Save and Earn Money

分类： Frugal Living

  • What Benefits You Get By Living Below Your Means

    If you think living below your means is only for low income, let me tell you are wrong

    There are so many people with high income who are living below their means not because they are stingy

    They have a deep reasons behind that, they believe in building wealth and not debt

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    Living beyond your means requires few sacrifices at the start

    But when you get used to that, it can become your norm

    living below your means
    Portrait Of Happy Couple Inserting Coin In Piggybank

    I will list below the benefits you get if you live below your means so I will begin with

    Contents  show 

    Living below your means leads to being debt free

    Living below your means results in being debt free

    I can never think of someone who is living below his means and accumulating debt

    This only happens if you decide to live below your means

    After losing control of your financial position and you decided to get rid of your debt

    It is always the other way around

    You take a decision to live beyond your means and that leads to always look for the basic necessary needs

    No luxury cars just workable ones, no big purchases but only reasonable ones

    You experience less anxiety and stress

    I mentioned before I experienced insomnia when I started saving money

    I had few dollars in my account and I was worried about not being able to make it

    The only way to relieve you from anxiety and stress is to avoid buying new things that put you in debt

    By the way, you buy big purchases either on credit card or line of credit

    It can be installment with the vendor or you pay it from your saving – the latter is the wisest option

    Ignoring what others say about you

    I love Dave Ramsey’s quote that saysWe buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.Click To Tweet

    Although he exaggerated when he said impress people we don’t like but I agree with him on the first part

    Yes we buy things we don’t need

    That is usually because we saw it at someone’s house or a friend or family told us about it

    Also with money we don’t have is true as you can walk in a car dealership to buy a brand new car with 4-5 years credit and finish the process in less than 10 minutes

    You spend 10 minutes but you suffer 5 years

    Maybe you end up selling the car which will not cover the credit amount, you end up paying debt

    Living below your means gives you self confidence to overcome what relatives and friends think about you

    At least you are living your live the way you want it

    You start building wealth

    I had to list this point after ignoring what others have to say about you

    Can you imagine how great you have done by living beyond your means?

    First thing, you will start thinking about future and retirement, saving money and building wealth

    If you follow the above quote from Dave Ramsey

    Then you will find that you have set yourself apart from your surroundings

    You are living debt free and saving for retirement while others struggling in debt

    But showing that they are living a luxurious lifeIf you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else. (Dave Ramsey)Click To Tweet

    You get better credit score

    If you are living below your means, you actually don’t care about credit score

    You don’t need credit score to apply for a loan or a credit card

    Let me tell you this, live below your means and credit score will improve tremendously as you are listed as someone who has no debt

    How to start living below your means

    There are certain steps to follow to live below your means

    But before you start make sure you are going through some sacrifices

    It is not hard as you can practice step by step living beyond your means

    You can start by believing that driving a used car and ignoring what people say

    Excusing extra hang out if it is out of your budget with your friends and family

    I know they can give you hard time but don’t make excuses, be transparent and tell them upfront that you only hang out once a week or whatever you decide

    Anyway follow the steps below to live beyond your means

    Pay yourself first

    This terms means to deduct on every paycheck a specific amount or percentage to your saving to build your retirement plan or kids education

    Build your budget

    The only way to manage and understand where every dollar of your income goes is by building a family budget

    You will understand where you spend your income

    Also you will be able to see which expenses you can cut or reduce

    Hold on for 30 days

    Before splurging on luxurious item, hold yourself on for 30 days

    If you still feel like you want to buy it then go ahead

    The idea behind the 30 days lies in waiting this long period will kill your desire to own this item

    Consider used over new items

    It becomes very natural to look for used items instead of buying something new

    You start with buying used cars

    If you need to buy furniture, shop around and look for places that sell used items like Facebook Marketplace

    Donate to charities

    You have to put yourself in place for those who are needy

    If you live your life without helping poor people then you will never be able to experience austerity

    Nobody can ever express the feeling you get when you help the poor

    It is something you have to experience yourself

  • How Much Should I Spend On Food a Month And Budget Your Groceries

    Question I always ask myself how much should I spend on food a month

    I was clueless until I started building my family budget and track spending

    I am able now to track my monthly food budget easily and efficiently

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    Keep in mind food budget for one person is less than multiple persons living together in the same household

    How is that? simply how much to spend on groceries depends on age and gender

    Women tend to do more cooking if living alone compared to men

    At the same time, teenagers eat more protein compared to toddlers

    Anyway I discuss below how much to spend on food per month according to your social status

    Contents show

    How much to spend on food a month if single?

    Actually being single is the best way to control your food budget and control your grocery spending

    You should expect to spend between 10% to 15% of your income

    In terms of dollar amounts expect from $150 to $300 based on your age

    This food budget surges when having toddlers

    You buy things you never thought about like maple syrup, pan cakes, waffles and weird types of cereal

    Monthly food budget for college students

    While studying I wasn’t paying attention on how much should I spend on food a month?

    Average grocery spending is around $400 because I spent most of my days outside at college

    I had to eat many fast foods I was very short in time to cook and take food with me at college

    If you are not living in dorm then you have to buy your groceries

    It consists of expensive cook from frozen packs, chips and junk food

    I don’t blame you as I was in the same situation

    How much to spend on food as a couple?

    As couple you enjoy dinning out as this builds your memories together

    You remember these days as you won’t be able to enjoy it when having kids

    Average food budget is quiet higher than single person and it is mostly expenses coming from dinning out

    Average food budget for family of 4

    Typically for a family of 4 an average food budget is in the range of $450 to $700

    This amount reflect the average in US and Canada where US is cheaper than Canada

    The $450 lower range is feasible if you are vegetarian as meat, poultry and fish add up to your grocery bill

    Anyway when you learn how to build a budget you will be able to monitor your grocery spending

    Until you do that try to eat left over from dinners in lunches

    Plan your shopping list before you go to the grocery store

    Mobile apps like Flipp or reebee save you money by displaying any grocery item and its price across all supermarkets

    And where to find the grocery stores that discount it

    Also use coupons and cash back apps like Rakuten, Mr Rebates and MyPoints for extra savings

    Try to reduce alcohol and soft drinks and join wholesale club membership to save money when buying grocery items in bulk

    Finally do your best to reduce your dinning out

  • How To Save Money During Coronavirus – Using 30 Smart Tricks

    COVID pandemic arrived suddenly and we all panicked including myself

    Immediately people started to think how to save money during Coronavirus?

    Those who managed to keep their work going on like Accountants and IT jobs noticed great savings without any efforts from their end

    For myself, I noticed right away the before and after school programs are not paid anymore for my 2 kids plus all of my transportation

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    In this post, I will discuss ways to save money during Coronavirus

    Before I start let me ask you

    Contents show

    Why is it important to save money during pandemic?

    Good question, if you are still having your job then corona pandemic is the perfect time to save money

    But why? simply because you can’t tell if you would be able to keep your job

    You also cannot predict if there will be another future time good for you to pay your debt or even push money to any small loan you have

    You don’t have to worry about putting effort to cut many expenses as many things due to staying home will be eliminated

    Take an example, the trip to gas stations, saving all the money for before and after school programs

    Also buying clothes became completely unnecessary

    Reduce your car premium insurance

    When the pandemic started, I wasn’t sure when it is going end

    I realized after 4-5 months of not going anywhere I can save on car premium insurance

    It was easy to suspend one of my two cars and to change the way I drive my car

    I saved 50% annually of my car premium insurance on the spot

    Cut your hair at home

    I was not planning to save money during Coronavirus

    It happened out of my control as all hair cutters were forced to shut down

    Actually I realized it isn’t about saving money but the haircut is no more different than the service I get at any hair cutter

    Buy your items online

    If you can buy everything online with no shipping cost so why you’ll go to stores

    That became possible because all stores reduced the minimum amount to qualify for free shipping

    If you know what you need to get then save money and reduce the risk of infection

    Stick to a budget

    It is a good time now to start creating a budget to save money during Coronavirus

    You need to use a budget like the one from my product page as shown below to control where to direct all the money you saved from all the shutdown activities

    It is important to control your extra money as without budgeting your income you can end up in debt

    How could this happen? simply the idea of having a surplus after covering all expenses can lead to spending your extra money in unused products or services

    Pay yourself first

    Pay yourself first is a term I did not invent it but it is a well known one

    Simply you deduct a percentage or specific amount from every paycheck

    Why you do that? because you need to make sure you will be able to save

    If you spend your income even with using a budget it may be out of control and you miss saving for the month

    But if you save on every paycheck by asking your bank to automate transfer of certain percentage or specific amount then you guarantee you save no matter what

    Transfer balance to 0% to pay debt

    I always get every other months an offer to one of my credit cards to transfer all credit cards balance to one particular card with 0% interest for 12 months and sometimes 18 months

    This would be useful if you are struggling with debt on your credit cards so you can consolidate all credit balance into 0% for specific time

    That’s why I thought about building a tool that can help you control your debt

    Plan your meals with shopping list

    Nothing is better than going once per week to grocery store and buying all your needs

    I realized by using shopping list app like AnyList I have full control on my groceries

    The best thing about shopping list apps is that you can easily integrate with Amazon Alexa or Google Home

    I love it because you don’t write your grocery shopping list

    All you need to do is say the name Alexa followed by the grocery items you want to add to your shopping list

    Buy generic brands

    I always buy generic brands if I see them on the shelves

    You won’t believe me if I tell you very few products I go with the original brands

    Usually because the generic brands are either dilute or not effective as original

    On the other side, I save money even if there was no coronavirus

    Apply the 30 days rule

    Anything you want to buy especially a big item put it back on shelf

    Go home and wait for 30 days

    See if you really have the same passion to buy it

    If you are I won’t prohibit you

    Keep your spare change in a jar

    I know this trick is not going to save money in Coronavirus

    But it can be a habit to practice all the time

    Bring a jar and dump any coins you have in your pocket when you get home

    Wait and see how much you will save after a year

    Never be tricked by huge sales

    To be fair I myself used to waste a lot of time looking at flyers

    And recently with the rise of mobile apps, you can easily hunt discounts throughout all stores

    Later I realized it is really a waste of money when you get tricked by any huge sales

    Let’s say you woke up on up to 75% sales on shoes, do you really need to buy new shoe?

    In most cases, all of us get tricked buying things we don’t need because they are cheap

    Choose affordable rent or mortgage amount

    If you really need to save money to pass time till after coronavirus ends then you have to choose affordable rent or pay a mortgage that does not keep you tight

    How would you know that? if you have a budget especially like my budget sheet I use

    You can easily come up with percentages of all expenses according to your total income

    I am using hypothetical numbers not really representing my family income

    Time for building an emergency fund

    Nothing is better than knowing you can ready for any emergency that can happen out of your control like your car break and needs a repair

    I always tell my readers to start building an emergency fund

    It can be hard when you start but by using my free emergency fund saving plan below, this can make your life easy towards saving for your emergency

    use emergency fund to save money if you’re broke

    Plan for the Tax season

    Once COVID pandemic started I realized I will get almost no refund in tax season

    Actually the refund I get from before and after school program and commute to work are going to be dropped

    I set my expectation on that and I diverted my payments towards increasing what I deposit in my retirement saving plan

    By doing that you help compensate previous years and also you will get a tax refund

    Cancel magazine subscription and GYM membership

    Still want to keep your GYM membership during pandemic

    Even if there is no COVID, you still can save money by buying the treadmill, dumbbells and Incline bench press you use at the GYM and use it in your basement

    Also you can check if you can go to your local community center and see if they have these tools

    Almost all community center have these tools

    cancel GYM membership to save money in coronavirus time

    When it comes to magazines, ask yourself if you still read them

    I am afraid you get your magazines and you look at the cover

    You leave it sitting for long time and it ends in your recycle

    Use major appliances on low peak and weekends only

    As you may know during the day there are 3 rates of electricity charges

    The cheapest one starts 7 pm till 7 am on weekdays while weekend is low peak all day

    My question to you, can you adjust your schedule to operate your washing machine, dryer and washing machine during low peak period

    This will save money all year and not during coronavirus only

    Use LED bulbs and turn off unnecessary lights

    When LED bulbs was released in the market it was so expensive

    Right now LED bulbs almost the same price as regular bulbs

    You will lose nothing buying all your bulbs as LED

    But you will save a lot of money on your power bills

    I really noticed a drop in my electricity charges when I changed all light bulbs

    Use smart thermostat

    Smart thermostat can do so many things more than you imagine

    If you think smart thermostat has multiple daily programs to set

    Not only that but some smart thermostat can adjust temperature automatically according to the weather outside your home

    Also with the ability to control it from your mobile app and providing you with detail report of your daily, weekly and monthly consumption

    Use coupons and cash back apps

    I remember the old days of collecting all flyers to find coupons and discounts

    Nowadays all mobile shopping apps can do this work easily for you

    I encourage you to check these apps like Rakuten, MyPoints, TopCashBack, Qmee, ShopAtHome, Honey, Shopkick and Paribus as most of them give sign up cash bonus

    For grocery shopping an app like Ibotta gives $20 bonus when you sign up while Fetch Rewards rewards you with $2 when you sign up

    More apps like Receipt Hog, Cashout 51 and Storewards are grocery apps for you to check

    You can also link your debit or credit cards and monitor what you buy with an pp called Dosh and get $5 sign up bonus

    For saving on gas you can use GetUpside where it will give you 25 cents back on all gas receipts

    Use cashback credit cards

    I really love cash back credit cards where you earn cash by using your credit card buying specific category like grocery, gas or paying recurring bills

    There are so many cash back credit cards that gives you 4% or more with annual fees

    I applied for a credit card that gave me 3% on grocery, gas and recurring bills with a promotion of $60 annual fee and free supplementary card for spouse

    You won’t believe it if I tell you that I made $756 as cash back for the first year

    Cut cigarettes, alcohols and soft drinks

    If not for saving money during coronavirus then it is for your health

    Cut cigarettes and see how your lungs will improve

    When it comes to alcohols I will ask you to reduce alcohol from daily habit to drinking in occasions only

    For soft drinks, there is no significant proof that it is unhealthy but I know a friend who really started to lose weight just for cutting soft drinks

    Join wholesale club membership

    Joining wholesale club membership is up to you

    You have to calculate if you will save money during coronavirus or in general

    I will speak about myself as I used to pay $60 and I buy so many grocery items in bulk that are cheaper than supermarket

    I tried to upgrade my membership to pay $120 and get 2% cash back where I collected $86 cash back which means my membership costs me less than $60 as if I paid $34

    Reduce take away to special occasions only

    I don’t need to tell you to reduce dinning out but also take away

    Some families make it a habit to buy take away dinners as they are not ready to cook when they come back from work

    Actually I am on the same boat like you but make a habit to cook 2-3 meals on weekend with big portion to eat them during weekdays

    It is OK to buy take away food from time to time but don’t rely on that as your daily routine

    Replace your cable with IPTV

    When I first heard about IPTV I thought it is a bunch of useless channels

    Since it is very cheap I said why I don’t give it as a try

    Actually I did not need to buy the subscription as most of IPTV subscriptions allow you to get one day trial

    In the end, I found I saved easily $60 a month for cable subscription

    You won’t believe me if I tell you I pay $40 annually

    Giving up your home phone

    It took me a while till I realized there is no point of using a home phone

    Both myself and my wife use cell phones so we can be reached easily

    If you feel like you need just in case an extra home phone then it will be better to go for VOIP phone

    You pay using VOIP phone less than $40 annually which is around $3 a month

    Consider buying used items

    First, I am a big fan of Facebook Marketplace or an app called Nextdoor

    This advice is not about saving money during coronavirus

    But it works for me all the time

    Actually it became a trend for me by selling and buying many things there

    One day I was looking for a piano, I went and searched Facebook Marketplace and I found so many sellers offering their pianos for free but you arrange the pickup

    Actually I thought what if I own a truck and move around neighbors checking these pianos and carrying those in good conditions

    You would be able to sell them easily later on

    My point is there are so many things sold there with a fraction of its original prices

    Know the difference between your needs and wants

    I know I discussed it so many times before but I would like to mention it again

    Are you still confused between your needs and wants

    Your needs are any thing that keep you alive like your shelter

    I mean the place you live in represented in your mortgage or rent

    Your transportation and your essential food

    Anything other than that can be categorized as wants

    Make money with side hustle and kill time too

    I heard so many real stories for people who were able not only to save money during coronavirus

    But to make money too in time of pandemic

    Pursuing a side hustle made them able to make side income and kill time too

    Some people decided to sell ready made meals where they take the orders on Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor

    There are others who offered to walk dogs or to babysit toddlers

    It doesn’t matter what you know or do you just need to put yourself in front of those who need your service

    Find cheap gas stations to save money

    I know it is obvious if I tell you to fill up gas from the cheapest gas station

    Question is where you find cheap gas near you as price changes daily

    I have two gas stations nearby where one is always cheaper than the other

    But this is not the case all the time as gas price is fluctuating many times a day

    Anyway I found an app called GasBuddy where it lists all the gas prices near you

    You can also combine it with an app called GetUpside where it gives you $25 cents on each gas fill up

    Join 52 weeks money saving challenge

    Have you read my previous post about 52 weeks money saving challenge

    It is a fun challenge to take and you won’t regret it

    Simply it is a money saving challenge for an entire year

    You start your year by saving $1 on the first week and then you increment it by $1 every week till the end of the year where you will save $52 on the 52nd week

    You can do so many variations of this challenge like reversing the challenge and save the highest amount of $52 on the first week and decrement it as you go forward

    Or you can mix one week high and one week low amount – it’s all up to you

  • Living In A Car To Save Money – Find Out How To Do That Starting Today?

    Have you thought about living in a car to save money?

    Well, you are not alone

    I found 3 facebook groups with minimum of 5 thousands members in each

    Most importantly, 2 reddit sections for discussing this topic one called urban car living

    While the other is called vandwellers

    This means the concept of turning a car into a dwelling is a common idea between many groups of people

    But why would anybody think to live in a car and giving up on his home?

    I know it would make sense to live in a tent as tents are spacious but not in a car

    That’s why I am going to discuss the idea of living in a car in details below

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    Contents show

    Would you live in a car to save money?

    Actually saving money is not the only reason to live in a car

    You will save a lot of money more than you have estimated

    But few people pursue a moving action around US to visit all states

    That would take easily around a year to move and stay in all states

    While there are others who want to experience simple life and abandoning lot of items

    Are living costs on housing currently exorbitant?

    Without any doubt handling mortgage is exorbitant

    You can pay up to 40% of your income, in other words combined family income to cover just the mortgage

    In so many cities in US and Canada it is tough to pay mortgage if you are having single income

    Even acquiring a mortgage in some areas requires you to pay 20% of the house price just to get the bank to approve your mortgage amount

    Beside mortgage, you have property tax plus all utilities and home maintenance

    Even if it is rent, it can eat up to 25% or 30% of your income

    Pros of living in a car

    There are 3 benefits of living in a car to save money

    Cost effective

    Very cheap even if you pay extra gas and insurance

    There is no way you can compare what you will pay extra against house expenses

    You will cut electricity and utilities

    But you definitely need a GYM membership for taking showers

    You can camp for free in any public parking lot near playgrounds

    Definitely you wouldn’t be able to cook so you will buy ready made meals

    You can use microwave at work or maybe in GYM

    Freedom

    Those living in cars or vans decided to escape the modern society and live life on their own terms

    Some do that so they can travel freely with less cost

    They managed to shrink the living expenses to the bare minimum

    With no rent increase and home repairs

    Friendships

    Do you remember about the Facebook and Reddit groups I told you about?

    Those people living in cars managed to arrange to travel together across the US and arrange to have regular meetings together

    They post their favorite spots and safest places to sleep over

    Although there are many benefits for living in a car to save money

    But you have to be aware of the cons too so you can make informative decision

    Lack of security

    The top cons is the lack of security

    Imagine a mother and her daughter living in a car how unsecure it could be?

    This is not a thought I made but there was a real life story on Reddit of a mother who had to live with her daughter in a car

    So if you are living on your own or with a partner it would be OK

    But don’t live in a van if you have a family to care about

    Cooking your food

    If you are obsessed of living and eating healthy food then living in a car won’t help you achieve that

    There is no way you can enjoy cooking healthy food in a car or van

    You have to rely on eating junky and using kitchen appliances like microwave at work

    Being alone

    Yes you can experience being alone as this won’t be a surprise to you

    Most of those who experienced living in a car to save money had their relatives cut their relationships with them

    Homeless stereotype

    Unfortunately if you live in a car for the sake of saving money or for any other reason

    You have no way to avoid the stereotype of surroundings seeing you as homeless

    Reality of living in a car to save money

    In reality living in your own car is a personal decision you make that comes with disadvantages beside benefits like saving money

    You make this decision easily if you have no family

    Or I would say if you have a plan to save the money you would lose in housing costs

    Like so many people who lived in cars managed to pay their students loan in very short time compared to those who did not

  • Living In A Tent To Save Money – Find Out How To Do That Starting Today?

    Is living in a tent to save money a crazy idea?

    May be it is crazy for those who adapts well to modern life

    But there are people who don’t care and tired of daily life routine

    They decided to live in a tent not only to save money as the main reason

    But living off the grid tent is a way to retain healthy mind and body

    Earlier I discussed living in a mobile home as an alternative way to regular home

    There are few affiliate links, if you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you

    And in this post I am discussing living in a tent as a way to save money and many more

    Contents show

    Is living in a tent something real?

    Yes living of the grid tent is real and some people choose to live this life

    It is a primitive life unplugged from any sort of modern life

    You won’t get mails, you can’t watch TV or have an internet access

    I think those who decide to live of the grid have gut and will power

    At the same time, they have courage to ignore society’s stereotype against them

    Why people decide to live in a tent?

    It is hard to get into the mind of those who decide to live in a tent

    Yes, living in a tent to save money is one valid reason

    You will cut around 30% of your rent or mortgage

    Plus cutting all utilities like electricity and water

    Those who live of the grid tents stay in groups as they need bathroom with shower

    Usually they have a van nearby furnished with shower stalls

    You put your name on a waiting list for your turn to take a shower

    Anyway beside saving money there are other reasons like

    • Simple life as you stay away from the stress you experience in the city
    • Exposure to nature by living in an open green land space
    • Less commitment to the land as you can move anywhere
    • Accepting new challenge and try new things
    • Less pollution you are exposed to

    How much living in a tent will save money for you?

    Living in a tent is a proven way to save lot of money

    You cut at least 30% of your rent and mortgage

    No bills at all like electricity, water, internet and AC

    I think you need to keep your cell phone on

    No maintenance or repairs for your home

    How to choose the right tent to live permanently?

    There are certain requirements you have to choose in any tent like

    1- Your tent has to protect you from rain so it should be made of nylon or canvases

    2- Look for large tent like 20 by 10 feet which is enough for 12 to sleep inside and can fit 4 queen air beds

    3- Durability as you need a sturdy tent that can stand rains, sun or snow

    What are the things to consider before living in a tent?

    There are few things to consider before you live in a tent like

    1- Make sure you park your tent in a camping area with no rental fees

    2- The land where you base your tent should be flat and smooth

    3- You should consider keeping your belongings to the bare minimum

    What are the benefits of living in a tent?

    There are direct benefits of living in a tent like

    Decreased expenses

    Your expenses will be decreased drastically as living in a tent you will save money by cutting your rent or mortgage

    Almost no utility bills and no appliances to use at all

    Enjoying nature

    It is proven by studies that living in nature enhances your mood and relaxes your mind

    Healthy living

    Living off grid has great impact on your health as you get rid of high end products and all appliances that are under suspicious to cause health issues like microwave

    Completely portable

    Being able to live anywhere as you start to decrease your belongs and packing up to move to another place does not become a real issue

    Become Eco friendly

    You will start to be less polluting to earth as you decrease the amount of carbon dioxide you contribute to the planet

    Challenge yourself

    It is a challenging experience as you practice lighting fire and cooking healthy food

    Pros and cons of living in a tent

    Living in a tent as a way to save money beside having its pros, it has its cons too

    Starting with pros of living outdoor

    Starting with pros definitely I have to admit you will get rid of 70% of your expenses

    You’ll begin to live a basic and healthy life and that’s good to feel you are an adaptable person

    Your mind will start to focus on things you would never do like reading and solving sudoku

    Also getting the feeling of being portable and not attached to certain place

    And getting back your mind to enjoy the nature like twitters of birds and chirping of crickets

    For the cons, there are so many things that can hold you back

    But it all depends on your personality

    Cons of living outdoor

    Missing electricity is not an easy thing for anyone

    If you think about all the appliances and devices using electricity

    It is more than you think, for example you won’t be able to use your laptop

    Even if it is running on lithium battery, it needs to be charged

    Also missing all types of coffee machines that operate with electricity

    I will speak about myself, I cannot get rid of my espresso machine

    Getting disconnected from the internet is very tough

    Even if you decide to use your mobile data plan

    You have to be very conservative as you don’t want to drain your phone

    You should consider safety reasons when living outdoor

    Accidents happen, you have to be ready with first-aid kits and survival gear on hand

    You have to be tough to resist the bad weather

    It may be fun if you start living in a tent during spring

    But what about winter weather especially if it is snowing or during thunderstorms

    Sanitation issues and their impact on your life

    By living in a tent, you are exposing yourself to lack of modern sanitation devices

    For example, you have no access to toilet and you have to make sure to dispose your waste in a proper area to avoid insects nearby your tent

    Also the idea of getting your shower in a limited schedule is something you should think about

    Especially if you like to take shower daily that may not be possible in a tent

    Facing dangers of wild animals

    If you see dears and bunnies that are not an issue at all

    Expect to see from time to time few wild animals like racoons, snakes or maybe bears

    And in the end, if you live living in a tent to save money then you might be interested to read about living in car too

    You can also read this guide about living off the grid

  • Living in Mobile Home to Save Money – Find Out How?

    Is living in mobile home to save money something feasible?

    Yes, but on few conditions otherwise you will lose money buying a mobile home

    When I first got married, I acquired a mortgage and bought a condo

    Everyone told me this was wrong decision as I bought it for short term

    There are few affiliate links, if you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you

    Anyway I realized that when I tried to sell it

    Bottom line, living in a mobile home to save money is not true all the time

    That’s why in this post, I will talk about living in mobile home as a way to save money

    Contents show

    What is mobile home?

    Mobile home is premade structure built on a permanent chassis

    It gets transported to site by either being towed or using a trailer

    Most of the time, mobile home settles in one place for long time or permanently

    Is mobile home similar to trailer home?

    Yes, mobile home has many names and what is used equally is trailer home

    You can call it park home, static caravan, RV, residential caravan, manufactured home, motorhome, trailer, trailer home or house trailer

    What are mobile home sizes?

    Mobile or trailer homes come in 3 sizes

    • Single about 15 feet wide
    • Double about 26 feet wide
    • Triple upwards of 45 feet wide

    Is living in a mobile home worth it?

    Sometimes living in mobile home to save money is worth it

    First, I will list the pros and cons of living in a mobile home

    Then I will list a scenario when it is really worth it

    Pros of living in a mobile home

    Overall pros of living in a mobile home is its affordability

    Not all families are able to afford buying home at least at the beginning

    1- Cost is significantly low compared to buying home or town house

    2- Affordability as you can easily live in due to its price

    It would be great if you own the land

    3- You don’t pay property tax if you don’t own the land

    But you pay HOA (Home Association Fee)

    4- Small yards if you don’t like taking care of garden

    5- You can upgrade, paint or completely remodel your mobile home anytime

    6- Location to parks that sometimes conveniently located near a pond or lake

    7- You can have your pet as they are allowed

    Cons of living in a mobile home

    Those living in a mobile home got a stereotype attached to them

    But If you don’t care how people think of you then check real cons of mobile homes

    1- Mobile homes go steep and depreciate in value quickly than regular homes

    The average life of any mobile home is 15 – 20 years

    This means if your home is 15 years it will be hard to sell

    But if you own the land, the price will increase a little bit year after another

    Not because of your mobile home but because of the land you own

    2- You have to pay rent for the land you have your mobile home on

    It is still cheaper than renting an apartment

    3- Mobile home setup in parks take long time to sell

    As I mentioned above there is a stigma associated with mobile home ownership that can turn off buyers

    4- Old mobile home is hard to move sometimes you pay more than the mobile home price itself for just moving it

    5- You can add amenities to your trailer home and change a little of the design inside

    But it is limited plus the roof looks crappy

    6- Sometimes mobile homes have poor insulation especially old homes

    Most replacement you have to buy from retailers specialized in mobile homes because of its odd size

    When is mobile home really worth it?

    As I said earlier mobile home depreciates in value quickly

    Since the lifetime of any mobile home is 20 years maximum

    To start living in mobile home to save money really worth it

    You have to do the following

    1- Buy mobile home which is little bit older like 3-5 years and live there 3-5 years there

    2- If you own the land this will be a great asset

    At least you don’t have to worry about your mobile home depreciation

    3- If you will rent the land then take a careful look by driving through in the park

    Make sure it is safe from crime and drugs

    Check this park at 8 am, 2 pm and 2 am weekdays and weekends

    4- Check insulation and pipes below the mobile home as these pipes are exposed to weather condition and so they are prune to rust and decay

    5- Pay your mobile home amount in full

    Or if you are short of cash then consider paying it from a very low loan

    Is living in mobile home cheaper?

    Yes it is cheaper in the short term if you spend 3 to 5 years to live in

    So living in a mobile home to save money in the short term is good

    Assuming you have not a very old trailer home

    You don’t want to lose your money when selling it

    And manage to get a loan with decent interest that doesn’t break your back

    Is buying mobile home a bad investment?

    Buying a mobile home for long period more than 5 years is bad investment

    Specially if you don’t own the land

    Imagine taking a loan for $50,000 and after 10 years your mobile home is worth $25,000

    A surprising fact, during the first 5-8 years you are paying more interest than principal

    Plus you end up selling your mobile home for loss

    You did not make any investment here

    In fact, you lost money and the amount you saved will be decreased to compensate your depreciated value

    How can you turn your mobile home to good investment?

    The only way is to buy an old mobile home with good insulation

    Place your trailer home on your own land

    If you buy a mobile home for $5,000 and sell it for $1,500 after 3 years

    You lost $3,500 in 3 years which is equivalent to $97 a month as rent

    At the same time, you save money in good short term bonds

    Later sell your home and the land and buy regular home

    I assume you would have a decent amount as a down payment for your home

    If you cut $1,400 for 36 months that’s equivalent to $50,400 plus interest on invested money

    Is it cheaper to live in a mobile home or apartment?

    Living in a mobile home to save money compared to living in apartment can only be true in the following cases

    If you buy a decent mobile home for let’s say $25,000 and live in for 4 years

    Then you will sell it for $10,000 – I am assuming low numbers to entice buyers and to show the difference in price compared to apartment

    This means, you have $10,000 loss in 48 months which is about $312.5

    If you rent an apartment, average is $850 a month

    This means you save at least $500

    What is cheaper than buying mobile home and rent an apartment?

    What is better from buying mobile home or renting an apartment is to rent a mobile home

    You can get a hybrid plan between both

    Let’s say you rent a trailer home for $350

    This is more than $312.5 but you forgot that you have to make a monthly payment for your loan

    Let’s say you pay $5,000 as down payment and borrow a loan for $20,000 with 6% interest for 10 years

    This comes to $170 a month extra so renting a mobile home is cheaper than buying it or renting an apartment

    What to look for when buying a mobile home?

    Unfortunately buying a mobile home is kind of a challenge

    Because living in mobile home to save money can be a dream come true

    Or nightmare of losing your hard earned money

    And your plan to save money for your dream home

    Things to consider before buying mobile home in park

    1- How much you will pay for HOA (Home Association Fee)?

    Keep in mind, most of these parks when charging for HOA they charge an amount that includes all of your utilities similar to Condo fee

    I remember I was paying $480 in my condo fee

    But I didn’t regret it as this fee covered heat/cool air, electricity, water and using all the amenities included in the Condo

    Like swimming pool, sauna and Jacuzzi, 2 tennis courts, library, entertainment room with 2 tennis table and patio on the fifth floor

    2- Does the park include common area you can use?

    3- Does your park have gated community?

    This will make it very save to live in

    4- Is it safe for your friends and relative to visit and good space to park their cars?

    5- Can you own the land after some time or it will stay as lease?

    6- Make sure you are buying a used mobile home to get a good deal

    I am not sure if I describe mobile homes to cars

    In cars, once you take it on the road you can lose easily 10% from its price

    Same thing for mobile homes, enter the market with used mobile home to negotiate a better deal

    Things to consider before buying mobile home in private land

    Just by owning a land will change how your mobile home looks in the market

    In case when you decide to sell it as I’ve never heard of anyone buying mobile home for permanent living

    1- Make sure the land is not expensive

    If you got a mortgage, it will dedicate $23,000 towards the land

    2- If you acquire a mobile home mortgage, it will be a maximum of 20 years

    3- How much you will pay as a property tax for the land?

    4- Don’t forget to check your neighborhood safety and crime rate

    5- Check the school ratings if you have kids going to school

    6- Make sure you can connect electricity, water and sewage system

    7- Check the internet connection in your area

    8- How much you will pay for garbage or recycling?

    What is the best month to buy a mobile home?

    In mid summer, during the week of Thanksgiving and the whole month of December

    You don’t want to enter a bid competition for mobile homes

    That’s why you choose the above 3 times of year where all buyers are busy

    What credit score is needed to buy a mobile home?

    To qualify for a FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan you need to have at least a credit score of 580 and 3.5% down payment

    With credit score of 620 you will be qualified for conventional mortgage

    How can you increase the value of your mobile home?

    There are many ideas to choose to increase the value of your mobile home like

    1- Buy the land where you have your mobile home on

    You have a value for the land while your mobile home depreciates steeply

    2- Replacing your old windows and doors with energy efficient upgraded ones

    3- Change your old skirting and siding

    Also I recommend to read about living in a tent to save money

  • How to Save Money When You’re Broke – Find Out Using 28 Tips

    Do you need to know how to save money when you’re broke?

    There is no hidden secrets or information

    You just need to be disciplined and inclined to improve your financial condition

    Perhaps you may not be aware of all below advices

    Once you know them what is left for you is to apply what you’ve learnt

    There are few affiliate links, if you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you

    how to save money when you're broke

    That’s why I will discuss below how to save money when you’re broke

    Contents  show 

    Stick to a budget

    I believe budget is like a compass to your financial destiny

    By using a budget you will be able to analyze where every dollar is going to

    Creating a family budget is something very easy to build

    But if you are lost and not sure from where to start then read about how to budget your money

    To make it even convenient, I have made hard work easy for you by creating my best budget planner as one of my products

    dated monthly budget page

    Pay yourself first and automate transfer

    Pay yourself is a simple term which means to ask you bank to cut an amount or percentage from every paycheck to your saving account

    Or whatever you agree upon with your bank as all banks can easily customize this automatic transfer for you

    Work on getting out of debt

    If you are wondering how to save money when you’re broke

    I will tell you a surprise by paying off your debt

    Perhaps your debt occurred due to many reasons like medical bill or due to gambling

    Deferring your debt will put you in a financial trouble as interest accumulates every day

    You are not fighting against your loans but also against accumulated interests

    I love the below debt tracker which helps people nail down and pay debt easily

    debt tracker to save money if you're broke

    Buy generic brands

    I really don’t understand those who buy organic food – I am not against them

    Seriously not only I never buy organic but also I give it a try to many generic brands

    There are so many generic brands in grocery stores cheaper than original products

    If I try any generic brand and it is good – I add it to my money saving list

    Practice the 30 days rule

    If you see a big ticket item and you want to splurge money on

    Try the 30 day rule or method

    Simply put it back on the shelf and leave the store

    Wait for 30 days and ask yourself if you still want to purchase it

    Use a jar for your spare change

    I know this may not save money when you’re broke

    But it will make you caring about money

    I remember walking with someone who purchased coffee with cash

    It happened that few dimes and nickels fell off his hand

    I waited a little bit as I though he didn’t notice

    Then I told him and he didn’t take any action

    I crouched down and collected his coins and handed back to him

    It was so embarrassing as he refused to take them back

    He told me he wouldn’t put an effort to pick up change

    I didn’t know what to do?

    Should I put them in my pocket, I kept them in my hand till he left and took them

    If you think there is an alternative solution, let me know in the comment

    I can’t through them back again my hands won’t obey me

    Don’t be fooled by any sales

    Imagine you visit a mall and your eyes fall on an incredible sales

    Question to you, do you really want this discounted item?

    Most probably you don’t but you get them because they are on sale

    I was at Costco one day and I noticed winter jackets were on big discount

    It was a great temptation to me as I love jackets but I have already 5 jackets

    I took me some time to resist buying it although it was very cheap

    But it is about the concept itself

    What about you in that situation?

    Choose affordable rent or mortgage amount

    Unfortunately nobody knows before going for a mortgage or rent what is the percentage of they pay according to their total income

    I am confident you won’t be able to answer this question if you don’t have a family budget

    how to budget by calculating percentages of expenses per income
    I am using hypothetical numbers not really representing my family income

    Any budget especially excel comes with percentage feature to help you calculate your spending percentage for each category

    Build an emergency fund

    Like an anchor to a ship

    Emergency fund is an anchor for your financial life

    With emergency fund you set aside a personal saving amount in an easy to access account without the need to sell or liquidate this account to cash the amount

    This emergency fund will protect you from any debt but how?

    Simply if you encounter any emergency around your home with your roof, your pipes leaks or rusty, wet basement, your car breaks or whatever

    You will have to put yourself into debt to fix this urgent issue and pay the debt later

    But it would be better to pay your urgent thing from your emergency fund

    The below printable is one of many pintables under ultimate budget binder

    saving money for emergency fund if you're broke
    use emergency fund to save money if you’re broke

    Setup a plan for the Tax refund season

    If you are like me who prefers to contribute to your RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) in Canada or IRA (Individual Retirement Account) in U.S

    You will be receiving a refund from Government during your tax season

    Use your tax refund to save money if you’re broke

    Cancel magazine subscription and GYM membership

    All households have either GYM membership, magazine subscription or both

    For magazines, think about it if you really read those magazines

    Or you take them from your door steps and leave them on table then to the recycle

    cancel your gym membership to save money if you're broke
    save money if you’re broke

    And for GYM membership, are you really using all sporting tools there?

    You can get a treadmill at home and it will do the same job for you

    Use major appliances on low peak and weekends only

    Don’t think that this advice is useless

    If you’re looking for how to save money when you’re broke then consider operating your major appliances on low peak and weekends only

    You will save a lot and if you’re not aware major appliances are dish washer, washing machine and dryer

    Oven is also one of the major appliances, to be realistic it is hard to use your oven during the low peak only

    Use LED bulbs and turn off unnecessary lights

    Regular bulbs use 5% of its energy to produce light and the remaining is heat

    By using LED bulbs say goodbye to this wastage as LED uses 75%-80% less energy

    Definitely you will be saving money if you’re broke

    Don’t take this advice lightly and practice turning off unnecessary lights

    Use smart thermostat

    I underestimated how efficient smart thermostat is until I installed one and tested it

    You can’t imagine what smart thermostat can do for you to save on your heat/cool bill

    Like programming it to switch off automatically during certain time of the day

    And being able to control it from your mobile plus adding future vacations timelines

    Smart thermostats are not expensive so if you’re broke and need to save money

    I recommend you to replace your regular thermostat with a smart one

    Use coupons and cash back apps

    Nowadays mobile apps replaced regular flyer coupons

    So you have a chance of not missing any coupon

    Beside coupons, there are so many mobile apps that reward you with cash back

    Like Rakuten where you get $10 bonus when you sign up

    Also couple of similar mobile apps like MyPoints, TopCashBack, Qmee, ShopAtHome, Honey, Shopkick and Paribus

    And for grocery apps there is Ibotta that rewards you for grocery receipts and gives you $20 as sign up bonus

    Fetch Rewards is another similar grocery app and gives you $2 bonus when signing up

    Again there are couple of competitive mobile apps to Ibotta like Receipt Hog, Cashout 51 and Storewards

    Another mobile apps that track your purchases by linking your debit or credit cards to the app like Dosh – sign up and get $5 welcome bonus

    You can save money on gas too by downloading an app called GetUpside as you will collect 25 cents back on every gas receipt

    Use cashback credit cards

    I love cashback credit cards as I make money while shopping for my daily expenses in my budget

    At the end of the year on renewal date you collect cash back a good one

    You have to do your homework and look for credit cards that give you cash back on specific category

    I have a master card that gives me 3% cash back on restaurants so I use that only if I buy any take away food

    Also most of the big stores have their own credit cards that maximize their cash back when you use their cards to pay for your shopping inside their stores

    Plan your meals with shopping list

    How many times I go to grocery store during the week just to pick what I forgot from my last visit

    Not anymore with the shopping list app like AnyList

    Also I have it integrated with Amazon Alexa

    I ask Alexa to add my grocery item to my shopping list and it goes there

    When I visit the supermarket, I go through the items on my shopping list

    Use your leftover dinner for lunch at work

    If you’re keen to know how to save money when you’re broke then stop buying lunch at work

    Each day buying a lunch will cost you from $10 to $12 that’s around $300 a month

    What’s wrong with eating a food you bring from home

    I know some people don’t like the word leftover but they are not as you think

    You plan to cook food to take it with you in your lunch

    Cut cigarettes, alcohols and soft drinks

    I should say cut cigarettes for your health sake

    Reduce alcohols and soft drinks to save money especially if you’re broke

    When it comes to alcohols, I love drinking alcohols on certain occasions with guests

    I cut the habit of drinking by myself

    For soft drinks, I realized I gained weight so I was able to cut it easily

    Join wholesale club membership

    Why I say wholesale club, it costs money for its membership

    Well make up your mind as you buy grocery items in bulk with discounted prices

    Yes you save money but you pay for an annual membership

    I will tell you my experience with wholesale club stores

    Regular membership costs $60 for shopping there

    While executive membership costs $120 and gives 2% cash back on your purchases

    I tried this executive membership and I got a check for $86

    This means I pay around $35 and I save on buying bulky items

    Reduce dinning out to special occasions only

    I don’t want to be weird asking you to cut dinning out

    Be reasonable and reduce dining out

    Assign an amount in your budget for eating out

    Definitely you will save money especially if you’re broke

    Cut cable and replace it with IPTV

    You can’t imagine how much you will save money especially if you’re broke

    By replacing your cable bill around $50 to $70 a month with IPTV which is around $30 a year

    Do you see the huge saving of money here?

    I will leave it for you to make up your mind

    Giving up your home phone

    Everyone is using cell phone nowadays

    In fact you don’t need your home phone

    In case you need to buy a backup phone, go ahead and buy VOIP phone

    I pay $3 a month for my VOIP phone

    Buy used items

    Please can you check Facebook Marketplace before buying any item

    You won’t believe your eyes, you can find used big ticket item with fraction of its original price

    I remember I was trying to estimate how much my Piano was worth

    So I checked Facebook Marketplace and found people offering free Pianos waiting for buyers to pick them up

    Know your needs and wants

    I know there are many people still struggle to understand the difference between their needs and wants

    Are you one of them?

    Simply you needs are everything that keep you alive like your shelter, food and transportation

    Your wants are all the items that make you feel good like buying new clothes, watches or playing console

    Find cheap gas stations to save money

    If you’re broke and willing to save money it is easy with GasBuddy app as you can find an up to date of all gas stations prices near you

    You can combine the above with GetUpside to collect 25 cents on every fill up

    Work side hustle if you’re broke

    If you have a hobby it is a good starting point to save money from it

    But if I don’t really have one, here are some of my previous posts to give you ideas

    Making 200 dollars per day

    How to make 300 dollars fast in 2021

    Making 500 dollars fast cash free

    Join 52 weeks money saving challenge

    I discussed before the 52 weeks money saving challenge

    If you don’t know anything about it

    This is a saving challenge for one full year where you start saving $1 for week one and increment it by $1 every week till the last week of the year where you save $52

    money saving plan for $1,378- 52 weeks money challenge

  • Save Money Live Better In 2025 With These 25 Smart Tricks

    Save money live better if you invest your saved money

    That’s what the above slogan should be using the highlighted sentence

    Saving money itself is a target but not final destination

    Savings without a mission is garbage. Your money needs to work for you, not lie around youdave ramsey

    Anyway many people don’t know how to save money and live a better life

    There are few affiliate links, if you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you

    That’s why I decided to prove that it is so easy to think about ways of saving money

    What is more important is to take action and start saving for your future

    According to Statista, 70% of Americans have less than $1,000 stashed away

    That’s why I am going to show you smart ways on how to save money live better

    Contents show

    Pay yourself first and automate transfer

    Pay yourself first means to deduct an amount from every paycheck or percentage

    I prefer to do that by automating the transfer asking your bank to setup this money automation for you

    If you really want to save money and live better then apply only this smart trick

    Stick to a budget

    Believe it or not, creating a budget is the only way to save money and live better

    I recommend you read my ultimate guide on how to start budgeting

    That’s why I decided to share my best budget planner on my product page

    Buy generic brands

    If you are serious about saving money to live a better life then target buying generic brands

    Go for generic brands on everything not only on groceries

    But extend that to clothing and everything you spend money on

    Practice the 30 days rule on non essential items

    The 30 days rule is simply a method to use if you want to splurge on a big ticket item

    Just put the product you want to buy back to the shelf and wait for 30 days

    If you still feel that you want to buy it then go ahead for it

    Use a jar for your spare change

    I know this tip is not going to save money but you will live caring about every penny

    But it will make you considerate and caring about losing these pennies

    I had a previous post showing you the importance of taking saving pennies challenge

    Setup a plan for the Tax refund season

    Most of the times you may get a tax refund if you contribute to RRSP in case of Canada or IRA in case of US

    Actually contributing to a retirement plan deduct from your gross income

    So, you will be qualified for a tax refund

    Don’t be fooled by any sales

    Any sales can be useful if you really need that item

    What if you browse in a mall and notice a steep discount

    Before rushing in to buy the item thinking it is an amazing opportunity

    Ask yourself if you really need this item

    I remember I was at Costco and saw a winter jacket with incredible discounted price

    To be fair, I was about to go and buy it

    But I thought about it for a moment

    I said to myself I have already 4 winter jackets

    And I am working from home due to pandemic

    Bottom line, it is a lucrative discount but I don’t need the item anyway

    Cut cable and phone subscriptions

    I know some people are really addicted to cable subscription

    Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you to cut TV channels

    All I recommend you to do it to replace your cable TV with IPTV

    Instead of paying $50-$70 may be more per month

    You can only pay $3 for similar IPTV channels

    Same thing for your home phone

    I am using VOIP phone and I am paying $30 annually

    You know you even don’t need a home phone if you have a cell phone

    Cancel magazine subscription and GYM membership

    Almost all households have either magazine, GYM subscriptions or both

    Do you really have time to read these magazines? I bet you’re not

    Plus all magazines are published online now and you can read archived copies

    Also, regarding your GYM membership

    Did you ask yourself why you need your GYM membership?

    Do you need for good treadmill, dumbbells and Incline bench press

    If so, check your local community center if they have all these tools

    save money live better

    Choose affordable rent or mortgage amount

    If you really eager to know how to save money and live better then start with your mortgage

    I always ask this question to my audience

    Can you answer this question, how much you pay for a mortgage or rent as a percentage to your overall income per month?

    I bet you won’t be able to tell that if you don’t maintain a budget

    I am using hypothetical numbers not really representing my family income

    Use LED bulbs and turn off unnecessary lights

    LED bulbs are not expensive as it used to be

    You can expect to save up to $600 a year just by switching to LED bulbs

    Also turning off unnecessary lights cannot be measured

    But it is a good practice to save money and live a better conservative life

    Use major appliances on low peak and weekends only

    During the day there are 3 peaks of electricity consumption

    This means if you operate your dish washer anytime during the day

    You can expect to get different electricity bill

    That’s why it is highly recommended to operate your major appliances during the low peak and weekends only

    Low peak time is anytime between 7 pm to 7 am

    Use smart thermostat

    You never imagine how smart thermostat will save energy for you until you install one

    But why? simply smart thermostat can do so many automated things that cannot be done with regular thermostat

    Like switching off automatically the heat or cool air when your home reaches the desired temperature

    Also programming your smart thermostat to switch it off when you are away and bringing your programming up an hour before you arrive at home

    You can also add your future vacations and never worry about switching off your thermostat

    One of the cool thing about smart thermostat is the ability to control it from your mobile through an app

    Use coupons and cash back apps

    Sometimes you buy something and find a coupon that could have saved you money

    Nowadays you don’t have to worry about chasing coupons in magazines with mobile shopping apps like the below

    Rakuten with $10 sign up bonus, MyPoints, TopCashBack, Qmee, ShopAtHome, Honey, Shopkick and Paribus

    For buying food, there are grocery apps like Ibotta which gives you $20 sign up bonus

    Also Fetch Rewards is a grocery app with $2 sign up bonus

    While Receipt Hog, Cashout 51 and Storewards are another competitive grocery apps

    Dosh works differently by monitoring your purchases after linking your debit or credit cards through the app

    You also get $5 sign up bonus with Dosh

    GetUpside is a cashback app for gas, it gives you 25 cents back on every gas receipt

    Buy things with cashback credit cards

    There are so many cashback credit cards in the market

    I was using before incentive credit cards that rewards you with travel or merchandise points

    Then I realized later that all points credit cards are waste of money as you require to pay an annual fees

    Yes I know that some cashback credit cards require you to pay annual fees to open a new rewarding level

    Trust me, it is really worth it if you do the math and calculate your annual spending compared to the annual renewal fee which you pay

    For example, I have a Visa card with $60 annual fee that gives me 3% cash back on groceries, gas and recurring bills while 1% on anything else

    Let’s calculate the groceries only for $500 a month

    That’s worth $6,000 a year with 3% = $180

    You pay $60 and keep $120 – I still have gas and recurring bill not included here

    Plan your meals with shopping list

    Planning your meals will really help you to save money and live a better convenient life

    You don’t want to go to the grocery store more than once per week because you forgot to buy an essential item(s)

    There are so many apps to make your grocery shopping list easy and fun

    Personally I use a shopping app called AnyList

    I love it as I have it integrated with Amazon Alexa

    Every time I remember an item I just say Alexa add so and so to my shopping list

    In the grocery store, I use AnyList to strikeout the items I buy

    Use your leftover dinner for lunch at work

    You can never imagine how much I saved money and lived better and healthy life once I stopped buying lunch at work

    Before I was eating junk food at work

    Now when cooking for dinner we always plan for extra food to take at work

    Save money live better by Cutting alcohols, cigarettes and soft drinks

    Yes, not only you will save money and also live a healthy life

    Imagine you cut cigarettes completely – I say that if you smoke

    Also, have alcohols on occasions and not a daily routine in your life

    What about soft drinks, well there is no prove that it is not healthy

    But at least it is so many sugar to consume

    You can drink fresh juice if you want

    Join wholesale club membership

    I know all wholesale club require to pay annual membership fees

    It is up to you but I made my calculations and I found it will be saving money and make me live convenient life

    I will tell you why?

    Buying meat especially ground beef and chicken from there is 50% cheaper than grocery stores

    That’s for one item only and there are so many items you will save money

    Bottom line, it is really worth paying this annual club membership

    Recently I realized if I pay for the executive membership which costs $120 a year

    I will be saving money instead of paying the $60

    How? well the executive membership rewards you with 2% cashback

    I noticed I consistently make $80 cashback per year this means my membership costs me $40 and not $60

    Save money and reducing dinning out

    I didn’t say cut the dinning out completely

    All I ask you to be reasonable and budget an amount for your dinning out

    Definitely you would save money and live a healthy life eating at home

    Find cheap gas stations to save money

    I know it is very obvious to fill up your gas from the cheapest station

    Actually near my home, I have 2 gas stations after each other with one station always has the lower price

    I always fill up gas going for the lowest price

    Not everyone will do the same otherwise the gas station with the higher price would go out of business

    Anyway, if you are like me how you know the nearest gas stations with low price on gas

    Well, there is an app that is called GasBuddy which can list all the gas prices near you

    Also consider using GetUpside to get $25 cents on each gas fill up

    Know your needs and wants

    So many people don’t know the difference between needs and wants

    Do you know it?

    If you want to save money and live smart life, you too have to know this difference

    Your needs are everything that keep you alive

    Your shelter like mortgage or rent, your food and transportation

    You have to make sure to spend money on your needs efficiently

    While wants are things that make us feel good about ourselves

    We can survive without our wants but we cannot without our needs

    Save money with side hustle

    If you have a hobby that’s really good

    You can save money and live enjoyable life of earning money from the thing you like to do or make

    I recommend to read the following for pursuing a side hustle

    How to make 200 dollars per day

    Make 300 dollars fast in 2021

    How to make 500 dollars fast cash free

    Pay off your debt

    Paying off your debt completely is a thrilling feeling that cannot be described

    Once you finish your debt, you will start to save money and live relaxed life not full of any stress and anxiety

    You will really start to enjoy the real meaning of saving money

    Go for 52 weeks money saving challenge

    I had before a separate post dedicated to the 52 weeks money saving challenge

    Let’s summarize it below

    Simply this is a saving challenge for the whole year where you save $1 for week one then $2 for week two and increase it by $1 every week

    There are so many variations to achieve that

    Bottom line, you will end up saving $1,378 in an easy and convenient way

  • Is Saving Money Important? Learn The Importance of Saving Money Now

    The importance of saving money cannot be underestimated

    I know how hard it is when I think about retirement

    That’s why saving money is important to both myself and my wife – I hope you clearly see it that way too

    There are few affiliate links, if you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you

    If you ask yourself, is saving money important? then read below my sincere advice on why is saving money important

    I hope it is not too late to start saving money if you are not

    Let me begin with

    Contents show

    The Importance of saving money for emergency situation

    We all know emergencies happen, they are inevitable so why don’t you prepare for it

    By saving for an emergency fund you cover yourself against unexpected medical bill, car repair or a family situation that requires you to travel immediately

    Make up your mind whether to save for emergency

    Or to embarrass yourself asking friends and family to lend you the money to pay it back later

    You are lucky if you have a line of credit to withdraw money from but you will fall in debt

    Avoid falling in debt at all cost

    I would say the top importance of saving money is to avoid falling in debt at all cost

    The idea behind not saving money implicitly reflects that you are not building a budget

    As saving money requires knowing all your income – money in and all your expenses – money out

    Saving money for big purchase

    One of the importance of saving money is to plan for big purchase

    Like I know every 6-7 years, I have to change my car with a used one

    I always tend to buy a well known used car and pay it cash

    I have no excuse as I know my used car lasts few years so I plan ahead for that

    Not only cars but also furniture or painting your house

    Save money to find your dream job

    I have a real story about my wife, she pursued what she thought a dream job

    But it ended to be a nightmare to her

    She was working every day starting from 8:30 am to 8 pm and a lot of times during the weekend and most of the statutory holidays

    Because we were confident about our savings, I recommended her to quit and that’s what she did

    We never regret it

    It was a very wise decision as this type of work will drain you leaving no time to look for another opportunity

    Her colleague is still working there and after two years she was texting my wife asking how she was not worried about finding other job

    Saving money will give you the freedom to make wise decision

    Protect yourself for long term life security

    To achieve a long term life security you require the concept of saving money over a long period of time with the magical impact of compound interest

    If you think about it, saving $10,000 a year for 30 years, you will earn $1,171,914.09

    This cannot happen overnight, that’s one of the importance of saving money which requires perseverance and time

    Pursuing the saving money challenges

    Saving money can be turned into a fun game or challenge to yourself

    That’s why I discussed before the 52 weeks money saving challenge

    If you feel the above challenge is putting burden on you

    Especially if you are already saving money and you cannot cut more for any challenges

    I agree with you, I would ask you to go for the penny challenge as it is fun and possible

    Saving helps you reduce your stress level

    I will speak about myself, I experienced insomnia when I started saving money

    I had less than a thousand and I felt I was not going to make it

    Same thing happens to me when I use money from my savings

    I worry about how to restore it back to my saving

    I cannot believe how someone can live in serenity without saving money

    Saving money for your marriage

    We all know that one of the top reasons for so many divorce cases is due to money issues

    Each spouse comes from different background and each has own perspective about saving money

    But the thing that has no doubt is that each spouse consider to approve marrying the other partner based on how the other partner saved money for this marriage

    Even if you love the partner, you cannot marry someone who is broke

    Marriage requires a lot of commitments and before getting married

    The top commitment is having a saved money to make this wedding a reality

    Starting from wedding ring, ceremony and all other wedding preparations

    Saving money to help others

    Regardless of your religion and what you believe, it is a good feeling when you donate

    One main importance of saving money is to give to charity or to your place of worship

    Only those who save money can really donate

    I can never think of someone who is struggling with debt and be able to cut a percentage of his/her income to give away

    Saving money for kids education

    It is really hard feeling to see your kids not able to go to college

    Because you are short in hand

    Even if you are not aware of the importance of saving money

    At least after you read this you should think twice

    According to the American statistics, 35% of students go to 4 years college or university

    I refer it to lack of financial knowledge in American society

    Saving money for major life events

    Your parents take care of you till you leave their house

    It is your turn to take care of them when they grow old

    Saving money for God forbids the moments when you parents pass away is a wise decision because it is inevitable

    Save money for house repairs

    Every house needs a sort of renovation unless you buy a new house

    It is wise to save money for any emergencies that require some money like fixing your roof after a major storm or a water leaking in the basement

    There are so many things you can think of that need to be fixed

    If you are not ready you will put yourself into debt as sometimes you cannot defer it till you collect your annual bonus or even apply for credit

  • Why I Can’t Save Money And Steps I Followed To Fix That

    I used to ask myself why I can’t save money

    That was until I came across Dave Ramsey’s book Total Money Makeover

    I knew what I was not saving money the right way

    As every time I start putting money aside I encounter a crisis forcing me to spend all I had saved

    I cant save money I don't know why

    Anyway I knew what was my fault

    I am here to guide you not to commit same mistakes I was doing

    Having said that let me start with the below

    Contents  show 

    1- You don’t have a budget or don’t stick to it

    When I asked myself why I can’t save money I came across building a budget

    I wasn’t giving budget any weight until I realized budget is the main core of saving money

    Why? because it works along with saving money before you commit to your budget

    Also using a spending sheet will help you stay on track with your budget amounts

    You can download the below sheet from my products page

    If you can't save money download the weekly spending sheet
    Weekly spending tracker

    2- You don’t have an emergency fund

    I will tell you why you can’t save money because you haven’t built an emergency fund

    Emergency fund is a money you set aside to face any crisis

    Like your car not working one day or your roof needs maintenance

    These are things that occur suddenly without any control

    3- You have debt to pay

    Obviously if you have debt you won’t save money and you don’t have too

    If you are in debt, focus to pay your debt as fast as you could

    4- You have a car loan or student loan

    Regarding student loan, I won’t blame you

    I would ask you to start paying your student loan from your first job

    What I can advise you is to avoid getting a car loan and buy used carDo you know any car losses 10% to 15% of its value when taking it on the roadClick To Tweet

    5- You lack the basic financial knowledge

    I discussed in a previous post how to teach yourself personal financial literacy

    I recommend to read it to learn some basic financial terms

    6- You are confused between needs and wants

    Part of the struggle to save money is you have to be able to differentiate between your needs and wants in your head at a fraction of a second

    Your needs are anything that keep your surviving like your rent/mortgage

    The food you buy although not all kinds of food

    Your wants are what all the things you skip buying it and life will go on

    7- You pay too much mortgage or rent

    It was a surprise to me when I calculated my mortgage percentage to my total income

    Actually I didn’t think about it that way, this was before I started using my budget sheet

    how to budget by calculating percentages of expenses per income
    I am using hypothetical numbers not really representing my family income

    The percentage above is feasible if you use my budget sheet in my products page

    8- You are dinning out too often

    I am not against dinning out every now and then

    What I don’t like is that some people ease eating out for the excuse of not having enough time to cook

    Steps to follow to start saving money

    It is never too late

    Follow my advice below and you can fix the money saving issue

    1- Build a budget if you don’t have one

    Building a budget is not hard but if need an easy task

    I got you covered – you can use my budget sheet which I use

    family budget excel sheet
    family budget excel sheet
    password to edit data is 0000

    Click to download for free from my products page

    2- Pay yourself first

    I know it is bizarre term

    It means you pay towards saving and investment right after you get your income

    You can arrange with your bank to deduct on your pay day a specific percentage or amount towards your investment account

    3- Get rid of your debt right now

    Dave Ramsey is always getting this question whether to save while in debt

    The obvious answer is No, finish your debt first and then start saving and investing

    He invented the snowball effect of paying extra to the smallest debt

    When you finish it you get motivated and move the amount you used to pay unto the small debt to the higher one and keep going

    4- Build your emergency fund

    It is a great feeling having an fund on the side to pay for emergencies

    I am not reinventing the wheel, it is called an emergency fund

    You don’t touch it at all only when you face a crisis like car fix or whatever

    Of course, I don’t need to tell you not to use it for vacation

    5- Use jar to save your changes

    It is a simple concept to save your changes

    Bring a jar and drop any changes you get, convert it to cash every now and then

    6- Stop buying things on sale – resist the temptation

    Actually I had to try it myself – I know it is very hard

    I remember I saw a winter jacket at Costco on great sale

    I know I don’t need a new jacket as I have 7 jackets

    Anyway I was realistic and I did not buy it

    7- Choose affordable rent or mortgage

    If you keep a budget – you would know your up to date income

    You have to come with the percentage of your rent/mortgage to your income

    Sweet spot should be around 20% to maximum 30%

    8- Plan your meals with shopping list

    I use a mobile shopping list to save my grocery list for the weekthe

    The one I use is called AnyList mobile app, you can download it for free

    It is easy to integrate it with Amazon Alexa

    If I remember any grocery item I call Alexa and she will add it to my AnyList app

    9- Use left over dinner to eat on lunch

    I knew that was the reason why I can’t save money

    I quit buying lunch and I pack my left over dinner to eat on my lunch

    10- Join wholesale club membership

    Although you pay a membership fee to join these wholesale club

    But you will save in the long run – I will give you a hint

    If you have the option to pay for the higher membership fees

    The one that gives you 2% back – do your math and look at your annual purchases

    Sometimes it would be better to pay for the higher membership fee as the cash back you get at the renewal date can lower your membership to a bare minimum

    11- Reduce alcohol and soft drinks

    I am not saying cut alcohols – at least try to reduce it

    Don’t be a daily beer or wine consumer – stay sober

    I drink only in occasions and when I have guests

    12- Reduce dinning out and cook at home

    When I got married cooking was a challenge as by the time we get back home it is almost around 6 pm

    That’s why it is better to cook for the next day and cook in bulk

    13- Buy used items instead of new

    I meant by used items – used cars and refurbished electronics and furniture

    Sometimes before buying any new item I check it on Facebook Marketplace

    14- Save your bonus and tax refund

    Imagine that you did not get any bonus and there is no tax refund that year

    It is just an imagination and move your money to your saving and investment account