Congrats Janie #71, I know that feels great!

I make a lot of money these days but I don’t take it for granted. I don’t let my lifestyle inflate to match my recent pay inflation. Instead I picked a goal, made a budget on Googles Docs Spreadsheet and then went methodically through my expenses to trim out the fat. Every few months I look again to cut expenses; sometimes opportunities for saving come up due to a fresh look at things. What I did so far is…

- cut out the premium channels on cable. Down to basic.
- cut my cell phone minutes and text message limits
- eliminated the gym membership
- donated and sold stuff to reduce my stuff to the point that I could close a rented storage
- my credit score went up so I went shopping for insurance and was able to reduce my premiums
- weatherized windows/doors for Summer/Fall which not only saved me money but I was more comfortable during the winter since moisture was retained.
- I asked a neighbor if I can pay him $10 a month to use his wireless Internet which he agreed to. So I eliminated Cable Internet. If I can learn to live on streaming TV on the Internet i may be able to eliminate my basic cable too.

I once read that a young woman who was deeply in credit card debt so she moved out of her apartment and lived in her car for nearly a year. She signed up for a one year gym membership so that in the morning after waking up in her car she could go in get a workout and then shower for the day. It was genius since she got out of debt in one year instead of ten years which would have cost her three times as much due to compounding interest against her.

The point is, if there is a will there is a way. My expenses are $2000 per month but if i really had to I could cut that more than half. If you think you have cut as much as you can than watch the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” and tell me that you are sacrificing and persevering enough.

Very well done!!!

I have a budget running on $2,000 take home as well. However that is after I contribute 16% of income to 401k etc. which is unusual for my age. I have some school loans and a mortgage (but on a LOW interest rate). My wife will be working soon after she finishes grad school.

I love the idea of featuring success stories more often and more prominently on GRS. “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” has an epilogue made up entirely of success letters Amy D. received over the years, and it’s by far my favorite part of an already awesome book …

We’re all prisoners of our paradigms!

It could really be a benefit to find make some friends in lower income groups, and especially among immigrants. We can all learn so much from them and from the ways they live on so much less money, and often live surprisingly well.

We might find that a few of the expensive props we think of as necessities aren’t anything of the kind.

I personally don’t do much better than 24k a year myself.

Granted I do better than that because I do try to take on other opportunities. I am constantly looking for ways to switch jobs and make more money too. But it just doesn’t fall out of the sky.

I’d wager Jay probably lives in a low cost of living area like I do, shares lodging with others to make it cost very little like I do, and lives hand to mouth like I do. Would you believe I’ve spent less than $1000 a month before? I have.

Remember that there’s only 1 job for every 3 college graduates and that figure is 2 years old, before the big crash so no telling how terrible it is now.

-DC

Knowing the mechanics of how it was done is really the key in these stories…

A forum where readers could also post their goals would be great, to allow others to help keep them on track. Making yourself accountable to others is one of the best ways I know to achieve a goal. I’m using it to stick to my low fat lifestyle but involving my friends and family.

Just reading some of the comments on various posts reveals some interesting stories out there in the readership.

The thing that really started things off for me was reading Dave Ramsy’s “Total Money Makeover”. He does a great job of working on the psychology of money and debt and gave me that AHA! moment that made me hate my bad debt with enough intensity that I just did whatever needed to be done to get rid of it.

Also, create a written budget and a written plan for getting out of debt / saving / investing / whatever you’re trying to accomplish, and revisit it often to see if you’re on track or if adjustments can be made to help you achieve you goals faster!

There are many great books out there but I suggest starting with “Total Money Makeover” and just keep reading Get Rich Slowly! JD does a great job of writing relevant posts for getting out of debt, saving, setting goals and staying on track!

I can really relate to this success. I remember the surge of joy I felt when I made the VERY LAST payment on a medical debt that had been dragging on for years. There were some months I only paid $25 on that debt, and once or twice I skipped a month, but in the end the lady in the billing office thanked me and acknowledged my integrity & dedication. (The $900 she took off near the end helped a lot too!! ) I also remember doing a budget way back when and seeing how well I could do on $2000/mo – except that I wasn’t making that much! I did manage to get my income up eventually, and since then I’ve kept my living expenses at that level, with any take-home pay over that going straight into my savings and retirement accounts. I’ve also been working on living as well on even less. It’s a great feeling.

Thanks for any help!