Despite the name of our site, we cover topics that are much more vast than just saving and budgeting money! This is precisely why a new e-book I ran across caught my eye, 25 Money Strategies Your Teacher Forgot to Tell You About. As the subtitle of the book says, it’s for those of you who are trying to make ends meet. This book covers money strategies as a whole, whether that be saving, spending, budgeting, investing, or simply being a mastermind of your money!
The author, Latvian born Richard Pans, is already an avid finance blogger and published author. In fact the predecessor to this book was his initial foray into financial writing, and was aptly titled 20 Money Strategies Your Teacher Forgot to Tell You About. That first book was written four years ago, and since then Richard has been able to use his evolving knowledge of personal finance to build upon his earlier work. His self-proclaimed drive to understand and master wealth and prosperity shows up in several places within this book, and leaves us wanting more. While I don’t want to give away all 25 money strategies in this article, I would like to point out a few sections that were especially masterful, and perhaps whet your appetite for the book.
Spending and saving isn’t a new concept, but it’s a powerful one. Richard explains that after a daily shopping event you should go home and tally up receipts and then take 10% of the amount spent and set aside in your savings. This is quite similar to the big banks that take money from every purchase and round up to the nearest whole dollar and then throw that in your savings account. It’s a good idea that should be applied to everything you spend money on.
There is another fantastic section on how wasteful it is owning a car! Between the cost of a car, the routine maintenance needed, and of course the gas to fuel the car, these things are two ton money pits. Oh, and let’s not forget the cost to insure. Avoiding the purchase of a car isn’t just the tradeoff of riding a bike to work and school, it could involve a lifestyle change as well. Perhaps living in a more dense and urban environment, or better yet, simply moving closer to the areas that you commute the most often.
One of the most powerful chapters in the book, and probably the most difficult to adhere to, is the “zero dollar day”. Think of the last time you went an entire day without spending one dollar! I can’t imagine going an hour without spending at least one dollar, I often use the coffee or snack vending machines at work a couple times a day. There is a lot of self-discipline needed to go an entire day without spending any money, but the idea is to go 1 day without spending, and then to continuously string more days on to that. That means not even putting $0.50 in a parking meter. I’ve often told my wife we need to give this one try but she is still skittish.
For more quality money strategies like the one’s above make sure you purchase your own copy of 25 Money Strategies Your Teacher Forgot to Tell You About.
This review is brought to you by Justin, author of Saving Without a Budget. I am also an MBA graduate with 10 years of post collegiate experience in Corporate Finance.
