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What are young people doing to save money?

By Dalia Colon, Times Staff Writer
In print: Friday, June 13, 2008

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How hard is this economy hitting young people? We asked teens and 20-somethings in downtown St. Petersburg, "What are you doing to save money?" Then we got money-saving expert Mary Hunt to weigh in on their attempts to go frugal. Hunt is "editor-in-cheap" of Debt-Proof Living, a Paramount, Calif. newsletter that's all about living within your means. Find more of her advice at DebtProofLiving.com.

Michael Barker, 16: "My parents' restaurant — we eat there, like, seriously, four times a week. For free." Hunt: Eating out is like a gigantic drain on (young people's) income … It adds up. Do the math. It's unbelievable.

Danielle Tew, 20: "I make my own coffee in the morning. Starbucks is pretty expensive, so I save at least $2 a day on coffee." Hunt: That is awesome. I'd say get a special travel mug … to motivate yourself to keep going.

Anthony Mells, 22: "I just stopped buying a lot of shoes. I just buy a couple of them now. I'm saving at least about $150 a paycheck, every two weeks." Hunt: Parent yourself. Tell yourself you can have these shoes, but you can't have one new pair every week.

Victoria Waskowska, 16: "On the highway we drive 60 and (use) cruise control." Hunt: Now that gas is so expensive, even the smallest effort makes a huge difference.

Kimmi Gerber, 19: "I don't drive around as much, to save gas. I used to go … to Tampa just to hang out there, but now I can't really afford that so I just stay in my general area." Hunt: Once a month, make sure your tires are inflated properly.

Madalyn Smith, 20: "I don't drive around as much, either, 'cause I have a gas hog." Hunt: What's in your trunk? Take out everything but the safety equipment. Everything else is weight that costs fuel to push that back and forth.