1001 Frugal Things to Do

Hi people,

I realised that a lot of people are really concerned about saving money and stuff. So I have scoured the internet and forums for a list of things that people do to be frugal and to save that extra bit of money. I don't do all these stuff listed here (okay, the list here does not run to 1000) but at least it gives you an idea of what others are doing to save money and how you can incorporate it into your very own spending habits. You will be amazed at some of the ideas suggested here!

1001 Ways to Save Money and Be Frugal

• Buying food that is about to spoil. Supermarkets offer steep discounts for food that is going to expire. They are not fresh but they are definitely safe for eating!

• Free entertainment and books at the library.

• Cook and Eat at home

• Eat at a friend's place

• Unplug devices in the house that you are not using

• Switch off all lights

• Keep thermostat down, use blankets to stay warm

• Dry 2 loads of clothes at once

• Set the dryer to 10 minutes shorter than usual

• Use the dryer with 2 dry towels. It seems to make the clothes dry faster.

• Use formula milk + vinegar for pancakes instead of buttermilk as stated in recipes

• Don't buy Starbucks

• Make your own coffee and carry it around in a travel mug

• Drink nothing but water the whole day

• Stock up on items that are on sale.

• Hang up clothes to dry instead of using the dryer

• Switch off the aircon in the car

• Don't bring money out with you.

• Eat left overs for your next meal

• Exercise to keep warm (for those in cold countries)

• Use Skype instead of phoning for long distance calls

• Cancel channels that you are not watching on cable TV

• Use the microwave to warm up a cup of water instead of boiling an entire kettle full

• Carpooling

• Shop at the dollar store or those 1.99 shops

• Buy petrol that is cheaper

• check whether your company offers discounted rates for your mobile phone plans

• Use those discount coupons at the store.

• Take a shower at the gym

• Set timers to your thermostat or airconditioner

• Re-use your valentine day cards

• Shower in cold water.

• Wash your disposable utensils and re-use them

• pack a lunch box for the kids

• Buy and sell your own house to save on the commissions

• Paint your own house

• Repair your own house

• Grow your own vegetables

• Cut your own hair

• Color your own hair

• Do your own facial

• Wash your own car

• turn off that home-shopping channel on TV

• Wax your own car

• Walk to work

• Use a fan instead of the airconditioner

• Take a nap

• take public transport

• Don't upsize your meals

• Avoid jam packed roads to save on petrol

• Take the budget airlines

• Accept old furniture from friends and relatives

• Dig out old clothes to wear instead of going shopping

• Get husband or wife to hand deliver things instead of wasting money on postage

• Call up the diaper company for free sample diapers
  

• Call up the milk company for free samples of formula milk

• Turn the car engine off when waiting for someone

So here you have a comprehensive list of things that you can do to save money and be frugal. Any other great ideas to share? Feel free to leave a comment!

How The Rich Get Richer By Robert Kiyosaki

Okay, I admit the title of this post is misleading.

Yesterday, I read this article on Yahoo that was written by Robert Kiyosaki on Why the Rich Get Richer.

Somehow, I just cannot seem to find the article now.

Anyway, after digesting it and reflecting on it, I realised that Robert Kiyosaki was sharing something of immense importance.

He recounted the story on how he called up a property agent to enquire about the price of a building once. It cost $2 million dollars! That was way out of his budget. Furthermore, the building was only being rented out to a few tenants and Robert Kiyosaki felt that the rental income was not able to justify the 2 million price tag.

As a result, he did not pursue this property.

Years later, he discovered that someone actually bought the property, tore it down and built a new building. It was sold for $150 million dollars.

He shared that it was then that he discovered how his thoughts had led him to the conclusion that the property was not a good investment. He was limited by his own thoughts and was thus not willing to see why the 2million price tag was justified.

This is related to my previous posting on our desire is to achieve our goals.

Desire is linked to thoughts and if we do not cultivate the correct kind of thoughts in our heads, these will become stumbling blocks in our journey towards our goals.

Electricity Bill

I am so ashamed of myself.

After writing an article about saving electricity, I was dismayed to find out that my electricity bills for this month was a record HIGH for the past 6 months.

The bill added up to slightly over a $110. That is for my little family of three living in small flat of around 900sqft.

Perhaps it was due to the higher tariffs on electricity this month....but still no excuses...

I think one of the main reasons for the sharp rise in my electricity bills is due to the fact that I have been switching on the air conditioner too often while working on my blogs. The weather does get a bit hot and stuffy at times in Singapore. Yes, even during the nights!

It also does not help that the little one has been switching on every switch in the house that he can get his little finger on. (we discovered that the iron was switched ON for an ENTIRE day when we returned home one weekend)

The next month will be a challenging one as I try to lower my electricity consumption for the entire household.

That means less of the aircon and switching off all unused lights. I will update on my progress next month.

Read Related Articles:
1. Top 10 Money Saving Tips
2. Save Electricity, Save Money
3. Retire Young, Retire Rich
4. 3 Key Lessons from Rich Dad Poor Dad
5. 3 Sources of Passive Income

Think and Grow Rich

Today, I was reminded on the importance of thoughts and how it can affect our actions. You see, I was reading through the book written by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich.

Napoleon Hill's book is indeed a classic. I once speed read through it a long time ago and realised that I have forgotten most of what I have read.

(I do not know why but sometimes I get a sense of guilt reading this kind of books. You know the feeling like I don't want to be caught by anyone reading this books which are "frown upon" by some. I do not know why I get these kind of thoughts but I guess that people are just very against these kind of Get Rich books that are out in the market and are totally skeptical of its contents.) - Its the same kind of guilt feeling when I am afraid that others find out I am not holding a normal 8 to 5 job

Anyway, upon reading it again, I discovered new gems within this book.

Firstly, it taught me that I ought to share with others what I learn through reading the book. In this way, it will help to reinforce whatever I have learnt.

Secondly, it said that I ought to read and chew on the book slowly instead of devouring it in one entire sitting.

The lesson that I gleaned from the book today was about DESIRE. Do we really DESIRE the things that we pursue. DESIRE is such a strong word that when it totally consumes us, it translates to ACTION.

Do I truly DESIRE to earn $10 per day using Adsense?
Do I DESIRE to travel the world and be a full time blogger?
Do I DESIRE to earn a passive income that surpasses my monthly expenditure?

What am I willing to give in return for these DESIRES?

Just some food for thought.

I Have Joined Twitter

After hearing about Twitter so often, I have decided to sign up for an account to just check out what the fuss is all about.

Afterall, I heard that President Obama is on Twitter. I wonder whether any of our local Minsters are on Twitter too.

Anyway, since I am twitter, you guys can follow me too:

http://twitter.com/sgfinancialfree

Earn $10 A Day Using Adsense

I looked back at this posting that I made in Aug 2008. You can view it here.

I am very pleased to announce to all that I have managed to accomplish this goal of earning $1 a day from online income sources.

It did take me a much longer time than I had originally expected. I thought I could easily hit my $1 a day target within a few months.

Little did I expect to take over a year to hit my target.

Anyway, I am happy that I have managed to achieve a goal that I had set out earlier. It shows that I am travelling in the correct direction. Each little step that I take is just part of a journey that I have mapped out for myself.

Yes...sometimes I do not attain success as quickly as I would have liked. What is important is that I achieve it at the end of the day.

My next Adsense earning target will be to hit $10 a day. How long will I take to achieve this?

I really do not know. I am hoping that I can do it within a few months...but I will not be surprised if it takes another year.

To hit $10 a day in earnings, I will need roughly 3000 page views per day or 1500 unique visitors a day (with each visitor having an average of 2 page views).

I estimate that I currently have around 200 loyal readers who visit this site around once in 2 days.

This means that I need to grow my readership by 7 times.

Buy a Property or Invest in REITs?

I have always wondered whether it is better for a person without much money or capital to invest in a property or to invest in real estate investment trusts. (Please read here if you have no idea what a real estate investment trust is)

Let's assume that a person has $100,000 in spare cash and is earning a decent salary.

With $100,000 he could pay a 20% downpayment on a $500,000 condo. He could easily rent out this condo for $2500 to $3000 per month. Excluding the estimated $1500 mortgage loan he will have to pay every month, he can potentially receive up to $1500 in rental income if he chooses to buy a property.

He will be getting a decent 18% rental yield based on his intial $100,000 investment. In addition, the rental income is paid monthly compared to a REIT's quarterly or semi-annual distributions. However, to invest in a property, a large amount of capital is needed for the downpayment. You also need to worry about obtaining a bank loan especially if the property is your 2nd property.

With a REIT, he will only be able to manage around 6% to 10% yield. He however needs a much smaller capital. With the REIT, he does not need to worry about tenants, collecting rents and stuff.

He can also diversify his money across various REIT sectors like serviced apartments, retail, industrial, malls and office space. Thus, his returns should be much more stable. He will have less to worry about in a certain sense.

I still believe that investing in property is much more profitable than investing in a REIT. However, REITs provide diversification oppurtunities, are more liquid, and much less cumbersome to manage.

Just my 2 cents

Read Related Articles:
1. Investing in REITs
2. Investing in Rental Property