How Would You Spend $100?

A few days back, I wrote a posting on 1001 Frugal Things To Do

It seems like a lot of people have many crazy and wicked ideas on how to save money. I particularly liked La Papilion's suggestion on going to Macs to store up on chilli and ketchup.

Anyway, I thought today was a good day to write about spending instead of saving.

Many people are adverse to the word SAVING.

The reason for that could be that they do not know what they are saving for or they just do not like their spending power to be limited.

That is why you do not get people who follow their monthly budgets. We all have budgets but we most probably can't stick to one (okay, perhaps those who go to Macs for chilli and ketchup top-ups are able to do so)

So let's turn the game around. Instead of asking you to stick to a budget...let's say that I am giving you $100 today and demand that you spend EVERY single cent, what would you spend it on?

This is basically what a budget is about. If your monthly budget for spending money is $3000, and saving the remainder(that is after excluding all your fixed expenses like mortgage loans and car loans), go and work out a daily budget for yourself and figure out how you are going to spend every single cent of that budget that you have given yourself.

Here is how I might spend that $100

1. $20 on a bottle of wine

2. $15 on a book to read

3. $40 for a nice dinner for two

4. $25 for some home accessories to make my home more homely and beautiful

Doesn't this way of thinking make budgeting much more fun? How would you spend yours?

Save On Home Repairs

I just fixed some leaking shower head recently and realised that it was really a simple task! Saving on home repairs is much simpler than I thought it would be.

Recently, the shower in my bathroom started to leak and water seemed to be squirting out of the hose that linked to the shower head. There was an obvious crack and it need replacing.

You see...the problem is ...in all my years of schooling or staying at home with mum and dad's, I have never had to fixed a broken shower head.

If I were ten years younger, I would have just called the plumber or repairman in.

But the wife looked at me squarely in the eye and said: "My father says that it is really easy to fix it. Just go buy another of those things and it can be done."

So I went out and bought those bendy flexible pipes (I am not sure what you call those things) for less than $10 from one of those provision stores and returned home.

I was not even sure how to get started and there were no instruction manuals or stuff that came with the piping system!

To cut the long story short, I just simply unscrewed the shower head from the pipe that it was connected to and replaced it with the new one. It took me less than 5 minutes to get the job done! It was that simple.

I felt like a man...a real man ..you know what I mean? Like some young boy who had just crossed into manhood.

Anyway, I figured that I must have save a good thirty to forty dollars repairing the stuff myself instead of calling a plumber. Looking back at how easy the task was, I think the plumber would most probably be laughing his head off after fixing it for me as it was REALLY such a simple task! Just screw it off and screw it on...

Anyway, I realised that everyone could do with some tips on saving on home repairs:

1. Get Free DIY advice. Search the internet or youtube.com to look for how-to videos to carry out simple procedures like fixing a tap or replacing the light bulbs.

2. Learn Their Lingo. To cut the best deal from those contractors and repairmen, you need to be able to speak their lingo. If you are not able to speak their lingo, they will know that you know next to nothing. Before calling on them, be sure to check out forums and sites to be better informed so as to be able to speak their language. (For example, I was getting a quote for window grilles recently and searched a few forums to find out what was the average price that people were charging for window grilles. In addition, I learnt that they charged window grilles per square foot so when calling the contractors for a quote, I simply asked them how much were they charging per square foot of aluminium bronze colored window grilles. When I did not asked them how much they were charging, they simply offered to come down to my place to do some m easurements.)

3. Get 3 quotes or more. Try to get 3 quotations or more whenever you plan to repair something. You will be amazed at how much money you can save.

Read Related Articles:

1. Save Electricity Save Money

2. 1001 Frugal Things to Do

3. Top Ten Money Saving Tips For Financial Freedom

10 Things That Would Make Women Happier

Okay, so yesterday I posted a list of 10 things that would apparently make men happier. Today, I will share with you 10 Things that would make women happier:

1. A permanently clean home

2. A luxury trip

3. A big house

4. Losing 10 pounds

5. A great body

6. Time for themselves

7. A really romantic relationship

8. Being smarter

9. Saying "no" more

10. A luxury car

So what can we gentlemen learn from this list?

1. Help Out With The Housework! Get out of that seat and start clearing up the mess that you make.

2. Start saving money for that luxury trip

3. Start earning more money to afford a big house

4. Hide those mirrors or bring the wife out for a jog

5. Same as above...

6. Offer to baby sit and let the wife go shopping.

7. Buy some flowers today. Don't wait for some special occassion

8. Buy her a book

9. Let her say "no" more often. Ask questions that will lead her to say "No!"

10. Buy a car or rent a luxury car for the day.

10 Things That Would Make Men Happier

Here is a list of 10 things that would make men happier. (Note: I ripped this off a magazine so do not ask me how accurate the data is. Only a few thousand were surveyed)

1. A Big House

2. A really romantic relationship

3. A luxury trip

4. Being smarter

5. A luxury car

6. A better sex life

7. A great body (Will the below suffice?)
8. A permanently clean home

9. Losing 10 pounds

10. Having a pretty personal assistant

Read Related Articles:

1. How To Achieve Financial Freedom

2. Don't Run The Rat Race

5 Things You Cannot Buy with $8.55 Million

So this young chap (should I still call him a chap?) from Michigan won the poker tournament. Cada is only 21 years old and he has already won a cool $8.55 Million dollars!

But wait a minute... before going off thinking that this chap will most probably be able to afford every single thing on planet earth, here are 5 things that he still will not be able to afford:

1. Patek Phillipe's Supercomplication ($11 Million)

Sorry dude. Think you can go shopping for a watch already? This watch alone will set you back by $11 million. You most probably need to go for another round of poker before you can afford it.

2. A House in Singapore (estimated $120 million)

Did we tell you that houses and property prices are soaring in Singapore. Want to live in one of those good class bungalows? How about the Arwaa Mansion? That will cost you a cool $120 million in Singapore dollars. Yep, you can convert your US currency to Sing dollars but it won't get you anywhere that figure.

3. Dragon's Chair ($27.8 Million)
Need a nice chair to play poker in. How about this dragon chair? This chair that was formerly owned by Yves Saint Laurent and costs a whopping $27.8 million. You will most probably need to find another chair to play poker in.

4. Wayne Rooney (>20 million pounds)

Step aside for Wayne Rooney. With a mere $8 over million in winnings, you cannot even afford the transfer fee which he commanded when he made the switch from Everton to Manchester United. That guy in the background? Anderson? Oops..18 million pounds...sorry dude..way out of your budget too. With the weakening USD, you most probably need to win another 3 more tournaments before you can afford to buy Anderson.

5. 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe ($9.7 million)

So perhaps you think you will just settle for a really cool car.. but oops.. the winnings still won't get you near this car. This 1931 Bugatti is only one of six cars ever made. This example was sold way back in 1987 at the price tag of $9.7million and if you know what inflation is, you won't be able to get it at that price today.

So there you have it! Five items you cannot buy even if you win $8.55million.

If I had the time, I could probably bring the list to a whopping 100!

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.