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Tip #1 Avoid Spontaneous and Emotional Purchases – Never buy anything on impulse or on emotion. It is almost always the wrong thing to do. That spontaneous or emotional purchase will lose its luster after only a few weeks. Then you’re stuck with something you don’t need and that does not generate any income.
Tip #2 Avoid Want Spending – Want Spenders spend more money than they make on their wants. They surrender to instant gratification, eschewing saving in order to buy things they want now: 60 inch TVs, nice vacations, expensive cars, bigger homes and jewelry. They also spend too much money at bars and restaurants. Worse, they incur debt in order to finance their standard of living. Want Spenders have been brainwashed by advertisers and a consumerist society into buying things they do not need.
Tip #3 Never Gamble
Tip #4 Same House, Same Spouse, Same Car:
- Same House – Do not upsize or supersize your home. The self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits Study stayed in their home, even after their children left the nest. Don’t sell your home until you are ready to retire or until death.
- Same Spouse – Divorce is financial suicide. Divorce sets you back 10 years or more.
- Same Car – Purchase your automobiles and drive them for ten years or more. Goal should be to reach 200,000 miles or more on each car
Tip #5 Be Frugal, Not Cheap – Being Frugal is very different from being Cheap. Frugal people focus on getting the highest quality product or service and then bargain shop to find the lowest price. Cheap people focus on the price and not the quality of products and services.
Tip #6 – Spending Guidelines – Below is some spending data I uncovered from interviewing 177 Self-Made Millionaires for my Rich Habits Study:
- 8% shopped at Goodwill stores
- 20% used coupons
- 64% said they lived in a modest, middle-class home
- 28% mowed their own lawn to save money
- 44% only purchased used cars. These were typically cars coming off of a two or three-year lease.
- 41% spent less than $3,000 on their annual vacation
- Spend no more than 25% of your Annual Net Pay on Housing Costs
- Spend no more than 5% of your Annual Net Pay on Car Costs
Tip #7 – 100 Day Credit Card Challenge
Using credit cards is so easy. But credit card use can easily get out of control. If you rely on credit cards to pay for ordinary living expenses, that means you are living beyond your means.
For 100 days try to go without using credit cards. Having to use cash or your ATM card forces spending awareness and restricts how much you can spend.
Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner and author of “Rich Kids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life”, Effort-Less Wealth, Change Your Habits Change Your Life, Rich Habits Poor Habits and “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.”
The specificity of these guidelines is very good. Specificity makes the abstract concrete. Now the goal can be measured. However, reaching 200,000 miles on a vehicle should be done with some analysis. There’s a point at which it’s better to consider money spent as a sunk cost and that buying a newer, more reliable, or better vehicle is a wise choice. For example, some maintenance costs can also mean you’re without a vehicle for a week or more, and the disruption should be figured into your costs. Newer vehicles might be much better gas mileage or have improved safety features. Also, maybe the pickup truck or minivan fit a different season of your life. Still, a great way to save money is to buy a vehicle you can stick with until either the wheels fall off or 10 years.
might be = might have
Hey Tim. I’m experimenting right now with the “same car” strategy. When I bought me car in 2013, it was after my Rich Habits Study and analysis was completed. So, I decided I was going to buy a car and see if I could get 250,000 miles out of it. I noticed that at about 125,000 miles certain “big costs” began to happen: #1 Replaced Serpentine belt at 125,000 – about $500. #2 Replace Water Pump at 175,000 – this also required replacing the Serpentine belt (2nd replacement). #3 New Muffler – $600 #4 Fix A/C – $500 #5 Brake Work – this goes beyond replacing brakes. It’s almost a brake system repair – Cost $1,000.
Changing the Water Pump was voluntary. When that goes, the engine can seize. So, if the engine is in good shape, I expect changing the water pump should get me another 50,000 – 75,000 miles.
The next thing I’m expecting is Transmission Problems. I decided that if I need to replace the Transmission, I will get a new car.
The way I justify these costs is by comparing the cost of a new car purchase (about $500/month), which = $6,000 a year, to the $2,000 a year I seem to be spending on these “Big Costs”, which began when I hit the 125,000 mark.