What About Your Lifestyle/Habits Saves You Big $$$ ?

[Tri-Delta4Life]

Dual high paying careers in low cost of living area

 

[Elephantay]

Our strategy for cars is to buy a late-model used car with plenty of warranty left (typically a longer-warranty make like Hyundai or Kia) - so for example, if we were shopping right now, we'd be aiming for a 2019 or 2020 with around 30k miles. That way we get the savings on the purchase price (someone else takes the hit of that high early depreciation), plus the peace of mind of a warranty in case something goes wrong early on. Then we drive them for a long time, if not exactly forever - 10 years or more. We've not had to take out a car loan in almost 20 years, and shouldn't need to anytime soon.

Thanks for this info! I've been looking at Kias and Mazdas, neither of which weve ever owned.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Thanks for this info! I've been looking at Kias and Mazdas, neither of which weve ever owned.

I think if you have been brand-loyal most of your life, it can be really hard to make the switch to anything else.

I drove a Hyundai home one day prepared to buy it the next (they were getting the paperwork ready) and I took it back and dropped it off. I just didn't like it at all after doing tons of research.

My daughter bought a Toyota and I know a lot of people swear by them, but I drive it a fair amount and just can't adjust. I actually hate driving it, but it's always at the end of the driveway and easier than moving cars! lol

 

[Elephantay]

I'm happy to get whatever car thats a good deal for our third car. We have a Subaru Outback (that we all love!) thats our main car, but our son will be commuting to college next year so we need something cheap for me to get to work.

 

[smwisc]

Thanks for this info! I've been looking at Kias and Mazdas, neither of which weve ever owned.

I've always wanted a Mazda, just so I could walk around saying "zoom zoom!"

But in all seriousness, we've owned two Hyundais and one Kia and been very happy with them all. I mean, as happy as I'm probably going to get about a car - I'm very much not a car person and not at all brand loyal. Just need something to get me from here to there with minimal bother. Years and years ago those brands had a reputation for being unreliable, but for at least the last 20 years their overall reliability has been rated at or above the "American" makes, if still below the "Japanese" makes (with the caveat that I haven't had reason to look for the past 6 years).

 

[Disneyliscious]

You'll never save your way to prosperity. While looking for ways to save money certainly helps, and avoiding dumb money decisions is important, you're better off focusing on how to earn more, rather than how to spend less.

Truer words have never been spoken. Saving money doesn't gain you anything. Your money needs to make you money.

"You have to spend money to make money".

When you (for example) save $250. Take that $250 and invest it into something. Let's say, gardening tools, soil, and seeds. Grow some vegetables and do a roadside stand. By the end of the season you now have $500. You ended up with $250 in "found money" because you invested your original $250. This is how you use your money to make money. I wish more people understood this.

 

[afan]

Truer words have never been spoken. Saving money doesn't gain you anything. Your money needs to make you money.

"You have to spend money to make money".

When you (for example) save $250. Take that $250 and invest it into something. Let's say, gardening tools, soil, and seeds. Grow some vegetables and do a roadside stand. By the end of the season you now have $500. You ended up with $250 in "found money" because you invested your original $250. This is how you use your money to make money. I wish more people understood this.

That's not found money if you are having to garden and sell stuff. That's not quick easy work. That's earned money and in the end what did you just pay yourself and your for that work for this "found" money?

 

[MrsPete]

I've always wanted a Mazda, just so I could walk around saying "zoom zoom!"

I drove my mom's Mazda for a week (while she was on vacation and mine was in the shop). I enjoyed driving it.

Truer words have never been spoken. Saving money doesn't gain you anything. Your money needs to make you money.

"You have to spend money to make money".

When you (for example) save $250. Take that $250 and invest it into something. Let's say, gardening tools, soil, and seeds. Grow some vegetables and do a roadside stand. By the end of the season you now have $500. You ended up with $250 in "found money" because you invested your original $250. This is how you use your money to make money. I wish more people understood this.

I'm not sure I agree with that.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Truer words have never been spoken. Saving money doesn't gain you anything. Your money needs to make you money.

"You have to spend money to make money".

When you (for example) save $250. Take that $250 and invest it into something. Let's say, gardening tools, soil, and seeds. Grow some vegetables and do a roadside stand. By the end of the season you now have $500. You ended up with $250 in "found money" because you invested your original $250. This is how you use your money to make money. I wish more people understood this.

I don't agree with your gardening example. If you look at your original $250 investment, plus the hours you worked to produce the $500 worth of food, your ROI would be quite low, even figuring minimum wage for your time. And someone who didn't have gardening space (or, like me, hated gardening) could save an equivalent amount of money by finding low cost sources for vegetables--everything from u-pick farms to gleaning to shopping farmer's markets at the end of the day. Some people even dumpster-dive for produce--I respect their desire to minimize waste and food cost, but it's not something I personally do.

A better example might be investing in a chest freezer, so you can better take advantage of good sales on meat. Or using the $250 to buy a bike, that you then ride to and from work most of the time. You would not only save on gas and car costs, but also on a gym membership.

 

[biochemgirl]

Thanks for some great ideas!

Churning credit cards is something I did a few years ago and this has me thinking I should check it out again

 

[holden]

I have a hybrid Volvo and mostly drive locally. I fill my gas tank maybe every month. With gas prices increasing, I'm glad I'm not filling weekly!

 

[dvcgirl67]

I have a hybrid Volvo and mostly drive locally. I fill my gas tank maybe every month. With gas prices increasing, I'm glad I'm not filling weekly!

We went down to one car about six months ago. DH has worked from home since 2005 and really in the last few years we haven't needed a second car at all, but we're in our early 50s and it felt a little premature to go down to one. But the pandemic really convinced us that we really didn't need two cars. So we ditched both cars we had, a 2012 Mercedes ML350 that we owned and a 2017 Porsche Macan that we leased. We sold the Mercedes for more than we ever thought we'd get due to the crazy used car market. The macan went back at end of lease. And we leased a 2021 Tesla Y. We're about five months into the lease and we are love with having an EV. We're done with gas cars.

Even with a lease, we got $5,000 from our state as a rebate which just about covered the "money down", and then overall, going from two cars down to one, factoring in lease payment, we're saving $7,000 a year from our previous budget. We're spending about $70 a month more on our electric bill to charge it. It's an absolute joy to not need to go to the gas station and just plug the car in each night. And it's crazy fun to drive.

We're a double income/no kids household and have always been good savers and have had no debt at all for over 10 years now. That's really a game changer and it's amazing how quickly funds pile up when you hit that goal. Not having a mortgage payment is life changing in my opinion. My income took a real hit (service business) during the pandemic, but even still, we hit our normal savings goals for 2020 and will in 2021 as well. DH got a nice raise and larger bonus, stock option allocation. We didn't go anywhere or do really anything, so even with an income hit on my side....it was doable. I have been cooking at home this whole time...haven't even done takeout which is really eye-opening....huge savingst. So that savings plus DH salary increase helped us to hit our goals. We save 35% of our gross income...roughly 45% of our net. Those numbers certainly weren't always that high....they've increased over the years.

We all work so hard and it's nice to know you can get to this point, where retirement isn't too far off on the horizon and your financial duckies are all in a row.

 

[holden]

We went down to one car about six months ago. DH has worked from home since 2005 and really in the last few years we haven't needed a second car at all, but we're in our early 50s and it felt a little premature to go down to one. But the pandemic really convinced us that we really didn't need two cars. So we ditched both cars we had, a 2012 Mercedes ML350 that we owned and a 2017 Porsche Macan that we leased. We sold the Mercedes for more than we ever thought we'd get due to the crazy used car market. The macan went back at end of lease. And we leased a 2021 Tesla Y. We're about five months into the lease and we are love with having an EV. We're done with gas cars.

Even with a lease, we got $5,000 from our state as a rebate which just about covered the "money down", and then overall, going from two cars down to one, factoring in lease payment, we're saving $7,000 a year from our previous budget. We're spending about $70 a month more on our electric bill to charge it. It's an absolute joy to not need to go to the gas station and just plug the car in each night. And it's crazy fun to drive.

We're a double income/no kids household and have always been good savers and have had no debt at all for over 10 years now. That's really a game changer and it's amazing how quickly funds pile up when you hit that goal. Not having a mortgage payment is life changing in my opinion. My income took a real hit (service business) during the pandemic, but even still, we hit our normal savings goals for 2020 and will in 2021 as well. DH got a nice raise and larger bonus, stock option allocation. We didn't go anywhere or do really anything, so even with an income hit on my side....it was doable. I have been cooking at home this whole time...haven't even done takeout which is really eye-opening....huge savingst. So that savings plus DH salary increase helped us to hit our goals. We save 35% of our gross income...roughly 45% of our net. Those numbers certainly weren't always that high....they've increased over the years.

We all work so hard and it's nice to know you can get to this point, where retirement isn't too far off on the horizon and your financial duckies are all in a row.

I had a Tesla a while ago. Just a word of caution...I loved my Tesla, but it took around 9 months to get parts after I was involved in a fender bender. Repair was very expensive. I can’t remember the exact amount, but it was somewhere around $10,000-15,000. The other driver was at fault so her insurance covered it. Damage to my car was minimal, so the cost and the long wait were a shock to us. I sold it after it was repaired because I was afraid if I had another accident it would probably be even more expensive and just as long/longer wait for parts. It was an awesome car though!

 

[sjrec]

We rarely eat out-and I plan meals so I don’t waste or throw out food. We drive our cars at least 10 years-and love those years without a car payment. Automatically put money into savings. It’s hard those years when your kids are small and something always needs fixing around the house!

 

[dvcgirl67]

I had a Tesla a while ago. Just a word of caution...I loved my Tesla, but it took around 9 months to get parts after I was involved in a fender bender. Repair was very expensive. I can’t remember the exact amount, but it was somewhere around $10,000-15,000. The other driver was at fault so her insurance covered it. Damage to my car was minimal, so the cost and the long wait were a shock to us. I sold it after it was repaired because I was afraid if I had another accident it would probably be even more expensive and just as long/longer wait for parts. It was an awesome car though!

Yes, I've definitely heard the nightmarish stories about the long wait on repairs. We'll see how it goes I suppose. We only did a two year lease to see how our "one EV car only" experiment goes. We're certainly not married to owning only Tesla vehicles going forward. All automakers are continuing to turn out more EV models. And the price will begin to come down as we go forward. I know Tesla is supposedly releasing what everyone thinks will be a "Model 2" in the next year or two. That will be priced in the 25K range. Right now the German car makers we love have models that are all prohibitively expensive for us, but I believe that will change in the coming years too.

 

[supersnoop]

I had a Tesla a while ago. Just a word of caution...I loved my Tesla, but it took around 9 months to get parts after I was involved in a fender bender. Repair was very expensive. I can’t remember the exact amount, but it was somewhere around $10,000-15,000. The other driver was at fault so her insurance covered it. Damage to my car was minimal, so the cost and the long wait were a shock to us. I sold it after it was repaired because I was afraid if I had another accident it would probably be even more expensive and just as long/longer wait for parts. It was an awesome car though!

Here's my advice for that situation. I had a six-month experience with the repair process. The other party was at fault in my accident, so they were required by state law to provide me with a "car of comparable utility." Instead, I went a bought a used car and, at the end, told them that they owed me for "loss of use." I proposed a reasonable cash amount, they tried to argue, I informed that that their own calculation would likely cost them 3x my proposal, and then they cut me a check. Just check Turo to see the daily rate to rent a Tesla. I also filed for "diminished value" and received a check for that. Sure, I was without my Tesla for a few months, but I made sure they made me whole; and more than paid for the used car I bought to get me through.

 

[shawthorne44]

For us, it is renting out our house and living in another cheaper, construction-zone house.

We also drive our cars until repairs cost more than 2K or the repair guy makes fun of my car with a crack like, "Usually people bring *all* their car in". We also never buy new cars. I love our last purchase. I bought a 3-year-old touring Cadillac with all the bells and whistles. We got a bargain because it had just over 100K and most non-credit union won't do a loan for those, so there are fewer buyers.

 

[Disneyliscious]

I don't agree with your gardening example. If you look at your original $250 investment, plus the hours you worked to produce the $500 worth of food, your ROI would be quite low, even figuring minimum wage for your time.

That's why it was called an EXAMPLE. It was about the actions of the example and not the example itself. It was just something quick I thought of while sitting there typing. It wasn't meant to be the golden ticket for everyone. It was about conveying the "how" to do something.

And someone who didn't have gardening space (or, like me, hated gardening) could save an equivalent amount of money by finding low cost sources for vegetables--everything from u-pick farms to gleaning to shopping farmer's markets at the end of the day.

You do not understand the difference in saving money versus using your saved money to make more money. Your example above is about saving money. It has nothing to do with what I was talking about.

A better example might be investing in a chest freezer, so you can better take advantage of good sales on meat.

Investing in a chest freezer saves you money. Again, I was talking about using your money to make more money.

Or using the $250 to buy a bike, that you then ride to and from work most of the time. You would not only save on gas and car costs, but also on a gym membership.

For the 3rd (or 4th) time, your examples are about ways to save money. That is not what I was talking about.

If a person does not understand the difference in saving money and using your money to make more money, you will never, ever, everrrrrrrrrr in your life gain wealth. As someone said above, no one ever "saved" themselves into wealth.

 

[crisi]

Using money to make money is great, but its not without risk. I own a lot of stock, and I make a fairly decent income in just dividends. But stocks sometimes go down, dividends get cut. And you have to be careful, both with your investments and your time. The gardening example is a good one for that because by after you account for your time, you'd be better off with a minimum wage job. I also own a small business, and while for the most part its great, I also have days where I worry if my clients will get me paid in time for me to pay my business bills, or if I'll be "investing" in my business again just to get the bills paid - over a few months they payments come through and I get my "investment" back.

 

[barkley]

As someone said above, no one ever "saved" themselves into wealth.

i guess to some extent it depends on your personal definition of 'wealth'. i was a late in life child for my parents (4th and last). my dad was a adult during the depression and it made a massive impact on his financial views. dad didn't trust the stock market so his method of amassing 'wealth' was strictly saving and using either traditional savings accounts or cd's. dad had a decent but not highly paid civil service job/mom was a stay at home mother. they kept costs down where they could, still managed to take us on vacations, occasional dinners out, we lived in a home they bought when i was 2 or 3. dad retired and he and mom had his modest pension and equally modest social security. still-they saved where they could. dad only lasted a few years before he passed away from cancer leaving mom a widow at 57 with a smaller survivor's pension and spousal social security. mom was a little less restrictive in her spending, opting to take some vacations i doubt she and dad would have ever jointly considered but still she saved where she could.

my mom passed in 2011. mom survived dad by just shy of 30 years. mom had sold the family home several years earlier (for not a tremendous amount) and spent the last 6 or so years first in assisted living and finally in skilled nursing. despite the much higher cost of living in those places vs. living in her own home she managed to leave an estate, strictly by saving over the years, of half a million dollars (no life insurance, no retirement accounts-strictly savings and cd's).


when mom was in assisted living and i was helping her figure out her finances i asked her how she and dad had managed to save what was at that point an even higher figure (nursing care ultimately took a large chunk of what they had amassed). her response 'a few pennies saved here and there added up to dollars saved and when we had a thousand we we buy another cd, when my pension or social security went up a little i saved it so if my expenses went up i had it waiting for me. we just always saved-isn't that what everyone tries to do?'


for some it's impossible practically or legally to increase their income so they save what they can, our household is in that category. it doesn't mean we don't save and thus far (thankfully) we've been successful at doing so.