When reading the title of this edition frugal living tips, you are probably just think, thank you Captain Obvious. Well, while the term is used to save money by buying not exactly groundbreaking, I'm here to remind you that most of us take this powerful saving tool far enough.
What do I do with it? Start with an inventory of some of the possessions in your house. Sure, you have a sofa in a response to an ad in the classifieds that table lamp wasfrom a flea market, and the jeans came from a thrift store. But what about your TV, Utensils, tennis, winter parka, what about your car or your house? Odds are the majority of the products in your household had probably bought new in the store. But well just about every material you yourself, no matter how big or small, would have a significant discount if you had bought previously purchased.
The two most expensive purchases - a house and a car - are often purchasednew, despite the immediate depreciation that takes place as soon as we sign the papers. But wait a minute, houses have appreciated an asset, is not it? This is true in most real estate markets, but when you purchase new face of the statutory sales tax. Here in Canada, that a 5% GST tax will be added to the purchase. Not exactly peanuts, if they used a $ 400,000 sale. Now that you have paid $ 420,000 for your nice new home. Compare that to a five year old home with the same information in the sameneighborhood. Because it is not brand new they cannot justify pricing it at the same level as the new home down the street. Instead this home sells for $370,000, with no applicable sales tax. Purchasing the used home could have saved you $50,000! Project the interest paid on that extra $50,000 over the term of your mortgage, and you can probably double that number. A pretty hefty premium to pay just to have the privilege of being the first occupant.
Cars are even worse. Not only You pay sales tax and freight costs for a new car, but they are a depreciating asset! Once you exit the lot its value starts to crumble, and in five years when you have finally finished paying for it, it will probably be worth less than half what you paid. The solution is simple: let someone pay that depreciation. Shop around, and read old reports on consumer cars 3-5 years. Look for gas efficiency and reliability above all. One of the main reasons why people buy new cars(or worse, lease!) because they do not want to be harassed with problems of conservation. When you do your research carefully you will find a solid, dependable used cars and enjoy almost the same level of rest, but less than half the cost!
So, those are the big purchases, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Whenever you see a need or a lack, itself out of the habit of heading to the store. Instead, you start your search in the classifieds(print and online), from head to flea markets, secondhand stores, flea markets. All you need is someone somewhere sold off and used often at a discount of up to 90% of what you would pay for it new. Also popular items are sold for at least a slight discount to their retail counterparts. Someone selling used items for the same price as new are not much to do business.
Place your keywords in a game. Comparison shop at second-hand goods and are trying to find the absolute bestBargains possible. You may have to wait a couple of days, but eventually you come across what you are looking at a Smokin 'price. By applying this technique to every article that you can buy, from forks to refrigerators, your discretionary spending in half!
There is another bonus perk, if you purchase goods directly from other individuals, but as a company. In most cases they will not accept credit cards. Cash is king for person to person transactions. This forces you to buy onlywhat do you check the moment the money for - a great impulse, and another way to keep those credit card balances are minimal.
As a final note bonus that you will be that a quantity of the goods you buy devaluation little, if at all. The court set bought for $ 5 at the flea market will sell today for $ 5 at your own flea market. This is a nice result for you than for the original seller, who paid $ 50 for the dish placed in a department store.
So, take the sense of economy to the nextLevel. Stay away from department stores, and begin to buy everything (except used underwear). Your order may not be quite as bright and shiny as your neighbors, but you'll be resting easy, well-funded, while they struggle to pay off their credit card invoices. Remember, do not add a price tag on peace of mind.
