Posted on 05/11/2011 11:41:03 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Like millions of Americans out there, I like the nicer things in life. I have an affinity for high-end cars, designer clothing, and name-brand home furnishings.
There was a time when I had the six-figure income to afford these things. That was before the crash of what has now become known as the dot-com era. After losing many nice things, I learned that even living at one's means can be a risky proposition. So the challenge became how to continue to live that lifestyle while spending drastically less than I did before.
I wanted to figure out how I could afford these things at a $30,000-a-year salary, just in case I ever had another salary decrease. That planning all paid off when the great recession came. Here's how I learned to have a six-figure lifestyle with a $30,000 yearly budget.
How to Get the Big Home
This one was all about patience, hard work, and discipline. First: New homes are out of the question. They're generally overpriced. I almost bid on a couple of for-sale-by-owner homes, but just couldn't get the right combination of price and neighborhood. I focused on HUD homes and foreclosures, and learned quickly that banks don't want homes on their books. I found a HUD home in a neighborhood with prices averaging above $200,000. My home was more than 60% less than that. It required a bit of work -- I spent a lot of free time on it as a do-it-yourself project -- but in the end I had my nice home. No one knows that I paid less than $80,000 and that I have a monthly mortgage payment of less than $500.....
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Finding and buying a foreclosure as a private party is more difficult than you might think. Most large real estate companies have holding companies that are well connected enough to find these foreclosures and buy them at 60%-70% off from the bank and then turn around and put them on the MLS for 20% off. As an unconnected private individual, your inquires will go unanswered much of the time.
Aside from how he bought the house, his basic advice is to buy used, and I agree with him on that. If you can get over your pride and buy used clothes, there is huge money to be saved. I found a killer Zegna coat at a Goodwill once in new condition, but the big money saver is T-shirts, which are usually a buck or two.
Bought a pair of very nice Cole Haan dress shoes with Nike air soles that just needed a bit of black shoe dye on part of the heel for $9.99 @ Goodwill. Newn they were an easy $130.
Lots of women just donate all their deceased husband’s stuff to Goodwill.
Yahoo news is like Ass Press and the rest of the MSM. Full of bs with a liberal agenda. They are not a serious news source. Don't believe anything the write/publish.
And keep in mind that a chair is a chair and a car is a car.
The fact they aren’t laid out in gold trim and platinum accents doesn’r really matter.
Then there's the issue with clear titles on the properties... eeek.
It’s very hard to get that good a deal on a house but it does happen.
In 90% of cases though, if you find a foreclosure property that needs rehab, the cost of repairs plus listing price is GREATER than you could buy a similar home for that didn’t need all that work.
Amazon and Ebay have also saved me a fortune over the years.
I’m currently looking for vacation rental property foreclosures.
As far as Craigslist is concerned. It’s a goldmine these days.
Cash is king!
I think the day will come when McMansions will house 2 or 3 families, not just one. Or one family and their single relatives and friends. Heck, that day may already be here...
Same here. Both have great deals on used stuff. It's easier to buy used now than it ever has been.
I just started buying razors online from amazon .. they are around $15 a pack for blades in the store. About $20 for double the quantity online. And it keeps me from setting foot in the zoo that is walmart.
Even new stuff is sometimes deeply discounted on Amazon.
Buying used stuff to save money is BS and part of a liberal agenda?
I agree with most of his ideas. There's lots of good deals out there on ebay, craigslist and at the pawn shops and goodwill.
Buying a big house, though, might not be the best idea on a modest income. Big houses tend to come with big utility bills and you can't buy used electricity on ebay.
“I think the day will come when McMansions will house 2 or 3 families, not just one. Or one family and their single relatives and friends. Heck, that day may already be here”...
If you live in Gwinnette county GA and Asian the time is now
Not too mention the taxes and insurance premiums. Just because one has a six figure salary does not mean its all glorious living.
There has to be some context.
About a year ago I stopped buying new shirts and pants. In this time I’ve acquired about 50 very high quality dress and casual shirts, average retail probably around $60 for $1.50 to $5 at Salvation Army and similar stores.
Less luck with pants. I have acquired about 12 pairs of business casual and dress pants, retail average probably about $75 to $85, for $4 to $10.
The key is persistence. You need to drop by once or twice and week and quickly check out what’s there. Usually will find only one or two items a week, but it’s a huge savings over time. The above wardrobe items would probably have cost me $4000 to $5000 at retail, I paid something like $350.
Sidenote: Since I started this experiment, I regularly get comments on how nice my clothes look, which I never did before, when I was trying to save money by buying less expensive new items.
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