Dan and I are retired educators who did not earn exorbitant salaries! Yet, we managed to invest in our 403(b) constantly for decades. How? We discovered how to control three of the most expensive consumer purchases:
1. House. When we bought our first house 35 years ago, we rented out the third bedroom and bath to help with the payments and lived in a 1200 square foot house. Americans purchases houses way too big and costly!
2. Cars. I never bought in new car during my entire working life. I couldn’t afford a new car payment and invest in my 403(b). I was lucky in that a new, flashy car was never an extension of my ego, but that building a lasting financial future was.
3. Investment Costs. After you have accumulated a retirement nest egg, many people pay too much for advice and the investment product. NEVER PAY LOADS! A “Frontend load” is a commission and a “Backend load” is what you pay to get your money out of an account! What!? Those costs are not just absurd and unnecessary, but are RIPOFFS! We saved so much in investment costs by investing in NO-LOAD Index Funds in the last ten years we were now able to purchase a Tesla in retirement! Click here.
You can download the attached 205-ways-to-save. It shows how to control home, car and investment costs but also contains 205 common sense choices we make everyday. If we thought for just a moment, we could keep expenses low in many other consumer choices too. Impulsive buying is to be avoided!
For examples,
- Grocery shopping after a meal, not while hungry.
- Never use a bank–Use a credit union.
Mr. Money Mustache (MMM)
I have already written about MMM before. He is worth repeating. You have to visit America’s favorite master of frugal living, Mr. Money Mustache! This guy is hilarious! Take a look at my earlier post about this amazing character. (click here)