Not willing to move to the hinterland? Try bringing on a housemate or two. I did this when I bought my first home, and my roommate not only paid 75% of my mortgage, but she became a lifelong friend.<\/p>\n
My partner Deni Supplee did this as well, renting out the master bedroom in her rowhouse and moving her bed into a closet in the hallway. Her housemate helped her make her rent payments, which she\u2019d been struggling to afford as a single mother. She even helped out with watching Deni\u2019s kids when Deni was pulled in one too many directions.<\/p>\n
Ilene Davis (no relation), author of Wealthy by Choice:\u00a0Choosing Your Way to a Wealthier Future<\/em>, takes it one step further. \u201cOne idea I loved was a couple of single mothers who each had two children. The children shared a room, and each mother had her own.\u00a0They worked different hours so they could share ‘babysitting’ duties with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to take it even further? Janet Alvarez from Wise Bread<\/a> cites intentional community living, \u201cwhere participants grow their own food, make their own clothes, and share housing.\u201d<\/p>\n Why lower your housing bills when you can cut them out entirely?<\/p>\n One option is, of course,\u00a0house hacking<\/a>. It doesn\u2019t even require a multifamily; you can house hack a single-family home<\/a>.<\/p>\n Not weird or extreme enough for you? Consider the \u201cun-housing\u201d movement. Janet from Wise Bread summarizes it succinctly: \u201cIt\u2019s where individuals will crash with friends, camp outdoors, or otherwise seek free shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n It sounds curiously similar to being a transient to me.<\/p>\n Want to live for free, anywhere in the world?<\/p>\n Kelly Hayes-Raitt, author of How to Become a Housesitter: Insider Tips from the HouseSit Diva<\/a> \u201cI’ve housesat in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Gibraltar, throughout Africa, Hanoi, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur\u2014even Ya’an, a village in China where I was the only non-Asian face I saw for a week!\u201d<\/p>\n A woman after my own heart, Kelly is also a landlord, renting out her home while she travels. \u201cMy rental income has allowed me financial independence to start a new career as a writer and editor.\u201d<\/p>\n Cori Carl of RemoteSwap.club<\/a> does the same. \u201cMy apartment in Toronto rents for C$1,750. Now my only ‘housing costs’ are getting from one city to another and thank-you gifts for my hosts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s saved me thousands of dollars\u2014which I can put toward a down payment for my next investment property.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, Cori uses the opportunity to scope out new markets for real estate investing. \u201cI’m looking for a more affordable market to invest in, so I’m also taking housesit positions in cities that might fit my personal criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n You can also travel and stay for free by volunteering\u2014there are even services that pair you with volunteer travel opportunities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most people\u2019s homes are more liability than asset. Equity in your home looks nice on paper, but it does you no good unless you have a concrete plan for converting equity to cash.<\/p>\n Carl, better known as Mr. 1500 from 1500 Days<\/a>, likes doing live-in flips.<\/p>\n “If you must own a house, buy the worst one in the best neighborhood you can afford and fix it up!<\/p>\n \u201cLook for homes that need cosmetic work like paint, cabinets, and tile (don’t mess with cracked foundations). When you go to sell your home, you’ll make money from all of the forced equity you’ve created.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd best of all, if you’ve lived there for two years, your gains are probably tax-free<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Amber Masters does this, even \u201cliving in the Midwest where it’s somewhat socially not acceptable. But it saves us over $100 each month!\u201d<\/p>\n Actually, $100\/month is a conservative estimate. The average cost of car ownership is $706\/month according to NerdWallet<\/a>. That\u2019s $8,469 every year!<\/p>\n And that says nothing of the health benefits.<\/a> Maybe you wouldn\u2019t even need that pricey gym membership if you biked to and from work every day!<\/p>\n My stepfather bikes 14 miles to work. He\u2019s 60 years old and in exceptional shape.<\/p>\n You\u2019d also prevent several tons of carbon emissions. And reduce local traffic congestion.<\/p>\n Win, win, win, win.<\/p>\n Even in the era of \u201cthe sharing economy,\u201d most of us unthinkingly just buy everything we need or want.<\/p>\n Who says you need to buy that bike to bike to work? Lori Cheeks, an entrepreneur who spent several lean years when she was launching her dating service Cheekd<\/a>, bikes around New York City\u2014without owning a bike. \u201cI use the shared bike service, Citi Bike, which costs $149\/year, rather than paying for the subway or cabs.\u201d<\/p>\n In a city where every square foot of housing is precious, not having to store a bike is a serious perk.<\/p>\n The same principle applies to cars. We all need wheels every once in a while, but if you don\u2019t need to drive every day, why not consider using Uber or ZipCar?<\/p>\n The list goes on. Dresses. Formalwear. Jewelry. Toilet paper.<\/p>\n (OK, so you can\u2019t rent everything<\/em>\u2014just making sure you were paying attention!)<\/p>\n Nate Masterson, Finance Manager for Maple Holistics<\/a>, recommends the Acorns app<\/a>. \u201cAcorns essentially helps you turn your pocket change into substantial sums by automatically investing in safe exchange-traded funds. It monitors your debit and credit charges, rounds them up to the nearest dollar, and invests the change into convenient, pre-arranged portfolios. This simple and straightforward investing tool is perfect for beginners and people who don’t have a substantial income but want to start saving for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Another option that I\u2019ve advocated before is setting up automated transfers to your savings account, on the same day you get paid.<\/p>\n Of course, you still need to avoid raiding the savings account. Eliza Cross, who blogs at Happy Simple Living<\/a>, found that discipline was still a problem. \u201cI opened an \u2018inconvenient savings account\u2019 at a credit union a good distance away from my main bank, where I have to drive and speak to a teller in person to withdraw the\u00a0money. By making it harder to access the money, my account has finally had a chance to really grow.\u201d<\/p>\n But you don\u2019t need tech to help you automate your savings. Mark Cianciulli, a Realtor, attorney and CPA with the CREM Group in Long Beach, writes a physical check to his sister-in-law every month. She deposits it in a savings account for them, keeping it out of sight and mind. \u201cWe have saved over $50,000 in just over three years. To be honest, I completely forget it\u2019s there sometimes because all I look at is our checking accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n Len Penzo, the quirky personal finance writer at LenPenzo.com<\/a>, shares a tip his parents have used for years: \u201cMy Mom and Dad keep a jar by their washer and dryer and charge themselves $1 for every load of clothes that goes into the machines.<\/p>\n \u201cBelieve it or not, they typically save $250 to $400 per year doing this!\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps it even leads to less laundry, less water and electricity usage, and longer lifespans for their clothes.<\/p>\n What if you take it one step further and charge yourself for behavior your want to curb? Maybe that means charging yourself each time you eat dessert, or for each cigarette or each drink.<\/p>\n Or what if you charged yourself each time you eat out at a restaurant? Meals out add up. Quickly.<\/p>\n Most of us eat 21 meals each week. The more of those meals you can prepare yourself, the less money you\u2019ll spend on food. Period.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean you have to give up all food experiences outside your own kitchen. Marilyn Anderson, author of How to Live Like a MILLIONAIRE When You’re a Million Short<\/a> \u201cMany expensive restaurants have super deals on food at happy hour or late happy hour. For instance, instead of paying $150-200 for a meal for two at Ruth\u2019s Chris or Fleming’s\u2014where an a la carte steak costs $40-50\u2014go to their happy hours, where you can get a steak sandwich, hamburger with fries, or lobster roll, or steak flatbread for $8-9,\u00a0so a meal for two would be about $20-30 dollars instead.\u201d<\/p>\n And who says you need to eat the entire meal out? Ilene Davis proposes \u201cInstead of going out to dinner, go out for dessert and coffee. You still have a night out, but for much less cost.\u201d<\/p>\n For that matter, you could go out for an appetizer or light bite, perhaps at happy hour. My wife Katie and I find that sharing a couple appetizers at happy hour, often for $4-5 apiece, fill us up quite nicely.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve managed to replace nearly all of my lunch meals with leftovers. Katie and I simply prepare enough food at dinner each night to save plenty for our lunches the next day.<\/p>\n Nor do leftovers have to stop with next-day lunches. Ilene Davis goes on to outline a fun meal prep idea: the weekly crockpot party.<\/p>\n \u201cGet four other couples or individuals who want to build wealth.\u00a0Weekly, each makes a five-quart meal in crockpot.\u00a0Divide into five one-quart containers.\u00a0Get together and exchange.\u00a0Each cooks one meal but walks away with five different ones!\u201d<\/p>\n Pretty clever, right?<\/p>\n And if you really want to get weird, Janet from Wise Bread explained that in addition to a free housing movement, there\u2019s also a free food movement. \u201cI\u2019ve heard of people relying solely on food banks, church free breakfasts, soup kitchens, etc. for their dietary sustenance.\u201d<\/p>\n Call me old-fashioned, but I can live with frugal spending on groceries and cooking my own food.<\/p>\n I have a not-so-frugal confession to make: I love high-end wines and beers.<\/p>\n It gets worse. I\u2019ve gotten so picky that I distrust most others\u2019 beer and wine selections. (To be fair, I\u2019ve also taken courses and certifications on wine, and for years I brewed my own beer. Which probably just makes me sound like more of a jerk, now that I think about it.)<\/p>\n In short, it costs me an arm and a leg to drink the kind of wine or beer that I like, if I pay the full 300% markup prices at restaurants and bars.<\/p>\n So what do I do? I coordinate dinner parties with our friends, where I can bring my own beer and wine, that I buy in bulk at a discount.<\/p>\n Dinner parties can be as casual or as shi-shi as you want them to be. Laid back pot luck? Five-course meal with wine pairings for each course? Your call.<\/p>\n And all of it is far cheaper than entertainment out at bars, clubs, and restaurants.<\/p>\n Or go in a different direction, and host a game night with friends. Or movie nights. We have a monthly cinema club night with another couple who loves movies.<\/p>\n Why spend $50 for four people to go see a movie, when you can rent one at home for a dollar or two? Your couch is probably more comfortable, you can eat a healthier (and cheaper) snack than $7 popcorn drenched in fake butter.<\/p>\n And, of course, you can even enjoy the movie with your favorite wine or beer.<\/p>\n Like most of the above, we\u2019ll start reasonable, then get weirder.<\/p>\n Marilyn Anderson has a no-brainer way to save money: \u201cCheck the $4 generic list at your drugstore or go to MyFourDollarDrugList.com; if your medicine isn’t on the $4 generic list, go to GoodRx.com. (It’s free to get a card, and you may get your drugs for even less than with your insurance co-pay.)\u201d<\/p>\n Health insurance and healthcare billing remain incredibly opaque\u2014more so than any other industry I\u2019ve encountered. Brynne Conroy of Femme Frugality<\/a> has had plenty of experience with family health bills, and says the trick is to challenge them at every turn. \u201cOne thing I’ve picked up on from having to deal with these bills so often is how frequently illegal billing practices happen, or an insurance company will deny a valid claim.<\/p>\n \u201cMake sure you know what your plan covers, what the ACA dictates plans must cover, and the reason each and every claim is denied. Then, go through the process to appeal those denials, citing the law. It’s a tedious process, to be sure. But it’s one that has saved my family thousands of dollars we didn’t legally owe in 2018 alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Ready to push the boundary a little further?<\/p>\n Marilyn uses dental schools and training programs for her dentistry. \u201cThey are well supervised, but you can get your dental work done without spending thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s an example: a periodontist was going to charge me $6,000 to do gum surgery. I looked online and found a renowned dental center that trains already-working dentists on a special laser procedure, and they offered to treat peoples’ gums for FREE\u2014because the dentists need patients to work on as they train in the new procedure (which is actually less invasive and less painful than the surgery the periodontist wanted to do).\u201d<\/p>\n The same logic can be used for other medical care\u2026 if you dare!<\/p>\n People spend a shocking amount of money on massages, makeup, manicures, pedicures, hair care, razors\u2026 you name it.<\/p>\n When I say shocking, I mean in the thousands per year. A huge dent in your budget, when added together.<\/p>\n How much of it can you do yourself? Lori Cheeks ran the numbers, and she now saves over $2,000\/year, simply by doing her own manicures and pedicures.<\/p>\n My wife Katie and I took a couple\u2019s massage class. While we occasionally still indulge in a salon massage, we give each other massages to help loosen knotted muscles.<\/p>\n Marilyn Anderson saves on hair care by being a hair model. \u201cGet your hair done for free by being a hair model (check SalonApprentice.com or Craigslist under beauty, write \u2018model\u2019 in the search bar.)<\/p>\n \u201cHair salons can cost a woman hundreds of dollars every month, for cuts, blow drying, and color, so being a hair model can save them thousands of dollars.\u00a0(And you don’t need to be young, thin, or gorgeous to be a hair model. You just need one thing: HAIR!)\u201d<\/p>\n Caden Rhoton of DimeDad.com<\/a> found another place to save: his morning shave. \u201cOne of the unusual ways I\u2019ve been able to save money is by switching from shaving with cartridge razors to a double-edge safety razor. Four years ago I made an initial investment of $71.44 to buy the razor, the blades, shaving soap and a brush. Since then have only spent $16.99 on new shaving soap. If you run the numbers, I\u2019ve only spent $1.85 per month on shaving for the past four years. When you compare that to a shaving subscription that delivers blades to your house every month, you\u2019re looking at around $7\/month in shaving costs!\u201d<\/p>\n Natasha Rachel Smith from TopCashBack.com<\/a> points out just how much money most bank customers lose to fees.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom overdraft fees, monthly maintenance fees, foreign transaction fees to even a minimum balance fee, you might be paying more in fees than you\u2019re saving.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead open an account with\u00a0Chime\u00a0Bank<\/a> to live a healthier financial life and get ahead by automating your savings. Chime allows consumers to save when they spend by automatically rounding up transactions to the nearest dollar and transferring the round-up from your spending account into your savings account. The more you spend, the more you\u2019ll build your savings.<\/p>\n \u201cChime also makes it easy to save by transferring 10% of every paycheck directly into your savings account.\u201d<\/p>\n And what about your credit cards? Are they costing you money in fees, or paying you rewards?<\/p>\n2. Or cut your housing costs entirely.<\/h3>\n
![\"best-day-sell-house\"](\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/best-day-sell-house.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\n
\nRelated:<\/strong> 5 Advanced Excel Tips for a Better Home Budget<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n3. Live for free while traveling<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=biggerpocke0a-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0998989622\" "\\"\\"")
4. Live in your investment.<\/h3>\n
5. Ditch the car & bike to work.<\/h3>\n
6. Don\u2019t assume you should buy.<\/h3>\n
7. Automate savings\u2014and remove discipline from the equation.<\/h3>\n
8. Charge yourself for behavior you want to curb.<\/h3>\n
\n
\nRelated:<\/strong> Life Hacking in Pursuit of Financial Freedom: How I Add $1,500+\/Mo to My Income<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n9. Rethink eating out.<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=biggerpocke0a-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0998510408\" "\\"\\"")
10. Rethink eating in.<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/peopletalking.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n11. Rethink entertainment.<\/h3>\n
12. Get creative with medical care.<\/h3>\n
13. Get creative with grooming & personal care.<\/h3>\n
14. Bank smarter.<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/blog_ads-02.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n