Ready to put some money back in your bank account? You've come to the right place.When you make small changes in the way you spend or save, most of the time you can expect small results. There’s nothing wrong with small results, because after all, with time they add up and can have a big impact. But sometimes you need more than a small change to kick you in the butt and get your moving in the right path. Here are four BIG changes that can give you a huge boost and get you moving in the right direction.
Now keep in mind, big changes aren’t usually easy. They carry more up-front work, or require that you make bigger changes in your life. This means you’re going to need to weigh the consequences of your actions and really think and plan ahead before you jump in head first. But don’t get discouraged! You CAN plan out the details and you CAN make big changes in your life. Consider the following possibilities:
1. Turn your family into a one-car family.
Many families have at least two cars. Can your family survive with a one less? Can one of the adults(or both) carpool to work? Are there buses available for the kids? When you sell a car you gain the immediate cash that the car was worth, but you also have residual impact on your expenses. Your car insurance will be lower, your fuel costs will be lower, and you maintenance costs with be lower. My wife and I are currently planning on selling both of our cars and getting a slightly newer used car. We won’t gain a huge windfall from selling the cars, but we are putting the cash into a more reliable vehicle. That will have a direct impact on our maintenance costs. Plus, we’ll still have a reduced insurance bill and reduced fuel costs.
2. Downsize your car.
So maybe you already have one car, or maybe you can’t become a one car family. Can you downsize and live with a smaller car? You can still save a boat load of money by going with a smaller car. For one, the fuel costs will be much lower, especially with the crazy price of gas these days. Prices could jump and we could see $4.00 a gallon again a month from now. There’s no certainty with fuel prices, so finding a small, more fuel-efficient car will always benefit your.
Now we get into the really big changes.
3. Downsize your home.
With the current state of the mortgage industry, homes as status symbols are going the way of the dinosaur. Larger homes are starting to look like giant anchors weighing down the families stuck inside. When I see a small family or couple living in a home where each person in the house has their own wing, it’s not impressive, it’s sad. You need to be able to take care of your home by yourself. If you can’t afford the house, you definitely can’t afford the maid, gardener or pool guy. You should be focused on living in as small a house as you can and still be comfortable. If you’re carrying a ton of debt and you’re spending your nights and weekends in a huge empty house, you’re clearly not getting it. You can save thousands of dollars a year by downsizing to a smaller house. Consider it.
4. Sell the house and rent.
A mortgage isn’t necessarily a better investment than a lease. You need to take the interest into account and especially the costs to keep your house livable. You need to pay for insurance, home repairs, landscaping and don’t forget you still have to include all the utilities. Some rental properties will include some utilities in the price of the unit. If you can rent a home for less than your mortgage, you can invest the difference(or pay off debt!) and in a short period of time you can put yourself in a much better position financially. This is not a quick fix. This is a tough, life-changing decision. But it could be the decision that saves your life, if you’re living beyond your means.
Take this to heart – a big change produces a big impact. Find something big to change in your life and you will earn a big reward.
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This is the first time ever that I’ve heard experts suggest that renting is smarter than buying a home if you have significant credit card and student loan debt. While we’d love to have my own home, we’re very comfortable knowing what our housing and utility expenses will be each month while we are focusing on paying off credit card and student loan debt.