In this, the first episode of how I save 65%+ of my income, I will be talking about some core saving principles and having a frugal mindset, as well as what some of the key aspects to frugality and minimalism are for me.
In future episodes, I will cover the actual practical tips I have been sharing on Twitter in further depth, but for this one, I wanted to focus on core principles and ideas which I have talked about in the past such as lifestyle inflation where people tend to spend more as they earn more versus lifestyle foundation where you build your life around core values and budget for that while investing the rest. You can read everything I have to say about that here: https://www.publish0x.com/at-scottcbusiness/lifestyle-inflation-or-lifestyle-foundation-xoxlmj
What I want you to walk away from this with, are questions for yourself to ask now and all the time, like when you make purchases or decide to do anything with your money. These questions are things like “what could I invest in with this money instead?” and or “how many hours did I have to work to afford this?”
Let’s really dive into something more relatable. Haircuts cost say $30-40 with tip, transportation, excluding beard trims. Now if you need a haircut every 1.5 months at best. We’ll say that’s 35*8=$280 a year on the most generous amount. That buys 4 TD banks stocks which will pay you 5.24% right now = $12.58 a year plus you have the extra $40 that was unspent. After 2 years, it buys you an extra stock and with 9 stocks paying you 1 haircut a year more or less at $40.88. If you are reinvesting dividends back and it grows in value, you will make more and more. Assuming you can buy extra stock with your haircut dividends on top of your 1 purchase quarterly after about 3 years. That will continually speed up and by the time you know it, 10 years go by, and you’ve got like 60 stocks that are paying you something like $188 buying you three more stocks every year on its own. Obviously, prices will change, but if you did this for 30-40, even 50 or 60 years, that could literally pay your rent simply from not paying for haircuts. This is just for instance, but it’s completely changed my entire perspective on investing and frugality.
For anyone who thinks saving 65%+ of your income means your life has to be destitute, I disagree. I was enjoying a smoothie that I made fairly cheap. I just got back from a trampoline park for my morning exercise for a deal (30 days for $30). I'm enjoying myself to the fullest, but frugally.
The major difference between me and the average person is they might have gone during normal times spending upwards of $20 per visit to the trampoline park. A regular smoothie from Booster Juice is over $7. I’m thus finding the most finically feasible way to achieve the things that brought me the most value. It’s not about saving to save; it’s about focusing on the main things that bring you the most value and then cutting out the rest. Then you take that extra money and invest it. The extra finances I have access to from giving up the things I didn’t value a lot, allowed me to acquire the things I valued the most and then continue to build on that momentum. Once you have everything you need, you should focus on acquiring assets. Most people acquire liabilities to impress others which take away their money and do not generate wealth. Wealthy people acquire assets that generate more wealth and then use the extra wealth to do whatever they want. Use money to make money.
For more on how I budget and save and to get a full breakdown with complete transparency over my expenses and entire budget go to https://lbry.tv/@ScottCBusiness:4/business:3
Watch the video for my full breakdown of what I’m talking about and let me know how you approach saving and investing. What do you think about frugality and minimalism? What are you investing and saving strategies? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
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