I finished reading Alan Corey’s, A Million Bucks by 30: How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents, and a Useless Degree to Become a Millionaire Before (or After) Turning Thirty
and it is a great book for anyone interested in how to become financially independent. After college, Corey embarks on a journey to New York city in search of fortune. This book outlines the process and his journey to make A Million Bucks by 30.
This book has inspired me to continue my journey to make the same dream come true and you can do the same. Although I am taking a different path, the destination is the same. It is a 211 page book, about an hour or two read that can change your life. It is easy to read and the message is simple. It is funny, helpful, engaging and keeps you turning the pages. It is one of the best books that is not a novel that kept me wanting more and more of it. The best part about it is that he worked the same 9 to 5 job for six years and his saving strategies are what separate him from the crowd. This book is personal finance at its best. His wacky, yet simple and somewhat hilarious method on how to save money is both unique and savvy, he calls this method “Extreme Cheapskate Strategy.” This is the list of money pinching ideas that he used to maximize his savings. I have added a word or two in less than three of them without altering the message. This book is a must read. Get it on Amazon
- “There is more and more places with free Wi-Fi. There are libraries, a number of Krystal restaurants, coffe shops, University campuses and many other places; you can pretty much log on from anywhere. You can even hijack your neighbor’s wireless connection if necessary. If wireless is not your thing although beggers shouldn’t be choosers, then go to the library or go to Netzero free internet access. It’s dial up but free is free and you have a lot of ads, but you can still check your email.
- Carry a coin purse with you. Yes, it is very old man like, but it is very helpful. You can pay for all your purchases with the exact dollar amount, thus putting more actually dollars in your pocket. This purse also gives you a place to put any loose change that you pick up off the street. Another benefit is the fact that having a bulky coin purse as a key chain makes it that much harder to lose your keys. Corey warns, “please adhere to the 212 rule,” he continues, “I’ve learned this rule by trial and error. Anything that is over $2.12 and paid for all in change will usually make the transaction last twice as long and piss off the cashier. If this doesn’t bother you, feel free to break the rule. Unless I’m behind you in line.”
- There is also a way to log on and check your report for free every four months. There are three credit
agencies: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. All allow access to your report once a year from their Web site. Just check one agency’s report, then four months later check another one and four months later again for the last one. However, if you find an inaccuracy in any of the reports, it’s probably best to check the rest instantly to make sure you get it fixed across the board. - Put things you don’t want on ebay before deciding to throw it away. If someone bids, charge the normal
price for shipping plus an extra dollar for “handling.” Look to see if items similar to ones you regard as trash are already posted. If so, that means there is a buyer’s market for it and you might be able to sell it. It doesn’t hurt to try to put up as much stuff as possible. A guy on the street once gave me(Corey, not me posting this) about one hundred $1-off coupons for soy milk. I sold them on ebay for (five sets of twenty coupons for $5 each and earned $30 ($5 for handling) for five minutes of work. Ebay is also a good place to get new high-end clothes and merchandise at a fraction of the price. Ted Baker, Betsey Johnson, Marc Jacobs, Banana Republic, J. Crew-they are all there. - In movie theaters that have unlimited popcorn refills, save your popcorn bag. My girlfriend used the same
popcorn bag for about three months. Maybe a bit unethical, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And nothing is more desperate than eating a $7 bag of pop corn at a chick flick. - Many mobile phone companies give you thirty free credits each month for dropped calls. You have to call a 1-800 number and deal with an automated assistant to get credited for one minute. Call up to thirty times a month to get a total of thirty extra minutes of free phone time. It’s worth it if you are continually going over by ten to fifteen minutes each month and don’t want to upgrade to a more expensive plan. It’s also a good stress reliever: instead of counting to ten when you’re upset, just make ten phone calls to the robot operator. You’ll stop stressing over your problems, as you can now take it out on the automated person on the other end of the line.
- Never buy bottled water. It’s unnecessary. Go to any fast-food joint and get a free cup of water that’s twice the size of a bottled water and it’s iced. The bottled-water business should be successful only in third-world countries. People, we live in America; take advantage of it. And if you need some flavor, load up your cup with free lemons and artificial sweetener for some bargain ice-cold lemonade.
- You never have to buy an umbrella. When it’s raining, just walk into any restaurant or grocery store and ask to see its lost and found. Explain that you lost your black umbrella, and they’ll bring you a box of twenty. (Every lost and found has a minimum of twenty black umbrellas.) Now, don’t feel guilty. When you are done with it, leave the umbrella at another restaurant or grocery store. It’s a bit like recycling, and it’s good karma too. We could dry up the umbrella business if we worked together on this.
- Libraries are not just for term papers. You can check out for free many of the bestsellers in books, DVD’s and CDs. Your tax dollars are paying for it, so take advantage of it. It’s also good to know where all the public libraries are in case you ever have an urgent need to use the bathroom out in public. (Libraries are much friendlier than Starbucks employees.)
- Many gyms and health clubs offer you a free trial week. Spend time to research them and take advantage of this offer. When you travel out of state, say you are new in town and would like to try out the gym; it’s definitely going to be better than any hotel workout facilities. I kept this up for three months once, finally stopping after I was driving forty-five minutes to go work out each day in a different town. You can choose your own limits (mine being the city limits).
- Buy one pair of multipurpose shoes a year. Don’t buy any others. If shoes make or break you with any business deal, date, or interview, believe me, unless it’s a girl with a foot fetish, it isn’t the shoes.
- Challenge yourself with your thriftiness. If you make saving a game, it will make being thrifty interesting for you. And share your experience with your friends and family, or with an online community. It’s very helpful to communicate with people doing the same thing you are doing. That means, write what you are doing in a journal, or start a blog, or just talk to your friends about it.
- I would fill out comment cards at every possible fast-food restaurant. Many would follow up with complimentary food and/or gifts. My girlie complaint at a Wendy’s that the bathroom was too cold resulted in an envelope containing an apology letter plus coupons for three free hamburgers to stay warm in their bathroom. (And it kept me in there another half hour.)
- Consider being a model at a school for hair stylists to get cuts for free. Obviously, you don’t want to do anything crazy or complicated, but (a) these people aren’t total morons and (b) they want to do a great job. It’s their “class work,” and they don’t want to get a D plus. And you don’t neet a hair cut every month. It’s okay to wait awhile.”
Alan Corey’s, Extreme Cheapskate Strategies
Never pay for internet access
Use your change
Annualcreditreport.com
Put everything on ebay before you throw it away
Movie theaters
Phone companies
Bottled water
Never buy an umbrella
Libraries are good for something else
Corey Tip
Never buy a brand-new car. A car loses 20 percent of its value the first day of ownership.Let some flash trendsetter take that 20 percent loss and then buy his car from him a year later when he no longer enjoys it or has moved on to another vehicle. Materialistic trendsetters are usually horrendous bargain shoppers, but they are fun to party with.
Gyms and health clubs
Shoes
Corey tip I definitely agree with
Never invest your money in something you don’t completely understand. You’ve worked hard for your money, so work hard at investing your money. It pays off big time when you do your research in a company or an investment before making the investment.
How thrifty can you get?
Fast-food comments
Do you have the hair?
I think these a great tips. Some of them are a bit uncouth but you can pick and choose which ones serve you best. You can use some or even all of them to enhance your savings. Be smarter with your money matters; you can’t afford not to in times like these. If you want to change your life and how you think about personal finance, this book is for you. Get it now on Amazon
To learn more about Alan Corey visit his website at: http://www.alancorey.com
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