Need money saving, cheap living help

I didn't know where to put this, soif it's in the wrong place, just move it.

My husband and I are $30,000 in debt from student loans and other things. We try to live cheap, but Iknow there are other ways. So if I can have any ideals whatsoever, no matter how "strange" (no illegal or digusting tips), let me know. Thanks.

 

Do you have a lease or a mortgage?

 

Cabbage carrots potatoes are all cheap, nutritious and keep well. Same with rice and grapefuits. In fact if you eat whole foods you will find that they are cheaper and better for you. Try busking or making things like postcards jewellery or t shirts for xtra cash. Buy bulk. Walk or bike. Drink coffee and beer at home in the park or at friends houses. Buy your weed in larger quantities. Buy second hand clothes. Know that everything you need will and is being provided for you and so it will be.

 

there's a series of books called "the tightwad gazette". get them from your library and read thru. you'll find lots of doable ideas.


another key phrase for you: voluntary simplicity

http://b8.ezboard.com/fcacstfrm1.showMessage?topicID=3.topic

 

I should add more..
um..right now we rent. i have a roommate as well to help out. I am living in teh cheapest place right now..$555 a month for a two bedroom. No cable, have to pay for electric,(heat, hot water and cooking gas are all on one gas bill,which we pay) I have looked for a job, but after taxes, (federal, state and county) plus transportation cost (no public transportation)and other small expenses, with the job market right now, we would be losing money, not making any. Minimum wage is 5.15/h,for the record.

Thanks for the advice so far.

 

I'd look into real estate: there arecheaper places to live. Plus when you move you can realize all the crap you accumulated and garage sale it.


I'd move to where jobs and real estate are favourable and not too crowded,. Hoped to have helped happy hunting

life anlove

 

Well, especially considering that this is the communal living forum, perhaps you might want to consider trying to connect with some other like minded people and think about sharing a larger space.

 

Don't eat anything packaged. Pretty much stick to beans, rice, bread, cheap beef, potatoes. Take a multivitamin every other day and work out to keep your immune system up. Don't use any electricity or gas whatsoever. You live in maryland, so I assume you'll be cold as a mofo in the winter time. Wear alot of clothes all the time if you don't want to run heat. If you have to, buy a cheap space heater at the flea market. They use less electricity, but try to stay awake, cause they're a major fire hazard. Don't buy any clothes. Seeing as you live in maryland, I'm sure you layer clothing in the winter, I'm sure you have tons of clothes. If you need clothes ask your parents or steal. Just buy really cheap shit all the time. Really think twice about everything you buy.

Don't do either of those; when you don't even have money for food and rent, you should'nt be buying bud and booze. Get your priorities strait!

 

Hey....I live super cheap and have vices and thats OK. Life wouldn't be much fun if it wasn't fun.

 

thanks for the tips. Hopefully my situation will be get better. I have a chance to make some cash soon, so let's hope.

 

My wife and I were also up to our necks in bills and debt that would just never go away. No matter how much money we made we never got ahead of the game. So we decided to get rid of everything...and i mean everything. We were living in Las Vegas at the time and I had a phat job working concerts. We bought a motorhome and used our house as collateral once we had the motorhome we sold the house. This dropped our housing expenses from $1500 a month to $850 we then moved to arizona and found an rv park that allowed me to do a work trade for rent, so we stayed for free. Living at the rv park provided us with electric and water for free. And there are many rv parks that offer work trade.

After a year of living in the motorhome we had enough money to buy rv with cash and stop making payments. At that time we were still approx. $115,000 in debt. So we called the bank and surrendered our motorhome, yes this would effect our credit, but we had already damaged it by not paying our bills on time. Believe it or not we found and bought a 1978 40' school bus for $3,000 and moved out of our $850 a month motorhome into an empty bus that we owned. We then proceced to file bankruptcy on the remaining debt i.e. credit card bills, car payments on car we did not even own anymore etc.
This process cost us about $400 to hire a paralegal to help explain the paperwork and file it.

Now after 3 years since we moved from Las Vegas we still live in the bus and love it we have no bills, no debt and save everything we make and vow never to be in debt again.

If we can't pay cash we don't buy it.

This was long winded, but not in detail if you're curious about anything then e-mail me

peace
busgypsy

 

Mostly good advise, but I'd skip the drinking of beer in the park !