Category Archives: Costs

Less is More On The Road To Accumulating Wealth

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Some think that you have to fake it to make it… and in some ways this is true.

But I think it’s also true that less is more when it comes to accumulating wealth while having an average salary.

Whenever a person moves up in their salary amount, or their rate of pay, they start to think that they have made it. They start to buy more expensive things because they believe that they are supposed to.

But the way to build wealth while on a modest income is by practicing the less is more concept!

The “less is more” concept in a nutshell is that the less you spend, the more you get to save for wealth building activities!

Here are the ways that you get ahead by following the Less is More idea:

  1. Less House!  It’s true, that housing has traditionally been a great way to acquire wealth (excluding the past few years).  But along with a big fancy house, comes big expenses!  With a larger house you will pay
    1. More in Real Estate Taxes (unless you are outside of city limits, or in a state that doesn’t tax Real Estate).
    2. More on your utilities (gas, electric, water, sewage)
    3. More for repairs to your appliances and house (roof shingles, heaters, water pumps, etc).
    4. More on landscaping (after all you have to keep up with the Joneses, if you live in a big house).
    5. More on Cosmetic features (faux paint, fancy decorations, artwork, etc)
    6. House cleaning…
  2. Less Car!  If you buy a decent dependable car instead of a luxury car, you’ll save money instead of spending more!
    1. Insurance will be less for a cheaper dependable car.
    2. Surprisingly, luxury cars break down more than the reliable cars reviewed in Consumer Report Magazine.
    3. Auto Repairs will be more expensive, or auto mechanics will charge you more because they know you can afford it.
    4. It’s more apt to be stolen.
  3. Less on Eating out and Living Large!
    1. Eating out more (especially drinking alcohol), is a quick drain of money!
    2. Buying Football (and other sport) tickets!  Nothing waste money quicker than spending hundreds of dollars for sporting events.
    3. Fancy vacations!  There have been years where my family had to vacationed in backyardsville, so that we could get our finances stable.
  4. Less on Electronics!
    1. Skip the newest smart phone when it comes out (iPhone anyone)!  At first, they are typically overpriced.  Some people toss their current phone and run out to get the newest electronic gizmo!  As someone in the technology field, I understand the temptation!  But if I can do it, then so can you!
    2. Once you buy a product stick with it!  I keep my computer at least 5 years!  Once we buy our newest TV (with credit card reward points money), we’ll keep it until it breaks down.
    3. Don’t stick to brand names!  Believe it or not, an Apple IPod is still just an MP3 player…  I know I can buy an MP3 player for a much cheaper price!

These are just some of the ways that you can apply the Less is More idea to save more money which could then be used for investment, or paying off debt!

Readers, did I miss any other big “Less is More” item?

-MR

Cost Benefit Of Helping Skilled Friends In Need

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It’s 11:38pm, I just got home about 15 minutes ago!  Where was I at you might be wondering?  I was down at my friend’s house fixing his computer.

My friend and his wife are good friends and they do a lot for our family!  We even went to Disney at the same time so we could hang with them for a few days!  While I would go down to help my friends no matter what, it’s nice that he has skills that are helpful to my family too!

You see he works as a doctor at a hospital, and we’ll call him asking what he thinks of certain symptoms our family may come down with.  Another advantage that he holds, is that when something is going around, he’ll tell us to look for it and the symptoms that go with it.  This way, when my son or daughter catches it at school, we don’t freak out.

While our friendship isn’t based on skills, it’s nice to have a friend with a different skill than I have.  My friend is also good with carpentry!  It’s a hobby for him, but when I have a house question… He’s the first or second guy that I call (my father-in-law is good carpenter too).

So when my friend called and said his computer was hosed and he was afraid he lost all of their recent family photos (including those from Disney), I hopped in the car and rode down to save the day!

Do you have a good network of friends that are both great friends and skilled in ways that complement your own skills?  It’s a nice perk if you do.  It’s even nicer if you can reciprocate the same back to your friends.

-MR

Is It Time To Buy A New House?

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Housing was hit fairly hard!  with home prices down more that half in some locations (for example, Nevada)…

My friend with that won the $200,000 dollar  house and things is  moving.  To help provide the best environment (including school system) for her future children, she (they) decided to upgrade to a more expensive, and much bigger house.

We estimate that she’s going to triple her current living space with the move.  And since she lived in a townhouse before, her lot size has increased by an even larger amount.

I also mentioned the “Joneses” of our neighborhood has already moved to a bigger and better place.  While they aren’t moving for the reasons as my friend is moving, they too are taking advantage of the reduces home prices (and at the time, the home buyers incentives) that are around.  In their particular scenario, they are increasing the living space by 1,000 to 1,500 square feet.

If my wife and kids weren’t so happy with the house we live in, I too, would have jumped on the “buy a larger house while they are cheap” bandwagon.  Of course, I’d upgrade our square footage by a much smaller amount.  I estimate that I would only increase the amount by a range of 400 to 600 square feet.  The important thing to realize is that this environment might be a once in the lifetime opportunity to buy a house at a reduced costs.

After all, if the house prices don’t start increasing, we have much more serious problems.  Perhaps the logic is if we go are going down in flames, why not go down in flames with a bit of style?

Readers, what do you think?  Is the housing market so depressed that now it a great time to buy?  You have heard the stories of three people that are moving or would like to move (yeah that’s me).

-MR

Saving By Paying Attention – Conclusion Part 4 of 4

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Thinking money matters through

The “Saving By Paying Attention” series has been about focusing and not making rash decisions.

Too often, smart people don’t take the time to weigh all options when making an important decisions.

By paying attention, I’ve been able to buy a lot of things for free, like routers for my computers, DVDs, etc.  With rebates, you can save substantial amount of money too.  There are some huge coupon savings out there if you know where to look.

Another great tool for buying things at a huge discount is the internet.  Sometimes you can find some great deals on Ebay.com.  I’ve been able to buy old CD/DVDs from ebay for a great price, not to mention the unique, one of a kind items that can be found.  For instance, I’ve been able to buy a firefighter nightlight from my son when he was younger.

Another great site for good prices on products is www.woot.com, I’ve been able to buy merchandise that has been refurbished at great prices.  Both of my kid’s mp3 players were bought online at www.woot.com!

I’ve recently learned of a site called: https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/, but I haven’t researched it enough yet to feel comfortable recommending it.  Still you might want to check it out, mainly they offer free software downloads.

Another great way save money is to go to blogger sites that are offering giveaways.  Every so often, you’ll see a $100 dollar giveaway from the blogger sites!

I know people that use the radio contests to win money to.  In fact, this is how one of my friends won a free house.  Another friend continually calls the sites trying to win money and prizes.  Often time she succeeds!  It’s amazing the opportunities out there to either win money or prizes.

It you concentrate and think outside of the box, there are plenty of money  saving or winning opportunities out there!

-MR

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