Long Road To Wealth

Doesn’t “Free Vacation For Life” sound pretty good? OK, so maybe not free vacation to an all inclusive resort, but a week long trip to a nice beach with all food, beverages, and gas paid for is freakin’ awesome. How do we do it, you ask?

How It Started

Well it started when we were about 16 and 17 (my wife and I, that is). We knew that we were going to get married, and we knew we were going to be young when we did it, but we wanted to take an awesome Honeymoon. So we started saving change. I saved the silver change in one 5 gallon water jug and she saved the pennies in another.

Also, I began to ask for $1 in quarters with every purchase I made (where did you think Wachovia got the idea)? Over the next 3 years until our wedding, we saved almost $4000 in silver change alone and had one hell of a week at an all inclusive resort in Mexico. I don’t know how much there was in pennies because I hate them.

Free Vacation for Life

So, save your change and add one dollar with every purchase, and you’ll have close to $1200 per year. That’s plenty for a nice vacation. I guess the word “free” is not quite true, but at least it feels free because it’s not coming out of your bank accounts.

Although, if you put the money into a High-Yield Savings Account, you could make $42 a year at HSBC’s current rate of 3.5%.

This is the Second topic in my Survival Series, where I will be discussing tips and tricks to stick to your budget while still living your life. It’s easy to end up spending $40 on dinner, and an extra $40 bucks at the grocery store, but I want to help you enjoy your life while paying off debt, building wealth, and creating the life you want most (not just the one you want now).

There are a lot of people (guys) out there that equate being romantic with spending money, just like they equate dressing nicely, eating good, and looking good with spending money. The fact of the matter is that these two don’t necessarily lead to the other.

You can, of course, have a very romantic date that costs $500. On the other hand, you can have one that cost a small fraction of that and still keeps you within your budget. Following are a few things that I have found make my dollar go a long way in terms of “romance per dollar.” (RPD)

Costco Flowers

• It is super expensive to buy a nice bouquet now a days…especially if you go to a Publix, Kroger, or (God Forbid) a florist! There’s a better way, and it’s not glamorous. Costco has some of the best looking flowers for super cheap. I think there is are Costco’s in most major cities, but if not, you can find the same good deals at Sam’s Club, BJ’s, or any of the members only buying clubs.

The “Just Because” Card

• What I have found with my wife is that she love love LOVE’s it when I think about her when I’m out running errands or coming back from a meeting or business trip. Every so often, I’ll stop and pick up a “just because” card from the store on my way home. It costs about a buck and has a HUGE RPD. In the card, I ask her to go on a date with me, either tonight or some time in the future.

The Cheap Date

• Picking up the “just because” card allows any date you come up with to be romantic. If you have been Working With Your Spouse Financially, it’s very easy to plan a cheap date because she (or he) will be on the same page. Then, going to the dollar theater is a great start because it only cost $4 and you both feel good about the savings. That, in itself, brings you closer together. From there, we might hit Costco again for a cheap dinner, or do our best at Surviving Dining Out.

Total Cost

• If you were to buy everything i just mentioned, with flowers at $10, a card at $1, a movie at $4, and dinner at $10 tops, you’ve got yourself one seriously romantic date at only $25!

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So, if you’re anything like me, you’ve got 4 credit cards you’re paying off, two checking accounts (mine and my wife’s) to check, a savings account with HSBC, and a mortgage. It takes 10 minutes to go to each page and input your username and password (and they’re all different because some have to start with a number and have both numbers and letters, others are numbers only, and others are letters only! Now There’s a Better Way!

Mint.com

Mint is the freshest, most intelligent way for you to manage your money online. Not only is Mint free, it saves you money. While existing personal finance software packages require hours to set up, a passion for accounting (is that possible?) and hours of weekly maintenance, Mint is virtually effortless.

With Mint, you can be fully up and running in less than five minutes. After that, revolutionary, patent–pending Mint technology does the rest, with virtually no more work required. It automatically pulls together your bank, credit union and credit card data, and provides up–to–date and amazingly accurate views of your financial—life from the big picture to specific details, in a friendly and intuitive way.

In addition, Mint goes beyond visibility and analysis providing personalized money–saving and money–making suggestions. Mint provides users an average of $1,000 in savings opportunities during their first session. Plus, Mint is proactive—alerting you when you are overbudget, have a low balance, need to pay a bill, and more.

Mint is safe and secure: we never know your identity and we provide bank–level data security.

How Mint works

Mint is a modern, powerful, easy and secure Web–based solution for managing your finances. And it’s free. You register anonymously using any valid email address, and then add the log–in information for the online bank, credit union, credit card and investment accounts you want to consolidate in Mint.

Mint connects to more than 5,000 US financial institutions. Your account information is updated daily. Mint automatically categorizes all your purchases, showing you how much you spend on gas, groceries, parking, rent, restaurants, DVD rentals and more, with amazing precision. An advanced alerting system highlights any unusual activity, low balances, unwanted fees and charges, and upcoming bills so you’re in constant contact with your money—effortlessly.

Mint goes way beyond just reporting. Using a patent-pending search algorithm, Mint constantly searches through thousands of offers from hundreds of providers to find the best deals on everything from bank accounts to credit cards; cable, phone and Internet plans; and more. Mint’s suggestions are “unique to you” based on your individual spending patterns. For example, if you have $20,000 in a bank account that’s earning no interest, Mint might recommend a high interest rate savings account from ING or HSBC. Acting on that suggestion would give you an extra $900 in interest income over a year.

Key Benefits

Mint is an entirely new approach to personal financial management. You don’t work for Mint, it works for you. We think you’ll love Mint because it’s:

• Easy to use: You’re up and running in less than five minutes. And Mint does virtually all the rest.
• Comprehensive: Mint provides detailed visibility into virtually all your financial relationships with a single, secure login.
• Visual and Analytical: Mint gives you powerful insights into your finances making–it easier to make good financial decisions.
• Constantly working to find you savings: Mint typically finds users $1,000 in savings opportunities in their first session—minutes after registering. And Mint keeps looking for new ways for you to save every day—continuously comparing your needs to product, service and bank offerings most relevant to you.
• Secure: Mint provides bank–level data security and industry–leading identity protection. Its security and privacy have been validated by VeriSign and TRUSTe.
• Always On: You’re automatically notified of upcoming bills, low balances, and any unusual activity in any of your accounts through one (m)interface.
• Anywhere/anytime access: You can get to Mint anywhere, anytime over the Web.
• And it’s Free!

In my humble opinion, It’s the best thing since sliced bread.

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This is the First in my Survival Series, where I will be discussing tips and tricks to stick to your budget while still living your life. It’s easy to end up spending $40 on dinner, and an extra $40 bucks at the grocery store, but I want to help you enjoy your life while paying off debt, building wealth, and creating the life you want most (not just the one you want now).

In my post on the 20 Ways I Blow My Budget I talked briefly about how easy it is to waste money when eating out. Since I’ve bought my house, my wife and I have been eating at home much more and are very focused on living frugally. So now, it is even nicer to get to go out to eat. I still want to save money when I do decide to eat out, so I have put together this list of ways of Surviving Dining Out.

Drink Water or Bring Your Own

I’m from Atlanta so I was raised on Coca-Cola Classic, and as much as I love it, I have a hard time paying $2.50 for a glass at Olive Garden when I can get a 44 oz. from QT for $.59. We have made a habit of ordering water when we go out to eat, but if you MUST have your coke, I suggest bringing your own. A can or bottle can easily be brought in a purse and your waiter won’t make a fuss…especially if you let them know that part of your savings goes to their tip!

Take Advantage of The Freebies!

There are a lot of restaurants out there that offer free chips, bread, rolls, etc. I say you take full advantage of these handouts and ask for seconds! This will allow you to comfortable use my next tip.

Share Your Meal

There is no reason that any single human being should eat as much as restaurant serve you. The amount of calories I used to consume at Chili’s is astounding! We would get an appetizer of which I would eat at least half which accounts for about 500 calories right there. Then, the meal, Chicken Crispers, was 1800 calories, not to mention the 3 ramekins of Honey Mustard at 100 calories each. All this followed by the Molten Chocolate cake at nearly 2200 calories ( I would eat at least half). Add in my 6-8 refills on coke and I’d throw down close to 4500 calories on a single meal.

Now, my wife and I will split one dinner item, skip appetizer and dessert, drink water, and save about 60-75% every time we eat out. While one meal could be $15 including tip, what we used to spend was closer to $50 (two drinks at $2.50 each, $8 appetizer, two $10 meals, $8 dessert, plus tip). This will keep both you and your wallet a lot healthier.

Conclusion

It sounds like I’ve taken all the fun out of going out to eat, but what I have found is that when you do it this way, it gives a greater fulfillment than they food along would have. When we see that bill for $12.82 we’re proud of ourselves and know that we are saving for our future.

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Related Reading
Is the Value Menu Really a Value? Comparing The Homemade Double Cheeseburger To The McDonald’s $1 Version @ The Simple Dollar
Losing Weight = Saving Money

And Saving Money = Losing Weight. The two go hand in hand for me. I have found a very positive correlation between having a disciplined fitness routine and a disciplined financial life. Though you could do one without the other, it seems to me that when I get into a workout routine I tend to see my bank account grow with my muscles for a number of reasons.

1. Time Spent Productively

I am in the process of losing about 60 lbs. to get myself down to 190 lbs. I was in very good shape when I was younger and I drop weight quickly when I decide to. My problem is that I put it on very quickly when I don’t decide NOT to.

I have found that a full, good workout keeps me out of the house for 1 1/2 hours between cardio, weight training, sauna (with my book), and shower. This time spent productively on my health and wellbeing keeps me from doing other unproductive (or anti-productive) things like shopping because I’m bored, eating out, or surfing Amazon.com. That, alone saves me the $40 monthly membership fee.

2. Less Eating Out

Besides having less time to eat out, a good fitness routine leaves you with much less desire to eat out because you’re body is using lots of energy and begins to crave nutritious food as opposed to the “tasty” food you were used to eating. Instead of itchin’ for a Double Cheeseburger, I find myself in the mood for a lean, grilled chicken sandwich, which happens to be much, much better for you.

3. Free New Clothes

Unless you threw them out when you got fat? I didn’t. Luckily, I put them in Space Bags under my bed! When I get below 225 I’ll have about 4 “new” pairs of pants, 2 “new” pairs of shorts, about 15 or 20 “new” shirts, not to mention loads of sweaters, sport coats, and other nice clothes I haven’t fit into for about 2 years.

So this doesn’t necessarily save you any money, but at least you get you feel like you spent some without actually having spent any! So that’s kinda like saving right?

4. Discipline Spills Over

I’m sure a lot of you feel the same way I do about discipline. Isn’t it right that when you keep yourself disciplined in one area it makes it easier to be disciplined in others? It’s as if you don’t want to let yourself down. Why spend time reading if you’re just going to throw your money away? Why spend time to get your body in shape if you’re not going to help your mind grow as well?

The more disciplined you get, the more disciplined you get, and the more disciplined you get, the happier you get. So get disciplined! Lose Weight, Save Money, Grow your Net Worth, and Live a Happier Life!

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Related ReadingFrugal Living Leads to Weight Loss @ Frugal Dad