Hello,
I'm Mervi Eskelinen!
An artist, nerd and sorcerer, dedicated to make world softer and better for everyone, and to get you to make more art. Make art, change the world!
Tips for living on a budget
Especially if you are a small business owner or freelancer, or the current economical situation has hit you hard, you are at least in times living on a small budget. As a freelancer myself I know how it works. Some months there's work, even so much that you'll have trouble of getting everything done. Other months there's nothing and you are trying to live on the previous billed hours as long as possible. Then there are times when you have to wait for clients to pay their bills for be able to pay yours. What ever your reason is for being on a budget, here are my very tried and very well worked tips for living with less.
Live small
Living in a small home isn't as bad as it sounds. Get as small place as possible. The rent will be lower and your other living expenses will also get lower since you won't need heat and lights for so many rooms nor you'll have to fill the place with furniture. Speaking of furniture: I recommend thinking which you need and which you don't. Can you sell some of the extra for someone who does need that sofa or is in terrible lack of a table? With less furniture and other stuff everywhere you will have more room to breathe and think too. Downsize all your living costs with a smaller apartment and sell the additional furniture to some sucker who doesn't know they'd be better off without all the clutter.
Of course if you have a dog sized like a pony, an actual pony (where'd you get the money for that in the first place?) or a whole bunch of children a small home might be a bit crowded. Perhaps you could move in one for a little while to balance your budget? And you can always remember what the old folks keep saying: They lived in apartments nowadays singles usually live in with their big families. It wasn't fun, but they did it and (mostly) survived.
Keep out of the shops
When you are under a budget it's best to keep out of the shopping sprees. Check your closet and see which old clothes you can refurbish and which are still good for use as is. You don't need the latest fashion or ten pairs of jeans. No, you don't. I've heard of some people who have like three sets of clothes. Must say that wouldn't work for me and I would need the extra three sets for winter, but it's admirable to be able to live with less. I have way too many shoes, so I'm not the best person to give this advice. However I do take a moment to think if I really really need or at least really really want that new piece of clothing or those new shoes. I actually bought new sneakers only after I had managed to get my old ones extremely broken. Besides if you took my first advice about living small you'll have limited space for storing all those clothes. Thus you will be doing yourself a favour not hauling too many rags back to your tiny home.
In case you are a shopaholic and cannot leave a store without buying something from it, steer out of ending in a store. Instead of spending your time with shopping you can hone your French skills or learn to create a website from scratch (I don't mean installing WordPress and some theme, but actually creating a website) or take on running. The last suggestion is also the best way to tighten your butt, much better than any squats. It also makes you fast so you can then start to catch your own food. As a vegetarian I'm of course just kidding.
Party like it's 1999
...and you're in charge of making sure no important computer systems will crash due to Y2K.
Partying is costly. Alcohol is costly. So stay out of that stuff as much as you possibly can. I know, I know it sounds boring and getting drunk is so much fun and takes you out of all the depressing stuff. Did you know that getting drunk will get you only more depressed after a while? Okay now I'm getting preachy and that's not the point here. The point is that the best way I've found out to save money is not to go clubbing every week, not even every other week or month. Older you get more likely you are to like this option. You'll have a great excuse: Tell your friends that you could go out but they'd have to pay. Hey presto! You are out of the boring party with those same old people. And now you can get back to honing your French skills, creating that website which you have by now noticed is painfully difficult and have respect for us who can do it and getting that tight butt. Also if you don't drink like every day or even every week you're gonna get really cheap on getting drunk. Trust me, it will take only a couple of drinks to have that nice buzz.
Choose your hobbies
Besides staying out of extensive partying it's best to think which hobbies and other activities you can cut off during the time of the budgeted life. There are hobbies that don't suck your bank account dry and are still enjoyable. This doesn't mean you'll have to give up everything fun in your life and besides too many hobbies can easily turn in to something you have to do instead of something you want to do. Can you switch an expensive hobby to a less expensive one? For instance there are costly sports and there are cheap sports. As you may have already noticed I like running. It's pretty cheap and for long times it's completely free (I recommend investing in good running shoes, but you don't have to buy new ones very often), it's good for you in general and it can be really great, especially when you get in a nice pace. For more running pointers, see running tips from a slow casual runner.
Again I want to point out that you don't have to give up all the things that make you happy. Just leave out the things that don't make you that happy. And perhaps you can find something new and inexpensive ways to entertain yourself. By the way, at least here in Finland the movie tickets cost less during daytime and there are certain days when the tickets are cheaper. Similarly some museums have a freebie day on the first friday of every month. Keep an eye on these sort of offers and you can have a good time with your lower budget. There's always an option of going to a park or have a stroll by the seaside (if there's a seaside where you live, that is). Hobbies don't always have to be expensive and big and flashy. You can find enjoyment in smaller things as well.
Use public transportation
I don't own a car, I cannot drive a car, I couldn't even get a car running. That has been a huge saving for me. I use public transportation most of the time and sometimes if someone offers I may take a drive in their car. Public transportation has often a bad reputation. It's smelly, never in time, you have to deal with other people and whatnot. For me it's really easy: I walk to the stop, get on the bus, sit down, put on my noise cancelling in-ear headphones and some music and have a good time in my daydreaming. The driver does the job, has to pay attention to the traffic and go to the right direction. I just sit until I'm there.
Cars are expensive. They come with all sorts of expenditures, such as insurances and gas and maintenance and parking spot costs. Have a car? How about you take down the costs of having a car for a month. Think about what you could do with all that money instead. Is the car necessary? Is it something you couldn't live without. And by living I mean that you would actually die if you didn't have the car? Is it something you can give up?
Be smart
Living on a budget doesn't mean you have to give up everything. You can have a chocolate bar in time to time or even go to a party and have a bit more costly hobby. Of course you need to check your own budget to see if that chocolate bar, party or hobby fits it. Just be smart about it. You do know that if you decide to go to a party, buy a movie ticket, have that hobby that takes n amount of money every week and so forth, then you will have to give up something else. That's how it works. Having the car may be convenient but then you will give up going to the movies and eating out. Taking a vacation is fun and it means you will save the money from spinning classes, fancy food and drinking. It's easy and it's hard. You cannot just throw money over your shoulder when you don't have too much of it.
Being smart also means you need to be above judgment and peer pressure. Sure your friends say you are boring when you don't party every weekend and kind of weird when you don't travel every year like a migrating bird. There will be people who have no clue about your situation and have no idea on how you are living your life who will be telling you how you should do this. They will judge you for not wearing the latest fashion or not having the new iPhone. They will scoff over your small home and try and get you buy things you don't need. Stay away from people like this or tell them to shut it. I tend to stay away, cause I'm an introverted domestic cat and groups of people just take my energy and give nothing back. In case you get your energy from others then you just got to tell them to mind their own business.
Giving up things isn't that bad
I have talked here a lot about giving up things. That happens to be the case when you are on a budget. You will have to give up some things and stay away from others. You may be accustomed to living large but in the same way you can get accustomed in living small. There are lots of people nowadays who are happy with taking things slow and living life with less clutter. Many of them have decided to cut off the extra after a life filled with matter and wealth. They didn't end up living small because they were on a budget, but because they noticed life is more full without the stuff. They have taken on meditation and owning those three sets of clothing and they are happier than they ever were before.
Giving up things sounds depressing and will be hard in the beginning. You will notice soon you don't even miss some of the things you did cut off of your life. Think of it as clearing the clutter instead of giving up. Living on a low budget isn't all hardship and suffer.
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