Quick Guide to Save Money

Cutting costs makes my wife uncomfortable. However, I believe it is key to living simply. Every situation is different.

Pre-req's
1. Make a budget.
2. Compare to your income

Comparison Items:

1. Housing is usually the most expensive budget item. Simply, is your living in an extremely expensive place? Do you own or rent (renting is much more appropriate if you living lease by lease and want the option to move)? Do you have more house and property than needed? How much could you save by downsizing? This is often the hardest thing to adjust. Currently, I live in a multi-family setting for a very manageable amount of rent.
Savings:
$600/month lower rent
$50/month utilities (split)
-$60/month extra gas

2. Cars are another large budget item. Do you pay monthly payments on a car? What if I told you that most people don't need a newer vehicle? My wife's car is 18 years old, with 231k miles on it, running strong. I paid $3000 for it and have done minimum repairs on the about 40k miles put on it. No monthly payments, low insurance cost and cheap parts. The value of the car isn't going to fall with a small new scratch. This is the easiest thing to quickly save on. Do be careful when buying a used car though as many people who do no maintenance try to overprice their car. Use kbb.com. Stick with an inexpensive, reliable car. My wife had a Saturn when we met and spent about $100/month on it for some random repair. Sometimes reliable vehicles are not in good condition. Have someone you trust help you choose a vehicle. The people who are braver than me ditch 1-2 cars and go bikes. That is the ultimate way to save, but you need to have transportation worked out.
Savings:
$500/month no vehicle payments
$100/month lower insurance from older vehicle
$50/month high mileage vehicles (mine gets 35 average per gallon. Not bad for a $2.5k car)

3. Health insurance is a sore spot due to new regulations. This I don't know as much about since you have to comply with new rules and coverage not always accepted. Remember that the purpose of insurance is risk management. A Dr. visit isn't a risk. Large overpriced medical bills are a risk. Somehow, I ended up with a job including benefits. This is harder to calculate how much we save, but comparing it to when we were on another plan it is about $100/mo
Savings:
$100/month lower monthly (lower deductible)

4. Internet and cell services can also make quick savings. My wife used to be with Verizon because we lived in a remote location. Now she is with Republic Wireless (reseller of Sprint, roams on Verizon). For unlimited texts and calling we pay $10 a month. We had to buy the phone for about $200 but have no contract. Meaning, we can have the phone last as long as we want and not be forced to pay for it via subsidized phone price in monthly cost. In 2 years, she will have spent $440 on phone service on Republic Wireless, compared to $1060 on Verizon. In 3 years if the phone lasts, she will have spent $560, compared to $1540 on Verizon. She also now can use her phone on WiFi for internet, with a much better phone. Internet service is more tricky due to different providers. Research what is local to find savings (without bundling! Stay away from that!)
Savings:
$26.67/month

5. Cable. Trade your cable in for Netflix (or Hulu). Go from overpriced to $8/month and have no commercials.
Savings:
$12-92/month

6. Cut your local landline. You can just use cell phones, or set up a new telephone number via Google voice and use that. Last I checked, that could be used to have off-time to prevent sales calls at inconvenient hours.
Savings:
$20+-/month

7. Taxes. The tax code supports tax avoidance (legally finding ways to avoid paying taxes). Tax evasion is illegally lying or not paying what the tax code determines you should pay. Collecting your donations, mortgage interest, student interest, Hope/American Opportunity Credit and dozens more can help you have a refund. If you don't care about knowing taxes, perhaps ask your accountant what will give you the best return on your time.

8. Find new ways to save. Make it like a contest or something you do to enjoy yourself. Do you really both need 2 Macbooks? What if you had 1 Macbook and 1 tablet/Chromebook? That could save $800 on a one time purchase.

9. Get buy-in from yourself and family, otherwise extra purchases will replace savings. Perhaps you are saving for a down, or trying to get debt free. The important thing is to get the entire team on board. If you are married to a spender, provide limited amounts of credit. Sure, this person may max out the credit card, but if they have a credit limit of $200 or less per month, that is manageable.

10. My wife cooks naan bread from bulk ingredients instead of buying bread. We also grow some vegetables. A quick estimate says we save a few bucks per month, but it is much more healthy so that is a quality of life increase for less money.

If you add up all of the saving minimums, it comes to about 16.7k a year. That is quite a bit of savings for minimum sacrifices. Be sure to somewhat regularly compare to your budget and make sure you are spending within it. Lean more to asking if you need it, rather than you want it. Dear reader, what have I missed? What are some things you do to save extra money and what do you save it for?

Ignoring Alternatives

"You can find anything on the Internet, if you try hard enough" so says Kyle from Last Man Standing. I think it works the same in the regular world. This is how people often operate. I am drawn to people I agree with and don't give the time of day to listen to people I disagree with. The possibility of being wrong makes me uncomfortable. When I was young, Republicans were good and Democrats were bad. Kind of like in Star Wars where the was the light and dark sides. Growing up, life has taught me that things are more complicated than that. Good and bad people are in all cultures and sects. It isn't like Lord of the Rings where Goblins and Orcs are universally bad.

Sometimes I internalize my thoughts without giving people the opportunity to state why they think what they do. This makes me narrow minded, rejecting ideas that make me uncomfortable.

When I at one time managed people, I quickly discovered I had to listen to employees who had different experiences and ideas. It was mentally exhausting to work out every detail without help.

What I'm saying is to leave yourself the freedom of being who you want to be by at least listening to other people and cherry-picking aspects and ideas you like, while entertaining things you don't like. Be brave. Many great ideas make you uncomfortable.

Intro to Satisfaction and Random Thoughts

Everyday when I drive to work, I chuckle. The rat race continues day after day. The part I noticed today is that it prevents people from not only being happy, but from pursuing their dreams. When people are buried in debt with many commitments, it is hard to take risks. If you ask most people if they are pleased with what career they are in, they will grunt and say yes after mulling over the regular paycheck.

I'm not saying that people are wasted in the workforce, but that people don't take risks due to commitments and may not fully realize their potential. The difference is that someone can have more than one talent and ability that is not always marketable to employment. So, maybe I want to post every other day about denying indulgences and finding satisfaction in life itself, but have difficulty squeezing the time to do it.

So, rather than let myself feel bad about circumstances and depressed, maybe a unusual solution exists. I was thinking, I spend hours driving during the week, what if I went podcast style and talked while driving? I don't think there's a law against that and there are parts of the road where relatively fewer drivers are trying to bump me off. Also, it may help determine who is at fault if my last words are "why!! Why would you cut me off"-BOOM!

My dream in life is to find something to do that can help people. Legally, I have to limit how much advice I give people, and how specific it is to save money. Also, there are many blogs telling you how to save money, make money and invest money.

I guess my point is that this is 2015. People can post blogs, make podcasts, make websites, use a variety of online tools for many purposes, write books, self publish, apply for online work, find work online for unique talents and so much more. We aren't stuck with a limited unintegrated internet consisting of slow speeds. We have so much potential but limit themselves due to priorities and not having a good enough idea. Our economy is very interesting, you can hire a couple guys to make a single purpose app, give or sell it to thousands of people, and then be bought up by a large company wanting to integrate your app with their existing services.

Are you waiting for someone to give you permission to use this new economy? If you have an idea, pursue it. If you don't have an idea, listen and read sources that will give you inspiration.

Confessions

Earlier this week while I was at work, I got turned on to an application for my Smartphone. It’s a game where you attempt to level up the buildings in your village and defeat other villages. It is well made and entertaining.

In high school and college I discovered I’m prone to certain types of addictions. Games with no clear ending, where you can become richer and higher leveled are a particular weakness for me. In high school this game for me was Runescape. Runescape is an online Role Playing Game with other players where you can do quests, earn cash, and fight. It was somewhat fascinating and horrifying watching myself get mentally consumed without any hope of moderation.

I wrestled with quitting for years. It seemed like I could never rid my mind of PKing (Player Killing), or stop thinking of how to more effectively do it. This is to the point that I didn’t eat enough or waited very long to go to the bathroom. It invaded my dreams and video preferences in Youtube. Keep in mind, I was only moderately good and wealthy. Maybe in the top 20-15%...nowhere near the top.

There was some good that happened in this though. I learned how to make money by the basic principle of selling high and buying low. I learned how to generate the margin between wholesalers and regular consumers. I learned that many people are not worthy of being trusted online, especially if they hold your money.

Flash back to today. Although I am thankful for all I have learned in an addiction, I never want to go back. I didn’t like who I was. Although my buddies at work meant well, I saw myself begin to become someone I didn’t like, someone very familiar but unhappy. So, come the next workday. I get the pleasant task of saying “sorry guys. It’s not you. It’s not the game. It is me. This is a weakness I have and I’d rather do other things like reading or blogging.” I doubt I’d get as bad as before since I have learned a little moderation. It still would rob me of other joys in life like family time, reading…etc. Discovering and conquering this weakness to addictive gaming is one of the best things I have ever done.

I can already hear people say “well sheesh Aaron, why didn’t you just stop being that way?” How many years do I need to waste before it becomes something to avoid, not fight? I discovered the weakness in high school…it didn’t get dealt with in Jr. High and prior. How long should it have been before I said “enough. I am untrustworthy with this and need to better myself by avoiding it as much as physically possible.”? I waited some 7 years before successfully doing that. Should it have been longer?

Well, gentle reader, do you have something optional preventing you from realizing your dreams in life, or keeping you from being someone you admire? Maybe that needs to change. Just a thought.

Want

My want is never ending. No matter what quantity or quality exists in my life, I always want it better with few exceptions. This is great for businesses but contributes to discontent people being envious.

Something I have found to be helpful is separating need from want, and having moderation with want. This is why I am a firm believer in having a budget. The mysterious nature of money being scarce remains, but life doesn’t feel financially cruel because I have mapped out where it goes.

If the foundation of my life makes me happy, than extra is good but not necessary. Yes, it is important to create memories with family and friends. However, if I am discontent with both, how is making memories going to help? I’ll just remember being unhappy.

Matter is a terrible escape. It consumes my cash, time, and happiness and also leaves me wanting more. Sounds a lot like an addiction. Simply living isn’t about having everything, or even nothing. It is about being content wherever you are. If I was more content with where I am, maybe I wouldn’t always be looking for the next thing to provide temporary pleasure.

Multi-Family Living

People tend to approach multi-family living with curiosity and intimidation. This is the start of our third week of multi-family living. If I had to stress only one thing, I’d say it should be grace.

When people have their own space, they begin to develop norms that other people may not be used to. This can vary from leaving the sponge wet on the sink, to how hot the thermostat should be set. As an American, the American dream is taught early. Even though my family did not fully subscribe to the expensive car, home and pet, I was surrounded by it when growing up. The neighbor was proud of their new SUV, regurgitating much of what the salesman had told them. The grocery store boasted how you deserved organic food. Those other people lived below the dream…maybe they didn’t know what it was?

There’s nothing wrong with having your own space. What I am communicating is that sometimes the American dream belief is so strong, that anything different is rejected due to being different.

Here are some things I’ve noticed:

1. Living together doesn’t mean you are always together. Interestingly, work schedules are not always the same and people are not home every day of the week. On average, we have two weeknights to ourselves, and 1 weekend day.
2. Living together does mean that you are consistently aware of the existence of other people in the home. This means that you need to be extra gracious in keeping areas clean, and not mess with other people’s stuff. So an example of this is that this morning the cat almost hopped on the wife and my bed. We don’t own cats…we go off and on with being allergic. When attempting to shoe him away, the cat wouldn’t let me push him out. So I picked him up, put him out of the room and closed the door. This all happened while the baby was asleep. The old me would have put him out of the house and complained about him all day.
3. Married people still have sex in this situation. Not sure more needs to be said.
4. A person being in your area becomes normal. This is completely foreign to the American dream. However, you get used to it.
5. Life is less dull. More things go on in the house. I can still rest during down time. It is nice though that quick babysitting is more available for a few minutes.

There are more observations to come. Living in a multi-family home is not for everyone or the faint of heart.

Having Joy in Life

For New Years day, the family and a group from a nearby church went on a walk. It was about 3.5 miles so you serious exercising people can chuckle at our limited walking ability. It was nice though. Emma was sleeping in the stroller, instead of continuing her fussiness. Grace talked with some locals of the area about life, animals and her childhood. My father-in-law told me about how the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) paid low prices to force the owners of the houses off the land where we were walking, built a road for a future dam, and then closed the project when the dam project was canceled due to invalid reasons that were later disproved. The land was never returned from BLM.

Dog without a leash

Although we complained about the dam and the unleashed dogs ignoring their owners calls, we all recharged from the exercise and community of shared beliefs. This brings me to the importance of exercise. Even small efforts to regularly work out can greatly improve your life quality.

When I was in college I was dirt poor and homeless. I did not have many possessions and would parkour. It was the free thing I could do that kept me strong, and helped keep me be happy. With that said, due to car accidents and sleepless night with the child, I completely got off an exercise schedule and didn't parkour anymore. To help combat this, our family has joined this walking group. Grace is miles ahead of me in exercising. She regularly goes to a gym and is excited to receive work-out equipment for Holidays. I have much to learn from my wife for utilizing my body to achieve simple living.