“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.” - Woody Allen
We had the Parent Hacks earlier this week, and I was thinking it would be fun to do the same with finances — ways to trick yourself, to get around obstacles, to boost your accounts, without it hurting.
Improving your finances improves your happiness, in general, so I thought it would be important to share stuff that’s worked for me.
I’m in the best financial shape in my life, despite quitting my job and my wife recently quitting hers too. A lot of that is thanks to you guys, the readers, but it’s also thanks to frugality, to eliminating debt, to saving as much as I can. To these hacks.
Here’s what works for me — please avoid flaming me, as I’m not saying they’ll work for everybody. Share your tips and tricks in the comments!
- Use cash. Instead of charging things to credit cards or debit cards, use cash for non-bill spending such as eating out, gas, groceries. Spending cash makes the spending more real, and there’s an added advantage of knowing when you’re out of cash, instead of spending more than you
- Small weekly savings transfers. I got this idea from my friend Trent at The Simple Dollar, who automatically deducts $20 a week from his check to savings. I decided that I could live with $40/week without really feeling it — it’s a relatively small transfer that I barely notice, and I save about $2,000 a year on top of my larger bi-weekly savings transfers.
- Stay home. Going out makes you more likely to spend unnecessarily. You eat at restaurants, go to the mall, stop at the gas station for snacks. It’s hard to avoid spending when you’re on the road. Instead, stay home, and find free entertainment. It’s also a great way to bond with your family.
- Don’t get catalogs. Or emailed announcements from companies trying to sell you stuff. Their announcements of sales or cool new products make it very tempting to buy something you don’t need. Instead, stop the catalogs and emails from ever getting to you in the first place, and you’ll spend less.
- Keep a 30-day list. If you have an impulse to buy something you don’t absolutely need, put it on a 30-day list. You can’t buy anything but necessities — everything else goes on the list, with the date that it’s added to the list. When the 30 days are up, you can buy it — but most likely, the strong urge to buy it will be gone, and you can evaluate it more calmly.
- Cook at home. I know, it seems more difficult than eating out. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Throw together a quick stir-fry with frozen veggies and either boneless chicken or (my favorite) tofu with soy sauce or tamari. Make home-made pizza with a ready-made crust, some sauce, cheese and veggies. Put some spices on something and throw it in the oven while you cook some brown rice. Not only is this much cheaper than eating out, but it’s healthier.
- Exercise. Staying healthy is the best way to avoid costly medical bills later.
- Use the envelope system. It’s the same idea as using cash for spending, but in addition you use envelopes to split your spending cash into categories. My non-bills categories are groceries, gas and miscellaneous spending. Three envelopes, and when they’re empty, I’ve spent my allotment.
- Talk with your SO weekly. It’s important that you and your significant other be on the same page. You should have the same financial goals, and from there you should agree on a general spending plan and a policy for impulse buying that won’t have either of you wanting to choke the other. Make sure you both know what bills have been paid, what your balances are, etc. A weekly meeting of just 20 minutes accomplishes that. Communication is key.
- The spreadsheet tracker hack. There are expensive programs like MS Money, Quicken, and the like that will do amazing things with your financial information. There are even free ones, on your desktop or online, that can do all kinds of things. Trouble is, I don’t need all that. All I want is a way to track my money easily, with no other bells and whistles, and a way to access that online so that I can view it from anywhere. The best way I found to do that is through Google Docs and Spreadsheets. I created a simple spreadsheet to track my bank accounts, that does everything I used to do with MS Money. It has the date of each transaction, the title and amount, a little field for memos, and a running balance. What more do I need? Keep it simple. Update: View a sample I put online here.
- Pay savings and debt first. When you sit down to pay your bills (I do them all online), make the first bills you pay be your savings transfer and your debt payments. If not, if you pay them last … you’ll often end up shortchanging them. But if you pay them first, you’ll make sure you still pay your rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries and gas … so you’ll just cut back on other spending.
- Exercise at home. Some of you will disagree with me on this, which is OK — everyone should do what works for them. But I’ve saved a lot of money that I used to spend on gyms by just running at the local track or on the roads in my neighborhood, and buying some simple weights and a chin-up bar. I do a lot of body-weight exercises (pushups, Hindu squats, lunges, pullups, dips, etc.) and I don’t need a gym for those things.
- Cut out cable TV. I’m not saying I don’t watch TV — I watch DVDs, so that I’m sure that what I’m watching is something great, rather than the useless stuff you find on TV most of the time. And there’s a lot of it online for free if you look. Not a huge savings, but it adds up.
- Declutter. By getting rid of all the excess stuff in your home, you not only make your life much simpler and more peaceful, but you make it harder to buy stuff that will just clutter things up again. Once you’ve simplified your home, you won’t want to go back.
- Lend and borrow. Give books and clothes and toys you don’t need anymore to your friends and family. If you need something, send out an email asking if anyone has it. Chances are, they’ll give it to you for free if they don’t use it anymore.
- Barter. It’s a lost art, but lots of people will take your services or goods instead of money, especially if you’re friends or at least know each other. Get into the habit of offering to barter, and you’ll find yourself saving a lot of money. My website design was done through the barter system, so I saved well over $1,000 there, for example.
- Use online savings. I use Emigrant Direct, but IMG Online is also popular, as are a bunch of other online banks. Not only do you earn like twice the interest of a normal bank savings account, but if you don’t get the ATM account it’s not as easy to withdraw money … making it less likely that you’ll get money out on an impulse. Read more at Get Rich Slowly.
- Try frugal gift-giving. Giving people gifts is one of the most wonderful traditions, as it shows generosity and caring. Until it becomes commercialized. Then it’s just really really expensive. Instead, try giving the gift of spending time with someone. Try giving them something you baked or made yourself. Try giving them services they’d appreciate. It doesn’t have to cost a lot to be generous.
- Teach your kids about advertising, saving, earning, and gift-giving. If you have kids, educating them about money will save you a lot of money in the long run. If they know about how advertising influences them in tricky ways, they’ll be less likely to demand (OK, beg and plead for) the latest fad toys. If they know about saving and earning money, they’ll respect the money that you earn, and that you are trying to save. If they know that gift-giving doesn’t have to be about spending a lot of money (see above), they won’t necessarily want expensive stuff.
- Find happiness in life, not spending. Many times people buy stuff because they think (subconsciously perhaps) that it will bring them happiness. They just HAVE to have the latest gadget or shoes or cars. It’s so fun! And yet, you buy that stuff, and you’re only happy for a day or two at most. Then you just need to buy more. It’s a never-ending cycle. Instead, learn to love life. Find joy in nature! In the people around you! In doing something you love! In exercise and meditation! There’s so much in life to make us happy, there’s no need to find it in spending.
“I’d like to live as a poor man with lots of money.” - Pablo Picasso
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译文:
教你20种省钱的技巧
伍迪艾伦：“如果单单从财政的原因上来看，有钱好过于贫穷”。
我一直在想如果把上星期出现的父母出租应用在管理家庭财政上会是一件很有趣的事情，这样你可以骗过自己，绕过障碍物，增加帐户数目，却不会让你的财产遭受损失。
一般来说钱多了自然就开心，所以我觉得应该分享我的一些经验給大家。
除去我和我的爱人都辞职之外，我们的财产状况是前所未有的号。这些都要归功于你们，读者，还有我们自己的节省，减少负债，以及尽可能的储蓄。
以下这些在我身上很有用-但请不要挑衅我，因为不是对所有人都合适。请在评论中分享你的技巧和贴士。
使用现金。当你消费些不用开据发票的事情，例如下馆子，加油，小商品百货，的时候，请使用现金而不是信用卡或借记卡。使用现金让消费变得更加真实，好处就是让你清楚地感到什么时候会超支。
小额零存整取。这是我从一个朋友那里得到的灵感，他每个星期会总东从支票帐户中转存20美金到储蓄账户。于是我决定效仿他每星期转存40美金，这对我来说仅仅是一笔很小的数目，但是却在一年之后让我的帐户增加了整整2000美金的余额。
留在家里。外出会让你花很多不必要的钱。例如：下馆子，逛商场，在加油站小歇买点零食等等。想要出门在外却不花钱是一件很难的事情。相反留在家里却可以享受很多免费的娱乐活动。你会发现和家人在一起是多么美好的事情。
别去拿产品目录。很多公司通过宣传产品目录或者邮件来向你推销产品。他们新奇有趣的产品很容易就让你花掉不必要的钱来购买。如果你在第一时间就停止接收这类目录或邮件，相信肯定会节省很多不必要的花销。
建立30天购买清单。如果你总是有买不需要的东西的冲动，那么建议你把它们罗列在一张30天购买清单中。你只能够买必需品-而不能购买列在这张清单中的商品直到满30天期限。等到30天过后你才可以购买它们-大多数情况下，这种方法会降低你的购买欲并且让你冷静地思考是否有必要购买他们。
亲自下厨。我明白这远比外出就餐要难得多。但实际上没有你想象中那么得难。炒菜：将冰冻的蔬菜跟剔骨的鸡肉或者是我喜欢的豆腐扔入锅中加上酱油一起旺火煸炒；披萨：在现成的面包底上洒上些坚果，调料，芝士跟蔬菜；做糙米的时候直接加入辣椒再放入焗炉中就大功告成了。这种方法比上外出就餐不仅便宜而且健康。
运动。保持健康是免去高额医药费的最好方法。
使用信封分类系统。这跟使用现金消费的想法一致，并且要将这些现金按照消费种类来分类放在不同的信封中。日常百货、汽油跟其他消费属于我的不用开发票的开销种类。然后我分别用三个信封装预支的现金，当这些信封变空的时候，代表我已经使用完了应有的配额。
每周与你的另一半进行财政会议。你和你的另一办必须有统一战线。你们必须有着一样的财政目标，这就代表你们必须在消费计划上达成一致，并且保证对方某些即兴消费不会让另一方措手不及。你们都得清楚地知道每一笔消费，还有多少余额，等等。每周开个短短20分钟的小会议就可以交代清楚这些。沟通是关键。
使用电子表格记录。某些昂贵的财政软件，像MS Money，Quicken，提供了很多高级专业的功能供你使用。同时也有很多免费的桌面或线上免费软件可以做到所有你需要的功能。但大多数情况下，我并不需要它们。我想要的只是可以记录查询我的消费记录-不需要提醒设置，以及一个上网功能让我可以随时随地看到它们。到目前为止我觉得谷歌Docs以及电子表格最好用。我仅仅就用了一张电子表格来记录我的帐户信息就做到了所有原来MS Money能做到的东西。它记录了每一笔记录的名称和金额，还有一块地方供你备注，并帮你计算余额。就这么简单，我还需要其他什么呢？
优先储蓄和还债。当你坐下来准备付账的时候（我都使用网银），请先转账到你的储蓄账户并还清债务。如果你最后才考虑它们，多数情况下结果会是不储蓄或不还帐。但是如果你先考虑它们，你就能保证对你的按揭贷款、水电费、百货用品以及汽油消费了如指掌并且不会忘记，然后减少其他不必须的开销。
在家中锻炼。也许你们质疑我这个问题，这无所谓-每个人都应该做适合他们的事情。但是我节省了大笔去健身房的开支而选择在邻居房屋周围跑步，买了一些简单的举重和引体向上健身工具。我会做很多健身运动（例如：俯卧撑、印度瑜伽等等），这些都没有必要去健身房做。
不装数字电视。这并不代表我不看电视-我会看DVD，这保证了我所看的都是精华而不会在电视上浪费时间。而且你也可以上网看免费的视频。虽然这不能节省很大的开支，但却增色不少。
家具用品整理。当你把家中的杂物清理干净，你会发现生活顿时变得简单平和，而且不会让你再想去买那些会把家里堆得乱七八糟的东西。一但家里变得干净整洁你还会想要回到过去吗？
选择借用。把家里不需要的书、衣服和玩具送给你的朋友和家人。而当你需要某些东西时，写邮件跟他们借。这样你就可以免费使用这些他们闲置的商品。
交换。这是一种失传的艺术，但是现在很多人实际上跟愿意交换你的服务和物品而不是钱，尤其当他们是你认识的人或朋友的时候。请养成用付出来交换的习惯，这将为你省下很多钱。例如：我的网站设计就是通过这种方法建成的，这为我节省了超过1000美元的开支。
使用网银储蓄。我使用Emigrant Direct，IMG Online也非常受欢迎，像这样的网银很多。这会比一般的银行储蓄要多得两倍的利息收益，但是你必须开自动取款帐户才可以方便地存取钱，但是这样也避免了你随意的取钱做不必要的开支。
尝试赠送简单朴素的小礼物。赠送礼物是以我们最美好的传统行为，它表现了人们的慷慨跟关怀。但当它被物质化之后，送礼变成一件非常昂贵的行为。请尝试花时间陪伴你的朋友，或者赠送亲自烘焙的食物，提供你想给与的服务給他们。慷慨不一定要用金钱来表现。
教导你的孩子广告、储蓄、赚钱和赠送礼物的事宜。如果你有孩子，教导他们金钱观会让你在长期上节省大笔开支。如果你让他们知道广告会无形中影响他们，他们就不会要求（祈求）要买最潮流的玩具。如果他们知道储蓄赚钱的道理，他们就会尊重你辛苦赚回想要储蓄的钱。如果他们知道礼尚往来不一定非要花费大把的钞票，他们就不会要求昂贵的东西。
在生活中寻找快乐而不是消费。很多时候人们觉得（下意识的）购物会带给他们快乐。他们需要购买最新潮的组和、鞋或车。这很可笑！拥有这些东西最多可以让你快活一两天。然后你会转而购买更多的东西。这是个恶性循环。我们应该尝试爱上生活。在大自然中寻找！在你周围的人群中寻找！在你爱的事情中寻找！在运动和沉思中寻找！生活中有那么多会让我们感到快乐的东西，我们没有必要在消费中得到。
如果你喜爱这篇文章，请分享它。我很开心这样。:)