Making Money vs Saving Money

[lorraineb]

Is it more important to make money or save money when trying to make a budget work in your opinion?

[Eagle]

Is it more important to make money or save money when trying to make a budget work in your opinion?

Not sure I totally get the gist of the question but here's my 2 cents...

#1 rule of budgetting IMO: It is important to spend less than you make.

If you spend less than you make you are both making money (investments?)and saving money (emergency fund or e-fund?).

Without a person's income being free of debt (credit card, personal loans, car loans, mortgage) they will not be able to make as much (investments) or save as much (e-fund).

[corn18]

The answer to your question is yes.

I would offer a more interesting question: is it better for saving to cut $1 from my expenses or make an extra $1?

The answer is to cut $1, because that means you get to save the whole dollar. If you make an extra dollar, you only get to save a percentage of it due to taxes. For me, I get to save a whooping $0.62 for every additional dollar I make. That's a really poor return.

Tom

[lorraineb]

The reason I asked was so many people seem to try to do one or the other, but not a combination of the two.

[Tessol36]

In my opinion, when trying to make a budget work, it is more important to save money than make money. On the other hand, one should strive to save and make money at the same time.

Bear in mind that a budget is supposed to keep in you control for a period. For instance, should you grab a bite at the restaurant or go home and rummage in your fridge for something to eat. With a well prepared budget at hand you should be able to prioritize and mange your money.

You must understand how much money you have coming in and how much of it you spend. Then again, spending differs on whether you are spending on essentials or on unnecessary things.

[snafu]

In my experience it is easier to save money than to earn/make more money. When you include expenses like transportation, cost of materials and deductions like tax and employment deductions it's double or triple value. When I add in my preference for simplicity, I'd rather to seek ways to save money, find reductions, or cost avoidance. It's fun to try new ideas or new uses for existing stuff to save money. Earning more adds stress from deadlines and the demands and expectations from the folks paying me.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Is it more important to make money or save money when trying to make a budget work in your opinion?

I'll go with saving money hands down.

If you don't save, then simply put your spending will rise to meeting income every time. It's why lottery winners go broke, etc.

Making money is easy(ier) but it gets you nowhere unless you cut spending. A successful saver can make a mountain out of a tiny salary. And there are a million ways to save.

[kyoko]

If I struggle with budget, I would consider many ways to save money and cut unnecessary expenses, but I will never ignore the possible problem of under earning.

It's really depending on your financial situation, if you make a lot of money but still can't make ends meet because you blow it all out, then you should look all expenses and find the ways to save. But for some people, they are struggling to pay even utilities or food, then, there would be an income problem. There are only so much you can cut. You still have to pay your basic needs.

People in between (majority of us), in my opinion, should still look into both sides and evaluate.
Sometimes we undervalue ourselves and settle for a low pay job (I've done that so many times! And I still have that tendency)

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Cut expenses, but sometimes you just have to make more if you aren't making much.