Making Ends Meet: Advice for Poor People, and Frugal People. (I do much or of this stuff!)

I probably don't need to operate at this level of cheapness/frugality but once you start doing a few things, you built the habits and it's not a big deal.

First, here's some YouTube material and I answer almost EVERY comment.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHfnZVroL1-WNlfCEC09jdPlf6GYUu50e

People are going to comment that much of this advice is just a few cents or dollars here and there. 

True, but you can take those tiny gains, and put a few dollars a week or month into stocks that pay dividends in whatever business you like: oil, energy, gambling, real estate, options (you can buy stocks and the company does the work selling options), for as little as $1 at a time.

Over time, this is a nice little income (your dollars make dollars) AND you can borrow against the value of the stock if you need a short term loan til the next payday once you reach $2000. 

I wouldn't invest any money I might need quickly. So, if it's $1, then it's $1 that you can put away for a long while.

$2000 is not that much, especially if you can be smart. 

First, pick a brokerage here for free. Some will give you free stock for just opening, some will give free stock for a small ($20 lets say) deposit, and it scales up from there. One gives you $200 for depositing $2000. (You could get a credit card advance for that, with one of those 3% offers, since you make 10%. Pocket the difference.)

Read the terms as some require you keep the money there for a while. But you could easily buy $200 in stock in the last example, keep the $2000 in cash in the account then when the time is met, withdraw the cash and pay off the credit card. Or, put it in a savings account after that or whatever. You pay a $60-$80 fee but you make $200.

IMHO, a brokerage account worth $2000 so you can apply for margin (mainly so you can borrow cash against the value of your stock) and use it as another bank account. You can even pay your credit card out of your brokerage in most cases.

Example: Credit card's due, but you don't have the cash for a few days. No problem! Your stocks are worth $2000, in most cases the broker will let you spend $1000. Pay the card, put the money back when you get your paycheck.

Moving on.

The first concept I want to talk about is: delay your gratification. Rich people buy luxuries last, poor people buy luxuries first.

What is a luxury? IMHO, anything you don't NEED. (Or plan to make or save money, etc. such as buying an electric lawn mower and stop paying someone else to do it.)

Those premium beers (beer in general is not a good bargain, I like cheap rum plus whatever), the Starbucks, junk food (I'm hungry) or anything you don't truly NEED. 

Do you need a new TV or can you just watch on a tablet and hold it closer?

That money can go into investing. 

Why do I keep pushing investing? Because your money makes money all the time. While you are asleep.

Ok, so that's our goals: building a habit of not spending money for wants, but NEEDS and using our money or credit card or whatever to make money.

Rich people don't work for their money. Their money works for them.

Frugal. Cheap.

Here's where it might be embarrassing for you. These are things I do, but many of them are also good for the environment. 

I will 'embarrass' myself now. Here's a long list of tiny things I do that just save money.

1. When I get bar soap and such in a hotel, I bring it home. Wrap it in a couple of Kleenex and take it home. Makes your suitcase smell good and keeps it out of the trash. Save conditioner/shampoo small sizes and use those the next time you travel. 

2. Showers. I use a lower water output (don't need full blast to wash) and you can turn off the water as you lather. Saves heating the water, saves the amount of water you use. Get wet, turn off water, lather, rinse. Good for the environment. If it's winter, leave the warm water in the tub and the heat will stay in your bathroom. Drain when cold.

3. Food. Take it home from the restaurant, freeze it if you can't eat it right away, buy the store brands, look for the 'dented box' clearance section, etc. Refill your one time use wwater bottle.

4. Save the aluminum cans. Just put them somewhere if you can and make one big trip. I also save other metals as I have storage on site.

5. Pick up those pennies you see in the parking lot.

6. Check out an app called 'CoinOut'. They pay you to take photos of almost any receipt and send it in. Just collect a small pile and do it every now and then while you watch TV.

7. Look for a store in your area that sells out of date items. Anything canned for example that's close to out of date or is just a little out of date is probably fine if the can isn't swollen.

8. Drive slower. Don't punch the gas when the light turns green, and slow down early for red lights and stop signs: coast to them if you can. Keep your tires aired up. That's cheap.

9. Pool resources. Carpool, take trips to the store together, Costco etc: buy a bunch, split it up. It's social, too.