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Many of you are like
me in having experienced the pain of this economy.
Some of you may even be like me and have experienced being laid
off from your main income and then having to figure out how you
are going to make ends meet.
In retrospect, I
wish I'd have implemented these steps sooner.
I'd saved up $6,000 and lived off that for nearly 8 months after
being sent packing after the gourmet coffee and chocolate store
that I had managed ended up closing - we weathered the horrible
economy only to be screwed by the opening of a similar type of
retro-town-center-type of "mall" opening within 10 miles
of us. Overnight we lost 40% of our traffic to the
store and there was no way to control our situation any
longer. Within two months the business closed.
I was lucky in
several ways that some people in my situation didn't have....
First, I have always lived below my means. I
could save money and did and lived pretty frugally (even though
not as efficient as I would end up later being). And I
had a second source of income - my web business - which I did on
the side. Having done that for over a decade, I
had some steady monthly income to fall back on.
The problem with
being self-employed is that you are guaranteed shit - nothing is
given to you. And with governments trying to
find new ways to screw the successful to support the lazy (maybe
now you know why I believe what I believe), life as someone
self-employed is a battle to get business, to maintain it, to grow
the business, and to dodge the shit that government imposes on you
in the interest of "fairness".
So you know the
backstory of my situation and now I want to talk about what I've
done to decrease expenses - if I am not having to spend money,
that is a defacto disposable increase without having to grow the
business further!
CAREFULLY
REVIEW MONTHLY COSTS
I
didn't set out this year to have any resolutions, but I did plan
to reduce my overhead. I really set forth to put
everything on the table and to scale back even if it mean a dollar
here or there in cost reduction.
ENERGY
CONSERVATION - Screw being green for lofty ideals.
Go green because it saves you money! I swapped all
lights to compact fluorescent bulbs everywhere. I
chose the type that has the warm look, not the bluish
tint. I had used them at my desk for years - but
I switched everything I could to them. Nothing
more than 23 watt consumers.
I also
eliminated every cooking device that uses electricity except for
the coffee machine and microwave. As my building
includes gas in the monthly bill, I shifted my costs to them and
now use the oven and stove burners instead of plugging in electric
appliances. I even have a manual can opener!
I cut
everything off - no more parasitic appliances except for the
refrigerator. I put everything on power strips and cut
them all off at night. I can put up with a flashing
time on my DVD burner - takes no time to reset when
needed.
I have
many computers and have now reduced usage of them to the lowest
energy consumers and then keep track of when I turn on the higher
users.
I now
log every time I use an appliance - time and the cost to use that
(a little work but I now know the cost per hour to run everything
- I am a geek!).
I did
a trial run during the last two weeks of the last month's electric
bill and saved $20 on my electricity. I am looking to
be in the range of $50 cut in my bill which will save me
60%! Now all of the items mentioned to this
point are habits!
My
heat is gas - but I still keep things around 62F - I like it
chilly and can always put on a sweater or an extra blanket.
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OTHER
COSTS
Car
insurance - cut back on my towing as part of the car
insurance/accident coverage (my parents give me AAA). Saved
$5 per month. Paying car insurance in one lump
sum per 6 months will also save me $60 per year and that will
start in a month.
Cable
Television - a month ago I cut from $130 to $60 by canning digital
and premium packages. Just three days ago I went and
cut it out completely after getting rabbit ears and a digital
conversion box. Cost was $50 for that and now I save
$60 per month. I still have my cable internet and that
won't change. I was paying $7 in taxes and fees for
this shit - now I have 19 over the air channels for free all in
digital. And I don't miss anything!
There are alternatives online (legal) like Hulu for some
shows. As a reward for my progress, I'll upgrade to
Hulu Plus if it makes sense and maybe to Netflix streaming.
Food -
I was about 30 pounds overweight and needed motivation to lose
weight. So I cut my food budget in half and now
consume half of what I ate before and no longer have ice cream or
soda. I'm saving around $20 per week there
alone! And I have already lost 10 pounds and looking
to be at my weight goal of 180 pounds by the
summer! Cat is also too fat and she's
getting half portions as well! No eating out - no more
fast food - and I purchase only store brand foods where possible
and I track all sales and now use coupons - will try to be even
better with coupons as I progress.
I also
subscribe to every local supermarket for their weekly fliers and
sometimes there are coupons that you get that non-subscribers
don't! I plan my purchases and also stock up on
non-perishables since those costs are now increasing weekly and
that saves me money in the future.
I also
shop mark down meats - I know what places can be trusted and I
know what the sale prices are for the week. If a mark down
meat looks fresh and has enough date on it and if it costs well
under the going sale price for the week, then I may purchase if it
is economical to do so - I can freeze as needed.
Just bought two chickens on mark down and well under the usual
sale price - cooked one last night and put the other in the
freezer.
Careful
portion controls and spreading meals out - fix low fat ham or
turkey for sandwich at noon - now I can survive until 5 pm for
dinner. And I get one cookie for dessert!
Telephone
- Have had Vonage for over a year and only pay $17 after all fees
and taxes per month - and I have Tracfone for my cell phone - I
prepay and retain all my minutes. Over $100 per
year in savings right there!
Automobile
- Gas - I have a scan gauge device on my car and have learned how
to drive my car efficiently. I now average 41.8
mpgs during this month (up from 41.6 mpgs last month).
I group trips and plan when I will use the vehicle. I
have learned my travel routes to see what is efficient and I drive
the speed limit. Speeding alone consumes at least 10%
more petrol than not speeding and the faster you go the louder the
sucking sound on your wallet. Don't bitch at your car
for being thirsty. If you drive like a bat out of
hell, you are paying through the nose!
RECOMMENDATIONS
Anyone
can do what I am doing if you really want to stop making other
companies rich. The money I save is not extreme - it
is prudent. And I can take that money and save it and
when I get a discount for upfront payments, I can dip into this
and add to my savings. The fact that I am also
losing weight with my careful budget is a reward I just
love. I have tangible proof now (my pants are loose)
and my budgeting works! I didn't have a
single penny saved at the end of 2012 and my goal for 2013 is to
have $1200 saved.
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