Classic Frugal Tips for Turbulent Market Times from Millionaires
Why reinvent the wheel? Here are some of my classic go-to inspo tips for rocky market days, straight from the minds of seven-hundred and thirty-three millionaires. I first published some of these tips in 2009 and they still work so well that even millionaires continue to do them after topping their number and building additional wealth.
Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D., author of the Millionaire Next Door, interviewed those millionaires, with a net worth of $1 million or more, and catalogued this approach to living in The Millionaire Mind. You can get it on Amazon or from the library. You can't go wrong following their frugal tips!
Keep in mind that this group has a median net worth of $4.3 million. Even with that level of wealth in mind:
- They use Costco (or Sam's) and bring a shopping list before hitting the store. It saves time and money.
- They buy household supplies in bulk.
- They don't spend much on cars. ($41,000 was the most ever spent)
- They never spent more than $38 on a haircut including tip. Barbers are cheaper than ladies hairdressers and can often give a better cut.
- They often buy pre-built homes, or foreclosures. The majority of them live in homes that are forty years old or older.
- Millionaires have shoes resoled or repaired.
- They have furniture re-upholstered.
- Even millionaires raise the thermostat setting on the air conditioner during the summer. (See Michael Blue Jay's electricity site below for the fun in all that!)
- Usually they only vacation overseas once every two years.
- They do use tax advisors.
- For fun they attend a child's sporting event, visit a museum, or play cards with great friends. It's cheaper and more gratifying.
- They stay married.
A frugal tip anyone with a computer can use starting today -- calculate how much you can save by biking instead of driving, or how much money you can save turning up the thermostat by visiting Michael Blue Jay's Saving Electricity Site.
I used Michael's calculator to find out which appliance was driving up my electricity bill -- it was the clothes dryer! Michael estimates about .35 cents per load of clothes. Not a lot except I dry a bunch of clothes every week. And it seems to cost more in my area, here's how I calculated the savings of using an indoor dryer system (fancy name for clothes line!).
For a month I clipped my clothes to a shower curtain and the bed sheets and towels hang outside on the porch. I live in the hot south, so it doesn't take long to dry the sheets and towels. (Plus they smell fantastic this way, no dryer sheets needed).
My experiment saved me $35 in one month. That's $50 that I would have to earn at a job ('cause - well - taxes). Times 12? $600 per year! Passive income in a way. I can't make $600 a year on CD interest with $100,000 saved right now. Sweet frugality fruits, plus I actually enjoy hanging my clothes.
The Millionaire Mind - I highly recommend this book to get a glimpse of the frugal lifestyle that pays off. It's available on Kindle from Amazon and I'm sure it's available at your local library.
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