Say No to debt

I'll bet you dollars to donuts if you're young at some point someone is going to tell you to get a credit card to "build your credit". I'll also bet the majority of people who take that advice do build credit, but not in a desirable way. Having late payments and maxed out cards is hardly the path to success in life. Developing "good credit" so you can borrow more and more money to go further and further in debt is the antithesis to building wealth. In my opinion, you want to be the guy lending the money, not the guy borrowing it! You want to be the guy getting the interest, not the guy paying it. Instead of "building good credit", I want you to start building actual wealth and building up resources that pay you over time. Credit card companies spend huge amounts of money ensuring a never ending supply of bad advice keeps floating around out there. Why? Because remember that time, heck maybe even 2-3 years straight, when you "made" money off the rewards points? The first time you got behind, they made that back 10 fold in interest and fees.

Don't depend on a credit card for emergencies, that is what an emergency fund is for. Don't be the person paying interest, be the lender. If there is something you want, create a savings plan for it rather than buying it for instant gratification only to double the cost of the item with interest and fees by purchasing with credit. Everyone loves financial advice they want to hear. Everyone loves hearing there is some magic trick. Everyone loves hearing how they will somehow get ahead by buying more stuff. The problem is anyone giving out that advice is either broke or trying to sell you something. Consider the source!

The Food Budget

It's incredibly easy to blow your budget out of the water with food. I suspect when most people actually track every dollar they spend on food for a week, they are shocked at how much it adds up to. In fact if you've never done this, I highly encourage you to track every dollar you spend on food for the next 7 to 10 days. Go old school with a pen and paper or use your phone, but make sure you record every dollar spent. Once you've done this and set your food allowance, if you feel you're overspending and are unsure of how to make the cuts, I have some suggestions that have reduced my food bills.

1. Try not to eat out. Eating out can really blow through the food allowance in a hurry. 
2. In order to achieve #1, you'll need to keep some food on hand that you can quickly prepare for those days when everything goes wrong and you'll arrive home late and tired. While the prepacked foods are less expensive than eating out, they are still quite high in many cases.
3. This brings me to my secret weapon: Leftovers. While there are a few things that I only enjoy eating freshly cooked, most foods still taste great reheated. I generally make enough of whatever I am creating for at least 2-3 meals when I cook. This reduces the effort needed for cooking, reduces the amount of dishes and cleanup, generally is much healthier than prepackaged foods or dining out, and prevents me from getting overburdened and ending up at a fast food window.

So that's it, that's my big secret. Cook big, pack it away, and make sure it doesn't get wasted. I believe this alone, if implemented consistently, will go a long way toward keeping you away from dining out and reducing the cost of food (and probably saving your health, too).

Everything you purchase does not need to be new

I've noticed a lot of my friends buy everything new. Now, there's nothing wrong with new items and there are some things that I would recommend buying new, but there are plenty of things you can get used and save money on. One of the things I look for used is clothing. I can often find expensive brands in great condition for less than even the least expensive new clothing prices. I have noticed the prices on used clothing in my area are increasing but there are usually still good deals to be found. If it's free, join membership programs at thrift shops and see if they have half off days or isle buster deals. The stores in your area may vary but Savers, Good Will, and Salvation Army are stores you can lookup to get started. You can get lots of books in those same places if you're an avid reader or have children. The books in my area run 1-3$ each. You can get them for less at yard sales, but you won't have as big of a selection all in one place. Sometimes churches have big sales, too. You can find a wide variety of items at those and they almost always have books and household items. You can get tools at yard sales and such but you'll probably have to bargain on the prices. At least in my area, people generally ask way too much for used tools. Sometimes they will take a lower price and often they won't. Always bring your phone and look up new prices for similar tools. Patience is the key and be prepared to walk away if it's not a good deal.

Make cashback while shopping without a credit card

I'm going to share a cashback site that I like to use. Now, let's be clear, shopping is not a strategy to make money or cure debt! However, if you're going to purchase something new anyway, then you might as well learn how to get extra cash back. I am recommending giving assistant because they support a wide variety of stores (most stores of any size with a website are supported), have the best customer service of all the sites I've tried, and have a chrome addin that you can use to automatically remind you to enable cashback if you use chrome. If you don't use chrome, then just to the website first to activate cashback before you go to the website and make your purchase. Anyway, I think it's a really great site and it is the one I've decided to go with after trying several. My referral link will give you a bonus 5$ when you sign up, too. For most stores the cashback is 1-3% so you're not going to get rich but it's a lot easier than using coupons and you can build up some cash for a rainy day.

How to save money without feeling any pain

One of the big problems with saving money when you're first getting started budgeting is that it seems like you're always too broke to save. It takes time and commitment to make a budget work for you in the beginning, so one thing you can do to begin saving while you master these skills is to use a change saving app. This is a fast and easy way to get started saving while you work out the more difficult task of budgeting.  Each time you use your debit card, the app will round up and store the money away in a separate FDIC insured account. You can use that account if you'd like or like I do just transfer the money back to your primary banking account when you're ready. There are several of these apps out there but the one I recommend and found to be the easiest to transfer money back and forth was Qapital 

Why Online Surveys are a waste of time

When I am vetting authors for useful advice regarding making money online, the first test is to see if they recommend taking online surveys. Anyone who has engaged in this endeavor knows how frustrating it is. Surveys that end up taking 15-20 minutes might only pay a dollar or less. Now, if you're happy making 2-3$ an hour that's fine, but you could literally work part time at McDonalds and triple your income this way. I don't know about anyone else, but my time is worth more than 2-3$ per hour. Throughout my various blog posts, I will be teaching you ways to create and save income without developing carpal tunnel for a couple of bucks an hour.