I’ll be moving soon.
Where? Not sure. I’m juggling a few different cities (San Fran? Portland? Seattle?) but trying to keep my options open, too, for anything exciting that comes my way. I am excited. Good lord, ladies and gents, I am pumped.
I might also be dumb. This, er, isn’t the ‘smartest’ decision I’ve ever made. I’m not going with thousands stowed away in the bank, and I’m not going with a specific job waiting for me at my destination. This is the exact situation where it’d be better to sit still, wait for the economy to pick up, and make my big move when the man on TV finally says the recession is coming to an end.
Right. That’s all and well, but there’s a point when you just have to go. This is mine. And I know, without even the slightest hint of a doubt, that I can do it. I’ll be fine. Because I won’t be carrying a lot of things, sure, but also because I’ve done a lot thinking on how to spend the least amount of money possible once I make the move.
I have to eat, after all. And I have to live — but I want to do it as cheaply as possible, and I think that’s a lot easier to do when you realize just how much money we spend on some surprisingly expensive stuff.
1. Movies!
I like these things. You like these things too. But I shudder to see big towers of Bluray discs and DVDs, knowing how much those things cost and how much cheaper it is to just rent them. I’ve devised, accordingly, a plan of attack.
Stop buying them.
Seriously. Unless you can look me in the eye and tell me that Iron Man 2 is your favorite movie of all time, you do not need a copy for your personal collection. I still don’t see the point of huge DVD towers, mainly since they do little but collect dust. When was the last time you dug an old DVD out from your collection and actually watched it?
Just rent it! Redbox it (you can’t beat $1 a night), pick it up at a local video store, or look into the many services now that will stream the movie online for a small fee. That’s a far cheaper solution than throwing down $15 or more for a movie you’ll watch once and promptly toss in the closet.
2. Books!
I love books. I buy them more than anything else, but there’s a catch: I (almost) never pay full price.
Enter abebooks.com. I’m sure it isn’t the only one, but ABE is hands-down the best way to buy a book that I’ve ever seen. It offers used copies of just about any book you could imagine for a few dollars. Couple that with $2-3 shipping and you can get the books you want for way cheaper than any conventional book store.
You can also try the Kindle, Amazon’s book reader/service. I’m lucky enough to own the gadget itself, but here’s the thing: Amazon released Kindle software for both your home computer and mobile device (iThings in particular), meaning anyone and everyone can partake in the superb Kindle book prices. Did you know that Amazon offers Kindle versions of books off the New York Times bestseller list for just $10? Did you know that you can download the first few chapters of any Kindle book for free? It’s hard to beat these features, and it’s even harder to resist when you remember that the software itself doesn’t cost a dime.
The minimalist inside loves this. There’s huge appeal in physical copies, I’ll admit, but it’s hard to argue with cheap books that don’t take up physical space in my already crowded backpack.
3. TV!
I have a nice one, a remnant of my days when I bought everything I wanted. I’m not bringing it.
It won’t fit in my bag, for one. That’s an important consideration. But there’s another realization, too, that I think so many people are starting to arrive at: you just don’t need a TV anymore.
Shows can be watched online, either at the station’s official website or several other (seedy, I’ll admit) sites across the ‘net. News? The New York Times and every other major publication — let alone your local news stations — have websites, meaning you’re just a Google search away from the latest events.
DirectTV and all the other satellite TV services are a bit harder to deal with, but I can’t really stomach the $30 and up each month they tend to cost. That’s a pretty significant chunk of change each year (nearly four hundred dollars!) that could be devoted instead to something that creates a memory — not an encouragement to sit on your ass for six hours straight.
Or put it this way: you can spend $400 (or more) a year to watch football games at home, or you can watch it for nearly free at a local sports bar. Which one makes more sense?
And, truth be told, I don’t want to watch hours upon hours of TV. I still enjoy shows, sure, but the sheer number of hours we spend in front of the television is downright terrifying. I don’t want to do that. I especially don’t want to do that in a new city, one where I’d rather be out and about exploring every chance I get.
4. Drinks!
Bottled water. Bottled tea. Soft drinks. Concentrated fruit sugar Juice.
You don’t need them. Any of them.
That’s easier said than done, I know, but nixing your liquid calories has two huge benefits: your health, for one, and your wallet for another.
How much money do you spend on a six pack of Coke? It’d be easier to justify soft drinks if they were an occasional purchase, but you and I both know that the world doesn’t work like that. The average soda drinker goes through one or two daily, and I can only imagine how a few bucks per bottle adds up over six months to a year.
Actually, let’s try. The cost of soft drinks in the vending machines has steadily risen over the last few years, but let’s peg the cost of a bottle of Coke at around $2.00 (though it’s higher where I live). Let’s say you purchase one each day. $2.00 x 365 = $730. Ouch. And what if you add in another bottle (or just a can)? And don’t forget the soft drinks you add on to your meal at a restaurant, which are usually the most expensive of all.
Point is: it adds up. A lot.
Better yet, how much money do you spend on those huge packs of bottled water? It’s easy to make a case for it, especially in the go-go-go atmosphere of modern life — sometimes you need water and there’s no free, clean source in sight. Sometimes you’re stuck on the road and have to decide between bottled water and bottled sugar. Sometimes the water at the restaurant tastes like something from a childhood nightmare.
That’s fair. That’s fine, even. In the absence of free, fresh water, I’d say bottled water is a better option than the soda, bottled tea, and other nonsense you’ll find on store shelves.
But me? I’ll be rocking a reusable water bottle and (maybe) a water filter system for my sink.
The initial cost is higher than a twelve-pack bottled water, sure, but I can only imagine how much money I’ll save over the first six months at my new location. Given that I might not have a job waiting for me, I’ll need to pinch pennies everywhere I can — and drinking nothing but water is a fantastic way to do that.
5. Clothing!
I’m in a sticky situation here.
I lost about twenty pounds over the last six months, and a look in the mirror today suggests I’m not done just yet. This leaves me with an over-full closet of baggy clothing, meaning I might have to rethink my wardrobe sometime in the next few months.
That’ll be fun. But picking and choosing between my last few shirts that still fit has made me realize something important — I just don’t wear most of my stuff. There’s a variety of reasons for it, but I still tend to wear, at the end of the day, the same handful of shirts and the same few pairs of jeans. Why do I need anything more?
When I go shopping, accordingly, I’m going to really start focusing on quality — on the articles of clothing that I wouldn’t mind wearing each and every week. They’ll be a bit more expensive than the average shirt, but I don’t mind spending money on a small and stylish set of clothing that won’t just sit for months untouched.
That might be the real point here. I admire fashion too much (now you know!) to say “don’t buy clothing!” Instead, I’ll advocate buying less. Take some time and really think about what you wear. If you’re like me, it’s a handful of things, which means every other piece of clothing in my closet was a pretty significant waste of cash. How significant? Well, assuming around $20 per shirt, I have at least $200 in my closet that I haven’t worn in years.
(And check out Courtney Carver’s Project 333 while you’re at it. I’ll be adopting it full-time when I move.)
The End Result?
My friends think I’m losing my mind.
I’m not arguing against that, but I am making an effort, from this point forward, to reconsider how I spend my money. I don’t need to buy things to be happy. I especially don’t need to spend as much money on stuff as I used to, and I think that’s a lesson worth living whether you’re moving to a new city or building a home where you’re already at.
Still not convinced? Look at it like this:
You’re not shopping each weekend for the latest trends, but you are out and about with friends in your favorite clothing (and five bucks says they won’t even notice that you’re the same stuff).
You’re not shelling out $40 each month to sit around and watch TV, but you are catching a football game at a local bar or — gasp! — cooking instead of just watching the cooking channel all day.
You’re not spending money on processed, expensive drinks, but you are spending your money on fresh food and new flavors for your kitchen.
You’re not rushing to buy the latest movie or book, but you are enjoying them — just cheaply, and probably with friends who might even split that cost.
Sounds kind of nice, doesn’t it?
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19 Comments »
I'm a writer, minimalist, and health dork with three goals in mind: to teach you how to lose weight, move more, and be happier by living a simple, natural life. It works. Like what you read here? Get 3NL delivered straight to your inbox!
I know you know this, and probably use it, but for books and movies my go to source is the library. And it’s FREE. Now I’m lucky to live in a city with one of the best library systems in the country, so it’s rare for me to not find what I’m looking for there, but you’ll probably be surprised at what you can find these days at your library.
You’re right! I know it, but I have no idea why it didn’t occur to me when writing this post.
So thanks for mentioning it! I don’t live anywhere close to a library, so the Kindle/ABEbooks options are usually my first choice. If you have one in your neighborhood, however, that’s the best way to keep reading at very little expense.
Great suggestion!
LOVE this list. Personally, I’ve stopped spending money on most of these things. The last time I bought clothes was months ago when a thrift store was having a bag sale. And I got SO much for 3 bucks…awesome.
I think many of the people I know think I’m crazy as well. Is it weird that I kind of like that?
Anyway, good luck with your move and congrats on pursuing the life you want
That’s the beauty of it! It’s easy to live cheaply if you’re willing to look beyond the conventional channels. I’m thinking I’ll be doing that whenever I make the big move, heh.
And it’s not weird at all. It’s refreshing, exciting, and a whole slew of other words to be living life on your own terms, right? That’s how I look at it.
Thanks, Vanessa! And a pleasure to meet you. I get the impression you’re living the life you want as well, so I’m going to have to pick your brain for inspiration.
Great advice Matt, this sounds all too familiar to me
Consumer-wise, the hardest thing not to buy this year was definitely the new Kindle. I was nearly ripped apart for about a week trying to decide if I should invest on it. Now I’m glad that I could resist the urge, and read the books from my Kindle for PC app. The money I saved will definitely have better use when I hit the road.
Have fun deciding where to move!
I know what you mean, man. I have one of the older Kindles, but I still can’t deny how alluring the new one is every time I see it.
It doesn’t make sense at all! Especially when the PC app lets you capitalize on Kindle book prices so easily.
When are you hitting the road, by the way? And where are you headed?
I still can’t figure out which city I’m landing in, heh.
Hey,
I’m leaving to Philippines on 16th, getting close…
Great post, Matt. My girlfriend and I recently had a freak out because we had a nice DVD collection… which meant all our friends ever wanted to do at our house was stare at the TV! So I went though this weekend and put half of them in a box to just give to said friends, lol. Then I went to the storage room, dragged out three giant boxes of books I haven’t touched in a year, and made $96 at a community garage sale! I’ve felt so much happier ever since just knowing my presence on earth was a little lighter.
Good for you, man!
You dumped the stuff you didn’t need, made a few friends happy, and made some cash. Pretty successful weekend, I think!
I just checked your blog, by the way. I love the honesty in your opening post.
That’s exactly how I feel in my current work situation, so I can sympathize with both your goals and that determination to take control of your life. If you ever want to chat about blogging, just send me an email!
Gotta help a fellow Texan, after all.
I’ve only been to Austin a few times, but I’ve always had fun.
Hey, thanks for checking it out! Will definitely drop you a line sometime soon. We’re thinking about those same three cities as you when our lease is up. Don’t know what it is about the Pacific Northwest that calls to the revolutionaries. Austin is awesome in and of itself, but the McMansions are spreading like cancer and it’s getting hard to breathe. Ack.
Thanks for the link and intro to that cheap online bookstore! I love me some books. Especially gently used ones at a low price. The ‘rents like it too.
Hey Matt -
Great post. I’ve recently pulled the trigger on a couple of these items myself. I’ve been drooling over my new Kindle and to be honest, I’ve been reading Free eBooks more than I’ve been purchasing from the Kindle store.
Also, we recently canceled our cable TV because of all the reasons you mentioned. There really is no reason to have it.
Thanks, Steve!
The Kindle is an interesting thing. I have one myself, and for the longest time I didn’t use it. It was cheaper to buy books at Half-Priced Books or ABE, so I kept doing that, but I’ve started to fall back in love with the Kindle over the last few months. The free book selection is marvelous, for one, but easy access to any book I want is a huge plus too.
Kudos on dumping the cable package! Anything that encourages you to sit in front of the TV a bit less is a huge improvement, I think.
Awesome tips, Matt! As for the movie collecting, you not only stop wasting money, but you also stop wasting the space they take up.
As far as paying for television, I haven’t paid to watch TV for over five years. A simple antenna picks up dozens of channels, including local news, three PBS feeds, and the major networks, for free and in HD. Add to that free and cheap online streaming and downloading and it seems downright wasteful for people to be spending $50-100 each month just to watch TV.
Nice list. May I also offer for the books http://www.bookfinder.com? Type in what you’re looking for and it searches multiple sites for the title. I always start there.
And, whew, thank God you didn’t add beer into number 4.
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Matt, very nice list, completely agree with you.
We never think we are spending on which we do not want.
So…what should we spend our money on? Booze? Oh, I see…invest it. Right
I’m gonna continue to buy my favorite books, DVDs and clothes. Why rent when I’m too busy during the day to watch it?
Haha! Booze it is, then.
And there’s nothing wrong with buying your favorite things, Lola. I have two or three DVDs myself for the movies that I really, seriously enjoy. The point of the article is to make people stop and think twice about how quickly and easily we reach for our cash and cards to buy stuff that we don’t need: more and more clothes, a DVD we watch a grand total of one time and then let sit on our shelves, etc.
It’s mindfulness, at the end of the day, to save our money for what matters.