Most creative and/or high value change

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ENT Doc
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Most creative and/or high value change

Post by ENT Doc »

I am curious what other people have done that was creative and/or high value from a spending perspective in order to reach certain budgetary goals?

I ditched the Mach 3 ($2 each) for single blade throw-aways ($0.25 each). I think my face wishes I got creative in other areas. :shock:
livesoft
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by livesoft »

Two creative investing things:

A. We borrowed from a 401(k) to invest in a 529 plan. This avoided high-fee funds in the 401(k) and took advantage of low-fee funds in the 529 plan. I think this might be unique on this forum.

B. We tax-loss harvested a 529 plan that lost money during 2008-2009. This is also unique on this forum.


As for shaving, everybody uses blue jeans for stropping Mach 3 blades, so they last forever.
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Phineas J. Whoopee
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Phineas J. Whoopee »

While keeping the same job, I cut my living expenses by 40%, thereby simultaneously increasing the amount I could save, and decreasing the amount I had to accumulate.
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bigred77
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by bigred77 »

I am not frugal by any means but my total expenses are an acceptable percentage of my gross income where I haven't really felt compelled to buckle down (I know there's fat I could cut, but I think I spend "efficiently" enough where I derive enough satisfaction from my spending to just leave it alone).

I have received the biggest value from being very career focused in my 20s (graduate degrees while working, earning promotions, accepting projects outside the scope of my direct responsibilities, etc.)
Carefreeap
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Carefreeap »

Not terribly creative but practicing living on a retirement income 2+ years before we retired.

This helped us focus on how we really wanted to spend our money and whether our budget was realistic. It also helped curb some livestyle creep that had occurred over the years.
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bluebolt
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by bluebolt »

Most of our accumulating years, my wife & I lived at the same budget we had when we met. Now we earn more than 3x that amount.

Recently, it allowed us to accumulate enough to buy a much nicer house than we ever thought we would. Now, except for housing expenses, the budget is still around the same as it was (inflation adjusted).

Other high-value things we've done:
Bought used cars and driven them for 10+ years. This has saved a ton on car payments, taxes & insurance.
Shop around for recurring expenses regularly. Our internet/cable bill has been under $100 for as long as I can remember, though my latest renewal is now just above that. I regularly lower my insurance bill (or mitigate my increase) by $100-$300/yr by shopping around.
Take on low-cost hobbies: hiking, cycling, photography, gardening
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Svensk Anga
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Svensk Anga »

Big bucks can be saved by going to community college for two years (while living with parents) before going off to enormous state university or private U. Several in our family have done this and graduated in reasonable time. Two had full tuition scholarships at the local college. One who went straight to state U bombed out. I think the transition is easier if done in two steps. Of course, there are lifestyle considerations for the student, but foregoing campus life may boost the success rate if our experience is a guide. Community college may mean that the student needs a car that he might not need at university.

Always pay cash for cars. The prospect of writing that big check focuses the mind wonderfully on drawing the line between needs and wants. The dealers know this, so they are always ready with "but the high trim package is only X dollars per month". Left unsaid is the total cost when multiplied by as much as 84 months. I wonder how many buy cars just because they have just finished paying off the last one. If you are not used to having a payment, you tend to put off writing that big check.

Do most home repairs and certainly painting yourself. Anyone can paint. Most other jobs can be learned. I would rather learn to do it myself than to be bothered with hiring a contractor, not even considering the cost. There is some satisfaction in self-sufficiency. Car repairs can often be done yourself, though you have to draw the line when you could create a safety issue. The auto parts store is often able to diagnose issues for you for free and may have loaner tools available. (My last repair was replacing an O2 sensor to make the check-engine light go out again.)

Years ago we signed up with our electric utility's load management program. We sold them the right to shut off our heat, A/C, and water heater as needed to trim system demand. We got $20 or so per month at a time when that much mattered (mid-1980's). Hardly ever noticed them cutting us off. We no longer live in that utility's territory. I did put in programmable thermostats in the new house. I think this was worth $350/year when we were both out working during the day.
jebmke
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by jebmke »

Got married.
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Svensk Anga
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Svensk Anga »

jebmke wrote:Got married.
Well, not terribly creative as the OP asked for, but it seems to be becoming a less common choice.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Sandtrap »

Learn from the "Bogleheads" experts.
Last edited by Sandtrap on Thu Jan 26, 2017 7:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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nyclon
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by nyclon »

ENT Doc wrote:I am curious what other people have done that was creative and/or high value from a spending perspective in order to reach certain budgetary goals?

I ditched the Mach 3 ($2 each) for single blade throw-aways ($0.25 each). I think my face wishes I got creative in other areas. :shock:
Not very creative but certainly saves money - we cut the cord on cable. Bought an antenna for $40 and use a few steaming services. Haven't looked back.
Cruise
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Cruise »

ENT Doc wrote:
I ditched the Mach 3 ($2 each) for single blade throw-aways ($0.25 each). I think my face wishes I got creative in other areas. :shock:
You don't perform cutting operations in the ER, do you Doc? :)

The best investment on the expense side of things was to get solar panels about four years ago. I now have free electricity after finally recouping the amount that I spent on the system.
bluebolt
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by bluebolt »

Sandtrap wrote:Never borrow. Never take on debt. Pay cash for everything. Save. Live well below one's means. Frugality. Save more. Idle time could be time spent earning. Never pay anyone or any company to do something that can't be done or learned to be done by oneself. (couldn't narrow that down to "most" or "most high value") but it seems very "Bogleheadish".
Never borrow seems like a money losing proposition in certain cases. My investments have outperformed my mortgage interest by a meaningful amount in every 5 year period. I've also gotten 0%/0 fee cash advances on credit cards and 0% or 1% car loans. In all of those cases, borrowing seems like a really good idea.

I do agree that high rate borrowing, and borrowing for consumables or depreciating assets in generally a bad idea.
KlangFool
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by KlangFool »

OP,

By learning from Livesoft and others in the forum, I had moved my investment around between Taxable, Roth, and Rollover/401K. In the process, I save thousands of dollar in taxes every year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Livesoft.

A shout out to the following thread from Livesoft. It is highly educational

viewtopic.php?t=87471

KlangFool
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Nearly A Moose
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Nearly A Moose »

if you're really into your shaving routine, try a double edge safety razor. $40 for a good stainless steel razor handle that will outlive you, a comparable amount for a good badger hair brush with a very long life, some modestly priced shaving soap plus an old coffee cup, and then about $15-$20 for 100 blades, which last 1-2 weeks each. I shave for about $20 a year. And it's the best shave I've ever gotten. When I travel and do carry on only, I almost cry when I have to use a "modern" razor.

Not going to change your life financially, but my gosh is it a great change.
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heyyou
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by heyyou »

As others have mentioned, when you like your current spending level, stay there as your income rises. Save your pay increases. When you max out your tax deferred savings accounts, direct further savings into a Roth IRA, then to a taxable savings account. Most 401ks allow post tax contributions. With automatic savings deposits, you never see the extra in your take-home pay. To like your current spending, instead of Rockefeller's "A little bit more," is not easy. Tame your greed.

Buy and keep reliable cars. Consider the commute when you choose your residence.
Get comfortable with telling a salesperson "I can't afford that."

Accepting that my savings rate was high enough to fund my retirement if i was patient for decades, I quit searching for better performing (riskier!) retirement investments, and stopped seeking the optimal allocation. There is a newer, better fund every year or two that will supposedly fix whatever you fear, but the market will move on to some risk that was not previously expected.
My point sounds like some Eastern philosophy about accepting good enough, instead of being greedy for more. You will end up with much more due to your saving, but you do not need more today, more return this year, etc. Patience is fullness.
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quantAndHold
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by quantAndHold »

Taught my wife to cook. I grew up cooking in a fancy restaurant. I can cook like the chefs you see on TV, but I absolutely hate doing it. So I taught my wife, who actually likes to cook but was never very good at it, all my tricks. Now we prefer to eat at home, and hardly ever go out to eat. We eat really well and still save a pile of money.
opus360
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by opus360 »

Svensk Anga wrote:Big bucks can be saved by going to community college for two years (while living with parents) before going off to enormous state university or private U. Several in our family have done this and graduated in reasonable time. Two had full tuition scholarships at the local college. One who went straight to state U bombed out. I think the transition is easier if done in two steps. Of course, there are lifestyle considerations for the student, but foregoing campus life may boost the success rate if our experience is a guide. Community college may mean that the student needs a car that he might not need at university.
Something similar to community college idea. I went to an expensive private college. To cut cost, I took "non core" classes such as history at night in a nearby college. (You can do this during summer sessions too.) Then, have the credits transferred to my college. So, I needed to take fewer courses at the expensive school, but got their name on the diploma.
Hockey10
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Hockey10 »

quantAndHold wrote:Taught my wife to cook. I grew up cooking in a fancy restaurant. I can cook like the chefs you see on TV, but I absolutely hate doing it. So I taught my wife, who actually likes to cook but was never very good at it, all my tricks. Now we prefer to eat at home, and hardly ever go out to eat. We eat really well and still save a pile of money.
This is not very creative, but we almost never eat at restaurants. My wife's hobby is cooking, so we save a ton of money by eating at home. I take her out to dinner on our anniversary and we eat out when we travel, which is not very often.
CoAndy
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by CoAndy »

Not very creative but a few years ago, quit eating lunch out while working. This is unbelievably expensive after a while. Still allow myself to do so a couple times a month.

Also, though I love sporty, fast, cars, have been driving a Honda Accord for the last 5+ years.
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kenyan
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by kenyan »

After purchasing our house, made a large number of changes to improve our budgetary situation. Most creative? I'll say - weightlifting daily.
Retirement investing is a marathon.
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kenyan
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by kenyan »

kenyan wrote:After purchasing our house, made a large number of changes to improve our budgetary situation. Most creative? I'll say - weightlifting daily.
Had to have a teaser!

Explanation: Weightlifting daily, at my (free) gym at work, during lunchtime. Instead of going out for lunch, I drink an inexpensive protein shake and grab a granola bar and some nuts, purchased in bulk. In addition to the money directly saved from bringing my lunch, I probably enjoy some ancillary financial benefits from being in the best shape of my life.
Retirement investing is a marathon.
enrohT
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by enrohT »

Google Voice App on my work phone - $20 one time fee to port personal number, sold my personal iphone and saved $100/mo on a phone plan.
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corn18
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by corn18 »

Most high value change was to take a big risk and change jobs within my company. Was doing business development for 7 years at the $4B level, was good at it but was getting pigeon holed into that for the rest of my career. Found a spot to take on a very difficult P&L position with great risk if I failed and great reward if I could pull it off (turnaround company). I pulled it off and now I have a path to many P&L jobs. I also avoided being RIFd in the latest re-org because I proved myself outside of BD. Now I have a path to a 7 figure salary within 1-3 years.

That and living below my means (not creative but certainly effective).

Corn
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Dottie57
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Dottie57 »

corn18 wrote:Most high value change was to take a big risk and change jobs within my company. Was doing business development for 7 years at the $4B level, was good at it but was getting pigeon holed into that for the rest of my career. Found a spot to take on a very difficult P&L position with great risk if I failed and great reward if I could pull it off (turnaround company). I pulled it off and now I have a path to many P&L jobs. I also avoided being RIFd in the latest re-org because I proved myself outside of BD. Now I have a path to a 7 figure salary within 1-3 years.

That and living below my means (not creative but certainly effective).

Corn

Don't know the meaning of abbreviations. RIF, BD, $4B. More plain talk please.
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gunn_show
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by gunn_show »

Dottie57 wrote:
corn18 wrote:Most high value change was to take a big risk and change jobs within my company. Was doing business development for 7 years at the $4B level, was good at it but was getting pigeon holed into that for the rest of my career. Found a spot to take on a very difficult P&L position with great risk if I failed and great reward if I could pull it off (turnaround company). I pulled it off and now I have a path to many P&L jobs. I also avoided being RIFd in the latest re-org because I proved myself outside of BD. Now I have a path to a 7 figure salary within 1-3 years.

That and living below my means (not creative but certainly effective).

Corn

Don't know the meaning of abbreviations. RIF, BD, $4B. More plain talk please.
corn18 told an impressive tale so I will give layman's terms .. to avoid megacorp layoffs (RIF) he expanded beyond his experience in business development (BD) at a $4billion firm ($4b) by taking a P&L management position (running profit/loss basically managing people and business unit) at a smaller firm that he was able to improve through his P&L skills. By doing this, and having top-notch P&L management level skills, you can open up many jobs up the stack. This is true at my mega tech firm, thus I am very impressed. It is somewhat of a holy grail level position, moves you out of IC level (individual contributor) to senior management, which, as he noted, takes you to next level pay scales.

corn18 are you in silicon valley (or SF) region for work? from your post, I take it you don't want to get to specific, but I'm curious...
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triceratop
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by triceratop »

I intentionally lived at my parents' place for a month to save on expenses; of course, it was nominally to visit them. 8-)

I also went to grad school; that is a fine way to save on taxes, since one is not likely to make as much money as if one has a job. But more directly, I also found that if one sources their income in a particular way while in grad school then no FICA taxes are owed; of course, one cannot contribute to a Roth either, but that seems acceptable.

Sorry, I've not had a chance to be too creative.
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corn18
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by corn18 »

gunn_show wrote:
Dottie57 wrote:
corn18 wrote:Most high value change was to take a big risk and change jobs within my company. Was doing business development for 7 years at the $4B level, was good at it but was getting pigeon holed into that for the rest of my career. Found a spot to take on a very difficult P&L position with great risk if I failed and great reward if I could pull it off (turnaround company). I pulled it off and now I have a path to many P&L jobs. I also avoided being RIFd in the latest re-org because I proved myself outside of BD. Now I have a path to a 7 figure salary within 1-3 years.

That and living below my means (not creative but certainly effective).

Corn

Don't know the meaning of abbreviations. RIF, BD, $4B. More plain talk please.
corn18 told an impressive tale so I will give layman's terms .. to avoid megacorp layoffs (RIF) he expanded beyond his experience in business development (BD) at a $4billion firm ($4b) by taking a P&L management position (running profit/loss basically managing people and business unit) at a smaller firm that he was able to improve through his P&L skills. By doing this, and having top-notch P&L management level skills, you can open up many jobs up the stack. This is true at my mega tech firm, thus I am very impressed. It is somewhat of a holy grail level position, moves you out of IC level (individual contributor) to senior management, which, as he noted, takes you to next level pay scales.

corn18 are you in silicon valley (or SF) region for work? from your post, I take it you don't want to get to specific, but I'm curious...
You called it, although I am part of an $11B defense firm.
Consistently sets low goals and fails to achieve them.
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Watty
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Watty »

Grew a beard so all I shave is my neck. :D

For many years I committed to saving half of any future raises. That is doubly beneficial since you not only build up your savings but you also keep a more moderate standard of living.

I only have only had a one car loan in my life which I paid off early. Other than that I paid cash for my cars. That not only saves you interest but it has also helped me buy less expensive cars sine writing a check for thousands of dollars more is more painful than having a slightly larger car payment.
Cruise
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Cruise »

enrohT wrote:Google Voice App on my work phone - $20 one time fee to port personal number, sold my personal iphone and saved $100/mo on a phone plan.
A bit OT, but could you explain how this works? Does the ported personal number ring on your work cellphone?
monsterid
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by monsterid »

I use credit card churn (and the associated points) to pay for virtually all my vacations. Usually get 2-3 long haul flights a year out of it plus some hotel stays.

Allows me to keep traveling (which I love) without significantly compromising my savings rate.
Ella
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Re: Most creative and/or high value change

Post by Ella »

Started using Quicken to track my spending and plan my annual budget.

Before that, I did everything manually on an Excel spreadsheet.

The difference?
1. I can review and intentionally change my spending (in specific categories and overall) much better.
2. I can know with much more certainty what my projected income and expenses are, so that I can plan my saving more accurately.
3. As a result of 1 and 2, I was able to raise my savings rate from 30+% to 50%.

Ella
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