Making less than 1k a month means not only living on a small budget, but also making it work for the 'extra' things in life. Things happen. Stuff goes wrong. Emergencies appear. The stuff besides normal bills. Here are some ways we avoid them being unmanageable.
Firstly, the car. I paid 5k for my car. I paid cash. My previous one had been totaled in a crash, and that gave me 2500 from the insurance company for my old car, which had been an impala. I had to use my saved up money to foot the rest for this car, but it has been the best car I have ever had. It never has leaked oil or antifreeze, like my two previous cars, and it has yet to have broken down on me, or refuse to start for no reason. I appreciate my car, even though I had to use up my whole savings at the time to get it. It is a grand am.
Now, the thing is, this isn't a new shiny car. This car is 15 years old. It has no special features, but it functions, frustration free, for the most part. To me, that is worth more than any amount of amenities. My car is reliable.
To avoid having to pay as much for repairs, here are some things I do for the upkeep of my car, since it takes me a looooong time to save up bulk money, being so low income.
Firstly, years ago, I bought a free oil change certificate. It was 500 bucks up front, but it lasts thru 2019, free oil changes whenever I need, which is typically 3 or 4 times a year, because I really don't drive often, so sometimes need one less often. I bought it in 2011. 27 bucks for an oil change (at the place I get mine done at that is the cost for one if I didn't have my free thingie) times even just 3 oil changes a year is 81 dollars. 81 dollars times 8 years is 648 bucks. Again, that is if I only get 3 oil changes, which many years I have gotten 4.
I saved over 150 bucks in the long run. I never have to worry now about coming up with the money every 3 to 4 months for another oil change. I never have to deal with that tiny bit of stress, and my car, she always has no reason to suffer because I had to stretch out until I could find the money, or time, to take her to get her oil changed. Working part time, and living off of that, instead of full time, means more time for things like appointments, and less distress about having to do things like that.
Another thing I do, is utilize my dad. My father works for a large company that runs huge trucks, fork lifts, and so on. They have a 25% discount on all parts. The employees, as part of working there, get to utilize that for themselves and their own vehicles, and so my dad can order any car, truck, or whatever part, and get 25% discounted off from the business price for the parts that is discounted in the first place.
I realize not everyone has this, but it helps a lot. You cannot avoid that a mechanic will want man hours for working, but you can avoid having to be price gouged on car stock. I only didn't use my dad's discount one time, and they wanted over 1k, for the repairs, for parts my dad said later were worth maybe 200 bucks. I learned my lesson. Don't let mechanics tell you stuff that pressures you into buying from them. If they won't work with you, don't stay. Providing my own parts for repairs is a huge life saver. Even if you cannot get a 25% off discount, it is still saving you the 100 buck average added on for the mechanic place buying and ordering for you, and then choosing high cost brands, if you bring your own parts.
Another thing, is learn how to do really simple things yourself. They wanted me to pay almost 80 bucks to put in an air filter. I bought one at Walmart for 8 bucks and put it in myself. I bought a thing of antifreeze, and a thing of oil, and if my fluids need topped off, I can do it, and don't have to worry about my car needing repaired sooner because it didn't have what it needed. (Always half your antifreeze with water. Never buy the premixed stuff. You are paying extra for WATER)
I air my own tires. I know how to change a tire. I am NOT a mechanic. I couldn't tell you how to do most things, but I can buy my own spark plugs and put them in, tell if they are doing well by being cocoa brown, and save a bundle. Most simple things like that there are how to vids on youtube for. Seriously, save the money, put in half an hour or less of effort.
Say, it isn't the car, but something else you are saving for. My hair. I take my own dye. 6 bucks for the box of dye saves me 40 bucks off my hair salon bill. I only get my hair dyed when I can afford it, even though I love it being blue. I have my own shaving clippers and that way have to get my hair cut less often. Providing the dye is the same concept as providing the part. Don't pay them for their expensive stuff when you can save the money.
I don't get my nails done, drink coffee, or go drinking. Those are all costs I almost don't see. I do go out to eat probably 4 to 5 times a year, but restaurant food is usually not as healthy for a person, so we avoid it for that reason as much as the money, and when we do go out to eat, we get meals that are huge serving sizes, so we can doggie bag it home and make a second meal out of it. We go to the movies probably 4 times a year, and we don't buy popcorn or soda pop there, but just enjoy the movie. We save up for something fun each summer, like a trip to a national park, or amusement park, or something. The rest all goes toward presents, because I have a huge family, and so birthdays and Christmas add up, but again, I do Bing searches, Microsoft rewards and get amazon money to help with that cost. 5 bucks a month helps. Everything adds up.
If I need new shoes or clothes, those tend to be what I ask for as presents for my own birthday/Christmas list. I can make bath salts, cleaner, laundry soap, so on. Most of those things are super easy and cheap to make. I do not use a vacuum, because our carpet is so shallow, so only need to sweep.
Using a flashlight for light at night or the light from the computer screen/tv screen instead of turning on lights for every little thing, or worse, just leaving them on, is just good sense to me. My eyes are sensitive to light anyhoo, so I don't use lights, but my wife, she needs light at night sometimes, and those are the things she uses. Batteries usually last most of the year, versus adding cost to our electric bill. I already said we don't keep things plugged in.
We are both homebodies, so we don't like going out to stuff. Neither of us are into clubs, bars, hangouts, and such. We like spending our time together, and we like cheap/ free entertainment. Honestly, with having internet, you can find almost any kind of game, show, articles, comedy, comics, books, or whatever for free. Why pay for cable? Why spend extra on a magazine? Why rob yourself for things you don't need to?
We don't wear make up. It isn't good for your skin unless you buy the sunscreen crap that costs way too much, so why bother? We don't buy jewelry, or hardly wear that. Most of what I have is from when I was a teenager or from my early 20s. We walk if a place is close, instead of driving just because it would be faster. Working part time, again, I get that luxury. I don't have to rush through everything. I can hold hands with my wife and walk 10 minutes instead of hurrying over if we want.
We have a cat. We save on cat treats by buying a small bag of cat food, and she thinks it is a treat to eat them because it is not her normal food. 5 bucks for a bag of food is cheaper than 1 or 2 bucks for a tiny bag of actual treats. My wife 'treats' our cat probably 2 or 3 times a day, and she can give the cat several of the 'treats' instead of just one. Our cat is happy and doesn't know the difference. We use old hair ties, milk rings, small boxes with treats in them, and strings with feathers on the end for toys. Why buy a fake mouse she won't even play with? Just be careful if your cat is a string eater. Our cat doesn't eat it at all.
I am paperless on most bill pays because a lot of places will actually discount you for doing so. Not my rent, though. They want an extra amount to pay that online, so I take my rent check instead, because it is much cheaper. I notice when things do cost extra. When I signed up for my phone service, I insisted they put a block up for premium texting ON the day I opened the account. I avoided ever having to deal with it in the future. I use hydrogen peroxide to keep my kitchen drain unclogged, the sink smelling better, and it means preventing ever having to deal with my sink backing up. I wash my dishes by hand, because it is so much cheaper.
I could go on and on. There are tons of ways to make things cost you less, to avoid the cost ever coming up in the future. Prevent and avoid are my methods to saving. Saving up is much less stressful when there is less to save up for. The examples are endless, but hopefully this helps someone else get creative with their own budget.
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