50 Frugal Living Tips That Actually Work

Summary

In this video, the speaker shares 50 unique money-saving tips, emphasizing the importance of a high savings rate and consistent small changes over time. Key strategies include living off one income, using tools like Gas Buddy and Capital One shopping for discounts, joining buy-nothing groups, DIY cleaning supplies, repairing items, and negotiating bills. The speaker also suggests setting up automatic savings, having clear financial goals, and embracing minimalism. Additionally, they discuss the benefits of cooking in bulk, changing grocery stores, avoiding impulse buys, and staying healthy to reduce medical expenses. The video also touches on the advantages of having a business for tax savings and earning potential.

Takeaways

• 💰 Maintain a high savings rate: Aim for at least 50% savings rate and live off one income to ensure the rest goes towards savings or investments.
• 📈 Follow the 101 rule: Try to live on as little as possible of your income, aiming to save up to 90%, even if it's not always achievable.
• 🛠️ DIY cleaning supplies: Save money by making your own cleaning solutions, which are often cheaper and better for you than store-bought options.
• 🔧 Repair instead of replace: Maximize the life of your belongings by repairing them rather than buying new ones to save money.
• 📱 Negotiate your bills: Actively negotiate with service providers to lower your bills or switch to more cost-effective plans.
• 🍲 Cook in bulk and plan meals: Save on food costs by cooking in large quantities and planning meals in advance to reduce waste.
• 🏡 Consider a smaller home: Reduce housing costs by choosing a smaller home or using strategies like house hacking to minimize expenses.
• 🚫 Avoid impulse purchases: Implement waiting periods (7-day, 30-day, 90-day rule) before making purchases to curb unnecessary spending.
• 💼 Embrace minimalism: Focus on owning fewer, higher-quality items that bring value to your life rather than accumulating possessions for the sake of it.
• 🌱 Start a business or personal brand: Explore entrepreneurship to increase earning potential and take advantage of tax savings opportunities.

Q & A

What is the 101 rule mentioned in the script?

The 101 rule is a Chinese principle suggesting that if you make $10, you should try to live off of $1. It's a way to encourage living on as little as possible and saving the rest.

How does living off one income and saving the other contribute to financial freedom?

Living off one income and saving the other allows for the consistent saving and investing of additional income, which can lead to financial freedom by providing a safety net and enabling passive income or investments.

What is the benefit of using Gas Buddy according to the script?

Gas Buddy helps find the cheapest gas prices, potentially saving money by locating fuel that's significantly cheaper than other places, although small differences might not be worth the extra driving.

How can using tools like Honey or Capital One Shopping save money while shopping online?

These tools automatically search for and apply discount codes when shopping online, which can save hundreds of dollars over time with minimal effort.

What is a buy nothing group and how does it help in saving money?

A buy nothing group is a local community where members share and trade items or services, reducing the need to purchase new items and promoting a sharing economy.

Why is making your own cleaning supplies a cost-effective strategy?

DIY cleaning supplies are often cheaper and healthier than store-bought options, as they can be made with simple, natural ingredients like vinegar and water.

What is the significance of repairing items instead of replacing them?

Repairing items extends their life, preventing unnecessary spending on replacements and promoting a more sustainable consumption pattern.

How can negotiating bills lead to savings?

By actively comparing prices and negotiating with service providers, one can potentially save a significant amount on bills like insurance or phone plans.

What is the purpose of setting up automatic savings from one's paycheck?

Automatic savings ensure a consistent amount is saved or invested each month, reinforcing the habit of paying oneself first and working towards financial goals.

Why is having clear financial goals important for saving money?

Clear financial goals provide motivation and direction, helping individuals make intentional decisions to save and avoid unnecessary spending.

How can cooking in bulk save money on food expenses?

Cooking in bulk reduces food waste, lowers the frequency of grocery shopping, and allows for more cost-effective meal planning and preparation.

What is the advantage of changing grocery stores to save money?

Different stores offer the same products at varying prices; shopping at the store with lower prices can lead to significant savings over time.

Why is it recommended to always carry a water bottle and avoid buying drinks when dining out?

Carrying a water bottle reduces the need to buy overpriced beverages, and avoiding drinks when dining out helps cut back on unnecessary and often unhealthy expenses.

How can embracing minimalism lead to financial savings?

Minimalism reduces the desire to acquire more possessions, leading to less spending and a focus on experiences and items that truly add value to one's life.

What are the benefits of tracking your money and avoiding fees?

Tracking expenses helps identify areas to cut back, and avoiding fees like bank and late fees prevents unnecessary financial losses.

Why is maintaining good health a financially smart move?

Good health reduces medical expenses and the need for costly treatments, and can improve overall quality of life.

What is house hacking and how can it save on housing costs?

House hacking involves living in one unit of a multi-unit property and renting out the others to cover expenses, potentially eliminating or reducing personal housing costs.

How can investing in quality items save money in the long run?

Investing in quality items that last longer and are used frequently can be more cost-effective over time compared to cheaper items that need frequent replacement.

Why is changing your dinner strategy and cooking at home a money-saving tip?

Cooking at home allows for better control over ingredients and portion sizes, often leading to healthier and more cost-effective meals compared to dining out.

What are some DIY solutions mentioned in the script for saving money?

The script suggests DIY solutions like fixing basic household issues, changing toilet parts, and performing car maintenance like oil changes to save on professional service costs.

Outlines

00:00

💰 Frugality and Financial Freedom

The speaker shares their experience of maintaining a high savings rate, exceeding 50% for eight years, and sometimes reaching 75% through frugal living. They emphasize consistent small changes over time and offer 50 unique money-saving tips, some unconventional. The '101 rule' is introduced, suggesting to live on as little as possible from one's income to ensure financial security. The speaker's personal rule is to save at least 50%, achieved by living off one income and saving the rest. They also discuss using tools like Gas Buddy for cheaper gas and online shopping apps for discounts, joining buy-nothing groups to share and trade items, and DIY cleaning supplies as cost-effective alternatives.

05:01

🍲 Food and Lifestyle Savings Strategies

The speaker provides rapid-fire tips on saving money through food and lifestyle choices. They suggest cooking in bulk, planning meals, and changing grocery stores to save on food expenses. They also advise against shopping while hungry and buying name-brand products, instead opting for cheaper alternatives that often offer similar quality. The speaker recommends carrying a water bottle to save on drinking expenses and avoiding buying drinks when dining out. They also touch on the importance of having a clear financial goal, such as 'buying freedom,' which motivates them to save and make sacrifices. The speaker concludes with a call to action to subscribe to their email newsletter for more tips.

10:02

🏡 Housing, Health, and DIY for Savings

The speaker discusses various strategies for saving money, including embracing minimalism, setting financial goals, and avoiding unnecessary expenses. They mention the '7-day, 30-day, 90-day rule' for delaying purchases to ensure they are truly needed. The speaker also suggests doing no-buy days, weeks, or even months to break spending habits. They emphasize the importance of aligning spending with life goals and not spending a lifetime working just to have enough money. They also suggest considering a smaller home or house hacking to reduce housing costs, paying mortgages twice a month to save on interest, and investing in quality items that last longer. The speaker encourages DIY home repairs and making coffee at home to save money and time.

15:02

🛠️ DIY and Social Strategies for Financial Savings

The speaker continues with additional money-saving tips, including DIY home maintenance and social strategies. They suggest learning to perform basic home repairs to avoid costly service fees and emphasize the value of making coffee at home for better taste and savings. The speaker also recommends changing dinner strategies by inviting friends over for homemade meals instead of dining out, which can be more economical and satisfying. They conclude by encouraging viewers to take control of their financial future by making conscious decisions about spending and saving.

Keywords

💡Savings Rate

A savings rate refers to the percentage of one's income that is saved rather than spent. In the context of the video, the speaker emphasizes maintaining a high savings rate, such as 50% or more, as a key strategy for financial health. The speaker shares personal experiences of achieving and maintaining a high savings rate over an extended period, which is central to the video's theme of financial discipline and long-term planning.

💡Frugal

Frugal is a term used to describe the practice of spending money and resources carefully and avoiding waste. The video discusses various frugal practices that the speaker adopted, such as living off one income while saving the rest, which contributed to the high savings rate. The concept of frugality is integral to the video's message of maximizing savings through mindful and economical living.

💡DIY (Do-It-Yourself)

DIY refers to the act of performing tasks oneself rather than hiring professionals. In the video, the speaker encourages viewers to consider DIY approaches for home maintenance and repairs as a way to save money. This concept is exemplified by the speaker's recommendation to fix basic household issues like plumbing instead of paying for professional services, which aligns with the video's overarching theme of self-reliance and cost-saving.

💡Minimalism

Minimalism is a lifestyle that involves minimizing one's possessions and consumption to focus on what is essential. The video touches on the concept of minimalism as a means to reduce unnecessary spending and find contentment with fewer material possessions. The speaker's advocacy for minimalism is evident in the suggestion to avoid buying things that do not align with one's core values or contribute to long-term happiness.

💡Bulk Cooking

Bulk cooking involves preparing large quantities of food at once to be consumed over several meals. The video highlights bulk cooking as an effective strategy for saving money on food expenses. By cooking in bulk, the speaker suggests that one can reduce food waste, save time, and maintain control over meal planning, which is a practical application of the video's broader focus on efficient and economical living.

💡Automatic Savings

Automatic savings refer to the practice of setting up a system where a portion of one's income is automatically deposited into a savings account. The video stresses the importance of setting up automatic savings as a means to consistently build wealth and achieve financial goals. This concept is integral to the video's message of prioritizing future financial security over immediate consumption.

💡Financial Goals

Financial goals are specific, measurable objectives related to one's financial health and wealth accumulation. The video emphasizes the importance of setting clear financial goals as a motivator for saving money and making informed financial decisions. The speaker's own 'why' behind saving—buying freedom and time with family—is used as an example to illustrate how a strong personal reason can drive financial discipline.

💡Negotiating Bills

Negotiating bills involves discussing and potentially renegotiating the terms of services or payments, such as insurance premiums or utility rates. The video suggests that actively negotiating bills can lead to significant savings, as demonstrated by the speaker's grandfather who saved on car insurance by switching providers. This concept is part of the video's broader narrative on proactive financial management.

💡Mindful Spending

Mindful spending is the practice of being intentional and thoughtful about purchases to ensure they align with one's values and financial goals. The video encourages viewers to consider the long-term value and utility of items before purchasing, rather than opting for the cheapest option. This concept is exemplified by the speaker's preference for quality items that last longer, even if they cost more initially, which underscores the video's theme of making considered financial choices.

💡Investing

Investing involves putting money into financial instruments or assets with the expectation of generating income or capital appreciation. The video briefly touches on investing as a means to grow wealth beyond savings, suggesting that once a certain level of savings is achieved, focusing on income-generating activities like investing or starting a business can be more effective. This concept is introduced as a natural progression in the speaker's financial journey, moving from saving to actively growing wealth.

Highlights

Maintaining a 50% savings rate for over 8 years through consistent small changes.

The 101 rule: Aim to live on as little as possible to maximize savings.

Living off one income and saving the rest to buy financial freedom.

Utilizing tools like Gas Buddy to find the cheapest gas prices.

Saving money with online shopping tools like Honey and Capital One Shopping.

Joining a buy nothing group to share and borrow items within the community.

DIY cleaning supplies as a cost-effective and healthier alternative to store-bought products.

Repairing items instead of replacing them to extend their使用寿命.

Negotiating bills to save on expenses, such as switching car insurance providers.

Switching to a more affordable phone plan to cut costs.

Setting up automatic savings to ensure consistent financial discipline.

Establishing clear financial goals to motivate saving and spending behaviors.

Cooking in bulk and planning meals to reduce food waste and save money.

Shopping at different grocery stores to find the best prices for products.

Avoiding shopping while hungry to prevent impulse purchases.

Questioning the value of name brands and considering cheaper alternatives.

Saving on drinking costs by carrying a water bottle and avoiding expensive beverages.

Embracing minimalism to reduce the desire to buy items for happiness.

Implementing no-buy periods to break spending habits and save money.

Tracking expenses to identify areas for saving and to avoid unnecessary fees.

Staying healthy to reduce medical expenses and maintain long-term savings.

Considering a smaller home or house hacking to minimize housing costs.

Investing in quality items that last longer and provide better value over time.

Changing dinner strategies to save money, such as having potluck dinners at home.

Performing DIY home repairs to save on professional service costs.

Making coffee at home for a better taste and to save money over time.

Transcripts

I've had over a 50% savings rate for 8

years now at some point it's gotten up

to like 75% when I was being extremely

Frugal and while some of the things I

did were pretty extreme a lot of it

comes down to consistent small changes

over a long period of time so in this

video I wanted to share 50 different

money saving tips some of them you have

most likely never heard before and I

know there's a lot so just pick a few

they can really make a big difference

the 101 rule if you haven't heard of

this rule it's a Chinese principal that

actually heard from Humphrey Yang and

that's just simply if you make $10 try

to live off of $1 and most likely it's

not going to happen it's going to be $5

$8 $9 but in general if you keep that

principle that you're trying to live on

as little as possible on trying to save

90% even though that's probably never

going to happen you will most likely

never run out of money if you are always

trying to do that for me I have a rule I

need to keep at least a 50% savings rate

it took me quite a few years to get

there but once I got there I've done

whatever it takes to keep it there

including saving extra money now this

might seem basic but it's something very

few people do and was a huge help for me

pretty much I would live off of one

income generally it's been like my day

job and then anytime I had a side hustle

I got a Bonus tax returns anything like

that always went into savings or

investing I made sure that I could

always survive off of one income and

everything else would go into like

buying myself Freedom which it

eventually did by the way if you're

getting any value out of this at all you

a ton if you would drop a like And

subscribe use tools to your advantage

and I want to sh you a few tools that I

have been using for a while one of them

is Gas Buddy if you don't know what this

is it pretty much like finds the

cheapest gas well if it's only like a

five or 10 cents difference I don't

think it's worth driving an extra 5

minutes for it because the amount of gas

that you burn is probably going to like

negate that but sometimes you can find

gas that's literally like 50 cents or a

dollar cheaper than other places by

using this app it's free I don't use gas

anymore that I have an electric car but

I've used this for really long time and

it can save you a lot of money and

speaking of that I've also used a couple

other tools that when you're shopping

online just help you save money these

are just small things but they do add up

over time you can use like things like

honey or Capital One shopping so that

every time you buy something online they

pretty much just search for uh discount

codes and stuff like that and I've saved

multiple hundreds of dollars from doing

that which is really cool and it takes

like almost zero effort join a buy

nothing group this is really cool

there's some locally they're not

everywhere but pretty much you can join

these groups where neighbors and people

who live in the same city can share

things that you don't have to buy

something like if you need something

like if you have a service that you're

good at you can trade that with somebody

else has a different service you can

donate stuff to people you actually know

you can let people borrow things it's a

really cool way to save a lot of money

and actually have a good impact on the

environment a lot of good things you

build relationships really cool idea DIY

cleaning supplies yeah this right here

is I'm pretty sure just vinegar and

water I don't know Merith makes it but

it is so so much cheaper and actually

better for you than the crap that you

get at the store this is pretty much

like all we use as our allpurpose

cleaner you could do this with a bunch

of stuff you could take this as Extreme

as you want with baking soda so many

cool things you can do do that don't

involve just like going and buying a

bunch of chemicals repair instead of

replace now this is something that seems

really common and kind of obvious but

very few people do this and that's like

actually using your clothes till they're

totally worn out using your phone till

it actually doesn't work anymore using

your laptop till doesn't work anymore

your your car so many things people just

buy because they want to upgrade they

want something newer but if your stuff

is still working let it work it actually

saves a lot of money and something else

that can actually do that is negotiating

your bills I was talking to my

grandfather last week and he was able to

save over a

couple, on his car insurance simply by

switching to another company it was like

time to renew they had up the price and

he was like what's going on he called

around a bunch of different people and

was able to save thousands of dollars

every year simply by taking the hour or

two to switch to a different company a

lot of the companies right now are are

really fast so that's definitely worth

the time invested and actually uh

another switch that you can make is

going to a different phone plan I know a

lot of people spend way too much money

on their phone plans and that's why I

have started using helium mobile it's 20

bucks a month for unlimited everything

there is no higher price range I don't

know I've been using them for a couple

months I've noticed no difference and

just saved a ton of money so yeah check

that out I'll leave a link below set up

automatic savings so if you don't do

this you're kind of missing out this is

just taking a certain amount out of your

paycheck every single month and putting

it into your future this is paying

yourself first it's buying Freedom so

whether it's a certain dollar amount or

a percentage of your paycheck

automatically put that into a high

interest savings account so it can start

earning money automatically put it into

an investment account whatever your

strategy is whatever stage you're at

whether it's paying off debt saving

money starting to invest if you're not

doing that automatically and almost

stealing from yourself to make sure that

you reach your financial goals then

you're kind of doing yourself a

disservice and I guess speaking of that

if you don't have financial goals you're

guaranteed not to hit them this is

something that has really shifted a lot

of things for me and one of the biggest

impacts on my life was having a very

strong why because things get hard

things get tough you're tempted like

there's a lot of strong reasons why we

want to spend money or why we can't save

or why we can't work harder to earn more

money and if you don't have a good

reason behind all that and like my

reason behind all the things that I've

done all the sacrifices that I've made

was being able to buy myself Freedom

have time with my kids be able to travel

all things I've been able to do because

of those years of sacrifice that I put

in but I know for a fact that I wouldn't

have gotten to all this if I didn't have

it so clearly in my mind that if I don't

waste money in all these ways you know

if I don't splurge on those things if I

don't buy a new car if I don't you know

buy a house too soon if I don't do of

those things then I'll be able to have

freedom and having that clearly

imprinted and like a clear design of

that was super super powerful for me

food so we're going to do some rapid

fire food money-saving tips cuz this is

generally one of people's biggest

expenses and I have a lot of strategies

that saved me a lot of money with this

first off cook in bulk if you don't have

a calendar that is planning out all of

your meals then you're probably going to

waste a lot of food you're not going to

know exactly what to buy at the store

and you'll actually spend more time

cooking so if you can cook once or three

times a week and have food for the

entire week so much easier we always

cook in batches we freeze meals put them

in the freezer then we can Tha them or

just put them in tupperware we can eat

them later saves so much time and so

much money next up changing grocery

stores can save you an insane amount of

money I know the exact same products at

two different stores that are about 5

minutes from us it'll generally be 30 to

50% more expensive to shop at one store

versus the others so that's something

that you should definitely look into we

actually went through and like looked at

prices of different things and compared

them and found what was the best op

option for us I'm just going to also say

if you ever shop hungry that is like the

biggest waste of money ever you should

never do that also name brands are

mostly a complete scam a lot of the time

things will be from the exact same place

they'll just put different labels on

them so like we use this pizza sauce

from Aldi it's wicked cheap and it

tastes just as good as other ones I

actually did a taste test of like the

cheapest sauce at a store and the most

expensive sauce and the most expensive

sauce was like $9 and that one was like

a buck 89 or something and I could taste

like maybe a slight difference but not

like five times the price difference so

just keep that in mind so maybe if you

don't believe me buy both of them do a

blind taste test see if it actually

makes a difference save money on

drinking by doing these two separate

things first of all always have a bottle

with you we never really buy water

anymore we just bring it with us

healthier it also saves an insane amount

of money over your life which is just

crazy that we're spending that much

money on water like a dollar or two at a

store for just a basic water you can get

for pretty much free at home secondly

whenever we like go out to dinner we

will never really buy a drink just

because that's the the highest like

margins that they have on anything so

whether it's a coffee a soda or like a

mixed drink you're going to be spending

way too much money for generally

something that's bad for you that's

something we almost never do by the way

future Gabe here with a haircut it's

beautiful I know I'm working feverishly

hard to get my email newsletter up and

running it is short it's once a week it

has helpful money saving tips investing

tips just like habits that have improved

my life all that kind of stuff I won't

spam you but it is completely free if

you want to sign up there's a link below

very free very I can't stress how free

it is and how much value there it's

amazing subscribe Embrace minimalism

yeah so I talk about this a lot but when

you kind of embrace this idea of

minimalism where you don't really want

to buy more stuff to make you happy you

find certain things that work well for

you and then you just don't buy anything

for months or years it can save a lot of

money that leads me into a few different

rules one being the 7day 30-day 90day

rule whatever intensity you choose to

pick which is I don't buy anything

unless I've had it like written down

somewhere or in a cart or whatever for

at least 7 Days sometimes 30 days and

doing that allows me to buy way less

stuff cuz I always forget about it by

the time that I you know I thought I

needed it at the time and then I totally

forget about it the second one is I do

things like no buy days weeks months or

even years this is actually really

powerful if you have habits of spending

money of getting Starbucks every day of

doing whatever that habit is that you

want to stop doing if you take a month

where you're like I'm not buying

anything besides absolute Essentials I'm

not you know like food paying for rent

Starbucks is not essential I'm just not

doing it for one month can cure a ton of

your habits and and this is a really

powerful one that we use at least once a

year where we'll try to do a no spend

month and it's like a really good reset

I've even talked to people who've had no

spend years where they've tried to not

buy anything besides Essentials for an

entire year and they have absolutely

loved it so I would highly recommend

that remember this this right here is

how many weeks I would have if I lived

to b90 and yeah that's where I'm at

right now this is kind of similar to

those goal setting ones I talked about

where if you look at your life and you

ask is all the stuff that I'm spending

money on aligned with how I want my life

to live and do I want to spend my entire

life working for money because I never

have enough of it that I'll be able to

stop working until I'm like 65 or

something having that mindset will make

a ton of these decisions actually for

you it'll help you optimize these it'll

help you with this when I shifted my

mindset to this just kind of

understanding that I will not be at this

day job next year there's 0% chance I

will do whatever it takes to make that

happen I just need to get out of this so

that I can do something that I love

every day I can have freedom I can you

know get my wife out of working all this

stuff my life everything changed I spent

way less money I earned more money

everything changed because I made this

really strong decision that I will not

spend this amount of time making

somebody else rich and not having enough

money and struggling with it forever I

cannot let that happen I will not let

that happen I will do whatever it takes

to buy back this amount of stuff right

here like this amount of time I want it

I need it you do too don't let it happen

by the way it's also really important to

realize at a certain point you cannot

save any more money like if you're

already doing all this tips and you

can't save more than another1 or $200 a

month it might actually be more

efficient to try to focus on learning

high value skills so that you can earn

more money cuz there's no cap on how

much you can earn but there's a big cap

on how much you can save because at some

point you just can't save any more money

so be honest with yourself however most

people are not there so so there's a lot

of really good things that you can do to

save money but if you're already there

then maybe focus on earning more with

things like a business there's actually

two reasons for this the first reason is

that obviously you can earn more money

if you start some type of business it's

scalable all that type of stuff but also

you can save a lot on taxes for instance

I can write off a lot of my house I can

write off my internet I can write off my

phone my car travel tons of stuff I can

write off because my home is where my

businesses I need a car as a business

owner there's so many ways you can

actually save money on taxes by having a

business even if it's not super

profitable yet which is why I I love

YouTube as a business or or some type of

personal brand if you're thinking of

doing that I have a 7-Day free course

down below really good but having your

own business can really be lifechanging

and can kind of move you up to the next

step so um we'll get back to the money

saving tips but that's something to

definitely think about all right this

one you've probably heard before but it

is to track your money if you're not

doing that you're really doing yourself

a disservice if you don't know where

your money is going it's it's really

hard to control it and sometimes you

won't even know about this next point

which is avoiding fees Americans waste

an insane amount of money on Bank fees

on ATM fees on late fees a lot of times

you won't even know if you got some of

those if you're not paying attention to

your fin finances if you're not tracking

everything so first of all obviously try

to avoid all of those things but

secondly make sure you're tracking it so

you know what to avoid and even when I

started budgeting or going through you

know like my monthly credit card

statements I realized that I had you

know a Netflix account that I wasn't

using we had two HBO account somehow

that I didn't even realize the more you

actually see where your money's going

the more ways you're actually going to

be able to save by cutting out

subscriptions or just seeing how you're

spending your money stay healthy staying

healthy can actually save you a lot of

money I haven't been to the doctor in 8

years 9 years something like that it's

probably not a good thing but I haven't

needed to and if I don't need to I

generally don't go I did go to the

dentist last year and the first time in

like 5 years and I had zero cavities cuz

I take really good care of my teeth I

avoid sugar I pretty much always feel

good cuz I'm very active and I work very

hard to go to the gym consistently and

all that type of stuff and doing that

can actually save you a lot of money

especially in the long run so you have a

lot of control over your health whether

that's exercising or your diet and

having good health can save you a lot of

money so whatever is actually in your

control try to control it consider a

smaller home now I get comments a lot

about like man that guy has a big home

for a minimalist and all this stuff what

they don't see is that this is actually

cheaper than like a one-bedroom

apartment cuz I do something called

house hacking where I live in one unit I

rent out the other unit and that pays

for a lot of the mortgage taxes and

insurance and I've done this for the

past five or six years I'm on my third

one right now and this one happens to be

big other ones have happened to be small

but for 3 or 4 years I literally didn't

pay for my housing at all and now we pay

very little for our housing and that's

been the main catalyst that has allowed

both me and my wife to leave our jobs is

controlling our biggest expense in a lot

of Americans spend like 40% of their

income on their housing so if you could

buy a multif family or a single family

with an attached dwelling or rent part

of your house out or do something like

that or just move to a smaller place you

could make a massive impact on your

finances more than probably most of this

other stuff put together just by

changing where you live to something

either cheaper or smaller or like us

even bigger but still cheaper somehow

that also reminds me if you do have a

mortgage try paying your mortgage twice

a month this will actually change how

much goes towards the principal and over

the the life of your loan if you're

paying for it for 30 years you could end

up saving tens of thousands or hundreds

of thousands of dollars by paying twice

a month like once at the beginning of

the month once in the middle of the

month very interesting how that works

and it can save you a lot invest in

quality so as a very frugal person I've

always had this kind of mindset that

cheaper is always better but that has

burned me like a billion times I've

bought jackets that fall apart within a

couple months but they were 40 bucks

like whatever and then I've bought like

dishwashers that were cheap and didn't

like wash dishes very well clothes that

were cheap and didn't fit so therefore I

never wore them and they ended up being

more expensive per use than things that

were like 20 times more expensive but I

wore you know 100 times more so always

like kind of practice mindful spending

and think about is this something that

I'm going to use for a very long time

does it add something to my life am I

like thrilled to have this thing and

sometimes that actually might mean

spending a little more money but if

you're buying way less stuff and the

things that you do buy are high quality

and you use very often a lot of times

that is actually cheaper when you look

at the cost per use like these shirts

might be more expensive than the thrift

store shirts that I used to wear but I

wear them so often I haven't had one

wear out in the past 5 years I've been

wearing them so for me it's actually

cheaper change your dinner strategy so

this is something we've done recently

where instead of going out with friends

to dinner or whatever which you know

what it's okay to do some of those it's

okay to get coffee sometimes it's okay

to live a little bit but there are times

where it's just completely wasteful and

we can make really good stuff at home

and actually be more comfortable at home

and save a lot of money whether that's

like having potato dinners which is like

everybody gets like a baked potato with

toppings and it's really cheap tastes

amazing I would highly recommend that so

good or like baking your own stuff

making your own meals a lot of times you

can have way higher quality food eat way

more cuz I'm never full when I go to a

restaurant and it's also a lot cheaper

so try inviting more people over and

actually save money as opposed to going

out to eat di why you know like some

stuff see this right here I uh I built

that bad boy myself I know it's

impressive it's actually like two boards

put together but anyways when it comes

to things like basic plumbing needs

changing out of toilet like whatever it

is you can actually do a lot of stuff

yourself if you're anything like me and

have zero experience and like don't know

anything about anything you can still do

that and save yourself the $150 or $300

a cost just to have somebody to show up

at your door and like spend 15 minutes

fixing something if you just look at

YouTube you can fix a lot of problems

yourself you can DIY a lot of things

change your own oil fix basic things

around your house and that can save you

an insane amount of time and money so

try it out and even if you're not handy

at all like I wasn't most stuff is not

super complicated so just you know just

just try it out and I know this is like

the most cliche thing in the world but

also like make your own coffee at home

it tastes so much better when you can

buy like really nice coffee this like

Trade coffee I've been drinking really

nice coffee and it's so much cheaper and

faster than going somewhere else when

you can buy like a $20 chemx and really

nice coffee you can make coffee at home

save time save money it's so so worth it

that being said you know coffee is

probably not going to be a thing that

makes or breaks your life but for me

tastes way better at home and I enjoy it