What happens to paycheck?

There was this article in Finnish newspaper on how to save money. You can check the article here:  http://www.kauppalehti.fi/omaraha/tuntuuko+palkka+hupenevan+15+vinkkia+saastamiseen/201309507769

Unfortunately the language is in Finnish, so not all of you will understand it. But I will discuss about the subject now. So the article gives 15 tips on how to save money. 

First tip is to pay the Credit Card bill fully right away. This is a good tip, but if you don't have that much money coming in each and every month, it is impossible to do that. I remember at one time, that I pretty much paid the rent and other bills, then transferred rest to my CC and lived from my CC rest of the month. I did this until I had something left on my bank account to use. Usually it was either around christmas when the overpaid taxes were returned or around my birthday. 

Second tip is never buy stuff with installments. With this I do agree. If you do not have much money, and you buy with installments, you will end up paying more and loosing more money. I try not to buy anything with installments. I think I haven't done so ever, but I can be wrong. Basically if I can't afford something now, then I will wait until I can. Credit Card being acceptable payment method, as usually airline fares have to be paid by CC. 

Third tip is to pay something for yourself every month. I agree with this one, although if you do not have a big income, most of it will go on bills and living expenses. So might not be possible. At the moment I do save money monthly for the retirement and also I have some money going to my sister's children. I don't have any for my brother's children because they are better off anyway. 

Tip four and five is to always make a list when you go shopping and never go shopping hungry. The list thing I have used quite often, and I always remember to add something sweet to eat as well. Nowadays I just try to have enough food on my fridge and freezer for a week. Well meat I will have to buy at least twice a week, but other stuff only once. I do see the difference between shopping and hungry shopping. But there is a quick fix for that too. Just think that you can't afford to go over budget, or you just won't eat for the rest of the month. This is what I did when I was younger, but I think I will need to take this approach again. 

Sixth and seventh tip is to buy the shop's own brand and plan what you are going to eat for a week. Of course I buy the shop's own brand if it is the cheaper kind. It might not always be, so I think better advice would be to check the price. In Finland they have to have visible the price for one, or per kg, so you can easily check what will be more valuable for you. Here in Canada I have noticed that they do not do that and the packaging is different. So I need to be careful when buying something "cheaper" as it might actually be more expensive. Planning what to eat for a week is quite easy, as I live by myself. So if I cook something, it usually carries me over few days. I have macaroni, rice and potatoes that I can use to do the basics. I would say that cook at home, is better advice and then if you have a family, then you will need to plan what to eat more specifically. 

Eight tip is to use discount codes and take bonuses online. This is such a random tip... Of course someone with little money will do their research and buy where they find the item cheapest. Also they will collect the bonuses where they are available. If you really are in need of money, and you have a bonus card that will give you money back, you will try to buy stuff that will return the money back to you. If you have money and are not that worried about it, maybe then this is a good tip...

The rest of the tips are kind of obvious to me, and this post is getting really long, so I will tell you about them later. I just was so disappointed with the article as I had hoped it would be much better. If you go to any forum and ask there tips on how to save money, they will instantly tell you to to stop ordering magazines and cut what ever netflix type of thing you have going on. These were not mentioned in the list. I'll probably do another post later today, as I am supposed to write my thesis now...