Video walk through on 66 simple tips how anyone can build wealth
66 simple tips how anyone can build wealth
Overall Goals / Strategies
- Aim for zero debt (even counting home loans)
- Be proud of saving money (not embarrassed). Brag about it!
- Hangout more with people that also are proud of saving $
- When purchasing, try and negotiate. Don’t be afraid to ask for a lower price / conditions. The answer is always no unless you ask
- Make a budget and stick to it!
- Follow and learn about money from people like: Beth Kobliner, Dave Ramsey, and Suze Orman
- Teach your kids about saving money. Quantify how much each thing costs. THEY will forgo things…
- Round-up everything you buy to even $5. All extra money you don’t spend goes into savings
- Pay very close attention to recurring costs and large 1-time costs!
- Choose your college & degree wisely. Well-known names don’t offer as much as you might think. There’s a huge variance in the cost to getting each type of degrees which has NOTHING to do with how much you can earn for each degree
- Also consider trade schools. Often they are a better fit with far less debt
- Believe in yourself! Take responsibility for EVERYTHING! Don’t buy into the “blame game”
Saving Money
- Buy generics instead of name-brand on drugs, clothes, cars, vitamins, etc.
- Skip lavish vacations. Have “staycations” or “code-cations”
- Cook meals (especially with planned left-overs)– Eat-out less frequently. You’ll save $16 per meal
- Don’t have a car payment! If you have a car payment, sell it and buy something that allows you to not have a payment
- Keep your car for longer
- Do repairs / maintenance on your vehicle (Tune-ups, oil change, brake job, etc.)
- Cut ties to Cable / entertainment. Find other sources like Netflix, Hulu, etc.
- Skip the coffee shop
- Review your cell-phone plans
- Review all subscriptions! Are you really going to the gym?
- Bring your own bottled water / drinks. (stop buying drinks when you dine-out)
- Talk to your family & friends and agree $ limit for gifts
- Use coupons- Examine and save your Valpak and local papers
- Use Flexible Spending account and/or Health savings account
- Price check everything.
- Research everything! Consumer reports is accessible via local library
- Freeze your credit
- Freeze your credit card
- When you feel like spending money, buy things you’ll need anyway (like food)
Buying vs Renting/Borrowing
- Buy clothes, kitchen gadgets, & furniture from 2nd-hand stores (Goodwill)
- Go to the library for books & movies
- Trade movies, books, etc. with friends & family
- Trade clothes with friends. Find a family that has kids 2-sizes above your kids
- Borrow tools / items from a friend/neighbor / family member
- Appliances are great things to buy 2nd hand (even HVAC units)
- Look on Amazon Warehouse for many things you buy
Regarding your home
- Do repairs / maintenance on your home (Clean AC, drain hot water heater, clean refrigerator coils)
- Cut your own grass / lawn maintenance
- Ditch the maid or reduce the frequency of visits
- Refinance your home. Make extra payments / don’t just pay the minimum and pay it down early
- Try and time major purchases around big sales events (Fourth of July, President’s day, Christmas, Labor day, etc.)
Reduce energy consumption in your home
- Get a Smart thermostat (Honeywell, Nest, etc.)
- Lower temperature on hot water heater
- Raise Temperature AC / Lower temp on heat (every degree Hotter / Colder you’ll save ~3% on your energy bill)
- Add ceiling fans in every room (I put up 5 in my house alone)
- Run your AC during non-peak hours
- Put in a “whole house fan” or some of these window fans (I own two of these AirKing and they really move the air!
- Add plastic insulation to windows or drapes (The drapes can do more than you’d think)
- Sun / Solar screens
- Silicone all doors & windows (the older your windows & doors are, the more important this is)
- Foam insulation pieces around outlets / switches on external walls
- Change your HVAC air filters (Note, the cheapest ones are probably fine) I use Amazon’s subscribe & save
- Add insulation to your attic
- Buy a KilAWatt meter to see how much energy your devices are using
- Look for “vampire” devices that always draw electricity
- Change out incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs. (If you have CFLs, I’d wait for them to die)
- Purchase low-energy consumption appliances (Consumer reports has good metrics & access from your library)
- Purchase higher SEER rated AC units (SEER 16 will save you ~ 70%)
Earning Money
- Invest in yourself! Spend time/money on things that allow you to make more money / increase what you can charge.
- Story about Two guys in woods cutting down a tree
- Always have multiple jobs. (Gig economy) Put all your “extra” money towards your debt
- Create sources of revenue that are scalable and perpetual. Udemy course? Affiliate links, etc.
- There’s “riches in niches.” In nearly every industry, Generalists make much less than Specialists
- Find additional streams of income for your properties (rent shed, carport, parking, etc.)
- Trade work / Barter with friends / neighbors
- Monetize your hobby / passion. My Udemy courses / YouTube. Wife making wreaths
- Pet-sit, Housesit, babysit, elder-sit / safety check
- Start a business that has very low start-up costs and little risk. Especially awesome if it can scale without large costs