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Want to Be Wealthy? Tightwad Living is the Answer
By Tim Parker
The rich say it. The government says it, and financial experts across the world say it. There is only one way to get rich and that’s tightwad living.
Maybe you are ok living the live you have. Money has never driven you and having the newest luxury car is about as much of a priority to you as traveling the world on your private jet. I bet that you do have financial goals. You want to pay off your debt, provide your family with a comfortable life, and have money to, at the very least, help your son or daughter with college. Although you may have no dreams of being rich and live a lavish life, rich to you could mean getting the bills paid.
If your financial goals aren’t being realized, there can only be three explanations: Either you’re not making enough, your spending too much, or a combination of both. While we all think we’re underpaid, that is often not something that is quickly fixed so let’s look at the most common reason.
Let’s be honest. Nearly all of us spend too much money and a lot of that money is on “stuff.” Stuff that we want more than we need. Stuff that was marketed well and we decided that we had to have it. Stuff that we put on our credit cards and are now paying for each month.
The first rule of being rich (whatever your definition being) is tightwad living. Tightwad living means using coupons to buy your needs, rarely buying your wants, and never buying anything that you can’t afford to pay for in cash. Tightwad living means never living in debt. If the average person has more than $10,000 in credit card debt, that means that many people are paying more than $100 per month in interest alone. What would you do with an extra $1,200 per year?
Here are a few ideas to get you started with tightwad living:
Use coupons
Don’t eat out
Buy generics
Freeze your credit cards…literally.
Don’t buy new cars
Don’t buy luxury cars
Buy a home that fits in to your income
Brew your own coffee
Only pay for basic cable
Sign up for the minimum cell phone plan
Run outside and lift sandbags instead of a gym membership
Make extra money doing something that you enjoy
Have a relative or friend babysit your kids
Barter- in exchange for babysitting your children, do something for the babysitter
Make your own list and add up the potential savings. Put that towards your debts and before you know it, you will be debt free.
10 Tightwad Ways to Fly Free (Or Almost Free) By Debra Fortosis
1. If you or a family member begins working for an airline, in most cases, your family can fly free 0n that airline, owing only for taxes. This is an almost priceless perk if you and your family like to travel and have the time to do so.
2. You can win airline tickets in sweepstakes but, I admit, the odds aren’t great for that. However, it’s becoming quite common for companies to offer free airline tickets when you buy some service or big ticket item. Keep a lookout for such offers. Two airline tickets anywhere in the continental U.S. can be worth up to $300-500. There are also occasional Buy one/Get one deals.
3. If you’re not flying on a tight deadline, overbooking/thank you vouchers can be very nice. Most are familiar with the overbooking of flights in which the airline asks if anyone would agree to take a later flight. For this favor, the airline gives you a voucher, sometimes for the amount of a full airline flight in the future. Be prepared for such cases, because when the offer comes, you usually are on the jet and you don’t have 15 minutes to discuss with your spouse whether or not to take the voucher. Last minute/standby deals aren’t as common as they used to be, but occasionally it still happens. This means you just show up at the airport and request that if someone misses the flight in question, you’d like their seat at a discounted price. Of course, check in advance and confirm whether the airline accepts this practice and if there’s any discount.
4. Most everyone seems to know about frequent flyer miles. If you fly often, you can earn bonus points toward a free airline ticket every time you fly with a particular airline. There are also many credit cards that issue you miles/points for every purchase you make using the card. Gold and Platinum cards, especially, offer lots of bonus miles in exchange for use of the card.
5. Making yourself a savvy travel booker can save big money for you. New airlines often reduce fares drastically, or an airline reduces fares when adding a new route/destination. Also be aware that you can sometimes reap large discounts by flying during the slowest days of the week or the slowest days of the year, flying to popular destinations at unpopular times, purchasing during the cheapest times of the day, or buying a super cheap travel package, though you can’t use it at that moment.
6. Consolidaters buy up blocks of tickets in bulk at near-wholesale prices. This means that they can offer you highly discounted airline tickets. Some consolidation prices are better than others. We’re not talking dirt cheap here, maybe $100-150 off a $500-$600 ticket. But savings are savings, right?
7. If you hire on as a courier, you can fly cheap, sometimes free. A courier escorts a package to its destination. Companies do this to avoid delays getting packages through customs. If you’re at least 18 years of age, would like to travel the world, are willing to go with two small carry-on bags, can travel alone, and you have an adventurous spirit, this could be your dream come true. You can usually work it out so you spend a week or more at the destination before traveling home. One of the best deals I ever came across was Los Angeles to Tokyo for $100 in taxes. The ticket would have cost about $1800.
8. If you are a writer and like writing about new places, you can fly free if you’re hired to write about it for some sort of travel periodical. A few people, such as Bill Bryce, have turned their love for travel into a very lucrative writing career. This is rare because even good writers can rarely entertain so well that readers will buy book- length copies of their travel experiences and perspectives. If you’re interested, though, you can find out more about this by googling “become a travel writer.” I would also suggest that you begin gradually building a reputation as a travel writer by getting published by magazines or, even easier, by ezines. You may eventually have enough notoriety to merit an offer here or there as a paid travel writer.
9. Some U.S. carriers offer discounts for individuals over 50 years of age, others offer them for those 62 or older. You can also buy senior-discount coupons in books of four. These coupons can sometime enable senior travelers to save almost half off a full-priced airline ticket.
10. Flying charter flights can save money but this is not one of my favorite options. Charter flights are scheduled less often than domestic flights and they book to complete capacity. This is definitely no frills—you’re packed in so tight, there is little room to move. If there’s any food on a longer flight, it will be a very simple brown bag. The only exception is if you’re lucky enough to book first class on a charter flight. Then you’re basically getting first class service at a coach fare price.
About the author:
Debra Fortosis is a professional travel agent. You can book travel on her user friendly website. She can even help you easily launch your own turnkey e-travel business.
The group’s owner had disappeared long ago, leaving the group to spammers posting yucky stuff. I have deleted a lot of messages and hopefully got rid of all the nasty ones.
We are wanting to jump start the group again, bring it back to life, to what it was intended for… tightwad tips, frugal living, budgeting, freebies, and coupons. So I am asking my readers here to join up and share their freebies, tightwad tips, frugal recipes, coupons, etc. Basically any and everything that pertains to tightwad living.
The group posts are moderated to keep the icky spam out.
So come on and join and spread the word to your friends!
Saving for an emergency need not be a chore when you are making a good effort to put money aside constantly. Be in a mood of saving and watch as that bank account accumulates.
Instead of buying a new DVD, save money by trading with family and friends. Once a month do the rounds and before you know it, you will have a new library of good movies to enjoy.
Plant a small garden each spring, with just the vegetables that you really like. Even a small effort every day can save you dollars usually spent on fresh vegetables at the produce market.
Buy your bread and other bakery items at the local thrift bread store.
Check your local library for the newest DVD/video releases and then rent three for $2.00 for two days.
Read your local newspapers online.
Search eBay for big ticket items and then save literally hundreds on computers, DVD players, etc.
Keep track of the cost of items you buy a lot and get them at the cheapest store, like cleaning supplies at Family Dollar, pet food at Wal-Mart, etc.
Make a conscious effort to combine tasks that require driving some place, so you will get the most out of your mileage.
For your friends and family who do not feel slighted by this, send e-mail cards for holidays, birthdays and as thank you cards. In addition, e-mail family and friends who live far away, instead of calling long distance.
Get rid of your monthly fee long distance service, and just use an access code when you do call, which is infrequently anyway and inexpensive.
Decide which satellite channels you could do without, and give up a few shows you really like. You can save more than $20.00 on your monthly bill.
When you buy vegetables, fruits and bread at the grocery store check the reduced-for-quick-sale carts and shelves first.
Change the oil in your vehicles yourself.
Save money when buying clothes for the following year at the end of the season / during the off season. You can get great mark down prices.
Each evening take the spare change from your pockets or periodically clean out your purse and toss the coins aside. Never take any money back until the end of the year. Then take all of the coins to the bank and exchange them for cash. You’ll be surprised to find out they’ve added up to $50, $100 or even $200.
“Take care of your cents, and then your dollars will take care of themselves.”
Bike to work in good weather instead of driving to save on gas.
Eat a few hearty vegetarian meals each week.
Shop garage sales for a great source of household items, books, clothing, and furniture.
Don’t buy bottled water! Buy a good water-filter and drink tap water.
By the end of each day put all of your change into an empty coffee can. Then roll coins as you watch TV or listen to the radio. This will add up to hundreds of dollars very quickly and gives you something good to do with your hands to relax.
Save money by reducing your energy costs. Energy can be the number two or three expense, along with the cost of rent or mortgage and food.
Switch every single bulb to compact florescent bulbs. They may be expensive but they last for years (no more replacements) and tend to use about 10-20% of the energy of regular bulbs. Buy one each time you make a shopping trip, starting in the high traffic areas of the house like the kitchen or stairway until you no longer have any incandescent bulbs left.
If you own your home, seriously consider switching any electric heating appliances to natural gas such as the hot water heater, furnace, stove or dryer. Electricity can be used for almost any device, and you pay a hefty premium on electricity for that. Gas is very efficient for heating devices; it heats up much quicker and wastes far less energy.
Do all of your laundry in cold water. Most modern detergents are just as effective in cold water as in hot water. Also, make sure any laundry that you do is a complete and full load – it takes the same amount of energy as a tenth of a load.
Try this trick with your dryer: Put it on for 20 minutes, and then put it on “air fluff” for 15 minutes. Your clothes are already hot with the water coming off as vapor and you’ll find although it takes about 20% longer, you save about 50% of the energy costs of your dryer.
In the colder months when you need to use your furnace, turn the heat on to your desired temperature. When the furnace turns off (your house has been heated to temperature), turn the thermostat to the off position. If you feel cold, check the thermostat. If you 5 degrees below your desired temperature, turn the thermostat on again to your desired temperature.
Often furnaces will kick in and out to maintain your desired temperature, but furnaces are far more efficient when they are in the heat cycle for longer periods. You’ll save about 50% on your furnace costs, even 30% over having a high-tech digital thermostat. Of course keep it completely off when you’re out of the house.
If you ever leave the house for the weekend or longer, unplug everything. That alarm clock or VCR blinking or DVD on standby still take power. If you’re leaving the house for a week, you will save real money by just unplugging all of these devices- and you’ll protect your home from fire risks should there be a malfunction or power surge.
Keep your fridge and freezer as full as possible. The fewer airspaces in your fridge, the less time it takes for your fridge or freezer to cool the air. Don’t have much money for food? Just buy a bunch of bread and throw it in the freezer, you usually can get bread cheaper when you buy it in large quantities anyway.
If you really need a magazine subscription make up a small group maybe with three people to divide the costs. Then each person can keep the magazine for one week.
Save money by throwing away any catalogs or magazines which tempt you to buy something.
Cereal can be frozen and it keeps for a very long time. Before that, we could never eat it fast enough and had to throw it away when it was stale. When you pour milk on it, you would never know that it had been frozen. I have not yet found a cereal that tasted bad from the freezer.
Don’t throw away your empty bags of milk. Instead cut them open and wash them. You can use them as baggies. They also keep frozen foods fresh when used with a sealer.
Save money by preparing your grocery list by planning menus for the coming week and buy only what is on your list.
Borrow DVDs from friends and family instead of renting.
Set your washer to the shortest wash setting possible. Instead of washing your clothes for 10 minutes put it on for 5 minutes. It saves on your electric bill and on your clothes wear and tear.
Pick up the pennies, dimes and nickels found on the sidewalks or in parking lots. Add it to the jar of loose change you are saving and by the end of the year you can add this money to your emergency fund.
Foster the practice of team sports in your kids. The more time you spend with your kids playing sports, the less time and money they will spend at the shopping mall.
To save money on gas, don’t fill the gas tank to the brim since the extra weight of the gasoline takes extra toll on engine power. Take out all items in the trunk which are not important to reduce vehicle weight.
Watch other peoples’ budget-conscious movies. Buy your own jar of popcorn and add your own seasonings.
Turn off the heat at night and sleep with a hot water bottle. This works fine in a small apartment, because it heats up quickly. For people with larger houses, turning the heat down should work well, too.
If you must drink a specialty coffee, Espresso seems like a luxury item, but because it’s ground finer, and you use less, the coffee lasts longer.
Shop eBay for things like razors, lotions, computer software, baby formula, diapers, etc. If you can plan ahead, you will save.
Each pay period set aside any amount that you have budgeted for but did not need to spend. For instance, you may have anticipated that $50 would be needed to maintain your car, but only had to spend $30. Take the “extra” $20 and put it into your savings account.
While experts predict we will have a harsh winter, it pales in comparison to the financial crisis prediction that we should brace ourselves for a more difficult road ahead. In the first three weeks of October, the stock market’s volatility was considerable, unemployment statistics rose, and a total of sixteen banks closed. And even though oil prices have declined, it is predicted that production will be reduced next month by 15 million barrels, home foreclosures increased, and home equity decreased yet again.
At a time when the Rescue Plan may have eased the credit crunch to some degree, the dollar has seen a significant decline globally. As nations try to cope with this financial crisis, some experts insist that we have not yet hit the bottom. Everyone is worried; there is no denying that. As early as October 24th, fears of a global recession have come to fruition with its first victim: Great Britain.
In light of recent events and in order to prepare for what is certain to become a difficult road ahead, here are ten ways you can prepare for any eventuality.
1. Take stock of your financial assets. If you have a household budget, you may have to reassess each item to determine where, if anywhere, you can make additional cuts.
2. Put away enough savings to cover expenses for at least 18 months up to two years.
3. Pay down as much debt as possible.
4. Check your insurance policies to ensure they are up to date. If necessary, raise the deductible from $500 to $1000. This can yield up to 25% in savings.
5. Call credit card companies and ask to have your interest rates reduced.
6. Bundle your TV, internet, and cable services through your cable or phone company.
7. If you have a landline and cell phone, you may wish to get rid of the landline and utilize the cell phone exclusively.
8. If you spend a considerable amount of money on entertainment such as movies, theatre, or sports events, it may be a good idea to suspend these activities for a while and put the money saved towards the emergency fund.
9. Winterize your home and begin to utilize energy conservation where applicable. For example, purchase energy-efficient light bulbs and ceiling fans, limit the number of holiday lights or switch to LED light bulbs instead, and unplug appliances when not in use. Shut down the computer instead of keeping it in sleep mode, keep the thermostat low during the day and keep window blinds open to heat a room.
10. Reduce the number of take-out food orders. Buy groceries in bulk when on sale and select a day during the week when you can prepare and freeze meals for two weeks or more at a time.
Difficult times call for difficult measures. We all need to make sacrifices to ensure we have enough savings for any financial scenario.
