Kevin here.
Is this you?
The other day I found this story on Reddit in the personal finance section.
For anyone that’s gone through financial stress before, we all know that money is more than just a number. You know that feeling you spend 15 minutes hovering over your bank statement… dreading the account balance.
Or when you go out to eat with your friends and you tell them that you’re not hungry… when you’re
starving.
Listen.
I’ve been there. It
sucks not having control over your finances. Because
it’s so simple, right? Just don’t go over your budget.
But what actually happens? Month after month you find yourself swimming in overdraft fees and credit card debt. You go to bed about how much you’re a failure at being a “functioning” adult.
So I today wanted to do a breakdown of how I would approach this Reddit girl’s situation. Lost your job, can’t afford rent, coming down on mudda struggles, and hate feeling broke?
Today I’m giving you the homie hookup and going to teach you how to save money on bills without a budget. LET’S GO!
Here’s the breakdown of the article…
Income: $1400/month
- Changing jobs and delay in getting a paycheck
- Bank fraud charges preventing paycheck deposit
- Late payment on rent and the landlord slapped an additional $725 utility bill (WTF?!)
- Car trouble
- Unexpected vet visit because cat got sick
Her expenses:
Grand total? $1425. Basically she is over spending $25 a month… This doesn’t even mention food.
Step 1: Focus on what you control
If you read this article, she has a lot of mudda troubles.
Going through financial trouble might be a first world problem, but it’s still tough going through that shit.
Negative thoughts are dangerous. It’s easy to get caught up thinking… what else is going to fuck up in my life?
A good analogy is feeding bears. You might start off with feeding one bear. Next thing you know, another one comes along… and another one. Next thing you know, you’re fucked.
Like bears, those negative thoughts will eat you alive.
Instead just focus on one thing that you can control. Start with the one with that’ll have the biggest impact and you’ll continuously make progress.
Okay enough hippie shit. Let’s delve into strategy.
Step 2: Fuck budgeting. Negotiate and replace instead.
Let’s face it. No one really likes budgeting. Why? It’s painful to cut on lattes and we feel like we’re missing out. We still want to live.
So let’s focus on the biggest wins instead.
- Living = Rent ($500) + Utilities ($750) = $1250
- Car = Payment ($212) + Insurance ($172) + Gas ($40) = $424
Living:
First of all, I think you’re landlord is straight up fucking you over. Unless you’re running a marijuana grow op or meth lab, you shouldn’t be “suddenly” spending that much.
Ask your landlord for evidence. Especially if you’ve been paying ~$150 per month, you have good baseline of what it should costs.
Another thing. If you can’t afford rent at this place, considering looking for a roommate. If your space is too small, try hitting up a friend to crash on their couch. Give them half your rent (~$250) and make up the difference in chores. Make win-win situations. After all no one likes a friend who just takes all the time.
With living I’ve thought about different solutions like living out a Korean spa. Imagine coming “home” to a sauna or hot tub.
Or you can be like Hobo Ahle and live out of your car. Such the mudda hot girl.
Car:
With car insurance, it is so easy to negotiate down car insurance. Literally you can spent 15 minutes on google and compare quotes. Literally with 15 minutes you can save $50 per month! At least I did.
Don’t forget to ask for discounts too. Extra tip? Once you find a quote, go back to your current insurance company and let them know you’re situation. Give them a chance to beat the lowest quote.
Also an important question to ask yourself as well is… do you even need a car?
Especially if you’re living in the city, cars can be hella inconvenient. Yes there’s public transportation but that shit is inconvenient and isn’t fun. Recently I bought a Segway S1 electric unicycle. It goes 12 mph for up to 15 miles. So if work isn’t that far, then use this. If it rains snows, use Uber instead.
You’ll be saving yourself $324 per month! A lot easier than skipping out on lattes right?
Step 3: Stop looking for change under your couch. Make money.
One of the reasons why I love hip hop is because of the work ethic and the hustle game. As Troy Ave once said… It’s all about the money.
A lot of people always focus on saving, but honestly you can only save so much. Instead focus on making more money. There’s no limit with how much money you can make.
Here are the quickest and easiest ways I can think of making money:
1. Sell shit.
Gary Vee recently made a good point during his podcast with Joe Rogan. If you need money, start playing some 21 Savage and start selling shit in your house. There’s easily $3k worth of stuff in your house.
Or look for deals on Slickdeals with something you’re interested in and and flip it. Especially with tools like OfferUp or Ebay, you can easily flip items for money.
2. Uber/Lyft/Postmates/Upwork/etc…
These days there’s so many services where you can be an independent contractor. The best part? You can work whenever you want and choose your hours.
3. Sell a service. What do you friends think you’re really good at? Great. Now take that skill and find someone who is willing to pay for it. Whether it’s cutting hair, making videos, or doing make up, setup your hustle game.
It doesn’t have to be painful
We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we handle obstacles.
Instead of guilt tripping yourself and feeling like you need to save on lattes, try to be creative with solutions. I remember a long time ago when Barbell Brigade was just starting to open, Bart said something on the lines of… limitations force creativity.
So don’t limit yourself. Why does saving or making money have to suck?
Earlier I said one of the worst feelings was not having control. One of the best feelings is taking back control and dominating an obstacle.
So whether it’s living out of your car or moving to Thailand to become a digital nomad, there’s always solutions. You just need to find them. What would you do if you were in this situation?
Just reply to the comments. Full Reddit article can be found
here.
Kevin
PS… I’m creating a course about personal finance. Sign up here to be the first to know when it comes out and get learn to invest in 20 minutes mini course for free (when it comes out).
