“Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.”
- Robert Orben
Each day I am continually baffled by the amount of people who still live paycheck to paycheck, while making more money than most people do. Even more, I can’t believe that they have thousands of dollars in credit card debt, car loans, and some form or another of an all purpose/personal loan. Where does it all go? Perhaps I am too simple of a person to understand this logic, but I still believe that ‘getting a raise’ is not the only way to creating wealth. This last year, I gave myself a raise quite a few times. Here is how i did it:
Drive less – This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should give up the SUV for a bicycle and join the fight to save the planet. What this does mean is to drive only when you need to, and when you need to drive you can drive less while doing it. For example, plan all of your appointments and meetings to happen at a time that minimizes your driving. I drive every day of the week and I only fill up with gas about once a month.
Approximate savings: $50/month
Brown bag it- Not hanging out with the lunch crowd doesn’t phase me. I find other people who are like-minded enough to brown bag it also. Plus, that burger or burrito will be regrettable in the hours after lunch when you feel like crap for the rest of the day. Not only do I get free lunch every day, it’s also typically a better lunch than what I otherwise would have purchased for far more and (more obviously) is the healthier choice.
Approximate savings: $65/month
Pay with cash- Okay, so it isn’t exactly cash as my personal choice. But I pay for almost everything with a debit card. Unless I am in a foreign country that doesn’t accept it, I am always swiping it at no charge. Credit cards are just another way for you to spend more money on things such as annual fees, interest, card holder benefit programs, etc…
Approximate savings: $20/month
No more Lattes – I am a pretty regular customer at a lot of local coffee establishments (i.e., Sbux). I used to always get a latte or whatever tasted pretty good. $4.75 later, I had myself a venti-strawberry-mocha-chip-extra-caramel-iced-tazo-chai-frappuchino. I was amazed at how many people would have 2-3 of those things each day! Not me. Gone are the days of extra specialty coffee. I always get a tea, coffee, or coffee misto. All for a mere $2.
Approximate savings: $25-30/month
Don’t use it? sell it – Being a minimalist, I hate having stuff around that I don’t need or use – especially when it is still worth money. This is where some degree of ruthlessness comes in. Don’t need that iPod anymore? Sell it on eBay or Craigslist. Same goes for anything else you own. Cell phones typically have a shelf-life of 1 year (if that) these days. I always sell mine when it seems that it is getting a little old. You would be surprised how many people wouldn’t mind paying $75 for your old Blackberry that doesn’t work anymore.
Approximate savings: different each month
Cut out needless purchases – I am still amazed that there are so many things that we purchase that are unnecessary. A cell phone bill will 5,00000 minutes and unlimited sms that is highly underused, a cable package with hundreds of channels that is rarely watched. Magazine subscriptions or gym memberships that don’t pay off. These are not only needless, but expensive. Cutting them out has created a great amount of savings for myself each month.
Approximate savings: $125/month
There you have it. I save approximately $200/month by spending less money on things that I don’t need. This approximates to $2400/year, or a raise of $2.40/hour. You might think that by cutting out a lot of these purchases life will become boring. It won’t. I know many people that otherwise allocate the money saved into shopping, travel, or cars. None of these are boring. When expenses are cut, a savings is made- and you get a raise.
