Saving is a Good Thing

Saving Money does not happen when you are shopping. It happens when you lower your budget or save that windfall. Saving means spending sometimes. If you rent a place for $600 a month you can likely find a house or mobile home thart you can afford. Now if you can't stay employed for multiple years then you must clean up your work record as well as your finances before buying a house.

Let's say you find a snug little 3 bedroom 1 bath home and buy it. You will not be buying in the best neighborhoods; after all you are not rich...yet. You can get a room mate that will pay you $350 a month plus half the utilities. Similar to when you were renting except that as the landlord you can add the rent money to your mortgage payment, you will find that your mortgage disappears much quicker. Now you have tax credits for mortgage interest. If you dump your tax return into your house or pay down a credit card; you will find that you are nearing a cash basis. If you have experience with roommates you know you may end up renting to a bum. don't count on the rent money or the money for the utilities.

Of course this lifestyle rises in value the longer you adhere it. This also means that you won't be buying the most expensive car that meets your needs, it means you choose a used Prius. Shoes and purses carried by the stars are not in your budget. bring your lunch twice a week and stop for beer on Friday. If you bring your lunch all week and you can save up to $50 a week.

You deserve nothing. You must earn everything. Frugality rules. Teach yourself about money. Get rich slow, it's a more rewarding trip. Put your money to work for you. Build a rainy day fund. You should open a brokerage account as soon as you can. This will give you access to buyiong and selling stocks, bonds, ETFs and others. Use the account to educate yourself, thre are loads of tutorials on these platforms.

Once educated, use the system to create a pretend portfolio that will track your returns; giving you a chance to observe real market swings. Once aclimatized to market flucuations, you should risk a little money and buy some stock, sell a covered call and you are off and running. Economics dictates that you educate yourself instead of pounding beers all night. This accomplishes two things, first you learn, second you don't spend your beer money!

Open a side business as an LLC and get all your taxes in line (sales and income). The United States tax system is built around supporting business at all levels. The government calulates that it costs you $.50 a mile to drive a passenger car. If your business requires you to use your personal car (your Prius) then you can cl;aim the round trip mileage if you document the trip There is much more to running a business. Your memory is faulty and selective; document any spending immediately and save all reciepts. Documentation is the difference between fines and rewards.

Formal classes are a better learning result for some. I am a proponent of self education. Amazingly some college courses are offered on the internet for free if you just want to learn. The fewer vices you have the better. Alcohol can lead to stupid decisions and DUI's. You don't prfit from these results. You have about 5 hours each day to drink, party, study, learn, eat out. The more time you spend learning the less you will spend on consumables. Don't let your friends anchor you to a lifestyle. Sober thinking is the best.