Generally speaking there are three ways to get rich: to generate new wealth, protect existing wealth, and minimize expenditures.
Generating new wealth comes down to developing assets, such as investing in the stock market, buying a franchise, working a job, or creating a method of passive income.
Protecting existing wealth comes down to setting up safety nets, such as automatic triggers to sell if a stock gets too low, investing in stable stocks such as Coca Cola, or having a stash or physical gold in the case of an economic collapse.
This article will focus on the third method, however. Here are some unconventional ways to save money (aka minimize expenditures):
1. Use a Safety Razor
Merkur Safety RazorMost men use a typical razor that they sell at CVS or your local pharmacy, such as Gillette or Bic. Let’s assume that you shave every day and use 1 disposable razor a week.
Assuming this, the yearly cost of using a Gillette razor could add up to roughly $193.78. A cartridge of 8 razors costs $27.99 on Amazon. Assuming that you replace your razor each week, this adds up pretty quickly.
Contrast this with a safety razor, which costs only $20.33 to buy, and $12.05 for a 2 year supply of blades.
This adds up to a cost of roughly $16.19 per year. Just replacing this one little thing is one of my favorite ways to save money. It’s easy, convenient, and it gives you a better shave.
Savings = $177.59/year or $14.80/month
2. Make Your Own Coffee
Bodum French PressSo many Americans buy coffee at Starbucks every morning without realizing how much it hurts their wallet. Just cutting out that coffee on the go is one of the best ways to save money.
Assume you buy one grande cup of coffee at Starbucks 5x/week. One grande cup is $2.10 (not including tax) so multiply this by 260 (5 days a week aka Monday through Friday) and you get $546 per year.
If you decide to make your own coffee, the investment is a little bit more at first, but you’ll save so much in the long run. Little things like this are some of the most oft overlooked ways to save money.
Let’s say you decide to buy a french press which is $27.42 on Amazon. I recommend using a french press, because it makes the best tasting coffee.
According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, one pound of coffee beans will make you around 40 cups.
You can get a bag of Red Coffee (it has my seal of approval) for roughly $15 a pound – this adds up to roughly $97.50 in coffee per year.
Let’s also be generous and say that you’re going to buy an insulated canteen to carry the coffee around with you.
Even assuming all of this, your total cost for 1 year adds up to $151.20.
Savings = $393.80/year or $32.82/month
3. Leverage The Right Credit Cards
A lot of finance advice out there says that credit cards are bad, and I understand this. Too many men get thousands of dollars into debt, and struggle to just pay the basic interest off each month.
What they should really be saying,however, is that buying more than you can afford is bad. Credit cards aren’t inherently bad—in fact, you can get a lot of benefits from them. They only become a bad thing when you impulse buy and can’t pay them off.
Having a cash back credit card is one of the best ways to save money, because every time you buy something you’re getting money back. If you use a 2% cash back card, however, you can save yourself a whole lot of money.
Assuming you spend $40,000 a year, that’s a net cashback reward of $800.
Savings = $800/year or $67/month
4. Choose Quality over Price
A huge mistake that people fall into is buying something that’s less expensive…in the short run.
For example, a lot of people buy cheap cars that’re only like $18,000. They think they’re being smart with their money, but what they don’t realize is that any car under $20,000 new is usually built as cheaply as humanly possible.
What this means is that you’ll end up spending a huge amount of money on maintenance within the next few years. If you had, instead, opted for a more expensive $23,000 Toyota Camry, you’d pay more up front, but the low maintenance costs and reliability would far make up for the extra $5,000 on the MSRP.
This is not the same as simply buying more expensive things because they’re more expensive. There is a difference.
But in general, it’s better to buy something for $1500 that will last 5 years than something for $1200 that will last for 2. Buying quality over cheap goods is one of the best ways to save money.
This concept can be applied to literally everything, from cars to computers to clothing to musical instruments, but it mainly applies to technological items that are prone to breaking down.
For example, when everyone was out buying beats headphones, because they’re marketed really well, I bought myself a pair of Bose Soundsports. Not only do they sound just as good as Beats, but they’re sweat and water resistant, I’ve had them for nearly a year and they still work really well, and they’re like 1/3 the price of Beats.
Do your research – don’t be a stupid consumer who just buys things because some celebrity endorses it. Buy things that will cost you less in the long run…even if they cost a little bit more in the short run.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Just this one tip is one of the best ways to save money, if not THE best way.
Savings = $2,000/year or $167/month
5. Switch to Energy Efficient LED Lightbulbs
This is one of those things that everyone has heard, but nobody actually does. It’s still one of the best ways to save money, though.
Let’s assume that you have 15 lightbulbs in your entire house. If you replaced every single one of these with energy efficient LED lightbulbs, you’d save around $150/year.
It’d cost you $60 upfront, but LED bulbs last literally for over a decade, so it’s well worth your time.
Savings = $150/year or $12.50/month
6. Limit Medical Bills
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” -Benjamin Franklin
You’d be amazed at how many people aren’t willing to spend $100/month on healthy supplements and multi-vitamins, but will easily spend $500/month on medical bills when they’re past 60.
Spend money on a basic bodybuilding multi-vitamin, and potentially some other high quality supplements. Things like red yeast rice for heart health, and CoQ10 for brain health will go a long way in limiting your medical bills.
Eat healthy—maybe incorporate a greens drink into your daily routine. I personally drink Athletic Greens every morning and I feel like a fucking champ. It’s one of the more expensive greens drinks, but I don’t care – I’d rather spend less money now and feel amazing than spend more later and feel like shit when I’m 45.
Investing in your health is one of the best ways to save money in the long run. I highly recommend that you do it.
Savings = $2500/year or $208.33/month
7. Buy in Bulk
There’s two ways to look at this – buying cheap stuff in bulk and buying expensive stuff in bulk. Either way, you’ll get a better deal. If you’re really trying to save, buy the cheap stuff in bulk.
This is one of the best ways to save money. Get a membership to Costco or shop at Walmart. Learn how to bulk up when you’re broke as a joke. Instead of getting the month-by-month insurance plan, get the 1 year insurance plan.
Instead of buying those little pod things that you throw into the washing machine, buy actual laundry detergent. Protip: you don’t have to use as much as they say. Use just half of that and your clothes will still smell fresh and be clean.
This also applies to insurance policies and rent. When you pay for 6 months or a year, you typically save 10% or more. This is the type of pitfall that a poor person would fall into—they would spend less up front, but more in the long run, then scratch their head wondering why they’re always poor.
Don’t be that guy. Take responsibility for your own financial future and make smart decisions.
Savings = $600/year or $50/month
8. Rent Out Spare Rooms in Your House
There’s a program known as AirBnB where travelers will pay you anywhere from $30-150 PER DAY to stay in a spare bedroom of yours.
If you have a spare bedroom and you’re willing to let travelers use it, you can easily net an extra $500-1000 a month. And if you live near a major city like New York, Las Vegas, or Miami? Forget about it – you can pull an extra 2 grand a month just by renting out your spare bedrooms.
Getting into real estate by renting out your existing property is one of the best ways to save money. In fact, you may not even save…you may end up MAKING money.
This is also a great way to meet new people—some of them are traveling businessmen you can network with, some of them are just couples on vacation, and some are probably young girls who may not be so opposed to having a fling with “that hot airbnb guy.”
Either way, if you have a spare room and you’re willing to rent it out, AirBnB is a great way to earn some extra cash and lower your rent/mortgage. You’ll get $35 in free credit if you click on the link, by the way.
Savings = $6,000/year or $500/month
9. Join Your Local Powerlifting Gym
There’s this weird phenomena—almost like a parasite that’s been spreading all throughout America…and its name is the commercial gym. They have tanning beds, salons, TV’s on every wall, and massage therapists…but you know what? They’re massively overpriced.
Most commercial gyms cost around $100/month, some more premier gyms (specifically in LA/Las Vegas/NYC) can cost up to $500/month! Contrast that with a garage gym, or even Gold’s, which is like $25/month.
Assuming you work out, which you should absolutely be doing, you’ll save a lot of money by switching over to a garage gym/powerlifting gym. This is one of my favorite ways to save money, because I love the atmosphere of old powerlifting gyms.
They’re raw, they’re filled with rusted iron, and the guys there have been lifting for years, so you’re never short of a spotter. Getting a membership at an old powerlifting gym like Gold’s is one of the best ways to save money.
You can also combine this with tip #7 and buy a whole year’s membership to get a discount.
Savings = $900/year or $75/month
10. Repair Stuff Yourself
Because most of our fathers never passed down valuable life-skills to us, we have to learn them ourselves. Oh well, tough shit—we are where we are and there’s nothing to do but move on.
One of those skills that men used to have is being able to perform maintenance on their own house. It used to be that if something broke down, the man of the house would fix it. Now, we shell out $300 to have some plumber or electrician come in and do it within half an hour.
Instead, learn to repair your own shit – it’s one of the coolest ways to save money, and it feels pretty damn good when you fix something yourself. Here’s a good guide to get you started.
Plus, as a bonus—girls often think it’s really sexy when a man can repair something himself. So learn how to fix your own shit.
Savings = $1200/year or $100/month
Summary
If you follow the advice that I give you in this article, you’ll save roughly $14,721.39/year or $1,226.78/month.
Obviously this isn’t an exact number, and it’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly how much you’ll save, but the point is you’ll save a lot of fucking money. What can you do with this money? Invest in yourself.
Learn to invest in the stock market, expand your mind by reading great books, invest in your health, and spend your excess money going on vacations and having new experiences.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to let me know. And, as always, I’ll see you guys next time around.
