Hey everybody! I'm making a course on habit change (it's my first one and it's going to be awesome). There will be lots of videos, silly jokes, & most of all actionable steps to make any habit stick. Sign up to hear about it... mattdavella.com/newsletter
Speaking about habit change. I would like to recommend the power of habits by charles duhigg. Its a very inspiring book that explains a lot of basic science of habit and could help you to create/change a habit or some. Great vid btw keep up
Matt D'Avella i want your $.02. I've read the TMMO. I've tried explaining these BASiC concepts to my wife, but she feels their impractical. I personally feel she just doesn't want to put in the work and make sacrifices to achieve what we both want. Do you have any advice on how to approach her and get her to see reason?
My father was born in 1926 and grew up during the Great Depression. He told me as a child, whenever he earned enough money from his paper route he would go to the bank and trade his change in for a dollar bill. When he got home from the bank he would borrow his mother’s clothing iron and carefully iron the dollar and then put it in a safe place to keep. We were lower middle class growing up and I never had name brand anything; I didn’t even know what name brands were. My parents were savers, with 5 kids to feed and we wasted nothing. I remember my sisters making their own prom dresses with our mother. I remember riding with my father to the dairy farm to pick up milk with seven 1-gallon jugs. I remember planting our gardens in the spring. My parents understood the value of a dollar and bequeathed that knowledge to me, for which I’m eternally grateful. I’m 53 years old now and have lived below my means for my entire life. I’m proud to say I now have a net worth of nearly 1million dollars and expect to live comfortably in retirement. Not bad for a lower middle class kid starting with nothing.
Your story is so encouraging to me!! I'm the oldest son of a single mom. We didn't have a lot growing up. My mom is 40 and just now buying her own home. After 20 years of living in and out of gramma's house and friends' houses, it's so encouraging reading stories like yours
Thank you for sharing this. It has inspired me to achieve more in my life. I may not have experience what you have gone through, but this story is something that I will cherish. I hope one day I could also inspire young people to grow and become the best version of themselves.
@@DrTariqRamadan nope! I don't give a rats ... What they think that is why I drop them! Don't need to prove myself to toxic losers ! I rather walk alone than with bad company. I have 35 year tract record that said fake people are disposable and unnecessary
@@svetlanikolova7673 Fantastic way of thinking! Instead of trying to impress assholes, you can just push them out of your life. This way there's no internal pressure to live up to anyone's expectations and you can figure out who you want to be. I basically dropped 90% of my "friends" some years ago because they were trash talking dumbasses. Best decision of my life so far.
Think and Grow Rich helped shift my mindset a lot. There’s a quote that’ll always sit with me “Stop saying, ‘I can’t afford it’ and start asking ‘How can I afford it’
One way I convince myself out of buying something that I don't need is to calculate in my head how many hours I would have to work to pay for that item. When I think I have to work 5 hours to pay for those "cute" boots, I generally decide it's not worth it.
I think this works only when you have a low wage... 5 hours for boots is nothing. When you earn more, it's better to think "if I don't buy these boots, I will have my own house a day earlier"
You should consider yourself lucky! My wife's monthly salary is $450. I always tell her that we are lucky and should be grateful because we have more than 90% of the people in the world.
Well, The calculation you have to do is also, if you need that and how many hours it would Last. If you needed those boots, are good quality and they would Last many years, then its worth the effort.
Yaro I’ll ELABORATE for you... When it comes to the things you want it is usually a lot.., you could make a whole list of many things you want.... Make a list of all the things you want... This is an exercise and if you do it you will get a really good feeling of what we are talking about. *When it comes to what you need. The list becomes smaller Ask yourself what are all the things you want and now ask yourself what things could I live without it causing any problems in my life.. Cancel those things if you didn’t have, it wouldn’t effect your life. This may mean being an essentialist and this is a person who only has things which are valuable and they live a simple life with only those things which are of necessity. The things we need are 1. Safety [food, water, clothes, shelter] All else is just luxury and if you have those mentioned above then you are way ahead of millions!!! If you already have clothes at home there is no point of buying more clothes. If you have food at home there is no point of going to restaurants. Don’t just buy to buy. Buy because you must and if you already have that which you are buying then you don’t really need it, and this is because your not fulfilled. Having less is more and this is very true Hope this helps
Quitting Social media and paying all the bills and on my salary day and spending what is left helps a lot. Paying off all the bills on the salary day actually removes a lot of illusions and helps tremendously.
I get paid once a month. I wake up extra early on payday and pay ALL my bills on that day. What's left has a job: food, gas for car for the month, savings, miscellaneous. It feels good to be able to provide for myself and family and not struggle, so when I pay the recurring bills l do so with a greatful heart that I am able to do so, and thankful that my family is being cared for. I cannot be angry because of money that I don't have, or feel sadness for the things I want but probably don't need. I am greatful to afford the necessities of life and to be able to afford tiny luxuries here and there. Social media and marketing just make you feel bad about what you don't have which leads to self esteem issues. Work to be a better you, not a person you're told you should be.
I am 31 and I only started learning about personal finances after knowing that other people younger than me have more money and savings while I have nothing. I only have a car and no house. My parents aren’t good examples when it comes to good and healthy finances. They taught me to spend money right now, because next month I’ll get my salary and have money again. I went on following them until I realized I didn’t have any savings after working for 5 years. So, now I read books and videos about personal finances. I cut unnecessary expenses and write down my expenses daily. My plan is to finish off my car loan by end of the next year while saving money for buying a house. Wish me luck.
Tity: Just thought I'd mention that using your public library versus buying books or videos is something I'd done for years. And, nowadays, they have a lot of audiobooks, too. At my public library branch, I can go online to their website and search for a particular book I want. If my branch doesn't have it, they'll get it from another branch and email me when it's arrived that they're holding it for me. (And, it only takes a couple of days0. At mine, you can rent both for 2 weeks AND renew it for another two weeks, and frankly, if I haven't read it by then, I'll never read it. (And, if it's a book I really think it would be good to own, I go on Amazon and buy it used versus new). I also rent DVDs from it. Surprisingly, they have many movies that have only recently come out on DVD, so I see a LOT of recent movies. AND, you can rent them for two weeks as well as even 10 at a time.. I'm 64, have loved to read since I was in about 5th grade, and one of the first things I do, whenever i move anywhere, is find the closest public library so I can get a card. I've always visited my public library about once a week. For DECADES now. : ) To me, the public library is one of the GREATEST bargains in life. it's FREE. : )
arx754 It’s so great hearing that you really like to read and can do it for free for most of your life, but I live in a third world country where public libraries just don’t exist. I usually look for free ebooks and read from my phone or kindle.
1. Make more money than you spend 2. Try to keep your spending low/predictable 3. Make sure to invest the difference of making and spending into three categories: Short-term (Emergency), Mid-term (Home, Car, Passive Income), Long-term (Retirement) 4. Set a goal to create a constant, passive income equal to your spending (either through investments or business) 5. Live a life that you want, making sure you're earning constantly.
I am Taiwanese and I’m surprised we are so different. We usually spend money less than half of we make. Usually we save 50% of our income. And build our life using the rest of it. At least that’s how I learned.
America is a consumerist nation. It's good to live in America if you're a saver, but if you're like most Americans, your finances usually aren't good because of bad decisions.
You know, I'm 28 years old.. I dont consider myself as a very smart individual, but a lot of the personal rules I'm reading are things I learnt myself and thought were common sense (for the lack of better terminology) I've had one hell of a up bringing with a lot of hard lessons for sure, but first thing I did when I had $ was to invest
The zero waste life style has made me spend A LOT LESS money! That's simply because whenever I'm out to buy something I automatically think about where that'll end up when I'm done with it (and that usually stops me from buying a ton of crap). So now I only buy what I absolutely need, and only quality stuff.
Luiz Otavio yes!! Zero waste has absolutely changed my life and spending habits. Zero waste and minimalism are pretty similar also- when I became zero waste, I basically defacto became a minimalist. In addition- becoming vegan also cut my grocery bill spending pretty much in half. Meat is so expensive. Grains, lentils, and dry beans by the bag are $2 and last me a whole week
I also buy quality stuff. Fast fashion seems cheap but a faux fur will not last long. I own a real fur and it is my only coat in winter and I don't need to buy any more coat for the rest of my life.
I'll never forget how my friend, who was neck-deep in debt, used her paycheck to buy an iron-studded leather bracelet!! It cost her $65 plus shipping, and this was back in 2002! Imagine blowing your only money on something so pointless! That was a real life lesson for me, especially when she got ultra defensive when I tried to talk some sense into her. Some twelve or so years later, she filed for bankruptcy. In her worldview, none of it was her fault. She was fucked by the system, or whatever excuse. Knowing her changed me. I've since totally stopped buying crap. If it isn't a necessity, I'm not buying it. *I'll enjoy experiences, not things.*
@@PAPERCHASERCH47 Thanks for putting a smile on my face. I'm so grateful that something I said helped. I've been going to live theater plays, using the money I save from not buying junk. It's been 54 plays so far, and it's changed my life. I hope you enjoy your experiences, too. Take care, dear. 😊👍
@@HB-kb6rt Everything costs money, pretty much. Being minimalist, at least in this context, means not buying crap that clutters up your home but adds no real value to your life. It's not some absolutist statement. Maybe someone out there would find value in buying, say, terracotta figurines. I'm not one of those people. I buy experiences instead. Or I'll just go for a walk instead, and that's usually free, or attend a free event of which there are many in most urban spaces.
Asief Dhansay consider the trades. If not you’ll be funding things like gender studies. Completely worthless degrees. Universities need to begin feeling the crunch as well. Once they start focusing on STEM again it may be worthwhile.
In Germany education is free to everyone. Having to pay off nearly 100,000 euros or dollars right after graduating college seems just not feasible to me growing up in an environment where the decision wether or not you'd like to learn and study is up to yourself. On the other hand it's depressing to see so many people around here not using the opportunities given to us, considering people in other places of the world go into half a lifetime of debt to do this. I just don't get why the United States haven't found out that education is a privilege that should be given to everyone who is willing to progress and move ahead. It's sad so many lifes of brilliant people are not revealed to the world simply because they can't afford to visit the place to study.
One great way I've been able to save money is by not having a car. I know this isn't practical for a lot of people considering their careers and location of residence, but for those who live in a city like me, there's really no reason to have a car. I'm a bike commuter and I've been for the past 2 years. I used to have a car but I couldn't afford the upkeep so I got rid of it. You got a car note, insurance, gas, and the maintenance alone is enough to clean you out. Cheaper to just bike, use public transportation and Uber/Lyft. Not to mention, you'll also get into better shape on a bike! I don't even miss having a car.
I agree. If location demands it I understand but buying a car for the sake of having it is such a waste, especially if you have access to decent public transport/easy access to the places you want to go on a daily basis. When I considered the amount I'd pay ror petrol and taxes and maintenance, the occasional long distance cab fare is very manageable.
Great ideas 💡 Same I'm doing in Dubai from last two years.. No car.. Public transportation and walking... Coz just the driving license will take my two three salaries and then the viscous cycle
There is a nice trick one can use "If you cannot buy 5 of it you cannot afford 1 of it". It helps. If I cannot buy 5 bikes I could not afford a bike, so I worked till I could buy 5 of them and then I finally bought a bike, now if the bike needs a major repair I can do it without going into debt.😤
This dont make any sense. And im not being a dick. But this doesnt sound inspiring. Why cant we just spend the money. Its not like we cant take it with us. Whats the point on having money if you cant spend it??
Change your Amazon password to "you deserve to be debt free". Don't allow your computer to log in automatically / auto-populate the password for you. Then, enjoy the reminder every time you type in your password to log in :)
Funny enough I have everything I would ever need to buy in specific list from stuff I defiantly need to stuff I don’t need now like kitchen/bathroom/cleaning supply’s everything with only the correct amount of things I need nothing else
You deserve to be debt free” You deserve NOT to live paycheck to paycheck” Hats off to you, you’ve said it all !!! In another one of your videos interviewing someone, I learned spending money on WHAT REALLY MATTERS TO YOU is so much healthier than spending money on everything. Live your life rather than a copy paste life. Likewise, I learnt from your videos that it’s okay to spend less than you make but it’s also great to look for ways to expand your means, put it simply to find ways to earn more. Last, if we truly value financial independence and all the substantive effects of it I’m certain we’ll find a way to get there and it may feel so so good ...
I looked to see where I was spending the most of my money...TRAVEL. So, I started working for the airlines......23 years ago. Best decision ever! Now I live within my means, save 25 into 401K and bought a house that was just enough house for us.
Starting early is the best way of getting ahead to build wealth, It's such a pity most folks spend more and invest less while intelligent people always try to harness any investment opportunity not minding the risks involved.
I pretend that I am broke, I cut going out with friends (unnecessary expenses for food & entertainment), I eat outside only once or less per week. I stopped buying clothes by popular brands. Despite the urge to spend money, the less you know how much you have, the less you'll spend. do just pretend to be broke and after 2 3 years, I hope to have enough to move out and boost my own business.
This was great, I've been looking for "save money books" for a while now, and I think this has helped. You ever tried - Hiyogan Jenhloe Domination - (do a google search )? It is a great one off product for discovering how to gain the mind of a successful millionaire minus the hard work. Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my brother in law got cool results with it.
Being the third and fourth born children in a low-income family, there was no hope of us getting financial help with college. In fact, my parents told us that college was an expectation, but they could not afford to help us. This wasn't an unrealistic expectation because during my formative years my parents lead by example. They never went into debt themselves while raising us (or previously - they both had multiple degrees themselves) on an impossibly low salary. That example taught all my siblings the value of money. We all learned to budget from the day we were born. My parents encouraged us to save 50% of everything we ever made precollege in order to pay for college. I am proud to say that I made it through a 4-year degree, masters, three used cars, and 2 MacBook pros completely debt free. I had to pay as I went paying semester to semester and worked 2-3 jobs at a time. I also got good grades and maintained a youtube channel throughout the process. All of that is by the grace of God and my parents wisdom in raising us that way. They were infuenced heavily by Dave Ramsey which I got to hear all about throughout my life. ... It's not all fun in games though. The main struggle I have now is getting approved for apartments. I have NO credit to speak of so I end up paying massive amounts in down payments to prove I am a reliable tenet. lol
Eat 2 meals(or even 1)per day while intermittent fasting. No fast food or processed crap. Take cold showers. Open a window for light instead of turning lights on. Don't drink sugar drinks or smoke cigarettes. Consider a bicycle for local travel.
@@cedricfonguh8108 i believe that. I can only just stand a cold shower at my parents place, swear it's the coldest shower in the sourthern hemisphere and I house sit, so I've tried about 14 different cold showers in the last year
I went from being in debt to moving to Thailand to live cheaply, to having less than $1,000 in the bank but debt free. Now I’m worth over $600k and documented the entire journey, most of which has already been explained in this video. It works.
I got the idea after reading the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris, if you look at my old videos from 8-10 years ago, it was just scuba diving and traveling cheaply. It wasn't until 2013 I started actually making money online. But it's been a great journey ever since.
Jane Smith It all cost money even for a minimalist. Yes I have that but also great six figure career which is more than enough to afford that with free lifetime global flight benefits among other things.
It's even harder if you're a Filipino. You are expected to support your siblings until they finish school, support your parents through out their lives, help your nieces and everyone in your family until you're exhausted.
I feel you fellas 🤜🤛. Its the same with any decent family-centric society. I have pakistani roots and I have the same kind of pressure. Its achievable for me because I share the burden with my brother but I dread to think what it is like for a lone person to carry all that weight on their shoulders.
@@joferlandayan8354 There is an old saying ...."The more you do for your children the less they can do for themselves." I would help elderly or.disabled relatives but not ones that can work their way out of their money problems.
Perfect timing! I just got a great job, but have a lot of debt from college and my car is falling apart. I'm holding myself back from buying new clothes and kitchen appliances so that in the future I can have my college paid off and a new car without the bad credit and regret keeping me from enjoying it. I need a reminder of my long-term goals every now and then and this hit the spot. Thanks again.
To my understanding this just proves how much we need an edge as investors because playing the market like everyone else just isn’t good enough. I've been quite unsure about investing in this current market and at the same time I feel it's the best time to get started on the market, what are your thoughts?
Thats true, I've been getting assisted by a FA for almost a year now, I started out with less than $200K and I'm just $19,000 short of half a million in profit.
@Dan Brooks My advisor is ‘’Christine Jane Mclean’’ she’s highly qualified and experienced in the financial market. She has extensive knowledge of portfolio diversity and is considered an expert in the field. I recommend researching her credentials further. She has many years of experience and is a valuable resource for anyone looking to navigate the financial market
I LOVE that you admitted that there was something holding you back from your personal finances. This is SO true! Very often we decide to turn a blind eye towards the things that we know are too much to deal with, or the things we simply do not want to face. I did the same for several years after I graduated with my MBA and $50K in debt. But, I soon realized that unless I face this issue head on, I will be in for a long ride that would include paying an insane amount of money in interest and lost opportunity. I managed to pay off my student dent in only 7 years, all while working full time and supporting myself 100%, there was nobody to help. On my RUclips channel, I am sharing exactly how I did it.
Just starting on my minimalism journey and it feels great, to recycle or give away things I don’t need, declutter and stop spending money on things that are unnecessary. I’ve never been a very materialistic person so it’s been a rather smooth transition so far. It’s giving me more time and freedom to work on my soul. We are not here to be slaves to debt ❤️
The game changer for me was Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Spending less than you earn really is difficult, but the principle of paying yourself first as explained in RDPD makes it a lot easier. I'll be sure to check out the books you recommended. Thanks for sharing!!
Joey Castellon I read RDPD before I read total money makeover and I truly regret it. One teaches you how to take a little risk to make your money work for you which can have severe setbacks (RDPD and what happened to me by taking a loan out to start a business) and the other book teaches you the dry bare bone basics with no sugar coating to being financially free (Total Money Makeover).
George Furlong The Millionaire Next Door is definitely a great read. People seem to never mention that some of its statistical facts are outdated though since it was written a long time ago. Some of the chapters like the one that talks about the best future jobs should be viewed with a grain of salt. Total Money Makeover's principles however should be followed even a century from now. Every chapter of it.
My favourite: “the myth of I don’t have” I can’t tell you how many times I used to use that as an excuse when I was young. Now I find genuine joy from finding creative ways to make due with what I have.
Thank you Matt! I would say the number one rule for my finances is to pay myself first. 20% of my month income goes directly in an other place of the 80% (first day of the month). Then I'm just forgetting about it and don't even think to spend it.
Since I'm paid an hourly wage, I think of the things I want to buy in terms of how many hours I have to spend at work. Certainly has helped cut out spending on things I don't really need or want. For the first time in my 30 years of living, I've got a modest but growing savings!
This is the key to retiring early, it's the FIRE movement (Financial Independence Early Retirement) I can talk about this all day and night, it coexists with minimalism so well, I hope to be able to share everything I learn on here just like you Matt!
Because of this channel I’ve had a different outlook on money and while I slip occasionally I’ve been embracing minimalism and books/audiobooks on personal finance. I have stocks now. A year ago I wouldn’t have any concept of it. Thanks Matt, keep up the good work
here's my 5 cents, yes saving money require sacrifices, yet it was my new skills that helped me get where i wanted, we are not longer on those golden years where having one job was enough , i was taught to find something i love and that would take care of me, but it didn't, at least not the field i chose, even after i was saving money, i was still in debt, not until i learned other skills like web design, online marketing, sales, copywriting amongst others, these are skills that gave me extra income not a lot at the beginning but enough where i was able to not worry about money ever again, so yes save money but more importantly use some of that money to learn new skills and make sure your skill are current with our times.
Exactly what I do. I work in IT Help Desk. But for extra cash, I go to the local county and States auctions they have them every month. I buy mainly laptops and desktops, load them and sell for 150% profit.. I bring in extra $1500-$2000 profit per month doing this. It's a hard work, but it HELPS BIG TIME.. I mainly sell on Offerup, Ebay, Facebook Market Place and Craig'slist. Buy an i7 desktop for $25, spend $10 on Hard Drive, $5 on OS license, $10 on extra Ram. Making it 8GB Ram, 500GB hard drive. Sell it anyday for about $130-$150.. If I'm not lazy, I can load about 10 a week between my work and family. And I can sell about 6 a week. Some week I can sell 10.. I wrote all this so someone else can see what I do and perhaps find something that they are good at and use it to make extra income.. The days of working one job in the U.S are gone for regular people like us. You either find a second job or learn a skill and work for yourself on the side. Hope this help.. I'm in the process of learning how to code from Udemy. it will cost me about $30 for the three classes I will need. I can also use that to make extra cash on the side and help me move up in my career as well.
@@gleenallen6386 Wow I work IT as well. Im gonna try this. Im single with no kids so i have tons of time to do that when i get home from the gym. Good idea.
My way out was grinding harder, listening more carefully at work, volunteering for hard challenges and overcoming them. I got promoted every year, by staying at the same company or changing workplace. I didn’t upgrade my lifestyle, it stayed the same. That was the key.
Very fortunate situation you were presented with. Not many people have the luxury of moving back in after college to pay off their student loans. Many people are on their own at 22, with 100k in student loan debt. If you are this latter group, its alright. Keep your head up, and fight through it one day at a time.
@@casebeth Your situation is your fault. Even if it didn't start out that way. Accept responsibility. Yes, it sucks that we were handed a world that wasn't perfect. Guess what: we won't fix it either 😂
One of the biggest things that help me manage my money is keeping it visible constantly. I don't mean carry a bunch of cash on you at all times. What I mean is look at your bank account and make the conscious effort to be aware of it. So many times we work doing whatever we do, get paid and mismanage our money after paying bills. Seeing what you have leftover until you can start building up some savings will keep you aware of what you really have as "extra" money. If more of that "extra" money goes to debt than random crap, you'll have fewer anchors and eventually, you will be able to spend your money a lot more freely.
I actually crave the mindset I had at age 12-13. I was insanely dedicated and focused on my goals. I got my work done on time, I worked out twice a day, I took care of myself, cleaned everyday, educated myself outside of school, everyone in school was intoxicated with my persona and always asked me questions. I have no idea how I managed to stay so focused and determined for so long at such a young age but it really transformed who I was at the time. Now I’m a completely different person. Whilst I’m hardworking and have almost impossible goals I want to accomplish I can’t find the time to exercise and get to bed at a decent time and read daily. I tempt myself with social media and shopping and indulge in the things I know are terrible for my own success. I will make a change soon and become the person I used to imagine I would be.
Meal prep had helped me a lot in gaining some financial freedom and extra time... I only spend around $7 per day on food (3 healthy meals and 3 healthy snacks) and have it ready and on me whenever I need it.
I needed to hear this video. I am 23 and uncomfortable, mostly from the pressure I put on myself daily. I believe exposing yourself to even this type of information will help anyone change. Especially for those who are too scared to have a physical, honest conversation. Great Content! 👍🏾
Great video! My story was a bit different; I never had much money in the first place and I knew that in order to keep my freedom and independence I had to be minimalist with finances as well. It's fascinating to see how little we actually need and I no longer 'reward' myself by buying stuff. On a sidenote, I'm from Germany and the US university system is insane with the loans you have. Here you don't have to pay around a hundred bucks per semester (!) and if you can afford your flat and lifestyle yourself, you're debt free when you're done with college. It's insane what you guys have to go through!
Nessa Goes Wild Hi Nessa. I am from Malaysia, one of the South East Asia's country. When I graduate university, I have student loan RM 38k to settle.😂 I work hard till this moment to be debt free. Just sharing, thanks.
Thank you for sharing! My comment wasn't supposed to mean that only US American students have crazy loans. I think it's inacceptable no matter where you live. Good luck with becoming debt free and all the best!
Thank you for the figures! I guess we (in general) build expensive houses, have expensive cars and can buy pretty much anything on loan, from TVs to motorbikes. I'm still somewhat surprised about the numbers though, maybe someone else can explain?
Charlie Ennis but those European countries actually take care of their citizens. What does it matter to the average citizen if the country is in debt? I'd personally rather have my country be in debt than me personally.
Not necessarily i grew up poor but all it did was plant an idea in my head that when i got money that spending it would me me happy but it doesnt i had to learn formyself that being poor isn't necessarily a bad thing and sometimes having bugger all is better than having the responsibility of money
Yeah no it meant I never had any money to handle or save so I would spend money I didn't need to just cos I had it. Although it did give me the ability to be quite content with a very low key lifestyle. I never spent money on going out to eat until my rich friends taught me to because that was just not STH people do in my mind. I overspent on clothes and tech mainly cos those things I had always wanted and never had.
As an Asian, I was taught these growing up. I usually save more than 60% of my income. I once lived on 25% of my income. Mind you I didn't earn much. Roughly $1500 a month then.
@@helpmeImpoor5314 I rented a small room (basically just enough space for a bed) without air conditioning for 400 MYR. I ate simply and took public transport or walk.
Automate your savings! Even if its a tiny amount, it'll add up. I love "The Financial Diet" RUclips channel, Dave Ramsey's podcast and his Everydollar app. These all keep me in check. ☑️
Do you have recommendation for non Christian financial gurus? I saw Dave Ramsey on the media a lot. I don't check him out because I don't want a Christian sermon in a practical counseling.
From seeing others. I knew when I was growing up that I didn’t want to live paycheck to paycheck. I enjoy living within my means but I do know that I like to treat myself every now and then or enjoy a vacation without having to have to worry about money.
@@davidhrzenjak He is prolly making around 80K a year and is only spending around 10K per year or less living with his parents for free. no rent driving a hooptie. lol.
@Evocati what??? No hate here dumbass. IM just stating thats prob how he did it. Had friends that did it just like that. Nothing wrong with living with your parents to get rid of some school debt. Notging wrong with driving a hooptie either. I drove a few in my days. Try not to be so uptight. You"ll live longer.
I just graduated college and got a great job making a lot more money than I’m used to. I’m really glad you uploaded this because I’m getting my first paycheck Friday and I know I would have just blown it as quick as I could. Thanks for the advice Matt, it’s really helpful right now.
Zachary Bloom Live like you did before that great job and make the money work for you (saving and investing.) Don’t get lifestyle creep. I know the hard way. Congrats on the new job!
Yes! I’ve been practicing this lately. I only spend about 50-60% of my check. I know I have more to spend but I DO NOT let myself spend it. It’s basically like I just don’t have it. I went from having $2 in my bank account the day before payday and now I saved close to $5,000. This is even after going on vacation and purchasing a new car! I still continue to only spend 50%-60% but I am able to save enough for those things without dipping into the other money.
I really appreciated this approach to discussing personal finance. The only criticism I have (and it's the same one I have for so many of these types of videos) is that being able to move back in with your parents after college is a privilege. One that not everyone has. I'm not saying don't talk about it. I'm not saying don't offer it as an option. But recognizing that it's not something everyone has the ability to do is important.
It's true that one of the biggest expense is rent. If you can save it at the beginning by living at your parents house, it's great for your savings. But, often, children work far from their parents home or just want their own flat.
Or literally CAN'T move back in with parents. Deceased parents, abusive parents, or parents who don't have the space for their children to move back because they themselves are poor. That's what I'm talking about. When there is actually not an option to move back in.
The anecdote of moving back in with his parents is to push the idea of sacrifice. Doing things you aren't comfortable with, but that is within your ability and will help reduce cost. For him, this was living with parents, for you, it would be something else.
Ni Yao Thanks for your insight. But my point still stands. And there's not really an equivalent 'sacrafice.' Also I'm not sure I agree with your premise that living rent free is a sacrifice...
It stays true on its central topic: the principle of money management remains same - from ancient Babylon, to writer's own era (almost a century ago) and even today!
"Spend less money than you make". true statement @Matt! The problem is that our wallets are so closely tied to our emotions (e.g. heart). We often can separate the logical from the emotional.
I got out from under a quite large debt, and i made it because i want to own myself and my time. I used this formula to keep my spending in check: X amount of money= x amount of time i can spend like i want without worrying how to pay for my basic needs. I wrote this on my smartphones lockscreen: The most valuable thing your money can buy is freedom. When people called me extreme i told them this: i hate my present financial situation. I will use any legal means to make my sitaution better. I don't care about keeping up with the joneses. I will live in a tent if i have to, and eat the same food for a week if i have to.Laugh all you want, i really don't care. This is important to me.
Following Dave Ramsey was a life changer. We are about 1 year and a few months from being completely debt free and I’ve been able to keep a budge for the last year, it’s been so freeing! Previously trying to manage finances was emotionally crippling for me!
I needed this so much! You just saved me from blowing my next paycheck. I'll probably save that money now or actually get started with e-commerce like I had planned on doing a while ago. Your youtube channel is pure gold! Definitely write a book if you haven't yet!
The first Matt video I ever watched. I remember thinking two things: “Damn, what great insight. I love this guy.” and “Damn, I really need to start a RUclips channel.” Four years later I finally did. Thanks Matt. You’re the goat.
I'm so digging your channel. I feel addicted to watching every video that you have made because the content is so well thought out and presented. Thank you is in order and wish you success.
The mantra to follow (which has helped tremendously) 1. Save 30% of the salary 2. Don't get influenced by social media posts and lifestyle stories of others (Delete social media accounts, it feels so good to have FO[N]MO) 3. Don't budge to peer pressure
A really great advice. I'm a mass communication student too. Most of the time I sit down and think about meeting the dots in my life. You gave me clear vision what I exactly need to do. Thanks for existing.✨
I guess the minimalist angle is that you buy less things, sacrifice and live with less to pay or debts or accrue savings. It's being able to view possessions differently to achieve that.
Dale Berry it’s a form of minimalism, being a minimalist isn’t about having less all the time, it’s also about spending less and saving your monthly income. The more you save the less you’ll eventually have. This is minimalism in its proper form.
A few things that are helping me at the moment; 1. Having a savings account that requires 30 day notice before money can be withdrawn 2. The spare change vault on Revolut. Make all purchases with your revolut card, the spare change feature rounds up each purchase to the nearest euro and multiplies it x 10, throws it in the vault. At the end of the month, put whatevers in there into the above savings account. 3. Pay yourself first. On the day you get paid, first thing you do is put the required amount into the above savings account. Then bills, rent etc and the rest onto the revolut account. 4. Try to be frugal, if you need money, there's a surplus in the revolut spare change Vault to dip into
This made me realize a lot of things about my life. Thank you. I'll start small with minimalism by cleaning out my unnecessary RUclips subscriptions. You are a new subscription I am going to keep.
Hey Matt, I just wanted to say that I am grateful to have found your RUclips channel. You are so inspirational and helpful in so many ways. Thank you!!
Thank you for saying so much that I've wanted to say for years Matt! I allowed myself to accept the permission given by others to not pay attention to my personal finances my entire adult life and now that I am living on my own, I feel a freedom to live financially free. Ironically, because I broke free from a toxic relationship this year with no budget, no job ( I am permanently disabled) and no financial help, my best choice to begin my financial freedom was through carefully chosen credit cards. Debt is well managed and low. I am working a personal plan to break free of government funds to enjoy true financial freedom.
Our mentality is so messed up we validate ourselves with wasteful vanities, you don’t need to buy that new shoe or that new car yet when you can’t even guarantee yourself financial freedom, why not invest and be your own boss.
@@d.a3474 who said i knew how to trade? i have a financial advisor who handles my investment and all my financial decisions and together we’ve made over a million dollar this year so get your facts right
@@nataliehinnes5221 wow you mean you haves someone that manages your money and gives you inside info on what to invest in? how do i get to your advisor please i need a 50k advice?
@@ericwilde4583 sorry sir i can’t leave her info here but you could look her up. Charlotte Rose Rice, she's online and you can connect with her from her website
I am quite lucky to be born in an upper middle class family. My father was an immigrant who arrived in the country (Philippines) with nothing to his name. Luckily, he had a strong work ethic, and at that time, he was one of the first to trade agricultural products en-masse. I guess agricultural products are the equivalent to stock market in my part of the world. My father basically traded agricultural products like he was trading in the stock exchange or something... and he was damn successful at it. He was even jokingly referred to as "coffee (trading) king" by some acquaintances. However, my father had a nasty gambling habit, and another family in his country to support. That resulted in me growing up in a very frugal household. I had no idea that i was "frugal" ... i just thought it was how the world worked. I basically calculated and computed every single thing I desired ... and i had to go to great lengths just to get it. I grew up thinking we were a bit poor ... despite the fact that I went to top private schools in my country, plus spending 10 years in college just mucking around. Just a couple of years ago, I got married to my wife who is an Optometrist, and we started an optical shop in one of the popular malls here. My father financed everything. You can say it was roughly equivalent to $70,000 ... which I dont know what its like in the USA, but in here ... it is quite a bit of money. My father just gave it to me and my wife , with no strings attached. Strangely, it also did not do anything much to my father's lifestyle, except i noticed him not gambling as much money as he used to. I watched a lot of your videos, and I realized I am in a very good financial place right now. Me and my wife spend way below our means, and if we keep this up, it is actually possible for us to open 2 or 3 more Optical Clinics, and we would be set for life (assuming we could find a CEO to replace both me and my wife working right now). We have zero debt (everything we buy in our credit card is paid for 100% each month) ... we already have a place to live, and a car that could last 5 or more or years (or really, more like 10 years, since in my country, it is quite common for people to keep 20 year old vehicles lol). I am just sharing my experience, because your videos actually made me take a step back and focus on our financial and retirement plans (my wife, claims to not want to retire ever, because she loves her job ... and truth be told, I just want to take a month off to play my videogame backlog, and not really 100% retire lol). I am lucky because my dad, despite his bad habits ... followed the ideas and advice you talk about in your videos, without having listened to them here ... he probably learned it from my grandma or something. But i guess it is: 1.) find a way to leverage your time. my father did this by trading agricultural products. that is how he managed to finance our business plan. 2.) find a need, supplement it, and then do it like no one else is doing it (find a niche). Me and my wife did this by providing an Optical Clinic that goes above and beyond the services of other optical centers. we research on the newest technologies, and how we can be the first to bring them here. 3.) live below your means. my wife has a sister who always has the most fashionable clothes, vacations, condos, cosmetic surgeries/procedures. If you base it on looks, you will say she is doing a lot better than us. But ... I know for a fact that is not the case. I do not want to talk more about it, cause it feels like I am talking behind her back in public ... its just, she reminds me of a template of someone who is going to go bankrupt the moment she stops working. 4.) know how much money is going in, and going out. I keep a receipt of everything i purchase, and put it in a folder. Even if its just a $2 sushi I had awhile ago. I am also surprised that no one in my circle does this. 5.) Avoid bad debt. If you are going to go into debt, be sure it is not because you want to get rich quick and become too aggressive. I know a couple of families who went completely bankrupt because they decided they want to retire in 5 years, and gambled their money on a business venture that they could not control or sustain. The interests piled up like crazy, and that was the end of their dreams of "living like kings." This is the longest post I have ever made on a youtube comment, but that is because i enjoyed the content very much and it realigned me to my vision and goals. Again, thank you Matt for your channel. I apologize that i just realized that my usage of "you" actually refers to different audiences. *I am 38 years old, just for reference.
Awesome advice, thanks for sharing. My husband and I are almost out of debt and we are in our early 40s. We are far from rich, but we save and are frugal, drive older vehicles, don't have the latest smart phones etc. I have no regrets, it's a happy, peaceful way to live as it gives you time to reflect on what is important in life.
A really good video, I think ladies show watch these kinds of videos more. Material possessions cant guarantee you financial stability instead it takes from what you have, investing or learning a skill can ensure you a life of financial independence.
I wouldn't say am not but I always keep my husband guessing on how I manage the house when his away, last week he got to know I have an investment portfolio which I started four months ago.
Thank you for making this video. I have never made more than 60K/year during my working years, I have never bought a new car, cameras or cell phones. I use "Ting" for my cellphone and never pay more than $23 per month. No cable service and tomorrow I am going to buy a used wheelbarrow! Bought our house 40 years ago and still live in it. I got money in the bank and never missed a darn thing. Never had debt and never been happier. Like he said: Just don't spend more money than you earn.
the FOMO mindset is a dangerous consumerist result of capitalism and results in 8/10 Americans being in debt. The thing that has worked for me in the past, is the snowball method to pay down debt. Once you build up the pay down velocity, you become more motivated as your debt balances start to get smaller.
I did something similar! Paid off the loan that had the highest monthly bill first and worked down. It freed up my finances and gave me a lot of energy to keep going. It's all about creative effective habits.
Living frugally is a lifestyle, IMO. Having debt helps facilitate that though ;p FOMO is a huge tactic in marketing strategies, gotta be a smart informed shopper. Amazon is notorious for exploiting this. "50% off" "Only 3 in stock", mostly lies haha they have perpetual sale items.
The channel about nothing by Shell I’ve recently started being more disciplined with driving for Uber in addition to my FT career. I’ve been trying to pay on my snowball for a couple years and finally just got tired of being tired. Feels good to finally stick with it, gain momentum, and see debt begin to decrease. 👌🏽 2020 I’m coming for you!
Wife and I are debt free, except for the house that we just bought this past summer. We will make somewhere in the ball park of $50k household this year. Neither of us works a 40 hour work week. Bills are paid, emergency fund is steady growing, we take vacations, and we put extra cash toward the mortgage when possible. It's a great feeling to do so much with so little, but the social pressures are real. 1 I know we'll need cars soon and we are saving to buy them used, outright and with cash in hand. Dad wants me to buy a brand new car payment. 2 Friends tell me I need a bigger TV, and two custom built gaming PCs for wife and I. They throw numbers at me about their super advanced internet connections and high fidelity graphics. But, my humble whatever-sized tv and Xbox do the job and cost me nothing. Plus game pass and xbl paid for with Microsoft's Rewards program? Can't beat that. 3 I get looks because I get games, music and movies from the library instead of dropping 25% of my income on the latest and greatest releases. These days, movies hit DVD three months after theatres so what's the rush? And with this system, who needs cable? I'd even drop Netflix if wife wasn't using it. Despite all of that, what's the alternative? Spend more than we make? Live paycheck to paycheck? No thanks. Finding new ways to be thrifty is legitimately fun. And, when we tally the scores at the end of the year we'll have enough to pay it forward.
I'm debt free as well including my home. It is not only an amazing feeling but a great accomplishment and you guys are among the few because most people are going in the opposite direction. I go out of my way "not" to spend money. I have learned to enjoy life without having to spend lots of money. Like this elderly wealthy woman told me once..."once you have more money than you need, you realize you don't really need anything". The peace of mind you get from not having to worry so much because you don't need much and everything's paid for is something most people will never get to experience.
I was 30, and $30,000 in debt. The dumbest thing was, it wasn't for school. It was being 18, with a credit card, over the years it started building, I started a business, and it grew out of control. By 31, I paid off all my debt, every penny I made went towards my paying off all the balances, as much as I can. I am 33 now and debt free, and adopting a more minimalist lifestyle, and I absolutely enjoying the process to understanding myself. Thank you for you video.
I have been on an unpaid leave of absence for 6 months. I made extra mortgage payments when I was working, I don't own a car, I don't like clothes shopping (so I save a ton there). i just got patches put on the jeans i do have, and as a student, i don't have to look professional which is great! I don't have cable (and haven't had it in over 15 years) or satellite tv, my cell phone is basic: no data plan, my internet is basic. so overall, i spent less than I earned. oh, i eat simply by the elimination of animal flesh from my diet (they have a right to live without being caged, abused and slaughtered), therefore, i get my protein from split peas, black eye peas, chick peas, etc. I have been able to live comfortably off of my savings until I go back to work. :-)
Akwaaba B for you that works for some it won’t, simply because it won’t make them happy. There are certain things i “need” to make myself happy. Not dependent on it but truly makes my life better. Example : data
it's good to learn to enjoy life with as little as possible, that way you can truly appreciate what you have. What the other person said is true though, keep in your life what makes you happy. For me most of my money goes towards eating healthy home cooked meals and outdoors/fitness gear. Fixing my car myself is another big one, I got all the tools now though ;p I've saved thousands with that. Never buy a "luxury" or "higher end" car haha
Don't you just save so much buy eating (still healthy) but essentially vegetarian meals? It's pretty awesome! I get by with $25-35 max at Trader Joe's on groceries a week
David Barreto I haven't been able to get my grocery bill down that low yet :( it's been a slow learning process, but I still spend at least $50 a week (all plant based). I try to balance cheap and healthy. Typically, cheap food is unhealthy and expensive food is healthy :/ not always, but think McDonald's $1 menu vs buying fresh produce... socioeconimic issue. This is why many low income families tend to be overweight, sadly.
"Everything that Remains" by Ryan Nicodemis and Joshua Field Milburn. "Total Money Make Over" by Dave Ramsey "You are a Badass and Making Money". by Jen Sincero
The most informative, quantitative, finance book I’ve read is Budgeting 101, starting a budget which fits your lifestyle but helps you spend less is the first step. I would highly recommend this book
Bying food for 50-70% off because they are "out of date" have helpt me save a lot of money. I've never had debt, but I try to save enough to someday buy a house and not have debt. It is going to be hard, but worth it.
I graduated from college with no debt and no credit. When I thought about getting a new car as a new college graduate, my father wanted to co-sign for it. I told him that he was too close to retirement to take on this risk and chose to get a used car that I could pay cash for. I'm glad I made that decision. Now, as I near retirement myself, I am again debt-free and credit free and I'm the happiest and healthiest I've ever been in my life. Honoring your mother and father does pay off.
I really don't like this book, they use misleading data and don't acknowledge it till the end of the book. The repetitive writing takes 300 pages to make a two page point.
Favorite tip here: start talking about money. I've started this habit at work and my colleagues are now sharing ideas about how to better handle our finances.
"The Millionaire Nextdoor" talks about one millionaire who's reward for a goal was renting a video, making popcorn and enjoying the evening with his wife.
Hey everybody! I'm making a course on habit change (it's my first one and it's going to be awesome). There will be lots of videos, silly jokes, & most of all actionable steps to make any habit stick.
Sign up to hear about it... mattdavella.com/newsletter
Matt D'Avella Was hoping you'd do it on habit change! Yay! Looking forward to it 🙌
Thanks for this Matt.
I just bought the book by Ramsey yesterday😊
Speaking about habit change. I would like to recommend the power of habits by charles duhigg. Its a very inspiring book that explains a lot of basic science of habit and could help you to create/change a habit or some. Great vid btw keep up
Do you wear the same thing every day?
Matt D'Avella i want your $.02. I've read the TMMO. I've tried explaining these BASiC concepts to my wife, but she feels their impractical. I personally feel she just doesn't want to put in the work and make sacrifices to achieve what we both want. Do you have any advice on how to approach her and get her to see reason?
My father was born in 1926 and grew up during the Great Depression. He told me as a child, whenever he earned enough money from his paper route he would go to the bank and trade his change in for a dollar bill. When he got home from the bank he would borrow his mother’s clothing iron and carefully iron the dollar and then put it in a safe place to keep.
We were lower middle class growing up and I never had name brand anything; I didn’t even know what name brands were. My parents were savers, with 5 kids to feed and we wasted nothing. I remember my sisters making their own prom dresses with our mother. I remember riding with my father to the dairy farm to pick up milk with seven 1-gallon jugs. I remember planting our gardens in the spring.
My parents understood the value of a dollar and bequeathed that knowledge to me, for which I’m eternally grateful.
I’m 53 years old now and have lived below my means for my entire life. I’m proud to say I now have a net worth of nearly 1million dollars and expect to live comfortably in retirement. Not bad for a lower middle class kid starting with nothing.
My man AMAZING 😍☺️
Your story is so encouraging to me!! I'm the oldest son of a single mom. We didn't have a lot growing up. My mom is 40 and just now buying her own home. After 20 years of living in and out of gramma's house and friends' houses, it's so encouraging reading stories like yours
That's almost 20k a year's worth of savings! Plus return on investments, I guess.
wow, inspiring
Thank you for sharing this. It has inspired me to achieve more in my life. I may not have experience what you have gone through, but this story is something that I will cherish. I hope one day I could also inspire young people to grow and become the best version of themselves.
"When you buy something, you are not paying it with money. You are paying with the hours of life you had to spend earning that money." José Mujica
Love that quote
Such a cool president
Yes if you are earning money as an employee
@Think Righter With Ben Mirer
PREACH!
Absolutely spot on.
1. Drop the stuck up competitive " friends"
2. Set real goals and do one step at a time
3. Just go do it and don't tell anyone until it's done
Confuse them with your silence and shock with your result
@@DrTariqRamadan nope! I don't give a rats ... What they think that is why I drop them! Don't need to prove myself to toxic losers !
I rather walk alone than with bad company. I have 35 year tract record that said fake people are disposable and unnecessary
@@svetlanikolova7673 hmm 🤔
@@svetlanikolova7673 Fantastic way of thinking! Instead of trying to impress assholes, you can just push them out of your life. This way there's no internal pressure to live up to anyone's expectations and you can figure out who you want to be. I basically dropped 90% of my "friends" some years ago because they were trash talking dumbasses. Best decision of my life so far.
Svetla Nikolova I think he was trying to agree with you
Think and Grow Rich helped shift my mindset a lot. There’s a quote that’ll always sit with me “Stop saying, ‘I can’t afford it’ and start asking ‘How can I afford it’
Hmmm I dunno
I think that just creates the endless loop of being materialistic rather than being minimalist
@@userfp001 i'm glad you've found a positive angle to it that works for you
same sentence is there in rich dad poor dad book
That’s from rich dad poor dad
Omg this resonated with me so much. I began shifting my mindset and came to this conclusion.
One way I convince myself out of buying something that I don't need is to calculate in my head how many hours I would have to work to pay for that item. When I think I have to work 5 hours to pay for those "cute" boots, I generally decide it's not worth it.
In my country with 5 hours of work you could buy a cute book. For some cute boots it would be like 2-3 days of work.
I think this works only when you have a low wage... 5 hours for boots is nothing. When you earn more, it's better to think "if I don't buy these boots, I will have my own house a day earlier"
I do the exact same thing!
You should consider yourself lucky! My wife's monthly salary is $450. I always tell her that we are lucky and should be grateful because we have more than 90% of the people in the world.
Well, The calculation you have to do is also, if you need that and how many hours it would Last. If you needed those boots, are good quality and they would Last many years, then its worth the effort.
My personal rule #1 is don't confuse what you want with what you truly need. It's amazing how much stuff never makes the cut when you do this.
Can you elaborate please?
Yaro
I’ll ELABORATE for you...
When it comes to the things you want it is usually a lot.., you could make a whole list of many things you want....
Make a list of all the things you want...
This is an exercise and if you do it you will get a really good feeling of what we are talking about.
*When it comes to what you need. The list becomes smaller
Ask yourself what are all the things you want and now ask yourself what things could I live without it causing any problems in my life..
Cancel those things if you didn’t have, it wouldn’t effect your life. This may mean being an essentialist and this is a person who only has things which are valuable and they live a simple life with only those things which are of necessity.
The things we need are
1. Safety [food, water, clothes, shelter]
All else is just luxury and if you have those mentioned above then you are way ahead of millions!!!
If you already have clothes at home there is no point of buying more clothes. If you have food at home there is no point of going to restaurants. Don’t just buy to buy. Buy because you must and if you already have that which you are buying then you don’t really need it, and this is because your not fulfilled.
Having less is more and this is very true
Hope this helps
@@msharif2257 Wow, thanks a lot man.
I would probably invents my income wisely than spend them unwisely
@@nolancaterlogistics8195 buying smart watches, gadgets and jewelries are they unwise spending?
Quitting Social media and paying all the bills and on my salary day and spending what is left helps a lot. Paying off all the bills on the salary day actually removes a lot of illusions and helps tremendously.
I get paid once a month. I wake up extra early on payday and pay ALL my bills on that day. What's left has a job: food, gas for car for the month, savings, miscellaneous.
It feels good to be able to provide for myself and family and not struggle, so when I pay the recurring bills l do so with a greatful heart that I am able to do so, and thankful that my family is being cared for.
I cannot be angry because of money that I don't have, or feel sadness for the things I want but probably don't need.
I am greatful to afford the necessities of life and to be able to afford tiny luxuries here and there.
Social media and marketing just make you feel bad about what you don't have which leads to self esteem issues. Work to be a better you, not a person you're told you should be.
Paying into your savings account on salary day also helps. That way you treat it like an expense and it's "gone".
@@1Letter23Numbers. appreciate your views. You are on the right track buddy. May God bless you and your family. 🙏
@@AmitSharma-cg7qr thank you for your kind words! Sending happiness and blessings to you and your family.
@@kimonaNo1 agreed! Saving for a rainy day should be treated as a necessary expense.
I am 31 and I only started learning about personal finances after knowing that other people younger than me have more money and savings while I have nothing. I only have a car and no house. My parents aren’t good examples when it comes to good and healthy finances. They taught me to spend money right now, because next month I’ll get my salary and have money again. I went on following them until I realized I didn’t have any savings after working for 5 years. So, now I read books and videos about personal finances. I cut unnecessary expenses and write down my expenses daily. My plan is to finish off my car loan by end of the next year while saving money for buying a house. Wish me luck.
$20 per week=$1000 per year
$200 per week=$10,000 per year.
It's that easy!
Tity: Just thought I'd mention that using your public library versus buying books or videos is something I'd done for years. And, nowadays, they have a lot of audiobooks, too. At my public library branch, I can go online to their website and search for a particular book I want. If my branch doesn't have it, they'll get it from another branch and email me when it's arrived that they're holding it for me. (And, it only takes a couple of days0. At mine, you can rent both for 2 weeks AND renew it for another two weeks, and frankly, if I haven't read it by then, I'll never read it. (And, if it's a book I really think it would be good to own, I go on Amazon and buy it used versus new).
I also rent DVDs from it. Surprisingly, they have many movies that have only recently come out on DVD, so I see a LOT of recent movies. AND, you can rent them for two weeks as well as even 10 at a time..
I'm 64, have loved to read since I was in about 5th grade, and one of the first things I do, whenever i move anywhere, is find the closest public library so I can get a card.
I've always visited my public library about once a week. For DECADES now. : ) To me, the public library is one of the GREATEST bargains in life. it's FREE. : )
All the best
ollieone051 I can save only up to $400 a month. I live and work in a third world country so our monthly income isn’t that much.
arx754 It’s so great hearing that you really like to read and can do it for free for most of your life, but I live in a third world country where public libraries just don’t exist. I usually look for free ebooks and read from my phone or kindle.
1. Make more money than you spend
2. Try to keep your spending low/predictable
3. Make sure to invest the difference of making and spending into three categories: Short-term (Emergency), Mid-term (Home, Car, Passive Income), Long-term (Retirement)
4. Set a goal to create a constant, passive income equal to your spending (either through investments or business)
5. Live a life that you want, making sure you're earning constantly.
I am Taiwanese and I’m surprised we are so different. We usually spend money less than half of we make. Usually we save 50% of our income. And build our life using the rest of it.
At least that’s how I learned.
Of course.
Some of them get weekly pay.
We're monthly and that urge us to be careful on every decisive move.
Italians too, we are a nation of savers.
As an Indian, we are told to live a debt free life. Life in credit is fowned upon and so I don't have a credit card.
America is a consumerist nation.
It's good to live in America if you're a saver, but if you're like most Americans, your finances usually aren't good because of bad decisions.
As an Asian this is the first time i hear that... Maybe that's why im poor.
Man! I just found my new favorite RUclipsr!
Will Edmond
Me too.
@@vincent-ls9lz Me too!
Me 4
same here
Agreed
Make as much money as possible. Spend as little as possible. Invest a lot of what is left. Repeat as often as possible, for as long as possible.
Amen
Why 'as much as possible'? That's also not a minimalist approach.
@@Xeronimo74 Do what you want. I like to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
@David Watson Why not retire at 50? Even 40?
You know, I'm 28 years old.. I dont consider myself as a very smart individual, but a lot of the personal rules I'm reading are things I learnt myself and thought were common sense (for the lack of better terminology)
I've had one hell of a up bringing with a lot of hard lessons for sure, but first thing I did when I had $ was to invest
The zero waste life style has made me spend A LOT LESS money! That's simply because whenever I'm out to buy something I automatically think about where that'll end up when I'm done with it (and that usually stops me from buying a ton of crap). So now I only buy what I absolutely need, and only quality stuff.
Luiz Otavio yes!! Zero waste has absolutely changed my life and spending habits. Zero waste and minimalism are pretty similar also- when I became zero waste, I basically defacto became a minimalist. In addition- becoming vegan also cut my grocery bill spending pretty much in half. Meat is so expensive. Grains, lentils, and dry beans by the bag are $2 and last me a whole week
I also buy quality stuff. Fast fashion seems cheap but a faux fur will not last long. I own a real fur and it is my only coat in winter and I don't need to buy any more coat for the rest of my life.
Im going to that journey too.. hope to be zero waste and minimalist
I'll never forget how my friend, who was neck-deep in debt, used her paycheck to buy an iron-studded leather bracelet!! It cost her $65 plus shipping, and this was back in 2002! Imagine blowing your only money on something so pointless! That was a real life lesson for me, especially when she got ultra defensive when I tried to talk some sense into her. Some twelve or so years later, she filed for bankruptcy. In her worldview, none of it was her fault. She was fucked by the system, or whatever excuse. Knowing her changed me. I've since totally stopped buying crap. If it isn't a necessity, I'm not buying it. *I'll enjoy experiences, not things.*
That saying just changed my life. Enjoy experiences, not things🙏
@@PAPERCHASERCH47 Thanks for putting a smile on my face. I'm so grateful that something I said helped.
I've been going to live theater plays, using the money I save from not buying junk. It's been 54 plays so far, and it's changed my life. I hope you enjoy your experiences, too.
Take care, dear. 😊👍
Some things provide experiences.
what do you mean by experiences though? travelling? doesn't that also cost money?
@@HB-kb6rt Everything costs money, pretty much. Being minimalist, at least in this context, means not buying crap that clutters up your home but adds no real value to your life. It's not some absolutist statement. Maybe someone out there would find value in buying, say, terracotta figurines. I'm not one of those people. I buy experiences instead. Or I'll just go for a walk instead, and that's usually free, or attend a free event of which there are many in most urban spaces.
Why is American education so expensive??? Everytime I hear about an American and their student debt I get anxiety.
Asief Dhansay consider the trades. If not you’ll be funding things like gender studies. Completely worthless degrees. Universities need to begin feeling the crunch as well. Once they start focusing on STEM again it may be worthwhile.
Asief Dhansay Because the United States government spends taxpayer funds on war instead of education (or healthcare).
I agree. Try community college.
The U.S.A. is a hot mess in general...
In Germany education is free to everyone. Having to pay off nearly 100,000 euros or dollars right after graduating college seems just not feasible to me growing up in an environment where the decision wether or not you'd like to learn and study is up to yourself. On the other hand it's depressing to see so many people around here not using the opportunities given to us, considering people in other places of the world go into half a lifetime of debt to do this. I just don't get why the United States haven't found out that education is a privilege that should be given to everyone who is willing to progress and move ahead. It's sad so many lifes of brilliant people are not revealed to the world simply because they can't afford to visit the place to study.
One great way I've been able to save money is by not having a car. I know this isn't practical for a lot of people considering their careers and location of residence, but for those who live in a city like me, there's really no reason to have a car. I'm a bike commuter and I've been for the past 2 years. I used to have a car but I couldn't afford the upkeep so I got rid of it. You got a car note, insurance, gas, and the maintenance alone is enough to clean you out. Cheaper to just bike, use public transportation and Uber/Lyft. Not to mention, you'll also get into better shape on a bike! I don't even miss having a car.
AJ H. This is so cool. I sure wish I lived in a big city and didn’t have to have a car !
Yeah but I cant fuck my wife in the backseat of my bike
I agree. If location demands it I understand but buying a car for the sake of having it is such a waste, especially if you have access to decent public transport/easy access to the places you want to go on a daily basis. When I considered the amount I'd pay ror petrol and taxes and maintenance, the occasional long distance cab fare is very manageable.
Great ideas 💡
Same I'm doing in Dubai from last two years..
No car..
Public transportation and walking...
Coz just the driving license will take my two three salaries and then the viscous cycle
I agree totally because you look so beautiful!
There is a nice trick one can use "If you cannot buy 5 of it you cannot afford 1 of it". It helps.
If I cannot buy 5 bikes I could not afford a bike, so I worked till I could buy 5 of them and then I finally bought a bike, now if the bike needs a major repair I can do it without going into debt.😤
I'll keep this in mind!
That's the best advice I have ever come across! Thanks! Xx
U can also add with this when u buy something just think how many hours you ll work for that
If only everyone reading this could understand the depth of it...
This dont make any sense. And im not being a dick. But this doesnt sound inspiring. Why cant we just spend the money. Its not like we cant take it with us. Whats the point on having money if you cant spend it??
"You deserve to be debt free". That should pop up every time I log into Amazon!
Hahahahaha...that is funny !
Log-in to Amazon to check on one thing
*5 mins later* Confirmation email for 6 books and a tripod
Change your Amazon password to "you deserve to be debt free". Don't allow your computer to log in automatically / auto-populate the password for you. Then, enjoy the reminder every time you type in your password to log in :)
HILARIOUS but true
Funny enough I have everything I would ever need to buy in specific list from stuff I defiantly need to stuff I don’t need now like kitchen/bathroom/cleaning supply’s everything with only the correct amount of things I need nothing else
I hope that people take this to heart. It's super valuable and important to get control of your personal finances.
1. spend less money, than you make 1:26
2. avoid lifestyle creep, we buy a ton of shit 2:24
3. make sacrifices 5:03
You deserve to be debt free”
You deserve NOT to live paycheck to paycheck”
Hats off to you, you’ve said it all !!!
In another one of your videos interviewing someone, I learned spending money on WHAT REALLY MATTERS TO YOU is so much healthier than spending money on everything. Live your life rather than a copy paste life.
Likewise, I learnt from your videos that it’s okay to spend less than you make but it’s also great to look for ways to expand your means, put it simply to find ways to earn more.
Last, if we truly value financial independence and all the substantive effects of it I’m certain we’ll find a way to get there and it may feel so so good ...
I looked to see where I was spending the most of my money...TRAVEL. So, I started working for the airlines......23 years ago. Best decision ever! Now I live within my means, save 25 into 401K and bought a house that was just enough house for us.
Penni Piskor That was a simple, brilliant insight. Very smart!
Brilliant.
Hearing you talk about the myth of "I don't have" always comes when I need it the most. Thanks 👍
Starting early is the best way of getting ahead to build wealth, It's such a pity most folks spend more and invest less while intelligent people always try to harness any investment opportunity not minding the risks involved.
I cut off all distractions and just focused on solid investments, i was surprised by just how much i accomplished in 6 months
There are no magic words or millionaire insider tricks to succeeding in the stock market
I pretend that I am broke, I cut going out with friends (unnecessary expenses for food & entertainment), I eat outside only once or less per week. I stopped buying clothes by popular brands. Despite the urge to spend money, the less you know how much you have, the less you'll spend. do just pretend to be broke and after 2 3 years, I hope to have enough to move out and boost my own business.
Exactly! If I give the same excuse that my colleagues give of being broke, I can avoid plans AND save thousands
Faiz Khay I also do the same thing and it saves me a lot of money each week
Stack notes... act broke... like my lil bro always said... 😂
a rich man can live modestly forever, but a modest man can only live rich for a moment.
Live within your means.
❤
This was great, I've been looking for "save money books" for a while now, and I think this has helped. You ever tried - Hiyogan Jenhloe Domination - (do a google search )?
It is a great one off product for discovering how to gain the mind of a successful millionaire minus the hard work. Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my brother in law got cool results with it.
Being the third and fourth born children in a low-income family, there was no hope of us getting financial help with college. In fact, my parents told us that college was an expectation, but they could not afford to help us. This wasn't an unrealistic expectation because during my formative years my parents lead by example. They never went into debt themselves while raising us (or previously - they both had multiple degrees themselves) on an impossibly low salary. That example taught all my siblings the value of money. We all learned to budget from the day we were born. My parents encouraged us to save 50% of everything we ever made precollege in order to pay for college. I am proud to say that I made it through a 4-year degree, masters, three used cars, and 2 MacBook pros completely debt free. I had to pay as I went paying semester to semester and worked 2-3 jobs at a time. I also got good grades and maintained a youtube channel throughout the process. All of that is by the grace of God and my parents wisdom in raising us that way. They were infuenced heavily by Dave Ramsey which I got to hear all about throughout my life.
...
It's not all fun in games though. The main struggle I have now is getting approved for apartments. I have NO credit to speak of so I end up paying massive amounts in down payments to prove I am a reliable tenet. lol
Eat 2 meals(or even 1)per day while intermittent fasting. No fast food or processed crap.
Take cold showers.
Open a window for light instead of turning lights on.
Don't drink sugar drinks or smoke cigarettes.
Consider a bicycle for local travel.
@@niandra_falls Eh. If you optimize lots of little things, it adds up.
Lol, this is pretty much exactly how I live. Cold shower gang, waddup 💪
👍👍👍👍
Not possible to take a cold shower in Russia
@@cedricfonguh8108 i believe that. I can only just stand a cold shower at my parents place, swear it's the coldest shower in the sourthern hemisphere and I house sit, so I've tried about 14 different cold showers in the last year
“We buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like with money we don’t have”
Yep in the end you remember experiences not what you bought. I honestly feel bad for people who spend thousands on supreme, Gucci, and designer goods
Matt 88 living with.
Vicki Robin (Your money or your life)
FIGHT CLUB!
I went from being in debt to moving to Thailand to live cheaply, to having less than $1,000 in the bank but debt free. Now I’m worth over $600k and documented the entire journey, most of which has already been explained in this video. It works.
I got the idea after reading the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris, if you look at my old videos from 8-10 years ago, it was just scuba diving and traveling cheaply. It wasn't until 2013 I started actually making money online. But it's been a great journey ever since.
Johnny FD that's impressive and sounds exciting. I will check out your videos.
Wow, that’s really amazing . How does someone like me do that !
:O
wow i really want to buy what you are selling
Warm shower, Roof over you head, A soft bed, Family and Friends, Food on the table...
What else is there to a happy life :)
Jane Smith
It all cost money even for a minimalist.
Yes I have that but also great six figure career which is more than enough to afford that with free lifetime global flight benefits among other things.
Jane Smith travelling too
LionsRBoss I love Hamptons, just came back from there, I dont need pussy loafers !! ;)
Good health!
And a dog, don't forget a dog :) :)
It's even harder if you're a Filipino. You are expected to support your siblings until they finish school, support your parents through out their lives, help your nieces and everyone in your family until you're exhausted.
I understand where you’re coming from, it’s the same for the black community as well.
I feel you fellas 🤜🤛. Its the same with any decent family-centric society. I have pakistani roots and I have the same kind of pressure. Its achievable for me because I share the burden with my brother but I dread to think what it is like for a lone person to carry all that weight on their shoulders.
I am a filipino. It used to be like that. Now, I chose not to. I send money as I see fit. At some point we have to put our foot down.
@@joferlandayan8354 There is an old saying ...."The more you do for your children the less they can do for themselves." I would help elderly or.disabled relatives but not ones that can work their way out of their money problems.
It's the same in Pakistan here. But I changed my decisions, I changed my mind. I still support my family but I don't imagine myself a slave to them.
Perfect timing! I just got a great job, but have a lot of debt from college and my car is falling apart. I'm holding myself back from buying new clothes and kitchen appliances so that in the future I can have my college paid off and a new car without the bad credit and regret keeping me from enjoying it. I need a reminder of my long-term goals every now and then and this hit the spot. Thanks again.
To my understanding this just proves how much we need an edge as investors because playing the market like everyone else just isn’t good enough. I've been quite unsure about investing in this current market and at the same time I feel it's the best time to get started on the market, what are your thoughts?
There are actually a lot of ways to make high yields in a crisis, but such trades are best done under the supervision of Financial advisor.
Thats true, I've been getting assisted by a FA for almost a year now, I started out with less than $200K and I'm just $19,000 short of half a million in profit.
@Dan Brooks My advisor is ‘’Christine Jane Mclean’’ she’s highly qualified and experienced in the financial market. She has extensive knowledge of portfolio diversity and is considered an expert in the field. I recommend researching her credentials further. She has many years of experience and is a valuable resource for anyone looking to navigate the financial market
I LOVE that you admitted that there was something holding you back from your personal finances. This is SO true! Very often we decide to turn a blind eye towards the things that we know are too much to deal with, or the things we simply do not want to face. I did the same for several years after I graduated with my MBA and $50K in debt. But, I soon realized that unless I face this issue head on, I will be in for a long ride that would include paying an insane amount of money in interest and lost opportunity. I managed to pay off my student dent in only 7 years, all while working full time and supporting myself 100%, there was nobody to help. On my RUclips channel, I am sharing exactly how I did it.
Just starting on my minimalism journey and it feels great, to recycle or give away things I don’t need, declutter and stop spending money on things that are unnecessary. I’ve never been a very materialistic person so it’s been a rather smooth transition so far. It’s giving me more time and freedom to work on my soul. We are not here to be slaves to debt ❤️
The game changer for me was Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Spending less than you earn really is difficult, but the principle of paying yourself first as explained in RDPD makes it a lot easier. I'll be sure to check out the books you recommended. Thanks for sharing!!
Joey Castellon I read RDPD before I read total money makeover and I truly regret it. One teaches you how to take a little risk to make your money work for you which can have severe setbacks (RDPD and what happened to me by taking a loan out to start a business) and the other book teaches you the dry bare bone basics with no sugar coating to being financially free (Total Money Makeover).
Douglas Smith thanks for sharing!!! I'm even more interested in Total Money Makeover now. I'll be checking it out soon!
The richest man in Babylon and The millionaire next door are really good reads too.
George Furlong The Millionaire Next Door is definitely a great read. People seem to never mention that some of its statistical facts are outdated though since it was written a long time ago. Some of the chapters like the one that talks about the best future jobs should be viewed with a grain of salt. Total Money Makeover's principles however should be followed even a century from now. Every chapter of it.
Rich Dad was the best book i ever read.
My favourite: “the myth of I don’t have” I can’t tell you how many times I used to use that as an excuse when I was young. Now I find genuine joy from finding creative ways to make due with what I have.
Thank you Matt! I would say the number one rule for my finances is to pay myself first. 20% of my month income goes directly in an other place of the 80% (first day of the month). Then I'm just forgetting about it and don't even think to spend it.
Since I'm paid an hourly wage, I think of the things I want to buy in terms of how many hours I have to spend at work. Certainly has helped cut out spending on things I don't really need or want. For the first time in my 30 years of living, I've got a modest but growing savings!
This is the key to retiring early, it's the FIRE movement (Financial Independence Early Retirement)
I can talk about this all day and night, it coexists with minimalism so well, I hope to be able to share everything I learn on here just like you Matt!
Zachary Laid Finding Freedom plz share! I’d be first to learn from you!
Fire only works if you’re making well above area median income. Hard todo fire on $25k a year
Because of this channel I’ve had a different outlook on money and while I slip occasionally I’ve been embracing minimalism and books/audiobooks on personal finance. I have stocks now. A year ago I wouldn’t have any concept of it. Thanks Matt, keep up the good work
here's my 5 cents, yes saving money require sacrifices, yet it was my new skills that helped me get where i wanted, we are not longer on those golden years where having one job was enough , i was taught to find something i love and that would take care of me, but it didn't, at least not the field i chose, even after i was saving money, i was still in debt, not until i learned other skills like web design, online marketing, sales, copywriting amongst others, these are skills that gave me extra income not a lot at the beginning but enough where i was able to not worry about money ever again, so yes save money but more importantly use some of that money to learn new skills and make sure your skill are current with our times.
Exactly what I do. I work in IT Help Desk. But for extra cash, I go to the local county and States auctions they have them every month. I buy mainly laptops and desktops, load them and sell for 150% profit.. I bring in extra $1500-$2000 profit per month doing this. It's a hard work, but it HELPS BIG TIME..
I mainly sell on Offerup, Ebay, Facebook Market Place and Craig'slist.
Buy an i7 desktop for $25, spend $10 on Hard Drive, $5 on OS license, $10 on extra Ram. Making it 8GB Ram, 500GB hard drive. Sell it anyday for about $130-$150.. If I'm not lazy, I can load about 10 a week between my work and family. And I can sell about 6 a week. Some week I can sell 10..
I wrote all this so someone else can see what I do and perhaps find something that they are good at and use it to make extra income..
The days of working one job in the U.S are gone for regular people like us. You either find a second job or learn a skill and work for yourself on the side. Hope this help..
I'm in the process of learning how to code from Udemy. it will cost me about $30 for the three classes I will need. I can also use that to make extra cash on the side and help me move up in my career as well.
@@gleenallen6386 Wow I work IT as well. Im gonna try this. Im single with no kids so i have tons of time to do that when i get home from the gym. Good idea.
Very intrigued by this comment. Would you be willing to chat with me sometime? Struggling family man in need of a bit of guidance here
My way out was grinding harder, listening more carefully at work, volunteering for hard challenges and overcoming them. I got promoted every year, by staying at the same company or changing workplace. I didn’t upgrade my lifestyle, it stayed the same. That was the key.
That leather jacket tho...
Romina Yup, leather jackets are very important!
leather is pure animal cruelty .... watch this: ruclips.net/video/a0MdMWb6Bgs/видео.html
Looked good on him though
Well if you're going to have few things make them high quality and super durable.
And leather couches.
Very fortunate situation you were presented with.
Not many people have the luxury of moving back in after college to pay off their student loans. Many people are on their own at 22, with 100k in student loan debt. If you are this latter group, its alright. Keep your head up, and fight through it one day at a time.
True but life should be better. Something wrong with the system. You young ones should get together and change it.
@@Natashahoneypot I feel like today was a step in that direction...
@@Natashahoneypot i mean y'all old folks shouldn't have fucked it up on the first place but sure blaming the victim is cool.
@@casebeth Your situation is your fault. Even if it didn't start out that way. Accept responsibility. Yes, it sucks that we were handed a world that wasn't perfect. Guess what: we won't fix it either 😂
Exactly.
One of the biggest things that help me manage my money is keeping it visible constantly. I don't mean carry a bunch of cash on you at all times. What I mean is look at your bank account and make the conscious effort to be aware of it. So many times we work doing whatever we do, get paid and mismanage our money after paying bills. Seeing what you have leftover until you can start building up some savings will keep you aware of what you really have as "extra" money. If more of that "extra" money goes to debt than random crap, you'll have fewer anchors and eventually, you will be able to spend your money a lot more freely.
Hoover Amaya thats crazy! because for me its keeping it invisible
Dave Ramsey's book has totally changed my life. I feel like everyone needs to read it and make the necessary lifestyle changes. its so good!
I like the sober approach to this. This video seems to cut all the excesses and gets straight to the golden helpfully advice.
I actually crave the mindset I had at age 12-13. I was insanely dedicated and focused on my goals. I got my work done on time, I worked out twice a day, I took care of myself, cleaned everyday, educated myself outside of school, everyone in school was intoxicated with my persona and always asked me questions. I have no idea how I managed to stay so focused and determined for so long at such a young age but it really transformed who I was at the time. Now I’m a completely different person. Whilst I’m hardworking and have almost impossible goals I want to accomplish I can’t find the time to exercise and get to bed at a decent time and read daily. I tempt myself with social media and shopping and indulge in the things I know are terrible for my own success. I will make a change soon and become the person I used to imagine I would be.
Meal prep had helped me a lot in gaining some financial freedom and extra time... I only spend around $7 per day on food (3 healthy meals and 3 healthy snacks) and have it ready and on me whenever I need it.
I needed to hear this video. I am 23 and uncomfortable, mostly from the pressure I put on myself daily. I believe exposing yourself to even this type of information will help anyone change. Especially for those who are too scared to have a physical, honest conversation. Great Content! 👍🏾
Great video! My story was a bit different; I never had much money in the first place and I knew that in order to keep my freedom and independence I had to be minimalist with finances as well. It's fascinating to see how little we actually need and I no longer 'reward' myself by buying stuff.
On a sidenote, I'm from Germany and the US university system is insane with the loans you have. Here you don't have to pay around a hundred bucks per semester (!) and if you can afford your flat and lifestyle yourself, you're debt free when you're done with college. It's insane what you guys have to go through!
Nessa Goes Wild Hi Nessa. I am from Malaysia, one of the South East Asia's country. When I graduate university, I have student loan RM 38k to settle.😂 I work hard till this moment to be debt free. Just sharing, thanks.
Thank you for sharing! My comment wasn't supposed to mean that only US American students have crazy loans. I think it's inacceptable no matter where you live. Good luck with becoming debt free and all the best!
Thank you for the figures! I guess we (in general) build expensive houses, have expensive cars and can buy pretty much anything on loan, from TVs to motorbikes. I'm still somewhat surprised about the numbers though, maybe someone else can explain?
Charlie Ennis what's the source on your figures? How do other countries compare?
Charlie Ennis but those European countries actually take care of their citizens.
What does it matter to the average citizen if the country is in debt?
I'd personally rather have my country be in debt than me personally.
1- the richest man in babylon.
2- rich dad poor dad.
3- millionaire next door.
Yeah... 👍
The richest man in Babylon is life changing
@@kaaynerdie3437 rich dad poor dad is great 👍🏼👍🏼
Rich dad poor dad is a good story but I wouldn't treat it seriously. Other two are fantastic.
@@kaaynerdie3437 I totally agree with you.
4. Your Money or Your Life.
5. The Automatic Millionaire.
growing up dirt poor teaches you these lessons
true 💓
Not necessarily i grew up poor but all it did was plant an idea in my head that when i got money that spending it would me me happy but it doesnt i had to learn formyself that being poor isn't necessarily a bad thing and sometimes having bugger all is better than having the responsibility of money
Oh yeah!
Yeah no it meant I never had any money to handle or save so I would spend money I didn't need to just cos I had it. Although it did give me the ability to be quite content with a very low key lifestyle. I never spent money on going out to eat until my rich friends taught me to because that was just not STH people do in my mind. I overspent on clothes and tech mainly cos those things I had always wanted and never had.
that's for sure.
As an Asian, I was taught these growing up. I usually save more than 60% of my income. I once lived on 25% of my income. Mind you I didn't earn much. Roughly $1500 a month then.
Wow! That's. BRILLIANT.
I'm guessing you didn't have rent?
Hell thats what theyre making over here in the States at the fast food joints now, smh.
@@helpmeImpoor5314 They probably had roommates.
@@helpmeImpoor5314 I rented a small room (basically just enough space for a bed) without air conditioning for 400 MYR. I ate simply and took public transport or walk.
Automate your savings! Even if its a tiny amount, it'll add up. I love "The Financial Diet" RUclips channel, Dave Ramsey's podcast and his Everydollar app. These all keep me in check. ☑️
Kezla Great resources. Definetly agree.
Kezla Glad he mentioned Dave Ramsey. He's been teaching financial minimalism since the 90's.
He lost with me with using a debit card and not a credit card. NO ONE gets access to my accounts like that. EVER.
Amy Dickey What about cash?
Do you have recommendation for non Christian financial gurus? I saw Dave Ramsey on the media a lot. I don't check him out because I don't want a Christian sermon in a practical counseling.
From seeing others. I knew when I was growing up that I didn’t want to live paycheck to paycheck. I enjoy living within my means but I do know that I like to treat myself every now and then or enjoy a vacation without having to have to worry about money.
4 years ago I had car debt, cc debt, 70 in student loans. All paid off now with 125k in savings.
How
@@davidhrzenjak He is prolly making around 80K a year and is only spending around 10K per year or less living with his parents for free. no rent driving a hooptie. lol.
I’ve done the same but it’s best to explain how.
@Evocati what??? No hate here dumbass. IM just stating thats prob how he did it. Had friends that did it just like that. Nothing wrong with living with your parents to get rid of some school debt. Notging wrong with driving a hooptie either. I drove a few in my days. Try not to be so uptight. You"ll live longer.
Where do you live I'd like to congratulate you personally!!
I just graduated college and got a great job making a lot more money than I’m used to. I’m really glad you uploaded this because I’m getting my first paycheck Friday and I know I would have just blown it as quick as I could. Thanks for the advice Matt, it’s really helpful right now.
Zachary Bloom Live like you did before that great job and make the money work for you (saving and investing.) Don’t get lifestyle creep. I know the hard way. Congrats on the new job!
Understanding the necessities I need through minimalism and tying it with finance was one of the biggest realizations I've had!
Yes! I’ve been practicing this lately. I only spend about 50-60% of my check. I know I have more to spend but I DO NOT let myself spend it. It’s basically like I just don’t have it. I went from having $2 in my bank account the day before payday and now I saved close to $5,000. This is even after going on vacation and purchasing a new car! I still continue to only spend 50%-60% but I am able to save enough for those things without dipping into the other money.
this sounds fantastic. Good for you.
I really appreciated this approach to discussing personal finance. The only criticism I have (and it's the same one I have for so many of these types of videos) is that being able to move back in with your parents after college is a privilege. One that not everyone has. I'm not saying don't talk about it. I'm not saying don't offer it as an option. But recognizing that it's not something everyone has the ability to do is important.
Roxxy Leiser I had that option, but quickly realized I didn’t want to live with them as an adult.
It's true that one of the biggest expense is rent. If you can save it at the beginning by living at your parents house, it's great for your savings. But, often, children work far from their parents home or just want their own flat.
Or literally CAN'T move back in with parents. Deceased parents, abusive parents, or parents who don't have the space for their children to move back because they themselves are poor. That's what I'm talking about. When there is actually not an option to move back in.
The anecdote of moving back in with his parents is to push the idea of sacrifice. Doing things you aren't comfortable with, but that is within your ability and will help reduce cost. For him, this was living with parents, for you, it would be something else.
Ni Yao Thanks for your insight. But my point still stands. And there's not really an equivalent 'sacrafice.' Also I'm not sure I agree with your premise that living rent free is a sacrifice...
Best short book to read is 'The richest man in Babylon'.
I read that book all the time. I wish I have read that book earlier. Well, late is better than never
Hard read but VERY good one. Rich Dad Poor Dad was also an amazing lesson.
Yeah, richest man in Babylon, poor dad rich dad, I will teach you to be rich are my favorites.
It stays true on its central topic: the principle of money management remains same - from ancient Babylon, to writer's own era (almost a century ago) and even today!
@@TonyCook7 and the art of the deal
"Spend less money than you make". true statement @Matt! The problem is that our wallets are so closely tied to our emotions (e.g. heart). We often can separate the logical from the emotional.
I got out from under a quite large debt, and i made it because i want to own myself and my time. I used this formula to keep my spending in check:
X amount of money= x amount of time i can spend like i want without worrying how to pay for my basic needs.
I wrote this on my smartphones lockscreen: The most valuable thing your money can buy is freedom. When people called me extreme i told them this: i hate my present financial situation. I will use any legal means to make my sitaution better. I don't care about keeping up with the joneses. I will live in a tent if i have to, and eat the same food for a week if i have to.Laugh all you want, i really don't care. This is important to me.
Omg I have to take a screenshot of this driven comment FIRE !!
Following Dave Ramsey was a life changer. We are about 1 year and a few months from being completely debt free and I’ve been able to keep a budge for the last year, it’s been so freeing! Previously trying to manage finances was emotionally crippling for me!
I live in Egypt where most of available jobs even for collage grads pays less than 2usd per hour, saving money is not the issue, making it is.
AHMED MERA try out working on fiverr
talk abt it!!
I thankfully left Egypt after couple of weeks of posting this comment 😂
@@hankock911 how do u like where you are now?
@@chioma916 As a medical professional "Dentist" I can tell you for sure I'm extremely glad to leave 😊
I needed this so much! You just saved me from blowing my next paycheck. I'll probably save that money now or actually get started with e-commerce like I had planned on doing a while ago. Your youtube channel is pure gold! Definitely write a book if you haven't yet!
The first Matt video I ever watched. I remember thinking two things:
“Damn, what great insight. I love this guy.”
and
“Damn, I really need to start a RUclips channel.”
Four years later I finally did. Thanks Matt. You’re the goat.
I'm so digging your channel. I feel addicted to watching every video that you have made because the content is so well thought out and presented. Thank you is in order and wish you success.
Dave Ramsey! Totally Transformed the way I handle money. Now I save about 50% of my income!
The mantra to follow (which has helped tremendously)
1. Save 30% of the salary
2. Don't get influenced by social media posts and lifestyle stories of others (Delete social media accounts, it feels so good to have FO[N]MO)
3. Don't budge to peer pressure
A really great advice.
I'm a mass communication student too. Most of the time I sit down and think about meeting the dots in my life. You gave me clear vision what I exactly need to do. Thanks for existing.✨
This isn’t minimalism is it? Isn’t it just sensible?
I guess its relative minimalism.
@@WiGgYof09 frugality has a new name.
I guess the minimalist angle is that you buy less things, sacrifice and live with less to pay or debts or accrue savings. It's being able to view possessions differently to achieve that.
Dale Berry it’s a form of minimalism, being a minimalist isn’t about having less all the time, it’s also about spending less and saving your monthly income.
The more you save the less you’ll eventually have. This is minimalism in its proper form.
Minimalism is making more using less. So, this counts as minimalism I think.
A few things that are helping me at the moment;
1. Having a savings account that requires 30 day notice before money can be withdrawn
2. The spare change vault on Revolut. Make all purchases with your revolut card, the spare change feature rounds up each purchase to the nearest euro and multiplies it x 10, throws it in the vault. At the end of the month, put whatevers in there into the above savings account.
3. Pay yourself first. On the day you get paid, first thing you do is put the required amount into the above savings account. Then bills, rent etc and the rest onto the revolut account.
4. Try to be frugal, if you need money, there's a surplus in the revolut spare change Vault to dip into
This made me realize a lot of things about my life. Thank you. I'll start small with minimalism by cleaning out my unnecessary RUclips subscriptions. You are a new subscription I am going to keep.
Hey Matt, I just wanted to say that I am grateful to have found your RUclips channel. You are so inspirational and helpful in so many ways. Thank you!!
Thank you for saying so much that I've wanted to say for years Matt! I allowed myself to accept the permission given by others to not pay attention to my personal finances my entire adult life and now that I am living on my own, I feel a freedom to live financially free. Ironically, because I broke free from a toxic relationship this year with no budget, no job ( I am permanently disabled) and no financial help, my best choice to begin my financial freedom was through carefully chosen credit cards. Debt is well managed and low. I am working a personal plan to break free of government funds to enjoy true financial freedom.
Our mentality is so messed up we validate ourselves with wasteful vanities, you don’t need to buy that new shoe or that new car yet when you can’t even guarantee yourself financial freedom, why not invest and be your own boss.
that’s easy for you to say. Not everyone went to trade school like you did
@@d.a3474
who said i knew how to trade? i have a financial advisor who handles my investment and all my financial decisions and together we’ve made over a million dollar this year so get your facts right
@@nataliehinnes5221
wow you mean you haves someone that manages your money and gives you inside info on what to invest in? how do i get to your advisor please i need a 50k advice?
@@nataliehinnes5221 i also need one too, Thinking of going into real estate investing
@@ericwilde4583 sorry sir i can’t leave her info here but you could look her up. Charlotte Rose Rice, she's online and you can connect with her from her website
I am quite lucky to be born in an upper middle class family. My father was an immigrant who arrived in the country (Philippines) with nothing to his name. Luckily, he had a strong work ethic, and at that time, he was one of the first to trade agricultural products en-masse. I guess agricultural products are the equivalent to stock market in my part of the world. My father basically traded agricultural products like he was trading in the stock exchange or something... and he was damn successful at it. He was even jokingly referred to as "coffee (trading) king" by some acquaintances.
However, my father had a nasty gambling habit, and another family in his country to support. That resulted in me growing up in a very frugal household. I had no idea that i was "frugal" ... i just thought it was how the world worked. I basically calculated and computed every single thing I desired ... and i had to go to great lengths just to get it. I grew up thinking we were a bit poor ... despite the fact that I went to top private schools in my country, plus spending 10 years in college just mucking around.
Just a couple of years ago, I got married to my wife who is an Optometrist, and we started an optical shop in one of the popular malls here. My father financed everything. You can say it was roughly equivalent to $70,000 ... which I dont know what its like in the USA, but in here ... it is quite a bit of money. My father just gave it to me and my wife , with no strings attached. Strangely, it also did not do anything much to my father's lifestyle, except i noticed him not gambling as much money as he used to.
I watched a lot of your videos, and I realized I am in a very good financial place right now. Me and my wife spend way below our means, and if we keep this up, it is actually possible for us to open 2 or 3 more Optical Clinics, and we would be set for life (assuming we could find a CEO to replace both me and my wife working right now).
We have zero debt (everything we buy in our credit card is paid for 100% each month) ... we already have a place to live, and a car that could last 5 or more or years (or really, more like 10 years, since in my country, it is quite common for people to keep 20 year old vehicles lol).
I am just sharing my experience, because your videos actually made me take a step back and focus on our financial and retirement plans (my wife, claims to not want to retire ever, because she loves her job ... and truth be told, I just want to take a month off to play my videogame backlog, and not really 100% retire lol).
I am lucky because my dad, despite his bad habits ... followed the ideas and advice you talk about in your videos, without having listened to them here ... he probably learned it from my grandma or something. But i guess it is:
1.) find a way to leverage your time. my father did this by trading agricultural products. that is how he managed to finance our business plan.
2.) find a need, supplement it, and then do it like no one else is doing it (find a niche). Me and my wife did this by providing an Optical Clinic that goes above and beyond the services of other optical centers. we research on the newest technologies, and how we can be the first to bring them here.
3.) live below your means. my wife has a sister who always has the most fashionable clothes, vacations, condos, cosmetic surgeries/procedures. If you base it on looks, you will say she is doing a lot better than us. But ... I know for a fact that is not the case. I do not want to talk more about it, cause it feels like I am talking behind her back in public ... its just, she reminds me of a template of someone who is going to go bankrupt the moment she stops working.
4.) know how much money is going in, and going out. I keep a receipt of everything i purchase, and put it in a folder. Even if its just a $2 sushi I had awhile ago. I am also surprised that no one in my circle does this.
5.) Avoid bad debt. If you are going to go into debt, be sure it is not because you want to get rich quick and become too aggressive. I know a couple of families who went completely bankrupt because they decided they want to retire in 5 years, and gambled their money on a business venture that they could not control or sustain. The interests piled up like crazy, and that was the end of their dreams of "living like kings."
This is the longest post I have ever made on a youtube comment, but that is because i enjoyed the content very much and it realigned me to my vision and goals. Again, thank you Matt for your channel. I apologize that i just realized that my usage of "you" actually refers to different audiences.
*I am 38 years old, just for reference.
Awesome advice, thanks for sharing. My husband and I are almost out of debt and we are in our early 40s. We are far from rich, but we save and are frugal, drive older vehicles, don't have the latest smart phones etc. I have no regrets, it's a happy, peaceful way to live as it gives you time to reflect on what is important in life.
A really good video, I think ladies show watch these kinds of videos more. Material possessions cant guarantee you financial stability instead it takes from what you have, investing or learning a skill can ensure you a life of financial independence.
So true✓✓✓
I wish my wife can watch these instead of ranting about a new hair she wants to acquire.
We can be very materialistic that true but what skill or investment can one make that will generate a good income monthly.
@@johnalmond9426 we are in the same boat here, mine does these in a cute and annoying way😃
I wouldn't say am not but I always keep my husband guessing on how I manage the house when his away, last week he got to know I have an investment portfolio which I started four months ago.
I’m debt free!!!
Respect!
Me too.....
I bow down.
Awesome feeling to be debt free... Good for you 👍👍👍
Me too! College is free in France, thats why
Thank you for making this video. I have never made more than 60K/year during my working years, I have never bought a new car, cameras or cell phones. I use "Ting" for my cellphone and never pay more than $23 per month. No cable service and tomorrow I am going to buy a used wheelbarrow! Bought our house 40 years ago and still live in it. I got money in the bank and never missed a darn thing. Never had debt and never been happier. Like he said: Just don't spend more money than you earn.
the FOMO mindset is a dangerous consumerist result of capitalism and results in 8/10 Americans being in debt. The thing that has worked for me in the past, is the snowball method to pay down debt. Once you build up the pay down velocity, you become more motivated as your debt balances start to get smaller.
I did something similar! Paid off the loan that had the highest monthly bill first and worked down. It freed up my finances and gave me a lot of energy to keep going. It's all about creative effective habits.
Living frugally is a lifestyle, IMO. Having debt helps facilitate that though ;p
FOMO is a huge tactic in marketing strategies, gotta be a smart informed shopper. Amazon is notorious for exploiting this. "50% off" "Only 3 in stock", mostly lies haha they have perpetual sale items.
The channel about nothing by Shell I’ve recently started being more disciplined with driving for Uber in addition to my FT career. I’ve been trying to pay on my snowball for a couple years and finally just got tired of being tired. Feels good to finally stick with it, gain momentum, and see debt begin to decrease. 👌🏽 2020 I’m coming for you!
Very true
What is fomo?
Wife and I are debt free, except for the house that we just bought this past summer. We will make somewhere in the ball park of $50k household this year. Neither of us works a 40 hour work week. Bills are paid, emergency fund is steady growing, we take vacations, and we put extra cash toward the mortgage when possible.
It's a great feeling to do so much with so little, but the social pressures are real.
1 I know we'll need cars soon and we are saving to buy them used, outright and with cash in hand. Dad wants me to buy a brand new car payment.
2 Friends tell me I need a bigger TV, and two custom built gaming PCs for wife and I. They throw numbers at me about their super advanced internet connections and high fidelity graphics. But, my humble whatever-sized tv and Xbox do the job and cost me nothing. Plus game pass and xbl paid for with Microsoft's Rewards program? Can't beat that.
3 I get looks because I get games, music and movies from the library instead of dropping 25% of my income on the latest and greatest releases. These days, movies hit DVD three months after theatres so what's the rush? And with this system, who needs cable? I'd even drop Netflix if wife wasn't using it.
Despite all of that, what's the alternative? Spend more than we make? Live paycheck to paycheck? No thanks. Finding new ways to be thrifty is legitimately fun. And, when we tally the scores at the end of the year we'll have enough to pay it forward.
I'm debt free as well including my home. It is not only an amazing feeling but a great accomplishment and you guys are among the few because most people are going in the opposite direction. I go out of my way "not" to spend money. I have learned to enjoy life without having to spend lots of money. Like this elderly wealthy woman told me once..."once you have more money than you need, you realize you don't really need anything". The peace of mind you get from not having to worry so much because you don't need much and everything's paid for is something most people will never get to experience.
Vigg the Pale I
I was 30, and $30,000 in debt. The dumbest thing was, it wasn't for school. It was being 18, with a credit card, over the years it started building, I started a business, and it grew out of control. By 31, I paid off all my debt, every penny I made went towards my paying off all the balances, as much as I can. I am 33 now and debt free, and adopting a more minimalist lifestyle, and I absolutely enjoying the process to understanding myself.
Thank you for you video.
I have been on an unpaid leave of absence for 6 months. I made extra mortgage payments when I was working, I don't own a car, I don't like clothes shopping (so I save a ton there). i just got patches put on the jeans i do have, and as a student, i don't have to look professional which is great!
I don't have cable (and haven't had it in over 15 years) or satellite tv, my cell phone is basic: no data plan, my internet is basic. so overall, i spent less than I earned.
oh, i eat simply by the elimination of animal flesh from my diet (they have a right to live without being caged, abused and slaughtered), therefore, i get my protein from split peas, black eye peas, chick peas, etc.
I have been able to live comfortably off of my savings until I go back to work. :-)
Akwaaba B for you that works for some it won’t, simply because it won’t make them happy. There are certain things i “need” to make myself happy. Not dependent on it but truly makes my life better. Example : data
it's good to learn to enjoy life with as little as possible, that way you can truly appreciate what you have. What the other person said is true though, keep in your life what makes you happy.
For me most of my money goes towards eating healthy home cooked meals and outdoors/fitness gear. Fixing my car myself is another big one, I got all the tools now though ;p I've saved thousands with that. Never buy a "luxury" or "higher end" car haha
Don't you just save so much buy eating (still healthy) but essentially vegetarian meals? It's pretty awesome! I get by with $25-35 max at Trader Joe's on groceries a week
Akwaaba B wow you're amazing. That discipline you have will take you far
David Barreto I haven't been able to get my grocery bill down that low yet :( it's been a slow learning process, but I still spend at least $50 a week (all plant based). I try to balance cheap and healthy.
Typically, cheap food is unhealthy and expensive food is healthy :/ not always, but think McDonald's $1 menu vs buying fresh produce... socioeconimic issue. This is why many low income families tend to be overweight, sadly.
"Everything that Remains" by Ryan Nicodemis and Joshua Field Milburn.
"Total Money Make Over" by Dave Ramsey
"You are a Badass and Making Money". by Jen Sincero
The most informative, quantitative, finance book I’ve read is Budgeting 101, starting a budget which fits your lifestyle but helps you spend less is the first step. I would highly recommend this book
"The myth of I don't have," blew my mind! Thanks for your insight and a new perspective to chew on.
Bying food for 50-70% off because they are "out of date" have helpt me save a lot of money. I've never had debt, but I try to save enough to someday buy a house and not have debt. It is going to be hard, but worth it.
Anni Berge like the food has expired? What do you mean? Where do you buy cheap “out of date” food?
I graduated from college with no debt and no credit. When I thought about getting a new car as a new college graduate, my father wanted to co-sign for it. I told him that he was too close to retirement to take on this risk and chose to get a used car that I could pay cash for. I'm glad I made that decision. Now, as I near retirement myself, I am again debt-free and credit free and I'm the happiest and healthiest I've ever been in my life. Honoring your mother and father does pay off.
That “let’s be honest, we buy... a ton of shit” really hit deep for me
Too much! 🙌
Another awesome book I'd recommend: "The Millionaire Next Door"
That is a great book!
I just picked up that book a few days ago from the library! Im already a few chapters in.
I just found this book at the thrift store!! Going to start reading it :)
I really don't like this book, they use misleading data and don't acknowledge it till the end of the book. The repetitive writing takes 300 pages to make a two page point.
👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽
Favorite tip here: start talking about money. I've started this habit at work and my colleagues are now sharing ideas about how to better handle our finances.
"You deserve to be debt free" - LOVE IT!
"The Millionaire Nextdoor" talks about one millionaire who's reward for a goal was renting a video, making popcorn and enjoying the evening with his wife.