge them individually on both of the wipers. One time when I was driving, the busted roof light inside my Blazer caught on fire. Thankfully, I was wearing a heavy duty jacket because I used the sleeve of it to put the fire out. It’s also sad when the mechanic who is working on your vehicle says, “Hey man, you should put this on Pimp My Ride”.

Well hey at least it was better than walking!

So you’re probably asking how I was able to save money in order to buy my new ride. All it took was determination, motivation, and knowing how to organize my priorities. I have learned that the best way to accomplish a goal is to sit down and write a plan out. Writing a plan on how to accomplish a goal which you seek does not take long to do. So for you lazy ass students, you should have no problem in doing it. Your plan does not have to be sophisticated if you don’t want it to be. Although, if you were to make it more sophisticated it would give you a better understanding of how you will accomplish your goal.

MY PLAN: Buying a new (used) ride.

1. Any money which I make, I take 20% of it and put it in my savings account
2. Instead of buying Starbucks coffee, I will make my own coffee.
3. I will only go out once a week to a bar. I will only buy one drink and use my flask for the rest of the night
4. Any chance I get to work more hours I will take it, even if I have a test the next day which I need to study for.
5. Instead of buying food at the college Food court, I will pack a lunch to take with me to school.
6. If I have to go somewhere which is within a couple of blocks from my house, I will walk or ride my bike to save on gas.
7. Only allowed to drink 2 energy drinks a week.

COST THAT I HAVE CHOSEN TO CUT

Estimation of how many Starbucks coffee I drink a month

BEFORE: 24 coffees x $1.68 = $40.32

AFTER: 24 coffees x $.05 per coffee ($4.99 Folgers 11.3oz=90 cups) = $ 1.20

Estimation of how much I spend at bars once a month

BEFORE: 12 nights x $40.00 = $ 480.00

AFTER: 4 nights x $ 4.00 = $ 16.00

Estimation of how much I spend on food on campus a month

BEFORE: 16 lunches x $6.00 = $96.00

AFTER: 16 lunches x $.62 per lunch ($10.00 total for sandwich products) = $ 9.92

Estimation of how much I spend on energy drinks a month:

BEFORE: 16 energy drinks x $3.25 = $52.00

AFTER: 8 energy drinks x $3.25 = $26.00

Total of before costs: $668.32

Total of after costs: $53.12

Total saved per month: $615.20

NOTE: I couldn’t calculate the 20% I saved from the money I made from working or the extras hours I worked. The reason is because both of the amounts would fluctuate on a weekly basis.

END OF SAVING PLAN

Can you believe on how much I saved per month? Now, don’t copy my plan. Everyone is different, so make a plan which fits you the best. IF I DID IT, THAN YOU CAN DO IT!

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Tags: free, money, plan, save