Hey girls! longtime

so here is my question for ya all. I am basically at wits ends about how to save up money for FFS in a realistic timeline. I know the obviouse...work hard and save up money..well actually if I did that then that would take years to get the amount needed...any suggestions??? I know that there was a site from..is it terra? or something..its slipped my mind but..yeah there was one

my other idea was college..loans and more loans...hmmmmm

help


Erin

[Updated on: Sun, 25 December 2011 08:05] by Moderator

Teresa wrote on Tue, 09 September 2008 13:25

Erin_kins wrote on Tue, 09 September 2008 10:58 Hey girls! longtime so here is my question for ya all. I am basically at wits ends about how to save up money for FFS in a realistic timeline. I know the obviouse...work hard and save up money..well actually if I did that then that would take years to get the amount needed...any suggestions??? I know that there was a site from..is it terra? or something..its slipped my mind but..yeah there was one my other idea was college..loans and more loans...hmmmmm help Erin It took me five years to get the money for FFS. My life partner and myself bought a really terrible fixer-upper home (When I say terrible - you really have no idea - think of the worst place you've ever seen, then double it). We then spent two years totally refurbishing, repairing, building, and fixing the place, all with our extra money, and all our own labor. I have another friend who managed to get a ton of credit cards with five grand limits. She basically maxed out her credit cards (not a good idea - when the economy faltered, she was laid off and had to declare bankruptcy) And I know two people who mortgaged their homes for the money. Again, probably not the best decision considering the state of the economy - but Gender Angst can drive a person to make not the best of financial choices in order to end the pain and live a 'normal' life. Honestly - I don't know of any fast way to get the cash for this. Like I said, it took me five years. Teresa

Tree!!!
Have we met somewhere before???

Credit Cards?? Scary stuff.....

Ten years ago I had a couple of cards with 40k and some with 10k.......I had over $150k available to me. I used to charge up HUGE amounts paying invoices for products but by years end be able to pay them down. If ONLY I knew then what I know now. I could be a beauty queen!!!!!

I do NOT like credit cards....too much stress and you NEVER can depend on tomorrow's income.

Marry a rich man/woman!

Start a Tele-Ministry

Rob a Bank!

Gamble??

Borrow from relatives!!!

Wait for Ed McMahon.

Take out a million dollar insurance policy on your best friend......ummmmmmmmmm.....never mind.

[Updated on: Wed, 10 September 2008 19:17]

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[Updated on: Thu, 02 October 2008 14:17]

Dharla wrote on Thu, 02 October 2008 16:11

Hi Everyone!

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I have not been able to get this thread out of my mind. In order to stop the internal dialogue I thought I would just write a response. It is not intended to be hurtful or disrespectful. The information is good stuff.....it just makes me feel.....depressed/hopeless. Nobodies fault except my own. I just need to purge.....so without further beating around the bush......here goes:

kara wrote on Thu, 02 October 2008 14:38

HelpPayForMySexChange.com ...actually, just kidding. So, there are a number of options in trying to afford FFS. One, figure out how much you need to save. Two, analyze your current savings, investments, and property. Three, can you liquidate any of it? Four, look at your own budget and finances to see if you can cut things out of your life. When I saved up for and paid for FFS, I basically shut down a lot of extra expenses. I stopped going out to eat, stopped going to movies, had basic cable, had basic cell phone, hardly bought new clothes, etc. Here's the scoop. If you need to raise, let's say, $30,000, how much would you need to put away per day over 3-5 years? The answers: 3 years: $27.38 / day 4 years: $20.53 / day 5 years: $16.43 / day Let's see.....according to my calculations I will be able to get SRS by the time I'm 341! Here are simple ways to help finance that (some of this obviously depends on your current situation):Yes, current situation is the key phrase here.....I HAVE noted THAT...my current situation is.....let's say "critical" Switching to water (especially filtered tap water) instead of soda. Eliminating alcohol. (This one saves big money.) Driving less or carpooling/mass-transit to work. No trips to Starbucks. No cable TV. No cell phone. No movies out. No eating out...taking bag lunches to work. No trips to the candy machine (one of the most evil devices in the entire world). Get a roommate. Eat cheaper food or use coupons. Saving for FFS can depend on how bad you want FFS versus how much you want the other comforts of life. Of course, if you come into this with previous debt, it makes things a lot harder. I do know of one girl that used the new credit card offers to continually shift her debt from credit card to credit card, but with how much credit is being constricted, this is a very very risky way of doing it.

Thank You Kara.....

All good advice....but I must laugh each time I read this. Laugh? Well....saving for FFS? How about just plain old fashioned survival!!!

I have done all of the following...then some. For instance:

Switching to water (especially filtered tap water) instead of soda. Have you priced water filters?????
Eliminating alcohol. (This one saves big money.)Alcohol?? But I need my rubbing alcohol! I used to spend about $200 a month on alcohol....alcohol consumption usually increases snack consumption as well
Driving less or carpooling/mass-transit to work.Less?? I've been out of this town 5 times in the past 13 years. Once to SCC in Atlanta and four times to my therapist...pathetic I tell ya!
No trips to Starbucks.What's Starbucks??
No cable TV.Never have had it....only had a tv half of my life.
No cell phone.Try NO phone at all
No movies out.Titanic was last movie I saw
No eating out...NEVER....except 3 years ago when my best friend started taking me out....felt good....my life/career used to be about dining out.taking bag lunches to work.Been doing for 15 years.
No trips to the candy machine (one of the most evil devices in the entire world).Where do you find those? I haven't seen a candy vending machine since visiting a friend in the hospital.
Get a roommate.But avoid 92 year old roomies that work you to death and consume all your spare time.
Eat cheaper food or use coupons.I never believed the stories about senior citizens eating cat food I can understand it now. The stuff actually smells good!....but it's not cheap anymore. I tried Food Stamps for a year.

Of course.....I know that in most situations, these are great ideas.....IF you have the money to start with. My problem is getting the funds to start with.....NOT switching priorities. I'm sure that most Americans in today's economy are having a tough time. When I was making good money....I would pinch and economize on things where I could to be able to afford my "habits/luxuries"

To the list of things to do for economizing:

NO Pets! Food and Vet Bills can run into hundreds of dollars a year per animal. (I'm screwed)

Second Hand Clothing.....there's some good stuff out there. Not only from Goodwill or Salvation Army. Some of my friends that are the same size have parties.....they swap out clothing.

Dial Up Internet Service IF you have patience.

NO expensive Toys; motorcycles, boats, four wheelers, electronics

Some other great ideas that I have tried...but don't recommend:
Don't pay your personal taxes. Don't insure your car. Don't pay your bills. Don't tithe to your church. Don't see your doctor or therapist for over two years. Go without your prescription glasses. Don't have your car serviced. Go off your hormones for several months. Stop going to hair stylist.

OK....some of this was just a BAD joke/rant......not sure if it has made me feel any better or not.

Take it with a grain of salt and call me in the morning.

I'm sure there are a LOT of gals out there that can relate.

What we need to do is just start a group where we can all get together for )))HUGS((( and suport and share........OH WAIT!!!! We're Here!!!!!!

Love,
Dharla Jo

[Updated on: Tue, 14 October 2008 08:39]