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Title: How do you save money?
Source:
Me
URL Source: http://Me
Published: Apr 30, 2006
Author: Bob Wallace
Post Date: 2006-04-30 11:08:46 by YertleTurtle
Keywords: None
Views: 54
Comments: 4
The economy's not so hot. I make pretty good money, but I'm being squeezed, just like everyone else. Here's what I've done: I haven't bought a new car since I don't know when. I don't know how many miles my car has on it, since I put another (used) engine and transmission in it. They cost me $1000. The odometer says over 300,000 miles (I take care of my cars), but the engine and transmission have about 50,000 miles on them. Lots of rice and beans at home, with salt and olive oil and some meat or fish. It's a lot tastier than it sounds. We eat out maybe once a week. We turn the heat down at night in the winter and use a space heater in the bedroom. I've found it saves close to $100 a month. Vacations consist of free or cheap things -- like fishing. It's a lot of fun, too. As best as I can tell, we've saving over $5000 a year.
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#1. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
you're living right and doing good! I remember reading in the bible that it's better to take your lot with the poor than to be among the rich. and I believe that. the rich are corrupted and destroyed. They are wasteful, arrogant, proud, egotistical and blind to the realities of the poor. Why would you want to be like that? it is a good thing to be guided away from that. and that is what's happened to you, you've been sheltered from that pitfall of being rich in these days. I'm not saying all rich people are evil, but they have to have a lot of discipline and humility and vision and conscience to avoid the pitfalls that come with being rich. A lot of people don't have that stuff. myself, I have modest income & support two households by myself. savings, what's that? I'm going to nurture my health and work til I die.
Buy used clothes off of ebay or garage sales, rather than new. Ditto for books and movies. My cars are all 10 years old, good condition. Bring home free DVDs and video games from my store, rather than going out to the movies. Turn the heat down to 60 at night. Turn off lights & electronics when not in use (duh). During the winter I used the shrinky stuff to seal leaky windows & doors. Also paid $25 to my utility to have an energy audit done. No cable TV--I can download the shows I want for free from the net. No home phone--company paid cel phone only. All debt is either tax deductible or locked in for life at 3.99 percent. I could still save more, though. Because I'm on the road so much, I probably spend $100 a month in coffee and food at gas stations--I could pack that in from home.
I love children, but I can never finish a whole one.
As I auger-in on the big six zero, my "wants" are much simpler that they were thirty years ago, so having all the latest gadgets, toys, and trappings are not necessary - savings, who knows how much? Not having to wear the uniform everyday saves a ton on the dry-cleaning and laundry bills. If it can't be tossed into our washer and dryer, I don't buy it - savings, a bunch. Using synthetic oil and lubricants, and keeping the rigs' tires inflated at 10% over the recommended max pressure helps a bit with the fuel mileage. Our local CostCo has the best fuel prices that I can find. The internet is invaluable in finding the best prices on whatever it is that we need to purchase.
After looking at the price of furniture vs the price of power tools, I bought the tools and made my own furniture. It isn't the best in the world, but when you're looking at $4-1500 for a decent bookshelf, and $100 worth of wood will handle it, you can save a lot that way. Personally, I just take a look at the big line-items in the budget and chop those down. Then repeat the process. Seems to work fine.
Press 1 for English. Press 2 for Deportation.
#2. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
How do you save money?
#3. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
#4. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
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