Becoming Financially Independent

Is it possible to achieve?  of course it is.  But unless you hit a jackpot or receive an inheritance, you may need to work hard to get there and certain sacrifices may need to be made:

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Chase,

I will humbly offer some additions and alternatives your list...

So with that in mind let’s go over few things that may potentially save you some money:
- Utility Bills:
a. Buy energy efficient bulbs next time you go shopping for them.
   Still way to expensive and provide HIDEOUS flickering light...
b. Turn off lights when leaving a room
    Love it!  Would even reduce the reason to do A to begin with.
c. Turn off tv, computer, radio, other appliances instead of putting them on stand by
    Same comment as B
d. Water lawn 7 min instead of 10
    I do have a sprinkler systems...runs every other day for a total of 115 minutes.  And has a rain sensor to avoid the double watering.  If I cut back on have of my watering I might save $150 for the year.
e. Take more showers than baths
  Done.
f. Do laundry all at once, instead of every other day
  ??? Why is this more efficient...newer high efficiency appliances make this difference hardly measurable.
g. Do you really need a land line, when you have a mobile?
   Vonage! 
1. Food/Shopping:
a. cook more at home, instead of take out or going to restaurants
   Ding ding ding
b. buy store brands of things that won’t make a difference (clothing, food or appliances)
   Depends on the item...
c. Wait for a holiday if it’s very soon, there will be a sale
   Love it!
d. Don’t be shy, use coupons
  Do as much as I can...only reason to buy the Sunday paper.
- Going out:
a. No need to go to expensive restaurants all the time with your friends and family since chances are they feel the same way
   Yep!
b. Have a party/watch sports at each other’s places. Guests usually bring some drinks/food as well anyway
- Don’t take out too much cash, you’ll spend it faster.
  I carry cash...then you don't have the temptation to charge
- Try to pay off credit cards right away, interest charges really add up making initial purchases much more expensive
  Yes...yes...yes...  If you are not paying off your cards each month, you really cannot afford the items.
- If do not have a direct pay into your bank account, set it up
  Negative for me.  I do use Bill Pay out of my account, but do not set up automatic payments.  Still go in and pay, just like writing the checks.  You have   more control and a feel for what your cash outlays are adding up to.
- Each time you get paid, move it into saving account until needed (this way you earn more interest)
  Most checking accounts bear interest anyway...see below.  My credit union is the same rate.  But, do save first!
- Open checking account with interest.

I am sure you all heard about above ways to save but not all of you may have followed it. Try it & see how much you save each month. It does help. Trust me.
Other suggestions will be really appreciated…

Once you have enough saved you can start investing & becoming financially independent. But we’ll talk about this next time. Meanwhile, please suggest other ways to help save.

Ok...looking at the above, only reducing eating out will make a significant impact on your budget.  All the others combined might only total $100 per month.

Let's look at BIG ways to save money.

CAR PAYMENTS!!!!!!  If you cannot buy the car cash....you cannot afford it.  So cruel I know.  Save and buy a $4-8k used car.
$400 saved and invested over 40 years, at 8% assumed return, would put you at almost $1.5 million.

So yes...your car payment alone prevents you from being a millionaire.

About those CFL's.  I hated them when I first bought them, but once I learned more, I love them.  You have to buy DAYLIGHT rated bulbs.  They must be sunshine equiv. and your won't have flickering lights any longer and they will blow you away.  There are THREE levels and the bottom two look dingy compared to white bright light!  I was able to reduce five vanity mirror lights into 3 CFL's and those are almost still too bright.  She gets mad now b/c she can actually see herself in the mirror and of course she finds the problem spots!

 I will check out the new lights.  White light is harsh on the eyes.  The glow of an incandesent, even white coated is still yellow.

lol...pet peeve of mine...people who have nice computers, but set their monitors to a basic 60Mhz refresh rate.  If the screen is primarily white, like while typing in word, I can see the flicker.  Very annoying and headache inducing.

Scott

Concur.  It's funny you mention that about the white light.  I wasnt going to get into detail, but originally I put five CFl's all white light in there to replace the old HUGE vanity bulbs.  When I flipped them on, we both agreed we couldnt see.  The light bouncing off the mirror and staring into it, could hurt.  I switched them down to three CFL's and the middle one isn't the BRIGHT white light, I got a mid level light in the center and two white's on both ends.  This is still almost too bright.  When viewing both temperatures of lights, the white lights do not appear yellow in the least, not to mention without the center light they still dont appear white. It's more of a blue light reminscient of a metal hallide bulb rather than say HPS with it's reddish tint.

 

Great responses.  Thanks!!!

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