My dad's brain was full of verbal quips, probably from Reader's Digest. He'd feel the need to share them with the family whenever he felt like it. "The early bird gets the worm", was one of his favorites. As I grew up, I'd ask him what the worm got for rising early. He never responded. Another of his favorites was "It's not what you make, it's what you keep", referring to money. It took me a few years to understand that one.
When I got out on my own, I was able to apply many of the lessons I learned about money, as well as gain my own experience through making mistakes. These mistakes are referred to as "stupid tax" by Dave Ramsey. I met my honey along the way, and before we married, we talked about money. We both agreed that it sucks to owe money, and we vowed to get out of debt, and stay out of debt. We focused on this goal right away, and quickly got on top of the expenses, and stayed there.
It's not what you make, it's what you keep. A person with a large income, can be poor from large expenses. A person with a low income, can be rich due to low expenses. The premise is based on financial wealth, but in reality richness is defined by our life, not the stuff we accumulate.
I hate getting rid of stuff, so I know the best way to combat this is to not get stuff in the first place. When I do get rid of stuff, I have a process I use to do this. We generate some cash offloading the unwanted stuff, and it starts to feel good to purge. Try it, you will find it liberating.
There are many ways to increase the amount of money you keep without having to skip meals or not pay your electric bill. In fact, saving money can even make you healthier. The following are some we use, and you can pick the ones you like.
Pack a lunch - Every week my honey makes a batch of something yummy, and we take it to work for most of the week. We also prepare small containers of veggie servings to accompany our main course. I like yogurt, so I buy plain low fat yogurt in a big container, and make 5 small containers containing a spoon of jam (or fresh fruit), and add a 1/2 cup of the yogurt to the top. Buy in bulk, and be creative. I eat the same portions every day, and just vary what goes in the container. A typical lunch for me is a container of yogurt with jam, a 1/4 cup of nuts, a main course from the big container, a hard boiled egg, and about 3-4 servings of fruit and veggies. This is how I maintain my boyish figure. Eating lunch out can easily cost $75 a week.
Buy generic brands - When I was growing up, generic food was in a white box with black letters, and the contents usually tasted like sawdust. Times have changed. Many of generics are from the same processor as the brand name.
Don't buy bottled drinks - It takes 1 liter of water to fill a 1 liter steel bottle. A steel bottle costs about as much as one trip to the movies, and you can drink from the same bottle your whole life, and bequeath it to your favorite child when you depart the planet. Drinking soda is just bad.
Bring a thermos, or suck it up until you get somewhere - There's a reason why "Price Sucks" and "Starbucks" rhyme. Purchase your favorite gourmet coffee for home, and fill a thermos before a road trip. Fill a travel mug for your commute. Wait until you get to a free/cheap coffee source if you must have it. If you are unemployed and stopping at Starbucks, please stop it. Now.
Get on the wagon - If you have to eat out, don't drink alcohol. The conversation is better, the food tastes better, and you will find the bill to be about half what you used to spend. Okay, you won't be nearly as funny, but you can handle that. If you have to drink, have an appetizer at home along with your nip before you go out. Or have a nightcap when you get home. Even Groupon can't match these savings.
Avoid using your car - It's great to ride your bike for exercise, but the real savings comes in when you use the bike to replace the car. Many trips you take in your car can just as easily be made by bike or mass transit. It's real easy to find parking for a bike, and you will experience the neighborhood in new ways. There's no reason to dress up like a superhero to ride, just get on the bike with what you have on. Unless of course you are in pajamas, then please change first. Walking is highly underrated. Try it, you will love it. I walk between buildings at work, and had people I work with, going in the opposite direction, stop and offer to drive me to the other building - on sunny days. The picture on the right of this blog's home page is from walking to another building, and finding out too late that the concrete on the sidewalk was still wet. Let's keep this our secret.
Use the free fitness center - It is a proven fact that gravity works pretty much the same all over the dry parts of our planet. So a 15 pound weight will weigh 15 pounds at the gym, as well as at home. With minor creativity, and a schedule, you can work out wherever you are. Avoiding the car helps you get your cardio in.
Have someone else pay the depreciation on your next car - A car is not an investment. An investment has an expectation that it will appreciate. A new car loses between 25-40% of it's value as soon as you purchase it. Car leases are the biggest ripoff out there. Your total life cycle costs are astronomical when you look at the total real costs associated with them. So buy used, and only a make and model that has a high reliability rating.
Install Compact Flourescent Light (CFL) bulbs - Don't laugh, we swapped out a few rooms in our old home, and our electric bill dropped dramatically. These bulbs are a little slow to get bright, but this works great for the mornings, you can turn the kitchen lights on and they wake up with you.
Accept your lawn for what it is - Stop spending money to create more work.
Decrease consumption - Make do with less. Eat 10% less than normal. Drive 10% less. Turn the thermostat in the money saving direction. It all adds up.
Buying stuff leads to buyer's remorse. Read the book Buyology
, and you will see you are just a tool for the benefit of the marketers. Break the the chains that bind you. Change your focus, and you will be rich. The kind of rich that can't be taken from you.
If you like this blog, please share it with your social network using the buttons below.
_________
When I got out on my own, I was able to apply many of the lessons I learned about money, as well as gain my own experience through making mistakes. These mistakes are referred to as "stupid tax" by Dave Ramsey. I met my honey along the way, and before we married, we talked about money. We both agreed that it sucks to owe money, and we vowed to get out of debt, and stay out of debt. We focused on this goal right away, and quickly got on top of the expenses, and stayed there.
It's not what you make, it's what you keep. A person with a large income, can be poor from large expenses. A person with a low income, can be rich due to low expenses. The premise is based on financial wealth, but in reality richness is defined by our life, not the stuff we accumulate.
I hate getting rid of stuff, so I know the best way to combat this is to not get stuff in the first place. When I do get rid of stuff, I have a process I use to do this. We generate some cash offloading the unwanted stuff, and it starts to feel good to purge. Try it, you will find it liberating.
There are many ways to increase the amount of money you keep without having to skip meals or not pay your electric bill. In fact, saving money can even make you healthier. The following are some we use, and you can pick the ones you like.
Pack a lunch - Every week my honey makes a batch of something yummy, and we take it to work for most of the week. We also prepare small containers of veggie servings to accompany our main course. I like yogurt, so I buy plain low fat yogurt in a big container, and make 5 small containers containing a spoon of jam (or fresh fruit), and add a 1/2 cup of the yogurt to the top. Buy in bulk, and be creative. I eat the same portions every day, and just vary what goes in the container. A typical lunch for me is a container of yogurt with jam, a 1/4 cup of nuts, a main course from the big container, a hard boiled egg, and about 3-4 servings of fruit and veggies. This is how I maintain my boyish figure. Eating lunch out can easily cost $75 a week.
Buy generic brands - When I was growing up, generic food was in a white box with black letters, and the contents usually tasted like sawdust. Times have changed. Many of generics are from the same processor as the brand name.
Don't buy bottled drinks - It takes 1 liter of water to fill a 1 liter steel bottle. A steel bottle costs about as much as one trip to the movies, and you can drink from the same bottle your whole life, and bequeath it to your favorite child when you depart the planet. Drinking soda is just bad.
Bring a thermos, or suck it up until you get somewhere - There's a reason why "Price Sucks" and "Starbucks" rhyme. Purchase your favorite gourmet coffee for home, and fill a thermos before a road trip. Fill a travel mug for your commute. Wait until you get to a free/cheap coffee source if you must have it. If you are unemployed and stopping at Starbucks, please stop it. Now.
Get on the wagon - If you have to eat out, don't drink alcohol. The conversation is better, the food tastes better, and you will find the bill to be about half what you used to spend. Okay, you won't be nearly as funny, but you can handle that. If you have to drink, have an appetizer at home along with your nip before you go out. Or have a nightcap when you get home. Even Groupon can't match these savings.
Avoid using your car - It's great to ride your bike for exercise, but the real savings comes in when you use the bike to replace the car. Many trips you take in your car can just as easily be made by bike or mass transit. It's real easy to find parking for a bike, and you will experience the neighborhood in new ways. There's no reason to dress up like a superhero to ride, just get on the bike with what you have on. Unless of course you are in pajamas, then please change first. Walking is highly underrated. Try it, you will love it. I walk between buildings at work, and had people I work with, going in the opposite direction, stop and offer to drive me to the other building - on sunny days. The picture on the right of this blog's home page is from walking to another building, and finding out too late that the concrete on the sidewalk was still wet. Let's keep this our secret.
Use the free fitness center - It is a proven fact that gravity works pretty much the same all over the dry parts of our planet. So a 15 pound weight will weigh 15 pounds at the gym, as well as at home. With minor creativity, and a schedule, you can work out wherever you are. Avoiding the car helps you get your cardio in.
Have someone else pay the depreciation on your next car - A car is not an investment. An investment has an expectation that it will appreciate. A new car loses between 25-40% of it's value as soon as you purchase it. Car leases are the biggest ripoff out there. Your total life cycle costs are astronomical when you look at the total real costs associated with them. So buy used, and only a make and model that has a high reliability rating.
Install Compact Flourescent Light (CFL) bulbs - Don't laugh, we swapped out a few rooms in our old home, and our electric bill dropped dramatically. These bulbs are a little slow to get bright, but this works great for the mornings, you can turn the kitchen lights on and they wake up with you.
Accept your lawn for what it is - Stop spending money to create more work.
Decrease consumption - Make do with less. Eat 10% less than normal. Drive 10% less. Turn the thermostat in the money saving direction. It all adds up.
Buying stuff leads to buyer's remorse. Read the book Buyology
, and you will see you are just a tool for the benefit of the marketers. Break the the chains that bind you. Change your focus, and you will be rich. The kind of rich that can't be taken from you.If you like this blog, please share it with your social network using the buttons below.
_________
And don't buy books. You already purchase every one of the books in your local library. Go read them.
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