how to retire a millionaire being intelligently frugal
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My name is Alex and I love creating streams of passive income. My goal is to help you do the same.
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Announcement
As some of you may know, I’ve been buying tokenized real estate through Lofty to dip my toes into the real estate market. So far I have 4 tokens (3 properties) in Cleveland and Chicago.
I’ve invested $200 so far, which has now become $200.43 (+0.22%) as the value of one of my homes increased. I’ve also accumulated about $3.15 in rental income (paid out every day). All together that comes out to about a 1.80% ROI in a little over 4 months.
I like this platform because it makes buying real estate incredibly easy, although the returns are quite insignificant (for now). I’m going to continue experimenting with Lofty and continue accumulating more properties/tokens.
If you want to check it out, click here.
How to be cheap intelligently frugal
Subscriptions
Recurring expenses are a massive wealth killer. Think car payments, mortgages, telephone bills, insurance. Of course these are all things we can’t live without, but when it comes to non-essesntial subscriptions they add up over time.
Think about it. A standard plan on Netflix is about $15.99. Over the course of a year you’re giving away $191.88. But okay I get it, you like to watch TV shows, but why do you need Prime Video, Crave and Disney+ as well?
If you think you can’t live without all 5 of your movie streaming services, try going a month with only 1 of them and see if you really need them all.
This goes for all types of recurring expenses, not just streaming services. Chances are you don’t use them as much as you think you do, or you can find a cheaper (or free) alternative.
The Coffee Hack
This is my all time favourite way to save money. I RARELY (if ever) spend money on drinks. Whether that’s water, pop, energy drinks, Starbucks. I just don’t see the point.
But if you’re someone who can’t go a day without getting your $5 Starbucks Venti Extra Hot No-Foam Cali-style Frappucino with Cinnomon Sprinkle, then you need to take a step back and realize just how much it’s costing you.
If it makes you happy, do it. But here’s an alternative for those looking to free up some cash. When I was in college I forced myself to like black coffee for a few reasons.
It has 0 calories and I hate drinking calories
It was cheaper because I didn’t have to buy cream and sugar (I was also a college kid on a budget)
I felt cool drinking black coffee
To this day it has been one of the best food decisions I’ve made. Here’s what I did:
I bought a Keurig off Amazon for $98 (here’s the exact one I have). It’s very basic but does the trick.
Then I also buy McCafe pods off Amazon. You can get a pack of 30 for $19.97. That’s $0.67/coffee.
Both the pods and the Keurig will set you back $117.97 (plus applicable taxes). Assuming you have 1 coffee a day, a 30 pack will last you 30 days (quick maths).
If you buy a $5 coffee from Starbucks every morning, after 1 month you would have spent $150. So in less than 1 month, the Keurig pays for itself. After that all you need to do is buy the pods and you’re having a cup at $0.67/day.
Now I get it. Good coffee is subjective and it all depends on what you like. But I LOVE coffee with a passion and these McCafe pods have been phenomenal, not only for my bank account but also for my taste buds.
Cheers to cheap caffiene.