money-saving tips for the young and struggling

It can be tough when you're just starting out. Here, experts and ordinary folks offer creative survival strategies and tips for eating, going out and living well when money is tight.
By Liz Pulliam Weston

Take heart, college graduate. A lot of people who are prosperous now, started out just like you - broke and looking for ways to save a few bucks. It may seem hard to believe, but that banker in the sharp suit once recycled cans for beer money. The consultant who now vacations in Europe furnished his first home with yard-sale finds. And noodles-in-a-cup have played a role in more than a few 20-somethings' budgets. So if your bank balance is near zero and your next paycheck seems like a mirage shimmering on the far horizon, here are some tips from folks who have been there and lived to tell the tale:

Cheap Eats. You probably already know that a $3-a-day latte habit will cost you more than $750 in a work year, and bringing lunches from home a couple times a week can save you more than $500.
You’ll need to find other ways to cut costs, however, or you can easily spend as much on food as you do on rent. Some ideas:

1. Co-op your dinners. Alisha Dixon, a legislative assistant in Alexandria, Va., gets together with friends who take turns cooking for the gang once a week. “It is almost as cheap to cook for four as it is for one,” Dixon said, “and you get a free meal all the other times.”
2. Watch the grocery ads. You don’t have to clip coupons to save money on food, as long as you notice what grocery stores are touting on the front page of their sale flyers each week.
3. Freeze some assets. Any time you cook, make twice as much as you’ll eat and store the leftovers in your freezer. Label the goodies and include the date, so you won’t have to deal with ice-covered mysteries later.
4. Have an emergency stash. When I worked as a daily news reporter, I stowed instant soup, noodles-in-a-cup, peanuts and cocoa mix under my desk for the many days I forgot to pack a lunch (or was too busy with deadlines to even run to the cafeteria).
5. Sponge off your parents. Credit-card expert Robert McKinley remembers that in the early years of his marriage, he and his wife never ate out “except when our parents were paying.” While your financial dependency on your parents should be pretty much over by this point, it makes sense to limit fancy restaurant meals to special occasions - and to let your folks pay if they insist.

Cheap Dates. Dinner and a movie may be all right for a first date, but the routine gets old - and expensive - fairly quickly. Some alternatives:

1. Stay on campus. Universities have everything from movie revivals to music recitals, and most are cheap, if not free. The campus Web site has listings.
2. Become a bibliophile. Bookstores usually have plenty of free events such as author signings, poetry readings and lectures. And don't forget the library.
3. Cruise local museums. Most have free or reduced-price days, and some have film series or live entertainment at night.
4. Attend art gallery openings. Get on their mailing lists and you’ll be invited to openings, which usually feature interesting art as well as free wine and cheese. In most cities, galleries will stay open one night a month.
5. Host movie nights. Save the money you’d spend on two movie tickets, soda and popcorn by renting some videos and making your own snacks. You can have a theme, like film noir, or something.
6. Picnic in the park. What could be more romantic than a jug of lemonade, a loaf of bread and thou?
7. Get physical. Hiking and camping are great ways to get to know someone. Other ideas: roller skating, Rollerblading, a trip to the beach or renting a rowboat, kayak or canoe for a couple of hours’ float at a nearby lake.

Cheap Style. Entertaining your friends, furnishing your apartment and updating your wardrobe for adult life can cost a mint - unless you’re smart. Here are some ideas for living cheap with style:

1. Fill the party jar. Banker Stacey Sechrest and her roommate helped pay for parties by regularly carting their empties to a recycling center and stashing the proceeds in a “party jar.” The next time the urge to socialize struck, the money helped pay for supplies, said Sechrest, marketing programs manager for California Federal Bank in San Francisco.
2. Haunt yard sales. You don’t need to go into debt to furnish your apartment when your neighbors are practically giving away their barely-used furniture. A tip: cruise by college campuses just after finals. You’ll be amazed what departing students will toss out, rather than cart home: sofas, refrigerators, you name it. (Kids these days!)
3. Seek out consignment shops. If thrift-store chic doesn’t do it for you anymore, check out the higher-end version: consignment shops in nicer neighborhoods. Chances are you’ll find gently used clothing that’s perfect for an office environment, and you’ll probably see some designer labels as well.

The key to getting through lean times, my consultants said, was to focus on what you have: friends, good times and a bright future. Not having lots of money can seem like a pain now, but you wouldn’t be the first to find yourself growing nostalgic about these days when your fortunes improve.

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