money

Signs of the Times

Watching your neighborhood can tell you more than the news these days. What does your neighborhood tell you?

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My sleepy little town is typically unaffected by what happens in many parts of the US. Around here, things change slowly, so when they change, I know to pay attention.

When times are good, the rental houses around me stand empty. No one wants to rent a ratty old house from a slum lord when they can afford not to.

When I see these houses stuffed to the brim with families far too large for the space they’ve rented, I know that the economy is on a downswing.

This also applies to the river that runs near my house. There is a sheltered spot where the homeless squat during times of trouble. It is rare that anyone stays there for long; our community has a big heart. I’ve seen homeless people just passing through given apartments, clothing, food, and all of the necessities needed to help them recover their footing. The homeless get help in my town, real help. It is offered before they even have to ask.

So when there is life at the homeless camp, I always pay attention.

Both situations are happening simultaneously in my little area. Single mothers have crammed their children into tiny spaces, leaving them to roam free while they work to pay their bills. That’s what happens when people can’t afford childcare. Desperate parents have no choice.

The children in these homes have decided that I’m someone that they can talk to. They greet me as I step out of my car after work, telling me about their day and always knock on my door around my bedtime for one last hug before I go to sleep.

They were the ones who spotted the newest inhabitants by the river.

Another gentleman has placed a travel trailer on a spot of land that has been empty for over a decade. He runs a generator for electric. I’m not sure what he does for water. All I know is that he’s not bothering anyone so I hope that the city leaves him alone. He’s not exactly living “legal” based upon the rules in this town.

But my town is the canary in the coal mine. When people struggle here, there is something seriously wrong out in the world.

Because my town rarely changes.

I’ve had fun since my youngest left the nest. I’ve been indulging in things I’ve never really allowed myself to indulge in since becoming a parent. It’s been fun allowing myself to upgrade the things around me.

But I see the signs, signs that something serious is amiss in the world. This isn’t some news agency playing up a situation to get more attention. This is the reality of the people around me.

So while I am doing well financially, I see the signs that warn me to prepare.

It is time to tighten my financial belt to better ride out the coming storm.

In times past I’ve always focused upon my recurring expenses. Keep them low, and I can enjoy myself with the excess.

But I’ve never before seen three events like these occur simultaneously.

So this time I plan to do something a little different. I plan to not only monitor my recurring expenses, but all of my purchases as well.

I may have a job at one of the highest paying factories in town (along with my book royalties), but that does not give me an excuse to be complacent. I know from experience the danger of complacency.

Have you noticed any signs in your area that give you cause for concern? If so, what have you noticed, and what do you think it means?

~#~

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I’ve written a lot of books sharing my odd view of life in hopes of helping others. My most notorious book is titled The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too, but The Minimalist Cleaning Method is pretty popular as well. You can find them at the following places:

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Use it Up For Minimalist Living

Minimalism teaches us to only acquire the things we will actually use. But what about the excess we already own?

The things we toss will eventually end up in a landfill. If one of our goals is to reduce our ecological footprint, then we are defeating the purpose by adding more trash to the problem we are trying to solve. Plus, the things we choose to keep will eventually wear out, forcing us to replace them.

Why spend money replacing items when they wear out if we already own an excess?

It’s stupid, folks. It’s stupid to throw things away that you know you will use up in time just to follow the advice of an influencer.

Because you know what? Keeping those items and using them up costs you very little, if anything. Tossing that excess and buying more costs you a fortune over time.

Remember: it’s not what you spend, it’s what you keep that counts.

For instance, right now I own 10 pairs of jeans. I don’t need 10 pairs of jeans. I only use three pairs a week at the most. If I followed the advice of minimalist influencers, I would toss or donate seven pairs of those jeans.

But here’s the thing. Most of them were given to me as handmedowns. They cost me nothing to acquire and nothing to store, since I have plenty of room in my closet. Since jeans don’t last forever, they will wear out in time, so it would be stupid for me to toss that excess.

I will wring every last drop of wear out of them instead.

I will wear them on weekends. When my current batch of work pants develop too many holes for my job, I will replace them with the worst of those ten pairs of jeans. Then, when I run out of jeans that I can wear on the weekends, I will head to the thrift shop or a discount store and replenish the three pairs of jeans that I need.

I do the same thing with my shirts and other items. I wear them until they cannot be worn any longer and throw them away. I’ll buy more when I get low.

When my old washer decided to develop a glitch, I replaced it. I didn’t throw the old one away. It still works a bit. The timer is just dead, so I fixed it so that it runs nonstop while it’s plugged in and I use it for my nasty items. I’ll toss it when it completely dies.

This is how you not only survive poverty, this is how you build wealth for the future. You don’t just toss something because you have an excess. You use it up.

If you are tired of being broke, stop tossing perfectly good stuff away and replacing it with new! Because it doesn’t matter if the color is last season or it’s not part of a trend. What matters is that the item does the job.

So ignore the corporate shills telling you to buy their new stuff and throw your old stuff away and the minimalists who agree with them.

Their goal isn’t to help you. Their goal is to line their own pockets with your cash.

For more quick money saving tips, check out my book 400 Ways to Save A Fortune. Your wallet will thank you.

Use Credit to Save Money

One of the common claims about credit is that it costs you money to use. While this is true in many cases, in some cases credit can actually save you money instead.

For instance, say that you have saved up money to make a major purchase. You have done your research, decided what you want, and have finally went to the store to make the purchase when the sales person makes you an offer to charge the item.

Don’t be so quick to brush away the offer. In some cases, these offers may come without any interest charges if paid off in a certain amount of time.

This is one of the tricks I learned about when I researched the habits of the wealthy. Instead of using their cash reserves to make purchases, they would instead finance things at a low or nonexistent interest rate. This would allow them to keep their money in the bank, earning interest…allowing them to make a bit of money.

I actually encountered that the other day. While my initial reaction was to refuse the line of credit, it occurred to me that I could place the money I’d saved up for the purchase in savings, finance the item for no interest, and actually come out a bit ahead on the purchase.

It may not seem like much, but these little decisions add up. Now, instead of being out the amount in my savings that I’d planned to spend, I will be able to allow that money to draw interest. While I’ll have to make payments on the purchase, I won’t have to pay anything for the privilege. This not only allows me to work on my goal of improving my credit, it lets me earn a few more dollars on my money that I wouldn’t have earned otherwise.

In many cases, these little offers are designed to be quick and easy to apply for, so they take very little time to secure. Just a couple minutes to fill out an application allowed me to increase my net work just a little bit more.

There is a caveat on some of these offers. Many of them are designed to encourage you to take out a credit card that you will be encouraged to use in the future. If you do use the card for future purchases, those purchases will be subject to interest charges if the bill isn’t paid promptly. That said, many places offer discounts if you use their cards to make purchases, but if you pay the new charges promptly, you come out ahead of the finance game as well.

Pennies make dollars, and even the smallest amount in a savings account can earn you a bit in interest. If you can keep your hard-earned cash earning interest for just a bit longer, your finances will thank you.

Have you ever accepted a no-interest credit offer in order to allow your hard-earned cash to continue building interest in your savings? Please share your stories in the comments below.

One Rule For Comfortable Finances

It’s nice to not worry about money. I’ve spent my entire life focused on reducing my financial footprint out of necessity so I find my current situation novel.

Even so, there are rules that I still follow. Ten percent of every paycheck is placed in savings, and despite encouragement to do otherwise, I still keep my recurring expenses as low as I can keep them. After that, I’ve been allowing myself to splurge a bit on items that I know I will use and enjoy.

Even with allowing a loose rein on my spending, I still spend less than I earn at my public job, so my net worth is increasing. In time I will figure out where I want to invest the excess, but today is not the day.

I follow my rules for a reason. I have learned through hard experience that Life can be unpredictable. One never knows the future so it is always best to be prepared. The absolute best way to prepare for challenging financial times is by keeping your recurring expenses as low as you can keep them even during times of plenty, because it is a lot easier to come up with $500 dollars a month than it is $5,000.

That said, it can be tempting to upgrade your lifestyle when your income increases. You may want a nicer (or bigger) place to live or even a shiny new car to drive, yet while you may be able to afford them at your current income level, that is no guarantee that you will continue to afford them in the future. For all we think we know the future, next week or next month may mean that we have to work for minimum wage just to survive.

I am keeping that firmly in mind as I move forward. I have seen too many people burden themselves with higher rent/house payments, car payments, and even boat payments only to have an injury or job loss send them into a tailspin.

I have preached this rule for over a decade now. I learned my lesson during the Great Recession. When you keep your recurring expenses as low as you can keep them, it allows you the flexibility to go with the flow as financial circumstances change. It can even allow you to work less if you desire. I used this rule to be a stay-at-home single mother for years, and I’ve also used it when I worked as a single parent, because it allowed me to work at jobs that are easily acquired so that I would never have to choose between my job and my kids. I had to accept a low wage at these jobs, but for me the tradeoff was worth it.

Whatever your current income, remember that times can change. You may have a really nice job today, but that does not guarantee that you will have a nice job tomorrow. It pays to keep your recurring expenses low just in case.

It also pays to allow yourself some time to adjust when you find yourself suddenly flush with cash. When you do not allow yourself time to adjust to the windfall, you can wake up one morning and realize that you’ve spent yourself broke. Lottery winners do this on a regular basis.

Don’t be them. Resist the temptation to spend yourself broke each week because you happen to have money in your pocket and more scheduled to come. It is much better to have money left over and the knowledge that you will be okay should hard times come.

Do you keep your recurring expenses low? How do you do it? Do you have any advice for the rest of us? Please share your stories in the comments below.

~#~

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The Art of Thoughtful Spending

An interesting thing happens when you realize that you have achieved your financial goals. You look around and want everything. This commonly happens to lottery winners. It’s the primary reason that they quickly spend themselves broke.

This is why I decided to purge before I allowed myself to spend. The reminder of how easy it is to accumulate too much serves as a counterpoint to the desire.

Even so, it became more and more difficult to resist the urge. My daughter has watched me pass up the things I’ve wanted so many times that she is actively encouraging me to cut loose.

But I do not want to be that person.

I didn’t achieve financial freedom by following the path of others. I didn’t achieve financial freedom by following their advice to spend and spend. I achieved financial freedom by focusing on my mind and my business. I refuse to step backwards.

That said, I could feel the urge rising as the kid persuaded me to window shop and browse online. I would catch myself ready to place something in the cart and realize that it was only a passing whim.

That was why, instead of buying like mad, I invested in a small notebook instead.

Every time I see or think of something I want, I write it down. I don’t worry about how outlandish the desire; anything that pops into my head is dutifully noted. At night before bed I pull it out, review the list, and make a point of adding to it. Then I close my eyes and visualize how my life would change if I added this thing to my possessions.

An amazing thing happens when you allow yourself to mentally spend money. Your mind begins to visualize the clutter. I could see myself wondering where I would stick things. I could even see myself using an item for a time before throwing it away.

I do not want to be that person.

That was when I began making my gratitude list. I started making entries about all of the things I already had that I was immensely grateful for.

On the top of that list was my freedom.

Everything I have added to that giant wish list pales in comparison to my freedom.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the urge to buy things. That said, in most cases we feel the urge to buy not because we truly want something, but because we have been programmed to believe that these things will somehow make our lives even better.

But what can be better than freedom?

The next time you feel the urge to buy-buy-buy, go out and invest in a little notebook instead. Pick one that makes you feel wealthy. Add a nice pen to that, and go home.

Start making a list by asking yourself:

What do I want?

At the very top of your list, write:

I want my FREEDOM.

Every time you feel the urge to spend, pull out your luxurious little notebook and jot it down. Then ask yourself: Will this thing take me closer to my freedom?

The answer will change your life.

As for me I’ve yet to spend much. Aside from honoring my promise to buy the phone, I am still purging. I do treat us to meals out on occasion, since one of the things I wanted to achieve with my freedom was the ability to do just that. I lack the skills or the desire to cook much, so this provides us with some healthy variety. Even better, it allows me to do something to help my local businesses survive the pandemic.

As for the rest, I am still thinking.

How do you deal with the urge to spend? Please share your stories in the comments below.

~#~

If you happen to find this post helpful, would you consider sharing it with a friend or on social media? Thanks!

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Washable Puppy Pads

We live in an age where so much of what we use is disposable. We are expected to buy these items, use them once, then toss them away for new. When we do this, however, we not only contribute to the landfill problem, we also give our money to corporations that not only avoid paying taxes, but use those funds in advertising designed to mentally manipulate us into buying even more or even worse – encourage our politicians to pass laws that favor them and not the populace they are supposed to represent.

Some of these items we need, so how do we arrange our lives to reduce the amount we spend?

I encountered that challenge a while back. One of my dogs has grown quite old and has to go potty rather frequently. I had resolved the issue by purchasing puppy pads in bulk but then it occurred to me that there must be a way to not only reduce the amount of money I spent but be more environmentally responsible. I may not be a perfect example of resource conservation but I do like to reduce my environmental impact whenever it is possible.

Examining the purpose of puppy pads, I realized that there wasn’t much difference between them and the pads placed beneath the elderly or the young. There are reusable pads that are designed to be placed beneath incontinent people, pads that can be washed many times before they lose their effectiveness. I reasoned that if these pads were effective with incontinent people, then they would be an effective substitute for the disposable puppy pads in the market today.

If I could teach my dog to use them, that is.

I purchased a four-pack of these pads, selecting a size that would allow me to wash them in my tiny washing machine. It would increase the amount of laundry I had to wash, but would eliminate the need to purchase disposable pads on a regular basis. Even better, the money I spent on my water bill would go to help my local community instead of a major corporation.

I started out by placing these washable pads on top of the disposable pads that my dog was accustomed to using. As she started to select the washable pad, I slowly swapped out the disposable ones until the washable pads were all that she had available.

It worked like a charm.

I use a bit of water and electricity each day to wash the pads. Every morning I replace the used pads with a fresh set and toss the dirty ones in my washer. It takes a bit of work but in the months since I started this experiment the pads have held up well. I expect to receive a few years’ use from them before I have to consider the purchase of replacements.

The trash we generate has reduced as a result of this experiment. I no longer have to dispose of plastic-lined pads on a daily basis. The water I use is cleaned through our local water treatment plant. It isn’t perfect, but I do believe that my impact on the environment is lower due to this decision.

I especially like the fact that I have eliminated the need to give a major corporation my money on a regular basis. A single pack of these pads cost considerably less than a year’s supply of disposables; considering how they should last for several years with a bit of care I have dropped that expense by at least half.

If you have older, incontinent pets or a puppy that has yet to be housebroken. If you are one of the many who are forced to leave your dogs alone for hours at a stretch, I urge you to consider this option. It will not only allow your animals to relieve themselves in a safe place when you cannot take them out as often as they need, it will reduce your burden on the environment and allow you to save money as well.

Have you considered non-disposable options for the disposable items that you use each day? Please share your stories in the comments below.

EDIT: I have received a request for the link to the pads I purchased for this experiment. Here is the link if you are interested. They don’t have these available in local stores so I had to go with Amazon: https://amzn.to/301u5nu You may be able to make them yourself if you have the skills that I lack.

It is hypocritical to run a website about buying and living on less while begging your readers to buy your crap so I refuse to do it. That said, I live on the money I receive from book sales, so if you can find it in your heart to pitch in I would be immensely grateful.

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The Power of Lowballing Your Finances

The most important step in attaining financial freedom is cutting your expenses to the bone. I don’t care what the “experts” say, it is a hell of a lot easier to come up with a few hundred dollars each month than it is to come up with a few thousand.

A friend of mine reminded me of this when we began to discuss retirement. He shared his dream of building his passive income sources to $6,000 a month. While he only needs $4,000 a month currently, he wants to add some extra padding to his passive income flow in order to cover any cost of living increases during his retirement.

I don’t need that much money.

That is why I was able to quit my last job at the drop of a hat. It is also how I was able to become a stay at home single mother to my youngest daughter–a feat that everyone told me was impossible.

If you want the freedom to live life on your own terms you will pay attention to this.

In order to live at a comfortable minimum I need around $500 a month to cover my expenses. That means that I only need to have $16.67 a day coming in to meet my expenses and have some money to spare. To give you an idea of the difference that makes, my friend would have to find a way to earn $200 a day if he lost his job tomorrow.

Which one is easier to accomplish: $16.67 or $200? More importantly, if you were to lose your job tomorrow and had only $1,000 in savings, which path would allow you to take your time to locate another position?

Do the damn math, folks.

The greater your living expenses, the more you need to earn just to survive and the lower your chances of replacing the income from a public job with passive income sources. In fact, the higher your living expenses, the harder it will be to find a job that pays enough to keep body and soul afloat. If your living expenses are low enough, you will be able to pay your bills in almost any economic climate. You want proof of that? I can work a part-time job at minimum wage to earn more than enough to live on. In comparison, my friend would be screwed.

You listen, and you listen well. We live in a tumultous age. The jobs we know are in the process of being replaced by machines and yet despite that, our cost of living keeps increasing. I saw the first signs of this back in 2009 as corporations downsized to protect their profit and sent droves of people to the unemployment lines. I have no doubts that it will happen again.

If you want to protect yourself, the time to prepare is now.

The lower you can take your expenses, the greater your ability to survive.

I won’t belabor the point. I’ve already written a book on how to live on less so if you want to do the smart thing you will read it. I’d recommend other books if I could but I haven’t encountered anyone who lives on less than I do to brag about.

I pray that you heed my warning before it’s too late.

Do We Need a Job?

Everyone knows that we need money in order to live. That’s a given. We need to buy food and clothing. We need a place to live. In certain nations (like my own) we need money in order to afford healthcare even.

But do we really need a job?

We’ve been taught that we need to go to school, get a good job, start a family, and so forth. But what if that teaching is wrong?

What if we’re looking at the problem from the wrong angle?

We need money to live, but do we really need to get a job in order to acquire the money?

In 2011 I quit my day job in order to be a stay at home single mother for my daughter. If one needs a job in order to make the money to survive, why was it that I managed without one for several years?

During those lovely years of freedom, I didn’t have to look at a time clock. I didn’t have to worry about what hourly wage I was receiving. Instead, I did what I enjoyed (writing books and blog posts while enjoying my daughter’s fleeting childhood). Despite the fact that I worked for neither wage nor salary, money flowed into my bank account like clockwork.

It still does to this very day.

While the amount of money isn’t enough for me to be comfortable living on currently, the fact remains that money comes to me each and every month regardless of how I spend my time.

I am currently using that money to bring even more money into my life through my investments.

Considering this, perhaps we are looking at the problem from the wrong angle. Perhaps instead of thinking “I need money so I want to find a job,” we need to think “I need money so I want to find a way to provide it” instead.

One could write books as I do. One could share affiliate links as others do. Some create websites to sell items that they never even see in a method known as drop-shipping. Henri from Wake Up Cloud started out by creating poker websites to create a passive income flow.

There are as many different ways to generate passive income as there are stars in the sky but we don’t see them. When we think of money, we automatically think of getting a job in order to acquire it.

But do we need one?

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Operation: Katie

Yesterday morning I was awakened at 8am by the phone. Katie had finished the train part of her journey and wanted to call while she awaited her first bus.

She shared with me how she’d decided not to spend the money on a taxi in Chicago; she had gotten turned around and had to ask for help to reach the train station as a result.

Of all times for that child to develop my cheapskate tendencies, it just had to be while she was wandering around Chicago on a fractured leg!

Anxious about her arrival, I puttered around the house, keeping busy. I ordered Katie a pair of crutches (doctor’s orders), did laundry, cleaned on my house, and even made the stock purchase I’d planned to make this week.

I was so distracted at the thought of Katie coming home it barely registered. I didn’t realize until much later that I hadn’t even stopped to savor that tiny step taken towards my financial freedom.

My friend Kes came over in the afternoon and we spent an hour or so painting a large Welcome Home sign. Once that was completed, she went back to her house around the corner to finish preparing for the trip while I took a brief nap.

At 6pm Katie called from the bus station in Louisville, Ky. When I asked what time her bus left for Lexington she looked at her ticket and reported that the bus was scheduled to leave at 5:50pm.

I frowned, then realized that there was most likely a time zone difference between us. “Just in case, will you check and see with the clerk what time your bus leaves?” I requested.

Five minutes later she called me back. “I missed my bus,” she reported sadly. “It was pulling out just as my bus was arriving since mine was a bit late. Can you pick me up from here?”

My friend and I dropped everything and headed out.

We were 54 minutes away from the bus station when traffic on I64 came to a complete halt. An accident ahead of us had completely stopped traffic.

This mom transformed into a basket case after I called the bus station numerous times and could NOT get anyone there to pick up the phone so that I could get a message to her. I even tried to call the payphone back that she’d called me from with no success.

“My baby is alone in Louisville, stuck at a bus station with a broken leg!” I wailed numerous times. “She doesn’t have her phone, and I have no way of letting her know what’s going on! She’s scared, I know she’s scared. They may have closed the bus station for the night and kicked her out in the cold on the streets where there’s criminals and everything!”

I was more than a bit annoying during that hour or so we were stuck in traffic but my mother’s instincts were in full swing. I would have gotten out of that truck and started walking if I’d thought it would get me there any faster.

My friend’s old Ford was running on fumes by the time they cleared the traffic jam. We rushed to a gas station, topped it off (it only takes about $10 worth of gas at a time due to an issue with the fuel tank), and took off again.

We arrived at the bus station around 11:00 pm.

“Katie!” I raced into that bus station, holding the little sign I’d printed up as my friend waited in the truck. Considering the neighborhood she was afraid to leave it alone.

Katie stood up and began limping to meet me part-way. We fell into each other’s arms sobbing as I explained what had happened.

We had to do a round of “thank-yous” to the wonderful travelers who had kept my baby company while she had waited for me to arrive.

One gentleman in particular, a man who was traveling cross-country to see what he could do to help his own daughter out of a bit of trouble stands out in my mind. That poor man took time away from his own problems to comfort my Katie, enough so that she spoke with him for several moments in gratitude before we left.

I didn’t catch your name, but your face will be forever engraved in my mind. Thank you so much for looking out for my little girl.

We stopped for food and fuel at the Hurstbourne Parkway exit. We saw a Steak and Shake and pulled in.

Leo the waiter greeted us with open arms. He seated us, took our orders, and was incredibly nice and helpful.

Shortly after our food arrived I looked out the window to see patrons tugging at the door. It had been locked. Had we committed the Cardinal Sin of visiting a restaurant only minutes before close? I sweated.

I nervously stood up and approached Leo.

“Oh honey, you’re fine!” he reassured us. “The dining room closes at midnight but I’ve still got my cleaning to do so you take your time; I can tell you’re exhausted!”

We watched him hum and sing as he did his work; his cheerfulness helped ease the stress of the evening. I made sure we left him a generous tip to thank him for his kindness along with a brief note to let him know just how much his treatment of us meant before we drove away.

If you are ever around the Steak and Shake on 2717 Hurstbourne Parkway in Louisville, KY, I highly recommend you stop in for a bite.

And please say hi to Leo for me.

We arrived home around 2:40am completely exhausted. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!

I cannot thank my best friend enough for having my back last night, so here’s a shout-out:

You are awesome, Kes!

A Tale of Gratitude

I have no idea how much money I spent last night. To my immense gratitude, I had more than enough.

This is why I’m doing this. This is why I am busting my ass, scrimping and saving as I invest my pennies. Just a few short years ago this adventure would have ruined my finances. Just a few short years ago I would have been nervously counting every penny, praying that I had enough to make the trip.

But I don’t have to do that now.

While I can’t afford to do this often, the fact that I was able to spend freely during the chaos of last night is proof positive that I am heading in the right direction.

It is proof that living cheaply has its limits; there is absolutely no benefit to cutting your expenses unless you actually keep the money that you saved. Until you learn how to make your money work for you frugality is pointless because all you will end up doing is lingering at the bottom of the Food Chain.

Unless you learn to invest the money that you saved you will never be able to achieve true peace of mind.

I am so very thankful that I finally figured it out. I am so grateful that I decided to leave my comfort zone of poverty and start heading in the opposite direction.

And this should be a lesson to you. If an old woman with a high-school education who brings in less than $700 a month can not only manage to invest over $2,000 in under a year and build up her emergency fund to the point where she can safely afford to spend her way through a crisis, you can too.

Don’t ever let them tell you that you can’t.

Voting Every Day

Every single penny you spend (or don’t) is a vote that tells the world a little bit about you. Every single penny you spend votes for the world you want to live in and the businesses you support.

Do you drive past the stores on Main Street to shop at the Mega-Mart on the outskirts of town? Do you buy trendy crap made in China or handcrafted items made locally? Do you prefer to eat at the locally owned restaurant or the national chain?

Do you prefer to buy something once and keep it forever or do you prefer to replace things when styles change or new features are added?

Do you prefer to spend more money than you make, forking out for interest fees, or do you save your money and possibly invest?

You may not think this matters but it does. It really does.

When you eat at a locally owned restaurant that money stays local. It helps the town you live in. When you buy at the Big Box store that stocks its shelves using foreign factories that money goes to pay wages and buy supplies that help the GDP of another nation.

If you spend your money voting for foreign made items, you’ve no room to complain about the loss of jobs in your own nation. If you use a self-checkout, you’re part of the reason why your cousin will have her cashier job eliminated…

…And if you buy stuff that you know will fall apart in days or weeks or months, you are encouraging companies to sell even more of the same.

I try to be thoughtful about the items I purchase. I avoid credit, voting with my lack of spending in that area against those companies who profit on our profligacy.

Just the other day I voted with my money again. I resent purchasing items that are designed to fail and I like to keep my money inside the nation I call home whenever possible so when the last can opener I purchased promptly failed I decided to take action. I went online and invested in a heavy-duty American made can opener, a device that should last for a decade or longer with proper care.

I was amazed at its heft when I picked up the package. Delighted at the solid construction. This is a can opener that might very well be the last can opener I need to buy if I care for it properly.

That is something I am more than willing to vote for.

What have you voted for with your money lately? Please share your stories in the comments below.

The Importance of a Financial Buffer

The United States government shut down the other day. Regardless of your personal beliefs on the issue, one thing that we can all agree on is that the pay suspension for many Federal workers is causing many families to suffer. So many people the world over live from paycheck to paycheck; even a delay in the receipt of their income can be devastating.

The fear of financial insolvency has colored the choices I’ve made for decades. It’s one of the primary reasons that I favored low-wage, “disposable” jobs in industries such as fast food as a single mom. I selected those positions because I knew that if I lost one job that I would be able to secure another position within a matter of days.

It is much better to have financial security than it is to have a higher paycheck.

As I grew older and wiser I realized that job security wasn’t enough. It’s obviously not enough for the Federal workers currently suffering the political fallout from the current situation in Washington and it’s not enough for anyone with a family depending upon them. Things happen. A kid can become ill, forcing a parent to stay home and provide care, a car can break down making it impossible to go to work, a refrigerator can die, or the heat in your home can fail in the dead of winter. You can even become ill or injured, forcing you to take time off of work in order to heal.

This is why I began the practice of keeping a financial buffer.

My current buffer would provide three month’s of comfortable living in the event of an unforeseen disaster; five months in a pinch. Even with my determination to invest every penny I can I’ve still managed to continue increasing the amount of money I keep stashed in my emergency fund.

Everyone needs to keep a financial buffer. With our current political situation, this buffer would have allowed these families to continue providing for their families for the duration of the Government Shutdown with minimal disruption. It wouldn’t be fun, but it would be a helluva lot better than facing homelessness or food insecurity.

I don’t care how little money you make; if you don’t have a buffer of safety stashed away in a bank account or a lockbox at home you are taking a foolish, downright stupid chance with your financial security. Shit happens. When it does, your paycheck is usually the first thing you lose. Unless you want to live in a cave like Daniel Suelo you need to keep a stash of cash just to survive.

It’s not fair but that’s just how it is.

So suck it up Buttercup and face reality. It is not the world’s job to support you. Most people won’t even care if you lose your paycheck, they’ll just offer platitudes and go on with their day. It’s up to you to support yourself and your family; to do that you need to keep some cash on hand in the event that the unthinkable happens.

You can start out by saving your spare change. Instead of tossing your pennies on the ground, put those suckers in a jar at home. Roll them occasionally and stick them into a bank account you won’t touch, or convert them to cash and stash it in a lockbox at home or a safety deposit box at the bank. Put it somewhere you won’t be tempted to touch it when you stumble upon a sale of your favorite whatsit.

Instead of blowing money on a tattoo or getting your hair professionally done or a fancy manicure, take that money and stash it away. What’s more important to you? Is it more important to keep up with the Jones’ or is it more important to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly?

I don’t know about you but I prefer to eat any day.

You can splurge on the extras once you know you’ve gotten a buffer built up and will be safe in the event you go to work one day and discover your job has closed. It is much better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your finances.

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Do something good today. Share this post on social media. You share cat photos all of the time; this post could be the wakeup call someone needs to prevent a financial disaster. Help your buddies help themselves for a change. Thanks for caring!

The True Cost of Stuff

My daughter Katie finally saved up the money to purchase her very first cell phone. She will be paying for the service out of her own pocket since she now has a part-time job.

When she told me how much the phone cost, I was struck by how much of her life she had to spend working in order to earn the money to pay for it. She worked an equivalent of two weeks to buy the phone and pay for the first month of service. It will cost her ½ of a week’s pay every month to pay for the service.

I asked her if the phone was worth losing two weeks’ of her life working in order to pay for it. Katie gave me a blank look before regaling me with how wonderful her new gadget was.

That made me realize that most people have no concept of the amount of time they sacrifice from their lives in order to pay for things.

For instance, say you decide to purchase a new computer. You want a nice one so you select a model that costs $1,000. If you are on minimum wage ($7.25 in this area), that means you have to work full-time for a month to buy the device.

If you decide to buy a new car for $20,000 (I’m just picking a random price here), you would have to work 20 months just to pay off the base price, not including taxes and interest if you finance it!

Calculate Before You Buy

Before you purchase an item, calculate just how much of your life you have to sacrifice to a job in order to pay for it then ask yourself: Is this item worth so much of my life?

If it is, you’re good to go. Buy that whatsit and have fun.

But if it’s not, save your money. Remember, the less stuff you buy, the less you have to earn to pay for it. Also, remember that there might be a less expensive way for you to get what you need/want. For instance, if you want to own your own car, instead of purchasing a newer one that you have to finance, take the down payment and buy an older vehicle outright. You will have transportation at a fraction of the cost—without having to worry about a monthly payment.

If you want to own a home, consider purchasing a smaller, older, simpler home instead of that fancy one the realtor shows you. I have personally purchased older mobile homes on a rented lot for less than $2,000—one time I even purchased one for $100 and some furniture taken in trade! Some mobile homes and older houses in the country can be purchased for $10,000 or less if you look and are patient. You could purchase one of these, live in it, and save the difference that you would normally pay in rent to buy something better. Once you buy a better place, you could sell the first place (saving the money if you want to upgrade again) or rent it out for extra income.

If you practice this method of thinking before you buy, you will end up saving a LOT of money over time. You can either put that money away or decide to regain some of your life by working less.

I discuss this and other ways of saving money in the book The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too, available in print and ebook at many fine retailers.

Unless you live in the woods you will need some amount of money to survive. There will always be property taxes, groceries and whatnot in our lives—all with hands out waiting for their share of our income.

Where does your money come from? Chances are you only have a single source. It could be a job or a pension, but it is a single source nevertheless. What would happen to you if that single source of income disappeared? How would you live?

I’m going to be blunt here: income sources can leave. It doesn’t matter that you have been on the job for 20 years or were so messed up in that accident that there is no way you will get better and get off of disability. It doesn’t matter that you’ve qualified for Social Security ages ago. Sometimes for inexplicable reasons the income that we count upon goes away.

It may not go away forever, but a disappearance for a few weeks can be disastrous to so many of us who live on low incomes and thus is the reason for this post.

Having multiple sources of income is smart. They may not be big sources of income but the fact that they are income can really come in handy if you lose your job or the bank that held your savings goes under.

There are ways of earning money that are as different as snowflakes in winter so don’t panic and think I’m telling you to endanger your government check by taking a part-time job. Just consider how much safer your life would be if you had something, anything as a teeny tiny safety net in case something happened to your primary source of income.

Look around your home for ideas. If you love animals perhaps you can look in the local online classifieds for people needing a pet sitter while they go out of town. VCI in Paducah, Kentucky is a wonderful source if you live in the area.

Do you like children? You could babysit for a neighbor occasionally. If you enjoy crafts perhaps you could sell some of your creations for a few dollars on Etsy? Gardeners can sell extra produce on a small table in their front yard or even alongside a busy road for extra cash.

Clean a house or look online for people needed short-term assistance. These jobs generally pay cash and you can pick and choose what you prefer to do. If you have a talent for fixing hoosie-whatsits perhaps you can place a small ad in a free online classified announcing your skill. I have a friend who made extra money by running an unofficial taxi service for friends and neighbors—not only did he make enough money to more than keep the maintenance up on his van but it enabled him to go out and explore places with the Amish that otherwise he would have never seen!

If you have a mower perhaps you can mow small lawns for extra money, or rent the mower out to others who don’t have one? If you have wireless internet you could share the connection with your neighbors in exchange for a portion of the bill! You may make enough money from this to pay your internet bill entirely—thus getting your internet for free!

If you have reduced the amount of stuff you own to save storage expense perhaps you find yourself with an empty storage building or even an empty corner in the garage. You can rent out this space and allow others to store stuff there!

You could bake homemade bread, labor-intensive foods like lasagna or even dog treats and sell the finished product. Of course on a bigger operation there are rules and regulations to follow but we’re talking occasional agreements among people you know and not necessarily a business-type arrangement.

If you know about antiques or a certain item you collect perhaps you can make extra money selling some. Yard sales and thrift shops are known for good deals so perhaps if you stumble upon something at a gorgeously low price you can mark it up a bit and resell it.

If you prefer to make money online there are places like Mylot, KGB, MTurk and others that pay money for doing certain things. If you like to write sites like Helium, Associated Content, Factoidz and others will allow you to make money on your creations. In fact, some sites will pay you to post videos and slideshows!

Blogging can give you a way to express thoughts and ideas in a form that can earn you some income as well. Adding Google Adsense to the blog or even Adbrite can earn you a little money for doing something you may do anyway—keep a journal.

You don’t have to do any of these suggestions. In fact I’m confident that if you look around you will find something that is uniquely perfect for you and your living situation. The trick to a happy life is not to just live simply and frugally but to be confident that no matter what–money is going to be there to provide what we need. Depending upon a single income source—no matter how reliable it is supposed to be—is a recipe for disaster.

Please look around your lives and see what you can do to earn an extra dollar or two. You don’t have to kill yourself but make a small goal to just make a couple of extra dollars this month. Stash that extra income in an online savings account or even in a jar somewhere until it builds up where you can do something with it. Save a little of it for the future, but enjoy some of it now—you earned it!

Having sources for extra income may seem silly if you are used to making big money but a little money is a lot better than no money at all in the event that something stops your regular income source!

With this said you may wonder what I do for extra money. Well, I write online for various websites, most of which don’t give me any credit but pay well nevertheless. I am working on increasing my Associated Content library, the articles I have at Factoidz and making this blog and my simplicity blog useful to others to increase traffic. Besides that I have a diploma in computer repair so I promote a small computer repair business and pick up odd jobs doing strange things on occasion. I’ve even started a book on simplicity and frugality that I plan to market at a later date!

It may seem like I’m doing a lot but honestly I’m not. When I get an idea for something to write about I decide where to stick it that is most appropriate and there it goes. Since computer work largely involves waiting on computers I can work on other things here while waiting for them to do their thing!

I have lived on a single source of income in the past and struggled when that income disappeared. No matter how small or large that income may be it hurts! I don’t want that to happen to you.