A lot of people think that you have to live like a Monk to achieve FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)
However, that is not the case, it is just important to be alert on the expenses you make.
In this blog I am gonna tell you my findings since I chose my own path.
In a culture where we have to perform, I've always said money is not that important and that I should find a work which I truly enjoy. And I am still happy I chose to go that way even though my job is not the best paying. It actually pays pretty bad. I became a guidance for handicapped people. I really love my job and I don't regret at all. I started to live at my own when I was 21 years old and I quickly found out that money equals time. And time is precious. So I started to invest, but I was not satisfied with how much I could spend.
We also live worldwide in a flexculture: the negative side of kapitalism. Someone who has more than you, is better than you according to society. The person who has an Apple phone is flexing around and saying it is the best brand. While it is clearly not, you just pay for the brand. Same goes with clothes. You don't need expensive items to be comfortable! I have owned cheap phone brands for 8 years now and I am quite satisfied. Because also getting an older model, which may be not as fast, saves you quite a lot of money. Also to pay it at once is cheaper than taking a new phone with a subscription. When it comes to clothes, well, I mostly wear blouses with $2 white T-shirts under it. And pants that cost me 10-20 bucks each. My shoes I always get at the Decathlon for 13 euros and they last really long!
Also when it comes to a car, as long as the maintenance isn't too much you should get a cheaper one. Also look at the insurance costs and how much it loves gasoline, but never buy a new car. I always buy mine of around 7-10 years old. Also with other ´main things´ you can save quite a lot of money as long as you pay attention and find creative ways. I let my wife watch youtube tutorials on how to do men haircuts. And that already saved me $20 for 3 years. Which is 20x36 months = $720 - the investment of a hair trimmer and some scizors, about $30.
I also recommend reading this blog on how I earn 2% cashback on everything, and 100% cashback on Spotify. Soon I even get 100% cashback on Netflix just by using this Visa a lot!
https://www.publish0x.com/freewilly/a-growing-underrated-crypto-cashback-plus-stake-monster-xvyoerg?a=J0dNxRmpaL
Next theme is housing: a really difficult one in most countries in 2022. With house prices surging enormous it is hard to stay under your maximum amount of mortgage. Don't worry too much on this! We are all doomed in this house market. Nothing much we can do about it unless we have rich papa's and mama's. Just make sure you do not overbid on what you get, and make sure you are able to buy/make it future proof with isolation and solar panels. The gas and electricity prices will bend you over and take you from behind otherwise.
Supermarket: The biggest tip I can give you is to drink more water and buy less drinks. Water is the cheapest you can get out of your own tap. I don't know about non-european countries, but here in Europe we have the main supermarkets (some cheaper, some more expensive) and rarely also smaller supermarkets. I know a turkish one here in the Netherlands and their meat is of way better quality than the expensive supermarkets. They also charge you less money for it! I get 30 eggs for 3 euros there compared to 6 for 3 euros. Do smart shopping and widen your horizon. Get meat in bulk and freeze it in bags because in the long term, you save a lot of money. Basicly, if you have the space: try to buy as much as possible of something when you can get good deals. But also look at the expiration date, also important :)
Instead of ordering sushi and stuff, we make sushi ourselves here. Apart from an activity to do in your house you also save a lot of money. Also ´restaurant´ dishes you can perfectly fine make yourself and the setting is also yours to make. Youtube is your best friend in learning new things. When I bought my house, I actually learned to do a lot of stuff myself. Saves a lot of money right! My neighbours pay somebody to clean their windows every 3 months. They pay around 100 each time the guy comes. I bought one of these sticks with brushes and tools once and now I can easily do it myself in short time. Another 400 per year.
How I started to learn to save so much? I wrote down every expense in a book and with every purchase I wrote down what I can do next time so save more money. Because time is the most precious thing you own, and it is not unlimited. The more money you save, the more freedom and time you have in the future for yourself and your family.
Living cheap is a lifestyle and does not have to be a burden. Step away from the flex culture and treat your money as time.
