Financially, 2012 will be a tough year. That means that it is extra important to get your money straight that year. As far as I'm concerned, it is even my New Year's Resolution. I want to:
- build an emergency fund (as we have one now of approximately 1 day)
- pay off a small part of the mortgage
- accumulate more savings on my business account, so I can pay my salary for a few months, even if I earn nothing at all
If you also want to get your money straight in 2012, here are some tips:
1. Start fresh
Even if you feel like you are very frugal and don't have anything to save, there are probably still some things you can save money on. Create a budget and stick to it. And review the budget every month; if you can make do with less, do it.
2. Start now
You might think it is too late or too soon to start thinking about your financial future. It is not. Start now, every day wasted makes it harder in the end.
3. Make more money
Try to earn money by blogging, take on extra shifts, rent out a room in your house: try to earn more and spend less, so there is more money to accomplish your financial goals!
What are your (financial) plans for 2012?
zaterdag 31 december 2011
vrijdag 30 december 2011
The Strangest Ways To Save Money - 5 tips
If you are well beyond being a cheapskate, you might think you know all the tricks in the book to save money. Well, I bet you didn't think of these 5 strange ways to make/save money!
1. Go on dates often
Not to find love or to meet up with friends, but to order large meals. Too large to eat at once. Ask for a doggy bag and use the remainder of the meal to feast on for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, this one probably only works for women.
2. Load up on condiments
If you're at McD's or another fast food place (planned, of course) load up on condiments. There's free salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard and sometimes also other things.
3. Recycle stuff
If you're a penny pincher, you probably do a lot of recycling. But did you think of recycling someone else's stuff? In stores or at the library, you can often find umbrella stands at the entrance. More often than not, there are umbrellas in there, which people have left behind. Pick the best one and enjoy it.
4. Stop buying drinks
Why spend euros or dollars on a single drink, if you can get it for free? Just order a glass of water and some lemons with your food (both are free) and make your own free lemonade. You might want to add a little sugar/sweetener to make it more enjoyable.
5. Skip holidays
Why spend thousands on gifts, just because you feel obliged to? Tell people you're out of town for the holidays and no one will expect gifts. Then, after Christmas for example, head to the shops and buy stuff on sale. That will save you up to 70%!
1. Go on dates often
Not to find love or to meet up with friends, but to order large meals. Too large to eat at once. Ask for a doggy bag and use the remainder of the meal to feast on for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, this one probably only works for women.
2. Load up on condiments
If you're at McD's or another fast food place (planned, of course) load up on condiments. There's free salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard and sometimes also other things.
3. Recycle stuff
If you're a penny pincher, you probably do a lot of recycling. But did you think of recycling someone else's stuff? In stores or at the library, you can often find umbrella stands at the entrance. More often than not, there are umbrellas in there, which people have left behind. Pick the best one and enjoy it.
4. Stop buying drinks
Why spend euros or dollars on a single drink, if you can get it for free? Just order a glass of water and some lemons with your food (both are free) and make your own free lemonade. You might want to add a little sugar/sweetener to make it more enjoyable.
5. Skip holidays
Why spend thousands on gifts, just because you feel obliged to? Tell people you're out of town for the holidays and no one will expect gifts. Then, after Christmas for example, head to the shops and buy stuff on sale. That will save you up to 70%!
donderdag 29 december 2011
Life on the farm
With a massive mortgage debt like ours, you would expect a great house. At least, I would. And we have a great house: it's a farm, but without the farm animals. We do have a number of rabbits, cats, chickens and even a pig, but they are like part of the family, not part of our daily meal.
Even though living here is expensive, I would not want to change it for the world. We have a lot of space, green everywhere and all the privacy you could wish for. On holidays and Sundays, you often hear absolutely nothing, but birds singing their songs.
We used to live in a tiny appartment and after that, we lived in a busy neighborhood. Since I couldn't fit in there, we finally went (back, for me at least) to the countryside. Even though it also has a few disadvantages (you need a car and sometimes it is reaaaaally quiet), I'm glad we did.
Would you prefer living in the city or the country side, and why?
Even though living here is expensive, I would not want to change it for the world. We have a lot of space, green everywhere and all the privacy you could wish for. On holidays and Sundays, you often hear absolutely nothing, but birds singing their songs.
We used to live in a tiny appartment and after that, we lived in a busy neighborhood. Since I couldn't fit in there, we finally went (back, for me at least) to the countryside. Even though it also has a few disadvantages (you need a car and sometimes it is reaaaaally quiet), I'm glad we did.
Would you prefer living in the city or the country side, and why?
I am in massive debt
There's no day like today, so why not cut to the chase immediately: I am in massive debt. Some of you might consider it to be 'good debt', since it's a mortgage, but I don't. At the moment, our debt adds up to a little under €400,000 and if one of us would be out of a job, or something else would happen, we would have to sell our home.
Since I don't want that - our home is great and we're also renovating, so we would like to be able to enjoy all the effort put into that - I started paying off the mortgage early. Much of our monthly budget still goes to renovating, but I have been able to pay off an extra €6,080 this year, and hope to add another extra €10,000 next year, on top of the €4,200 we pay already.
Finding the money to pay off the mortgage is actually quite hard. Since my plans for 2012 are quite optimistic, I do have to watch how we spend our money more carefully. I hope to find the extra €10,000 by doing the following:
- Using money the insurance company still owes me (about €800)
- Using money the IRS owes me (I hope that will be at least €5,000)
- Using extra money made through selling stuff (should do that more, at the moment, I'm more of a giver than a seller) (€300/year)
- Using money we save on the mortgage because of previous payments (€500/year)
- Use the money I make from my blog (€300/year?)
That means that still another €3,100 (€259/month) has to come from other sources. I sometimes get extra jobs, so I can use that money, though I don't think that adds up to an extra €259 a month.
Any suggestions on how to make some extra cash to reach this goal?
Since I don't want that - our home is great and we're also renovating, so we would like to be able to enjoy all the effort put into that - I started paying off the mortgage early. Much of our monthly budget still goes to renovating, but I have been able to pay off an extra €6,080 this year, and hope to add another extra €10,000 next year, on top of the €4,200 we pay already.
Finding the money to pay off the mortgage is actually quite hard. Since my plans for 2012 are quite optimistic, I do have to watch how we spend our money more carefully. I hope to find the extra €10,000 by doing the following:
- Using money the insurance company still owes me (about €800)
- Using money the IRS owes me (I hope that will be at least €5,000)
- Using extra money made through selling stuff (should do that more, at the moment, I'm more of a giver than a seller) (€300/year)
- Using money we save on the mortgage because of previous payments (€500/year)
- Use the money I make from my blog (€300/year?)
That means that still another €3,100 (€259/month) has to come from other sources. I sometimes get extra jobs, so I can use that money, though I don't think that adds up to an extra €259 a month.
Any suggestions on how to make some extra cash to reach this goal?
woensdag 28 december 2011
On Living More With Less
Living more with less has been the focus of my life for the past year. Towards the end of 2010, I started writing a Dutch Blog, Lekker Leven Met Minder (which basically is Living more with less). It was supposed to help me work towards my goal of financial independence. And even though I'm not quite there yet, I've learned a lot from writing and reading blogs.
Since I also read many English blogs (and try to comment on them as often as possible), I decided to create my own English version. It's not the same as the Dutch one, though there might be some overlap, since I only have one life to talk about :-)
I'll tell more about me and my situation in following blogs, and I hope you'll stick around to read it!
Since I also read many English blogs (and try to comment on them as often as possible), I decided to create my own English version. It's not the same as the Dutch one, though there might be some overlap, since I only have one life to talk about :-)
I'll tell more about me and my situation in following blogs, and I hope you'll stick around to read it!
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