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Welcome back for episode 123! This is our third episode with Sandy Smith this month, and we’re talking about something near and dear to my heart since I started blogging. Speaking of that, this month is the 10th anniversary of the Personal Profitability blog! On the podcast today, Sandy and I are talking about frugality, something she is quite an expert in. Tune in to get some great tips on how to be frugal and boost your savings!
Next time, Sandy’s going to share some funny and interesting stories about her other job as a landlord- check back next week for that! In the meantime, if you like this podcast, please share it with someone who could benefit from better spending and budgeting practices (almost everyone)!
What We’re Chatting About This Week
Sandy and I have both been blogging about frugality, budgeting, and other similar topics for over a decade. Blogging about personal finance eventually led to us finding each other and becoming friends, both online and in person. Between the two of us, we have a lot of valuable personal finance knowledge to share with you. So let’s dive in to some money tips!
Stop Spending on Things You Don’t Value
This is much more practical advice versus those who tell you to stop spending, period. Focus instead on spending money on things you value and reducing spending elsewhere. If traveling is very important to you but you still have debt to pay off, maybe try going out less on the weekends and save up for one big trip instead.
Look for Budgeting Big Wins
Living expenses can be a big win. Find the cheapest place you can live in, or consider downgrading your current place to a smaller one. Saving on your rent or mortgage can be huge!
Stop Wasting Money on Car Payments
Car payments are also an area you can win in. If you keep your old car after paying it off rather than trading it in every two years, you can save over a million dollars over the next 30-40 years! Remember, it’s only a vehicle to get you from point A to point B. And, it will depreciate the moment you buy it!
Live on a College Student Budget
Live at home with your parents, live on a few hundred bucks a month, etc. If you could get by with so little money back then, you can do that now. Even for just one year. Just because you earn more now doesn’t mean your lifestyle needs to reflect that. Spend less than you earn, save and invest the rest!
Get Out of Debt So You Don’t Have to Pay Interest
You will end up paying SO much more on your debt when you accrue interest. This forces you to keep working more than you want, and taking time away from the things you want to do. The faster you can get out of debt, the faster you can have a baby, get a house, and just live your life!
This Week’s Guest
Hi, I’m Sandy.
Way back when the dinosaurs roamed at the end of 2008, I started paying a little bit more attention to my debt. As the year faded into 2009, the idea to build a website to keep myself accountable to eliminating my debt burst into my mind. I hopped onto Blogger.com and created a blog that I named My Cheapass Blog. I really didn’t begin my blog for anyone else to see; it was just a way for me to have the total amount that I owed at my fingertips. Here we are years later and have learned enough to help others with their own debt.
I started this blog with well over $105,665.31 in debt after a failed business and some massive student loans…at least, that’s what I said that I owed. In actuality I owed a friend another $5,000 and I would receive a notice in the mail that I owed $10,000 in back taxes and penalties. This blog has been a chronicle of my journey of getting out of it without filing bankruptcy.
My $120,665.31 debt represented everything that I had done wrong. Now, I am here to help YOU get your finances together.
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I credit having a cheap-ass, old, used, second hand car to my decent cash flow. I effectively spend about £120 per month on my car if you too the annual cost of keeping my car on the road. This is pretty cheap compared to a new car/lease/rental
My car is over 10 years old. I did the math on what it would cost to lease a car at the current average cost in the US while giving up compound investment gains. It was over $1 million!