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Simple Steps Taken to go Car Free

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Over time, I have taken numerous steps to become car free. Each of these steps are small, sometimes infrequent but all of them have added up in the quest of attaining car-free status.

And now they have all now been worthwhile since yesterday, I sold my car and am now officially carless! And you know what, it feels great.

Consideration

The first thing you need to consider is whether your life would be better or worse if you went car free. This one thing is the most important part of this decision since there would be no point getting rid of the car only to have your life become miserable and annoying. Everything you do should be to make your life happier, easier and more fulfilling.

For me, this decision was easy. I've never really been a fan of cars anyway and whilst I took a liking to my car (her name was Latoya because she was a Toyota) I just became sick and tired of the expense she was costing me, especially taking into account her old age and the number of repairs I had to do recently. Poor Latoya.

But after having a few chats with various friends a while ago, I decided that getting rid of the car was something that was definitely on my todo list but I just wasn't sure when. After having that short, sharp snap of car-related expenses back in September it became the final nail in the coffin with me and car ownership.

Having also moved in to town earlier this year this also made the decision to go car-free a lot easier. Transport to both work and almost all of the other places I frequent was now not required and in fact, probably slower.

If it helps, write down a pros and cons list of having, versus not having, your car. This is a good exercise since there might be some things you'd forgotten about. For example, the convenience of being able to drive to your holiday destination might be one but maybe you're more of a flier anyway. How about the reduced ongoing cost of not having a car versus the increased stress of having to ride public transport? (Unless public transport in your area is amazing.)

Add Up your Expenses - and Include the Car Price and Depreciation too

Another way to help you make a decision, is to add up how much the car is costing you vs the cost of having to pay for other travel arrangements. I can almost assume that because you are reading this blog that this particular item on the pros and cons list has a fair bit of weight in the final decision. It certainly was for me once I fully worked out all my costs.

As mentioned in my post about Two Ways Biking Substantially Improves Your Life, I mentioned a few ongoing costs of car-ownership and I'm sure there are probably others I have left out too. (For example, I think the car will have to have new tyres soon so I'm glad I didn't have to pay for that.)

Another item I forgot include in the original cost list was the actual amount of money I'd originally paid for the car. Now that I also have the sold price I can figure out that the car, over the four years I had it, cost me about another $50 per month just for the privilege of owning it. Of course, the longer I kept it, the less this would be but that's also a risk set against any upcoming repairs that might happen and one I was not willing to take. (Rust on the back windscreen and the slightly sticky gearstick are two repairs that will definitely have to be done soon.)

It Doesn't Stop There

As if you need any more convincing, there are also other factors to take into account. In the past six months, I have probably used the car 2-3 times per month and in fact, my friends borrowed her for the majority of this time. Even out of those two or three times I used it each month, two of those were probably unnecessary if a little convenient. When not in use, she would sit on the road gathering rust or having her wing mirror broken off which was no fun at all. All of these things add up to an unhappy car...

...and an unhappy me!

I knew I was having to spend over $250 per month on something I very rarely used and that amount was never going to get cheaper either (apart from the petrol price reduction recently but that's only a fragment of the ongoing costs). No matter how much or how little I used the car, I was out of pocket by a fairly reasonable percentage of my take-home pay, pay that I'd worked hard for and therefore money which wasn't returning the favour and working hard for me.

If you did choose to go car-free, that extra money would be much better off in a savings account, paying off your mortgage or even put into shares or property. Over the year, that saved money could come to something over $3,000 (or a lot more) not including any additional interest payments and that's a quite significant amount. Even just thinking that not having a car will knock years off your mortgage is really quite exciting.

Depending on the Most Reliable Form of Transport - Your Legs

Having always been a walker and now a keen cyclist too, I am relying on my legs more and more. In fact, I've always said that those legs are the most reliable form of transport ever. They've never slowed me up in a traffic jam, never broken down, never deviated from the scheduled timetable - since I set it - and almost always do exact what I want, when I want. They also never say annoying things over a tannoy system to hoards of beleaguered commuters when the points fail or the bus breaks down.

Both walking and cycling were the forms of transport I decided to concentrate on the most to help me out in the post-car era. I could say I was lucky in that most of my destinations are within walking or cycling distance but that would be wrong, In reality they are close because I specifically moved to this exact area for exactly that reason. All part of the plan, a plan which has been brewing for a year or more, with action taken over the space of six months and a final transaction yesterday to conclusively be rid of that four-wheeled contraption.

A Plan for Post-Car Blues

As shown above, I took a few steps to make sure I put myself into a situation where I could get rid of my car but there are other things to think about too. Maybe you'll find things slightly more inconvenient because you'll have to take the bus or train instead of driving but actually you don't have to make it harder on yourself by not owning any petrol-fueled transport.

Firstly, you could do what I did and buy yourself a bike. I managed to get one in the spring sales (in this hemisphere at least) and as I've said before, it's already brought a lot of joy to my life, both for exercise and for social engagements with other bikers. Essentially I have prioritised that a bike is more important to me than a car and therefore, I'm happier because of it.

Not to mention that I have already lost some weight and can feel that my stamina is steadily increasing.

Of course, you also have the option of public transport, which admittedly requires extra planning, but it's hardly a burden. If I can plan to retire at 40 then I can certainly plan to take a bus somewhere on a Sunday morning.

It's also not a bad thought if you remember you can still take cars every now and again. A taxi for a quick trip here and there doesn't work out to be too expensive (factoring in your lack of tax, parking, maintenance, insurance, breakdown cover and all the other things) or even hiring a car on the odd weekend for that jaunt away isn't going to break the bank either. In fact, you'll still probably be saving around half to three-quarters of what you were consistently spending every month and in some months near to 100% of that stays in your bank account!

All in all, no matter what transport you take during the course of the month, you'll be much better off than you were before.

Added Advantages

After selling the car yesterday, I also figured out a couple more advantages which, even if they are only small ones, still add up to extra happiness. Firstly, I was able to get some money back from my insurance company to the tune of $240 as reimbursement of my pre-paid yearly policy. It was a lovely parting note to my insurers and one that my Emergency Fund will be very happy about.

Secondly, when signing the official papers, I had to take my car key off my keyring and hand it over. And you know what, in that simple act, I went from having two keys on my keyring down to just one key and it was an amazing feeling. Simplifying my life in a most unexpected way made me smile and actually brought a little bit of joy to my face. Realising that you've just gone down from having a set of two keys to a measly one was much more fulfilling that I'd ever thought it would be.

Almost halving the weight of the keyring already makes me happier and certainly puts me one more step on the road to a life of simplicity and financial independence.

What would you do? Can you go car-free? What stops you, your family, your location, your job or something else?

Labels: planning, insuring, saving, living, travelling, selling

Inserted: 2008-12-04 22:41 (1 year, 3 months ago)

December Challenge - Free Yourself of Material Possessions

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Earlier, I posted about 5 Ways to De-Clutter and Simplify Your Life but in December, we're going to take this to the next level.

Being surrounded by material possessions weighs heavily on our minds. Sometimes I wonder how big the next place I move to should be just to fit all these things in. I wonder why I keep those DVDs on my shelf that I haven't watched in ages. My wardrobe, whilst not big could do with a trim. And all those other empty appliance boxes, folders of papers and books I haven't touched in a while just sit there staring at me.

And all the time, I think about doing something about these things.

Starting Out ...

Over time, people generally acquire lots of stuff. Each time they move, they shift it with them and since the new place is bigger, it's easier to acquire even more stuff and have it diffuse into the house like all the other belongings.

A spring clean every now and again removes parts of it, either to the charity shop or the rubbish dump but mostly, it just gets dusted and put back. Those things that haven't been used in a year or so but still being kept for the sake of it.

I've managed to do this with a few things since I downsized to my newer smaller flat but I still have lots of stuff, everywhere, all over the place. It'd be nice if this wasn't the case and I could actually get rid of a lot of it.

... and Finishing Off

This December, I challenge you to start filtering through all those secret cupboards you have left closed for eternity, those drawers that seem completely jammed and those cardboard boxes in the attic or garage that haven't seen the daylight since the turn of the Millennium. Just a little bit here and there will make a huge difference. How much? 15-30 minutes a day. That's not much but, as with Personal Finance, many small changes add up to a large difference over the long term.

Not only that, but once you've filtered your possessions you'll find it hard going back and acquiring more stuff. This not only helps your peace of mind but also your wallet.

The Act of Filtering

A friend told me the other day that she has three piles: Keep, Charity and Throw Out. This sounds like a good plan since then you know exactly what you're doing with every single item you find.

You might like to add a Sell pile too but this is your choice. Maybe you have a Give to Nephew pile or a Recycle pile and of course, you may have others but the best way to do it is to keep it simple. Also, as and when you look at each item from that cupboard, drawer or box, make a decision there and then as to what you're going to do with it. The worst thing you can do is decide to decide later.

Say 'No' to a Don't Know Pile

Whatever you do, do not have a pile called Don't Know since that will just assimilate back into that stuff you didn't actually know you owned. After all, the point of this exercise if to get rid of things, not just shift them to another location in the house.

As I said, pick up each item and put it into one of the definitive piles. That way, when you look at it in the future, you know exactly what you're going to do with it (assuming you haven't already done something with it already).

Do a Little Every Day

By doing just a little bit every single day, you'll be amazed at how quickly you can get through your stuff. I shall be taking this challenge and posting one or two updates throughout the month so we can compare notes on how we're doing.

You might wonder if December is a good time for doing this since it is a very busy time of year but I suspect that this will work out well for even the busiest house host. Instead of leaving all of your tidying up until a week before Christmas and New Year then just start now and see where you are in two weeks. I suspect if you did a bit every day until mid-December you'd be more ship-shape than if you left it until later.

So what are you waiting for? Get sorting through that stuff and let's have a clear, clean, stress-free and simple Christmas and New Year.

And remember to let me know how you're getting on in the comments, state that you're partaking in the challenge and blog about it so we can spread the word.

Labels: recycling, planning, living, giving, selling

Inserted: 2008-11-30 10:06 (1 year, 3 months ago)

Two Ways Biking Substantially Improves Your Life

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I mentioned before that I would be getting rid of my car and instead buying a bike. It turns out that I couldn't wait before selling my car and I got the bike anyway. (Don't worry, I shan't be keeping the car, she'll still be sold when I planned, I just so happened to buy the bike a bit earlier.)

So far, the bike has been a revelation to me. I have been out on numerous occasions, done some things I have never done before and even taken part in some crazy shenanigans. After only a month of having the bike, I am completely devoted to it, the lifestyle it creates for me and the way it makes me feel.

But let me tell you about the two ways I think it has already brought me a lot of joy and happiness and how getting a bike can do the same for you.

Saving Money

I wondered whether this was too obvious but then I figured out the something which was not quite as obvious. It is all about how much money you'll actually save rather than the fact that you'll be saving something.

You'd be surprised at the amount of money you do actually save by not having a car (or should I say how much you spend by having one). The outlay required to just own a car seems to keep getting larger and though petrol prices are not as high as they once were, it is still a huge outlay even for someone like me who hardly ever drives anywhere.

Taking a look at my approximate outgoings for the car on a monthly basis:

• $20.00 - insurance
• $6.00 - breakdown cover
• $17.50 - road licensing
• $12.50 - Warrant of Fitness
• $80.00 - repairs (from the last two bills)
• $7.50 - residential parking charges
• $70.00 - petrol (one tank)

I'm sure some of these figures (apart from the repair bills) are quite low in comparison to other peoples' cars but you can see that it's over $200 per month just to keep her ticking over. I haven't included things like covered parking charges either. Even if I were to give my car away, I would still be better off after only 4.5 months! I am hoping however that selling the car will actually cover the cost of the bike even though it is crazy to think how low it has deprecated to (though I did buy it 4th or 5th hand).

By not having the car, that's an almost automatic saving of over $200 a month. Of course, this savings figure would depend on whether I need to hail a cab or hire a car during the month but I suspect those jaunts will be few and far between. Averaged out over the year, I expect to save well over $1500 if not closer to $2000. It could also be much higher if you take into account that I would probably fill up way on average more than one tank a month.

Go ahead and make a list of your own monthly expeses. It doesn't even have to be that detailed. Write down all the charges you pay for over the space of a month or a year. Divide it all out to a month and take a note of what you'd be saving. Sometimes even doing it in small steps helps.

Another aspect you should also look at is the lifestyle saving not having a car gives you. You wouldn't have to remember such things as paying road licensing, insuring yourself, obtaining breakdown cover, getting the car checked and having any repairs done. Even paying for or washing the damn thing seems like too much hassle to me so I'd rather not do it.

All in all, removing the car simplifies your life further and for me, that's one of my current goals.

Getting Fitter

There's no doubt that I have already noticed my fitness and health is improving. Whilst I used to run around on an indoor soccer pitch and get worn out, I can already run around for pretty much the entire game without getting as tired. The longer bike rides have given me more stamina which is also improving my other exercise activities.

We all know that exercising is good for us but in many cases, we don't listen to the advice our internal mind is telling us. By not having a car, it almost forces us to play by different rules. Walking, running or biking to your destinations becomes a part of your life rather than a part of your exercise regime and is therefore easier to keep up. For example, last week I rode to my friends' house to play Ultimate Frisbee and rode back again afterwards. It didn't take much longer than it would have in the car yet that was an extra 30 mins of exercise (around other exercise) that I wouldn't have otherwise had.

By making exercise a part of your life, forcing you to do it by not having a car, improves your fitness, health and wellbeing without even thinking about it.

Of course, public transport is also an option but if you're trying to spend less and save more like me, then the bike wins for those closer destinations.

Other Advantages

Owning a bike has other advantages too. It uses up less raw materials, it's greener to run, the more people have bikes means that the drivers are more aware of them and plenty of other reasons too.

Anything to add to either of these ways biking improves your life? Any other reasons you can think of how that you'd like to share, please comment below?

Labels: saving, living, exercising, selling

Inserted: 2008-11-10 23:33 (1 year, 4 months ago)

Ideas and Actioning Them

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Ideas are great things. They come at you all day, every day, from all angles. Sometimes you're tying your shoelace and an idea hits you. You're daydreaming on the bus and suddenly your eyes light up with a new idea.

Occasionally you're just walking along the street when suddenly maybe you've just figured out the secret to renewable and everlasting energy.

You know what, that's just GREAT!

Invariably, 99% of those great ideas you have during the day you have completely forgotten about by the time you get home.

Write Them Down

A number of people carry a notepad with them at all times and I'm starting to come around to this idea too (hmm, maybe I should write it down on Page 1 so I don't forget). Being able to capture those ideas whilst still fresh in the memory is of huge importance. As I said earlier, if you don't write them down now, you'll forget about it completely before the day is out.

All you need is a few notes on the page. If you have a few minutes, just let the creative juices flow. Write down anything you think is applicable, even if you also think it is silly. It's easier to scratch the silly things than it is to re-visit this massive flow of creativity.

For example, let's say you decided to write an eBook to sell online and increase your passive income, you might go through a few things like this:

• yeah, I'll write an eBook
• maybe charge $15, okay maybe $10; $20 would be nice though
• oh, get a proper cover from elance
• maybe I should write a smaller one to give out free to subscribers
• or even make it viral and tell people to read it and share
• get some references from some well known bloggers
• hmm, now I need to think about what I want to write about
• how about Personal Finance :-) (too obvious, be more specific)
• 100 great, simple and frugal recipes for crockpots ...
• ... ok, how about saving money when grocery shopping
• I do enjoy going to the market though, maybe something about that

What you'll find after a brainstorming session like that is that you began with a wishy-washy idea (an eBook with no subject) and ended up with about 3 different eBook ideas and plenty of other ideas on how to market it. Within the space of just 2 minutes, you have not one but a number of fully-fledged ideas and many more smaller ones.

An Idea Which Isn't Actioned, is the Same As No Idea at All

However, no amount of ideas are good if they are never actioned. Once you have that notepad, you need to go over it more thoroughly when you have more time. Tick off or circle the things you're going to action or move them over to your wiki or other action list. After all, if you don't do anything about the idea itself, it's just the same as not having had it at all.

Whilst we're still at the start of whatever idea it is you might just want to put a few more minutes or hours effort into figuring out whether the idea is a good one or not. Tell your family or friends and see whether it is something they would be interested in. But remember, many people are negative to your ambitions or ideas so don't let them talk you out of a good idea (but it's okay if they talk you out of a bad one). Use this information to decide for yourself whether going ahead with it makes sense.

Good Luck

As with all new ideas, you need to be a little brazen and a little bold when going ahead with it. You might not see immediate results but keep at it, keep plugging away with it and hopefully the reward you deserve will eventually come.

And if that reward doesn't come, the best thing you can do is learn from your failures and keep moving. Just turn that page of your notepad to your next great idea and give that a go too.

No matter how many times you try, one of them may succeed. If you don't try at all, you're guaranteed to fail.

Tell us what you do to remember, develop and action your best ideas? Any war stories you can tell us about where you failed, succeeded or maybe even both.

Labels: planning, selling

Inserted: 2008-11-06 21:20 (1 year, 4 months ago)

The Power of Snowflaking

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Let me tell you the story about a snowflake. Jimmy was it's name and it was very small. One day it decided to snow and Jimmy came into existence along with many other snowflakes formed around the same time. They looked at one another and thought "My, aren't you a nice snowflake" however some of them looked at each other and thought "Wow, you're bigger than I am". Jimmy looked at everyone and thought that they were all bigger than him.

The larger snowflakes tended to keep to themselves, since they were bigger than the others. They weren't very nice either. So in the end, the smaller snowflakes - including Jimmy - decided to gather together so they could become larger and more powerful than the bigger ones.

After a short while, they all fell to the floor only to be gathered up together by the children playing. Jimmy got swept off his feet by a young child with huge mittens. Firstly, they were gathered into a snowball, then rolled into a head and finally into a huge torso. Right in the middle, next to the middle button, Jimmy lay looking out and feeling safe. This snowman was eventually so big, the relative size of all the individual snowflakes didn't matter and the snowman itself was greater than it's individual parts. Jimmy knew that those bigger snowflakes wouldn't worry him now., safe in the knowledge of being with all the other snowflakes.

And that is what the power of snowflaking is.

So, yes, thanks, but what is it?

Snowflaking is a term used in the personal finance field. It is pretty easy to understand and also very powerful. It's also very easy to do.

It is a technique to help you pay down debt or increase your savings. Essentially what you do is, at every opportunity you have for scraping aside money into a separate savings account or a current debt, you do it. It doesn't matter how big or small the snowflake is, it all adds up to that snowball effect and before you know it, you're looking at a whole heap of snowflakes. Once these start adding up, these snowflakes become snowballs and by then the momentum has started.

You can start in a variety of ways but as always, the most important thing is to start. That's the hardest step. Once you've started you'll find more reasons to snowflake.

Many people clip coupons to save money at the supermarket. If they receive $1 off a tube of toothpaste, then they will snowflake that dollar into whichever debt or fund they choose. Others will see that cycling to work one day a week is a bus fare saving which also gets siphoned off somewhere else (not into other expenses of course). If you manage to get a bonus from work, that gets scraped elsewhere and yet others see a pay-rise as a permanent snowflake (but then you're more into savings schemes).

Any Excuse Will Do

I have noticed something about snowflaking and it is this. If you practice the technique then no matter what you do throughout each month, you'll find any excuse to snowflake that money off elsewhere. Take these examples as interesting reasons to snowflake rather than as a guide. Yes, I have actually seen people use these so you can see, it really is for whatever reason you decide:

• shift over the cost of that coffee you didn't have
• move aside what you saved in the supermarket
• was your lunch ultimately frugal, siphon off what you didn't spend
• did you find a dollar in the street, put it in your savings
• pay off some more debt with that money you were given in your garage sale
• transfer the extra you received in your paycheck this month
• cast aside what you used to spend before you gave up your bad habits!

My example this month is that I have been online selling some of my old DVDs that I no longer watch. Every time I get a sale, I've been shifting that money over into my emergency fund. The thing is, instead of moving the sale amount minus the commission, I have moved the whole thing and considered the commission an expense for the month.

And I have another confession. Over the years I have gathered a number of booklets of stamps which I always lose and then end up buying another booklet, only to lose that and never use the all. Whilst simplifying my life I have found all of these booklets again and stashed them in an envelope near to where my jiffy bags are. So instead of taking off the cost of postage (which is added on at each auction) I have also been moving that over to my Emergency Fund.

And finally, just so it didn't feel left out, I have done the same for the jiffy bags I had to buy and consider that a monthly expense too.

It turns out that within a month, I am now about $118 richer in my Emergency Fund due to the addition of those four things (DVD, commission, stamp, packaging) all being siphoned off. If I had only shifted the profit, I'd be looking at a much lower $90 (but still better than just spending it).

Compound Interest Strikes Again

And that is when the magic happens. Okay, that $118 isn't going to make a big difference now but in the future, with all the other snowflakes I cast aside from my expenses, that'll start to begin growing exponentially making my money work even harder for me. Once you start, you won't be able to stop and your debt or savings will move in the right directions faster than you thought possible.

So come on. Help Jimmy out and make sure he finds his rightful home amongst all the other snowflakes. After all, if you don't, he'll just end up melting and then you won't know where he's gone. Put him aside safely and watch as he helps build your snowflakes into your snowballs.

Why not give it a go and let me know how you get on. What other things will you snowflake?

Labels: banking, saving, repaying, selling

Inserted: 2008-10-27 23:28 (1 year, 4 months ago)

5 ways to De-Clutter and Simplify Your Life

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Stuff, junk, clutter, mess. Call it what you will but it's all the same. It is those things you've had lying around the house for ages and ages. Things you really should get rid of but haven't done anything about, sitting there idly like a cat in the sun. It's about the stuff you think to yourself "... but I might need it later".

Well, here's a bit of truth for you.

You won't need it later. You won't need it next week or next month, or even next year! In fact, you just won't need it at all! Ever. Full stop.

The Idea of Having

So what is it that stops you from getting rid of it all. It's the Idea of Having. All those things that you've carried around with you for years you somehow have an attachment to are just baggage. You think that because it was something that defined who you were at one stage of your life you feel the need to keep it to remind yourself of this long forgotten time. But the problem is, every other aspect of your life has moved on and you're no longer defined by the things you had. You're now defined by who you are and the use of these ancient items is nil. In which case, get rid!

I should know about this since I have been a master at slavishly shifting my stuff around - house after house has seen boxes come and go without so much as an unpacking. I think there might be some dinosaur bones at the bottom of one box, I've had it that long. Consequently I have completely forgotten what's even in there. How sad.

also, I still have things that I had at university! I left university 14 years ago for goodness sake. Occasionally I look at it and smile to myself, remembering some of those happy times but times that are now from a bygone era of young adulthood far removed from the person I am now.

My Achilles Heal

For ages (and ages and ages), through a number of moves, including one half way around the world, I have always just packed up my stuff and shifted it to the next place. I think my tendency to hoard things stems from my Mother since she's always got a houseful of stuff though I can hardly blame her for my failings now. Hoarding is certainly something that was inbuilt into me at an early age and a problem I'm only just tackling now - yes, I'm imagining I'm lying down talking to a softly spoken person sitting on the couch next to me.

But finally I can feel the recovery process is starting and my Achilles heal is getting better and not holding me back. One step was to just stop buying more things and the beginnings of a budget meant that I was already on the right track, spending less and refraining from adding to the problem. (Not that I'd spent much on 'stuff' recently anyhow but it all helps.)

And finally, over the past year or so, I have been tidying, de-cluttering and organising all of the things I shall be annexing from my life. Usually I have done this ad-hoc and so far it's been working. There are plenty of other ways to do it too, but here are five to help you on your way.

5 Ways to De-Clutter and Simplify Your Life

There are a number of different ways you can get rid of your stuff. Over the past year, I have done four of these and am about to start on the fifth.

1) Give It

Giving it to a friend is a great way to get rid of stuff but also give to someone who'll use it. I've had a number of conversations recently whereby a friend of mine said "I wish I had ..." and I told them they can have mine. Sometimes I see it as a long term loan though I suspect in some cases I'll never see it back. That's okay with me though, better someone is using it than not at all.

2) Donate It

There have been a number of occasions in the past year when I have filled up a plastic bag or two and put them out for collection by one of the charities. Over the years I have also donated my fair share of goods to the Salvation Army, sometimes to re-sell things I'd originally bought from them!

This gives you two great feelings. The first of helping others and the second of removing your bond to some of your material possessions. Win-win for all concerned.

3) Pass It

FreeCycle is something I haven't yet tried but am planning on sending a few emails to the Wellington FreeCycle group this week. I have a number of fiction books that I'm sure are quite popular and therefore, I wouldn't get much for them anywhere else, so giving them away seems like a good idea to me.

Also, wouldn't it make you feel good that some random stranger will get some happiness from that book you really enjoyed too.

4) Sell It

Selling your stuff via a garage sale, taking to a second hand shop or selling on-line is something which can actually give you a slight return for your sunk cost. Yes, I know it can be hard to get only a few dollars for something you paid so much more for but if it's something you never use yet can net you an increase in your balance then why not.

I took some books to the second-hand bookstore last week and the (small) amount of dollars I received, I put straight into my Emergency Fund. It's money I've never seen before so instead of spending it on something else I don't need, I pretended it didn't exist. Now I'm also helping my future self if something goes horribly badly wrong, something you probably can't do with an old book or DVD.

5) Dump It

Obviously, this should be your last port of call since it's better to keep things out of landfill. Re-use via any of the above means should be considered first, especially if the thing is still functioning for it's intended purpose.

If not, dump it and be free in the knowledge that you have a tidier and neater house.

Reasons to be Cheerful

As in my use of my Credit Card, de-cluttering actually makes my life simpler. I have less things to worry about. I always seem to have something going through my brain, whether it's my latest idea, a website or two which needs doing or some volunteer work I have on. To help concentrate on some of these things a bit better, the less I have to worry about money, possessions and other such things, the better it is for me.

Why don't you try it and let us know in the comments below how it's going.

I suspect that you'll then have more reasons to be cheerful and less reasons to be worried. After all, it's just stuff and you ain't going to need it anyway.

Labels: living, selling

Inserted: 2008-10-11 23:27 (1 year, 5 months ago)

Five Ways the Internet Saves You Money

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Having just read 5 Ways the Internet Saves Me Money, I decided to do my own list since mine would be very different from hers. Hers predominantly focused on shopping, either online or acquiring vouchers for use in real life. I'll not be talking about shopping at all (though I might mention something about selling) :-)

By doing just one of these things, you can save some money. By doing all of them, your savings really start to add up.

Five Ways the Internet Saves You Money

1) Reading News Online - In the past, I have bought either newspapers or magazines for my news. Daily newspapers were a staple of my house when growing up but since university I haven't regularly bought a newspaper. In the past, I also used to buy technical magazines (computing, photography, woodwork) but now I find that there are many more articles online and you just have to search for the quality ones. Also, especially in computing, the news in the magazines is about 2 months late compared to reading it on the web.

2) Online Banking - I had a meeting with my bank the other day and he tried to explain why their mortgages were at a higher rate than the online banks (a subject of another post). Predominantly it came down to the fact that they had branches and the other bank didn't. By using the internet themselves, the bank saves money and therefore passes those savings on to you. You'd also be using the internet in that arrangement too.

3) Keeping up with Friends and Family - Using email, instant messaging, VOIP phones and other forms of communication online, you'll save on postage, phone calls and all those other forms of communication which cost money.

4) Not Buying Books - Think of a hobby you do and think how much money you have spent on books for it. Unless you started the hobby in recent years, you've probably spent a fair bit. Now, try searching for information on that hobby on the internet. I'm sure you already have and I'm sure you found a lot of information. In some cases, enough that you wouldn't have needed to buy those books in the first place.

5) Selling Your Stuff Online - Whilst this seems a little bit of a cheat, selling stuff really can save you money (as well as gain some too). Just one example is the charges you have for throwing things away; save by selling stuff instead. Not to mention the fact that you'll also be getting money in return for those things.

Compromise

Before I finish, I'd just like to say that using the internet can be a bit of a compromise. I use it a lot, therefore, I want it to be fast. I pay for a medium internet plan with my cable company so whilst I do pay more than I could for a lower end plan the savings via all these other avenues trade off what I pay extra.

I decided to focus on just five ways the internet can save you money and I will write a follow-up post with more ideas later on. Let me know in the comments any other ways the internet can save you money too.

Labels: banking, selling

Inserted: 2008-10-03 23:09 (1 year, 5 months ago)