Well, this is how I do it. I’m retired and must live on $500
a month SS. I do NOT have a pension or other income.
Impossible you say!
No it’s not. I have NO HOUSE PAYMENT and NO CAR PAYMENT. The old house I live in doesn’t look that great and my car is 20 years old. But, SO WHAT? Am I trying to please my neighbors or ‘keep up with the Joneses’? Certainly not. If you are, then that’s one of your biggest problems. I use a CREDIT CARD for my expenses, all of them, with the exception of bills I pay by check. I pay my credit card bill off in full, every month. I do NOT carry my checkbook around with me. I do NOT wander around in stores ‘window-shopping’ . Who cares what they are selling? If I don’t know about it, I won’t want it!
I don’t need ‘walking-around money’ if I’m not out walking around! :D
You need to separate ‘necessities’ from ‘luxuries”. Most
of us are getting a lot of luxuries and saying they’re
necessities. I don’t expect everyone to live like me, but
when I was growing up we did NOT have A/C in our home.
Nobody did in those days! I don’t have A/C now. How can
you stand it you ask? I use ceiling fans and portable fans.
You say “I’m not going to do that!” Well, you asked for tips, didn’t you? How much is your monthly electric bill?
Over $100? Mine is around $35-$40. You go out to eat in a restaurant once or twice a week, or eat in ‘fast-food’
places for lunch? I don’t. I haven’t eaten out in months!
“How boring”, you say. Let me get this straight….you want to save money, but you want to continue doing what you’ve been doing? As Dr. Phil asks “How’s that been working out for you?” If it hasn’t been working out then
things MUST CHANGE or they’re going to continue on as
they are.
If I’m not in a certain room of my house then there are
no lights on in there. I do NOT run the TV for ‘background
noise’. If I needed any I would turn on a radio. I love to use the computer, but if I’m not sitting in front of it then
it’s turned off. I’m amazed when I visit other people’s
homes to see that all the lights in their home are on, the TV in running(nobody watching). When I comment about
it, I’m told that the lights are usually not on, but on my next visit nothing’s changed! Comments will be made that
their power bill is REALLY HIGH(well, duh!) . And later on
it will be mentioned that they’re having to buy a lot of light bulbs, because they burn out so quickly! I wonder why?
I’d burn out quicker if I was ‘on’ all the time too. By the
way, I’ve switched to the small screw-in flourescent bulbs
wherever possible to save on costs.
As I said earlier, start examining all the things you think
you ‘MUST’ have and I’ll be you’ll find many of them you
don’t need at all. Where is your money going? You say
you MUST have a new car? I doubt that you do. “Well, I
need a car that’s ‘dependable’ ” you say. Listen, if you have a car that’s a few years old and keep a good battery in it and good tires it will work quite well for you. I feel that to save money you must change your thinking on a lot of things. You might as well start now! ::)
Bill R.