© Stacy Bart 2010
I’m not saying anything new. Everything included in this article has been said, done, tried and tested. I have read numerous books about how to save money, make money, pick stocks and be a frugal tightwad. Most of these authors go on and on about their personal story. These stories are good for inspiring you to believe that you can do this. However, you have to distill the actual steps through pages and pages of prose. I’ve tried countless methods over the last 10 years and found what works for me. This book is something different. I’m going to give you the basic information you need to get started right now.
Here is the big secret, right up front in the beginning!
IN ORDER TO LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS, YOU MUST MAKE MORE MONEY THAN YOU SPEND. OR SPEND LESS MONEY THAN YOU MAKE.
It sounds so simple but how can so many people get this one wrong? It really is that simple. The rest of this book is intended to show you how to succeed at living within your means. The hardest part is to just get started. Write down on a piece of paper “In order to live within your means, you must make more money than you spend. Or spend less money than you make. I will start right now” Do this right now, before you read any further.
Write down everything you spend everyday.
John D. Rockefeller did this his whole life. It really works. “Everything” is the key word here. Don’t leave anything out. You must be honest with yourself if this is going to work. Get a small notebook or memo pad and write down all bills, credit card payments, change in the meter, lunch, dry cleaning, mortgage or rent. I mean everything. Go through your checkbook, credit card statements or bank statements and review them for the last 6 months or year to see if there are any expenses that occur less than monthly such as real estate taxes, car insurance or other semi-annual payments. Divide them so that you can get a monthly average. Look for income too, interest, dividends or other income.
Once you know how much you are spending, you can subtract it from your income and see if you make enough money to cover your expenses. You’ll be surprised at all the little things that add up. It seems that most of the saving money books use Starbucks to make their point, but it’s true. If you are spending $100 a month on coffee that you could make at home and take in a thermos, you can cut your expenses. (Most people know how much they make. If you don’t you’ll need to add that up too! )
Now, select basic categories and divide them into two columns:
Fixed and Variable
Fixed items will include anything you cannot easily change. Include Mortgage or Rent, Phone, Cable, Internet, Car Payments, Insurance payments, regular tax payments etc.
Variable items will include groceries, gas, restaurants, clothing, movies, and trips to Xmart and Xdepot.
Now add a third column for income. Include your paycheck and any other income you may receive. You either need to exclude your income tax and only write down your net paycheck, or use your gross pay and put your taxes into the fixed column. I recommend including your taxes as an expense.
Add up the expense columns and subtract them from the income and see what your totals are.
If you are computer savvy do this on a spreadsheet. Make columns for the date, description, and one for each of the categories, fixed, variable and income. Every day, enter the information you wrote down in your notebook. At the end of the month, add up the columns and subtract the two expense columns from the income.
You can do the above on a sheet of paper. You don’t need a computer. It’s just easier.
Next, if you do find you are spending more that you make, stop! Again, it sounds easy but this is where YOU REALLY HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR THINKING.
Review your expenses and find ways to cut back.
Start subtracting the unnecessary expenses until you reach below your income. Food, basic clothing, basic transportation and shelter are the only necessities! Many expenses can be cut very easily. Review your fixed expenses and see if you are paying too much for car insurance, phone, Internet or other bills. Next, review your variable expenses. Some will be very obvious like movies, fast food or other frills. Others may take more discipline. If you are receiving a big tax refund at the end of the year, you are giving the government free money. Adjust your withholding so you only get a little bit back at the end of the year. This will help add to the income column.
Defining Need vs. Want
Cable TV is not a necessity. Coffee house coffee is not a necessity. Shopping for clothes is not a necessity. Stay out of the mall and the marts and depots. You must change your thinking here. Advertisers, retail companies and big box stores are very good at persuading you to part with your money for things you really don’t need. There are several industries devoted to the psychology of shopping and how the American consumer makes buying decisions. Warehouse stores a really good at this too.
You know, the big box stores you see advertised in the Sunday paper have the great sale on something you must have at such a great price. Have you noticed that you stop in to these stores to pick up a new dog leash or some picture hangers and wind up spending $60 to $100 at the checkout stand? You didn’t know you were going to buy any of that but you find you need these things and they were on sale. They know how to trick you into buying stuff you don’t need. Stay out of them! Here’s a trick. Throw out the Sunday ads and read the editorial section instead.
Look at what you are paying and not what you are saving when you go out to shop. That last sentence is very important for shopaholics “but I saved 50%” but you spent money on something you don’t need.
Shop with a list. Stick to the list. When you are sure you need something i.e. groceries, look in the pantry, refrigerator and cupboards. Make a list of everything you need. When you get to the grocery store, don’t buy anything that is not on the list. You will find temptation everywhere. The supermarket is as good as the advertisers and big box stores at getting you to buy things you don’t need. Plus, they have an advantage. You may be hungry. They know that and will offer samples at key times during the day. They will also place items next to each other to psychologically trick you. Regular priced tomato sauce is right next to the sale priced spaghetti. Coupons are not worth the time. Buy generic and save more that you would with the coupons. Looking through the coupons will only remind you of things you didn’t know you needed. They are designed to sell you products, not save you money. Catalogues are also very good at separating you from your money. Stop as many of them as you can. I still receive a few but I recycle them as soon as I get them.
Start a price book if you want to be a really good shopper and save money, start a price book for the things you use all the time; Milk, eggs, butter, bread, cereal, frozen dinners etc. These items often go on sale as loss leaders. If you make a small notebook and write down the each item, one per page, list the price, size and where you bought it or saw that price, you will know when items go on sale and whether one market charges more than the others for the same item. Stock up a bit when things are on sale and you will save money at the store.
Make sure you also check the price per oz, many boxes or bottles stay the same size, they just have less in them.
Find ways to entertain yourself and save money too.
Stay home. Go through your closet and find cute and inventive ways to wear what you already have. Buy generic. Learn to cook. You’ll have the time if you stop watching so much TV. Find a great thrift shop. Find your local library and check out one of the books listed under resources. Better yet, check out books on how to better your life. Find something by a good life coach that appeals to you. Anthony Robbins audio books are very motivating. If you have a long commute to work, you have the time. The best ones are always out at the library. Get on the waiting list if necessary. Limiting television will limit your exposure to advertisers. You’ll be amazed at how much you can do without it.
Look for great resources for free entertainment. Take a picnic to a museum on free days. Hit the beach, lake, park or other local attractions. With kids, try a movie exchange with friends. As adults, find ways to entertain at home rather than go to a club or bar. Martini parties, football/basketball games with chips and beer or rent a movie and invite friends over. Get your friends together and each try hosting a different weekend. $20 for easy-to-make appetizers (get recipe ideas on internet cooking sites) and a movie is cheaper than $100 for a night on the town. Make it a game. Some “saving money” books tell you to make a chart with your goals. Reward yourself with something each time you reach a goal. Get the whole family involved. Kids under 12 are really good at this.
While on the subject of kids, be honest with them. Tell them what you are doing and why. I try to avoid the sentence “we can’t afford it” mostly because that’s not true. I usually explain what I’m saving up for. Here’s an example: “Mom, can we stop a McDonalds?” “Not today. I’m trying to save money for our vacation to Florida. If we don’t eat out as much now, we will be able to stay longer at the theme park.” Or use the goal. “Honey, we want to get $1000 in our savings account. When we do, we’ll celebrate with a trip to McDonalds.” This sets a great example, gives your kids confidence in you for being honest and teaches them to save for their goals instead of going into debt. There are so many great lessons here. This works with adults too. If your spouse is a spendthrift or doesn’t know what you are doing, it may put a strain on your relationship. Be honest. Get them involved. If they still don’t want to, give him or her a set amount of cash with no strings attached and include that as an expense. Tell them “here’s $200 for you to spend on the things that you need, but we will not have enough money if you spend more.” This works great for teenagers too. When it’s gone, it’s gone.
Still need more income? Look around you at all the stuff you don’t need. Sell it on Ebay, half.com, a garage sale, Craig’s list or other means.
Learn to do it yourself.
Take a good look at your expenses, are you paying for services you can do yourself? Do you really need to dry clean everything or could you iron those shirts? Rent a rug-doctor and shampoo your own rugs.
Be careful to hire a professional for the things you really should, but don’t be afraid to learn something new. Learn how to fix things yourself. If you’re really not handy, try bartering with a friend.
De-Clutter
De-cluttering your life will help. It’s a psychological thing, but having lots of debris, stuff and junk around you is emotionally stifling. The best way to de-clutter is to completely empty a room. Do this one room at a time so it’s not overwhelming. Look around at the empty room (oh, by the way, now’s a good time to paint or rent a carpet cleaning machine). It should feel really good to start with a clean slate. Imagine what this room should look like. Now, only put back in the room what fits your vision. Do not purchase anything new. Find ways to use what you have. Once the room is done, look at what’s left. Is it useful? Have you worn it, touched it, used it seen it in a year, two, ten? We play a game called keep and toss. Go through everything and throw out what is truly garbage i.e. papers, broken items etc. Put away what you want to keep. If it doesn’t have a home, find one or toss it. Get rid of everything in the toss pile. Sell it at a garage sale, give it to a charity donation or thrift shop, Ebay, gifts to friends or wherever, just out of your house! Be careful of sentimental items. Set aside one trunk, box or small space to store these. If you have more than what fits in that box, you have too much. There are many books on this subject. Watch those “clean up” shows on the home decorating channels. Or get a book about de-cluttering your life. They will inspire you.
Get out of Debt
If one of your expenses is credit card payments and you are not paying all cards off every month, then you need to fix that. Getting out of debt is the best way to cut expenses. Interest every month is the most ridiculous thing to pay. You get nothing for your money. If you want to throw money in the garbage, pay interest.
Debt is very, very bad. We, as American citizens have been duped into believing that some debt is okay. It is not. You are not saving enough on your taxes to make your mortgage interest worth paying. Please read the previous sentence again. If you don’t believe me, do the math yourself. Go back to your truth in lending statement. It’s required for all mortgages nowadays. You can also get this information from your lender. Find the total amount of interest you will pay on this mortgage. It can be as much as twice the amount of the original loan. Now with this information in hand, call your accountant or calculate the totals yourself. Find out exactly how much money you will save on your taxes by claiming the mortgage interest. If you do not itemize, then your total tax benefit is zero. Some financial “gurus” will claim that you can take the cash that you are using to pay off your mortgage early and use it to invest. I have not found an investment that will make me several hundred thousand dollars in the next 10 years (which is the amount I will be saving by paying my mortgage off early). Chances are, you are not a savvy enough investor to make that much on investments. If you were, you wouldn’t need this book.
Credit cards and unsecured debt are the worst. You must get to a point where you don’t pay interest. Buy a good used car or pay off your car and keep it for at least 10 years. It makes more sense to put a little money into your car to keep it running than to spend a fortune on a new one. (Again, advertisers are good at this too).
If you don’t think you can do this, get help. I don’t believe credit counseling services are good for anyone except those who are very near bankruptcy. I found a great source for this help with this problem. Check out Greg Moore and his get out of debt solution. www.debtintowealth.com. If you have more discipline, you can find a great calculator for reducing debt by paying just a bit more on your loans in a specific order. You’ll find many great calculators atwww.dinkytown.com including payoff accelerators, savings, mortgages, and more.
The easiest way to pay off debt is to list your monthly payments in order from smallest to largest. Now, pay the minimum on all payments except the first one. Pay as much as you can on that until it’s paid off. If you have money in a savings account, use that to pay off the smallest loan. When the smallest loan is paid off, take the amount of that former payment and add it to the next one. Chip away at that debt until it’s paid off. Next, take the payments and any extra cash and add it to the third payment. Continue this until you have paid off all your loans. One note about mortgage, I do believe that in today’s economy, it is difficult to buy a decent house without having a mortgage. Just make sure it is a reasonable payment. It should be a payment that you can make without sacrificing the rest of your debts and you should be able to pay extra to pay it off as soon as possible. We have all been fooled into thinking we need a bigger house than we really do.
Start saving money
Once you have accomplished the above, you should begin to have a little extra left over each month. Start putting that money away. Even if you just put your change in a jar at the end of the day, you should put something away. I do believe in contributing to a retirement account, but even if your employer is matching, you must have three months salary in cash in a small savings account before you can do anything else. You can’t touch your 401k or IRA in an emergency. Some books call this “pay yourself first” Get in the habit of putting money away. Start an automatic savings plan in an account that is not so easy to reach. Try http://www.INGdirect.com or something similar. Have a small amount of your paycheck automatically transferred. You will learn to live on the rest.
Get Support
Your friends or family may be influencing your spending. If you are spending, shopping, eating out too often, etc. Look at the reasons. Are you keeping up with the Joneses? Are your friends spendthrifts? Are they in debt too? Are you looking to fill a void in your life? Is it an emotional release? Associate yourself with people who have the same intentions; Living within their means. Talk to your spouse, family and friends and include them in this process. The more support you have, the better.
Find inspiration on the Internet as well. Subscribe to money saving newsletters.www.stretcher.com and www.thefrugallife.com both have great and inspiring newsletters and forums to meet other people who are living within their means. Join in on frugal and money saving forums. Watch out for get-rich-quick schemes. They will never make you money.
Of all the books I read, I have found two of them to be most helpful. The first book is “Your money or your life”. As with any self-help book, you will find points that work for you and those that don’t. Changing your view of money is critical in changing your financial picture. The second is “The tightwad gazette” this one is fun to read from cover to cover. It’s full of great tips and stories to keep you motivated. I don’t rewash plastic Baggies, but I love the pizza dough recipe and it’s written in an easy to read manner.
One last thought; everyone has an opinion, advice, tricks and tips to help you. Pick and choose what works for you. Not everything will be right for everyone. You control your own destiny and financial future. The hardest part is to get started.
