You are currently browsing the archives for the Saving category.
Archive for the 'Saving' Category
I freaked out the other day when I got home and to my dismay, pushing the power button on my computer elicited…well, nothing. It would start up for about two seconds and then just turn off. Turns out we had a power outage earlier in the day and something got fried. Fearing that I had to buy a new computer, or that I potentially lost ALL of my files, I spent the next five hours troubleshooting, Googling, and calling friends that might have an idea what was wrong. In the end, it was only a bad power supply. In non-techie language, that means I didn’t lose any files and didn’t have to buy a new computer; I just needed to replace one part.
The whole fun-filled ordeal was actually my fault in part because when I bought the parts for my computer, I bought a low-quality cheapo power supply. Rather than spending an extra $20 bucks initially on a good power supply, I now had to spend an extra $80 to replace the dead one.
Sometimes the best way to save money is to spend money. Over and over lately I have been learning the age old lesson, “buy it right or buy it twice”. It can be so tempting to buy cheap when it comes to water heaters, mattresses, running shoes, appliances, cars, computers, etc, but in the end it almost always pays off to buy quality goods over the cheaper models. They are cheap for a reason…
More often than not, things are most expensive when they first come out. You pay the extra money for the novelty of being first, cutting edge, maintaining a certain image, etc. But how much would you save if you waited until the price dropped? Whether a newer model is released than the one you want, or a sale is coming down the road, you will almost always spend less when you wait.
There was a psychology experiment done years ago on children that tested their ability to delay gratification. Children were given a marshmallow and told they could eat the marshmallow right away, or if they waited five minutes, they would be given a second marshmallow. Eat one now, or eat two later? Can you guess what the children did? What would you do?
For some, this post will be a glorious act of confirmation. For others, a bubble-bursting, eye-opening, wake-up call.
Maybe you only have $500 bucks in your savings account and you feel broke. Or maybe you have $30,000 and you think you have nothing to worry about. Either way, as much as we draw anxiety or comfort from the number on our monthly bank statement, there is another number that will tell us the truth; and nobody will tell you that number. You’ll need to figure it out on your own. It’s called net worth.
You have probably heard that number before, but have you ever calculated it? Take all of your assets (the value of what you own like your car, house, etc, plus all bank and retirement accounts and cash) and subtract your liabilities (your debt; all your loans and anything you owe money on). The goal is to have a positive number, and to watch that number grow in time.
Net worth is the true measure of financial well being. A doctor might have a huge house, two nice cars, and 50k in the bank. But he might owe 250k for his student loans, not own the cars, and have barely made a dent in the mortgage. Technically, the bum on the street is more well off than he is. Material possessions only give the appearance of wealth.
The sooner you find out your net worth, the sooner you can realistically work towards financial freedom. And THAT is the goal.
I am no world traveler. In fact, the only times I have ever left the country it has been to Canada or Mexico by car. However, that might start to change after knowing what I now know…
There are two big costs associated with travel: getting there (typically flight costs) and staying there (nightly lodging costs can add up). You can now say goodbye to the second one. Some friends of mine recently let me in on a little known secret on how to stay for free in over 250 countries worldwide (including ours).
It’s called “couch surfing”. People from all over the world have joined together to form a community of hosts and travelers. Here’s how it works: At couchsurfing.org you can list where you are located, when you are available, and how many people you can host. You can say yay or nay to any request that comes your way. If you are a traveler, just search for people with an open couch in the city / country of your choice and if they accept (which they probably will since they are members of the community), you have a free place to stay. It’s a great way to meet a variety of people, have an adventure, and save some serious cash.
Oh, and “couch” doesn’t necessarily mean couch. A lot of people have spare rooms and nice houses, not dirty dorm room mattresses. Bon voyage!
When I think of budget killers, two things come to mind: cars and food. The one I want to focus on today is food.
Everyone has their favorite food, whether it’s dirty take out (Nom Nom) or caviar and escargot. Whatever your preference, eating out too much can really affect how much you save each month. On one hand, restaurant food tastes great (usually) and can provide a fun experience. On the other, you don’t have anything to show afterwards; your money is gone and so is your meal.
So how much is enough? Some avoid eating out at all costs, and if they do, they opt for the dollar menu and drink water. Others throw caution to the wind and pork out whenever they have the urge. I know it comes down to personal preference, but does anyone have any wisdom on the matter? What should the balance be?
If you eat a hamburger that someone behind the counter of a fast food restaurant spit in, sure, ignorance is bliss. But when you get taken advantage of and ripped off when buying a good or service you know nothing about, ignorance is not bliss.
I recently went to a major retailer to buy a new 23″ HP monitor. When checking out, I was relentlessly offered “extra protection” for “not that much more” because “you know how technology fails”. My response? I told them I was buying HP and wouldn’t be needing “extra protection”, but if I ever bought another brand from them I would be sure to get it. Same thing when I was generously offered a $2000 extended warranty on my Scion. I told them “sorry, Toyotas/Scions rarely break down so I won’t be needing it.” They still pressed. Maybe they have never seen the movie “Tommy Boy” where Chris Farley eloquently explains that essentially, guarantees, extra protection, warranties, etc are all basically labeling a product as worthless. It’s like saying “hey, when it breaks (because it will), come back and we will give you another one that will break”.
Granted not ALL coverage plans are bad news, but too often I see people that don’t know what pixels, drive trains, power supplies, etc are and so they buy out of fear that this “thing” they know nothing about will break. Ignorance with consumer products can end up costing a lot.
Personal philosophy: 99% of the time I pass on the insurance, warranty, etc, knowing that all the money I will save over the years will far exceed the amount I will have to spend on the item or two that breaks down once in a blue moon.
I feel like ever since I picked up a diseased street rat and gently stroked it thinking it was a lost baby chinchilla nothing interesting has happened to me…that is until I remembered…
One of my close guy friends is the ultimate bachelor. For instance, he went MONTHS without anything (seriously, ANYTHING) in his kitchen except for an old bag of baby carrots in the fridge until his girlfriend finally brought over some old cups to drink tap water from. By the way, her charitable visit was the first time the bathroom had ever even seen hand soap either. Speaking of the bathroom…
Unfortunately, at the end of 2008 my free spirited bachelor friend was laid off due to the economy forcing his employer to downsize. Partially because of his new need to save money, and partially due to not checking the mail, his gas ended up getting turned off, leaving him with less monthly expenses and personal hygiene than ever before. But alas, my friend is a crafty one and came up with a solution: A popcorn bowl. How did that solve his problems? Since his gas was off, he would microwave several small bowls of water, combine them in the glorious popcorn bowl, and Ta Da! Occasional sponge bath here we come. (The picture I posted is the actual bowl in his bathroom).
The moral of the story? It has been 6 months, my friend has had a new job for a while now, and he still hasn’t turned the gas on. Whether he formed an attachment to the bowl, is forgetful, or just wants to keep saving money from that bill, only he knows. One thing is for sure; it is amazing at how people can adapt to less than “ideal” situations. Remember, for 99% of mankind’s history people didn’t have showers, deodorant, electricity, cars, phones, or Twinkies and they somehow managed to survive. Are there any things you can “get used to” that could save money?
I am writing this post standing up. Why? Because it hurts to sit down. You see, I have recently been dominated by the P90X; one of the million exercise infomercial products that I would normally mock and laugh at.
However, unlike a magic electro-belt that you plug into the wall until it supposedly vibrates you into shape, the P90X actually makes you want to die from exhaustion. The short of it is, it’s a DVD set of 12 workouts, each an hour long, that you rotate through on a schedule that keeps it 1) lively instead of repetitive, and 2) is better for your muscles than doing the same thing over and over.
Are you wondering how much I got ripped off? It is $120 + $20 shipping online, but I only paid $100 on Craigslist. Sound like a lot for some workout DVDs? Maybe. But it is still less than 2 months of gym membership payments; at least that’s my perspective.
So by doing the P90X I am saving 3 things: money on gym fees and the gas to get there, the time of going to and from the gym, and humiliation from showing off my wussy pasty body to a bunch of strangers grunting in a sweat box.
The P90X. Think about it.
PS: That’s NOT me in the picture, in case you were wondering…
I think by this point in time pretty much everyone know that if you shop around you can find things cheaper online. However, what a lot of people still don’t know is there are a slew of websites dedicated specifically to the best of the best when it comes to deals. You can find these sites by googling “one deal at a time”. The reason they are so cheap is because they typically find the best deals among older, overstocked, and warehouse merchandise and sell it one item at a time.
Below are three of the top “one deal a day” sites. I have seen some amazing stuff out there and have friends who have gotten some killer deals as well (one friend got a brand name ski backpack for $16 off steepandcheap.com).
Check them out; you never know what you will find.
In 1 day, 22 hours, and 18 minutes I will be on my way to ski the great white mountains of Canada. I go every year with a group of guys that I have been friends with since middle school. This will be our 6th year in a row that we have gone on this trip and I am still just as poor of a skier as the first year (though not the poorest in the group, sorry Matt).
“Why Canada?” you might ask. Aside from the cool accents, weird candy and… uh… well, it’s great skiing (I am not talking about Whistler, I have actually never been there) and it’s a great place to go if you want a cheap vacation. Here’s why:
- 1) You can (potentially) drive there and split gas.
- 2) The exchange rate is usually in our favor.
- 3) At least half of the skiing I do has been free thanks to Warren Miller’s annual vouchers that you receive when you watch his latest ski flick.
I think the average trip cost has been about $350 each, which covers 6 days of food, lodging, gas, and 3 days of skiing. Where else can you ski mountains as gorgeous for an entire week for that much? It’s amazing how cheap you can take vacations if you look around and spend some time planning.
Plus, they call knit hats “tuques”. I still laugh every time.
(Note: Given the fact that I will be falling down a mountain 6,000 ft above sea level in another country next week, I will not be posting to the blog)