Things I've done this year to save money

[TopPanda]

Some great tips here but I am guilty of trying to save a few cents here and there instead of looking at the big picture stuff.

So I've just sold my rental apartment. Excel says I'll make a lot more money by investing in income generating stocks rather than keeping the rental property. The best thing is that in a few years all of my money will be in tax except accounts, which will save a fortune. Plus I shouldn't have to pay any tax when I retire. Too many people forget about that.

 

[GT777733]

@thoughtgypsy outlined it already

But, when it comes to saving money, if I had my time again - I would look at the place I live in like an investment in myself, even if I'm paying rent and I don't own the property I'm living in

I've tried saving 20-30% in rental costs before by living with an extra housemate in a small house, or by living in cheaper places - and it was rarely worth it looking back.

The wrong housemates (or landlord), or a cramped share house can severely impact or even destroy your freedom, happiness and mental space (especially if you get the wrong place or wrong people).

Pay a bit more for the place you live in, and you can experience far greater life returns proportionately than the extra monetary price you pay.

 

[Robert High Hawk]

My job has a condition where I can get room and board. I don't qualify for it for certain reasons but I appreciate it for what it's worth. Something I've been thinking about is finding a place to sleep in peace in my car since I'm stuck on the graveyard shift. It would cut my commute time and help with my current project of finding a job that pays in the 150K range.

Taking advantage of the annoying commute so I don't burn gas excessively and increase wear and tear on my car:
Listening to podcasts and audiobooks.
Commuting earlier to avoid the evening rush.
Using my toll pass judiciously. Last thing I want to do is get into an accident because my employer kept me at 14 hours.

Yo.... I just read this post and it reminded me of a pretty cool video I watched on living in your car.

I would have never EVER considered this, but this video changed my mind. He has got this down to a fine science. I would probably invest in a bigger model car, but something with the same kind of efficiency of a Prius seems like a good way to go. For me the biggest drawback of sleeping in a car is the climate control aspect of it, but a Prius "runs" all night and just charges up the battery every few hours quickly, then turns off, so you can have the AC or heat on.

This guy (total granola dude but still makes a great presentation) explains the numbers behind it. If I had to, this wouldn't be so bad. As long as you have a SAFE parking spot, access to bathroom, showers, etc... on lock, this is not bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W86B-6BHrJA

 

[Robert High Hawk]

I've become more of the impression that when renting, it's worth looking into furnished places, even if they are a bit more expensive. Also it's worth looking into places that have utilities already included, even if you think you could save a bit if you just paid for them each yourself since you know you won't use that much. Note that I say "worth looking into" vs definitely.

This is part of the whole Time=money thing, and penny wise, pound foolish.

Think about how much of a pain in the ass it is to haul your shit around. If you move with furniture, that can take days out of your life, if not weeks. All the time and expense (unless you have a truck), freinds time etc... of moving. If you don't have furniture, you are an even worse position of having to buy stuff, even if it's cheap, and spend days (most likely weeks or months) slowly outfitting your pad with bullshit stuff from IKEA that will break immediately anyway. Even if you want to live spartan, that stuff definitely adds up, and there is ALWAYS something that you end up deciding you need. Such a waste of time, and unless you enjoy living in an airbed indefinitely (think back problems and bad sleep leading to poor productivity), you will have to drop money on some kind of furniture anyways. If a place is furnished, you rent, unpack your suitcase, and you're ready to go. Instantly. No stress.

As for utilities being included, think about all the time and effort you spend monitoring your electric bille very month, setting up the cable in your name, the heat, the water, etc... that is just another mental and time drain each and every month, and at least in NYC it was a huge pain in the ass to setup internet like we were in 1995.

So there is absolutely no slam dunk savings advice here. In fact this is very contrarian for this forum. All I'm saying is don't think your time isn't valuable, and don't think distractions and physical and literal baggage won't cut into your efforts and momentum on whatever other worthy goals you are trying to do. If there's clear huge savings - as most of the time there will be, of course go with it, but also be mindful of the time (opportunity cost), attention (slow of mental momentum) and STRESS that goes with that.