How I saved over $300,000 in 2017 - How to Save Money 101 (Five Steps)

What's up, you guys? It's Graham here. So, you know, it's better than making and spending a ton of money; it's saving and investing a ton of money.

And no, I'm not talking about anything crazy like extreme couponing or dumpster diving. We're going to Costco and eating the free samples for lunch. Even though that one is pretty good, it's just what too many people know about it. It's not gonna work anymore, so just forget I said that last one.

But in all seriousness, these are simple techniques that are so easy to do that it won't even feel like you're saving in the first place, just because they're so simple. See, at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter how much money you make; it's how much of that you can keep. Whether you're making fifty thousand dollars a year or five hundred thousand dollars a year, if you spend all of it, then you have nothing left and nothing left to show for it.

That means you'll have to go back to work the next day and start over after every paycheck just to replenish the money that you've spent. Now, if you don't mind continuing to work and going back to a job to trade your time to pay for these things, fine! But for the rest of us that don't want to rely on a job to really bring us the things that matter the most, it all begins with saving.

And these are the easiest ways to save without ever really feeling like you're saving money. The first one is to buy it tomorrow, not today. The entire purpose of this is just to cut down on those impulse purchases that you wouldn't ordinarily spend money on.

Like, every now and then you might come across a Nicolas Cage pillowcase for twelve dollars and think, in the moment, "I have to have it!" But then you realize the next day, "Wait a second, it's twelve dollars. What do I really need a Nicolas Cage pillowcase?" And then you realize, "Wait a second, I don't need a Nicolas Cage pillowcase."

See, when you wait a day to buy something, oftentimes the excitement of buying something will wear off, and you'll be able to decide with a clear mind if this is really something you need or not. And I promise you that just by doing this one thing, you're gonna be saving a lot of money without ever really realizing it.

And then, if you've waited a day to buy something, before you buy it, ask yourself if someone offered me the cash equivalent for this product, would I take it? For instance, let's take the $12 Nicolas Cage pillowcase. Would you rather have the Nicolas Cage pillowcase or would you rather have twelve dollars? This has cut down on a lot of the purchases I would have made because, honestly, I would have rather just had the money.

Like, think about going out for dinner, for instance. What if someone just offered you $40 cash for you not to go out to dinner that night? Or think about the new pair of shoes for a hundred and fifty bucks. Would you rather have a pair of those shoes, or would you rather someone just give you, "Hey, here's a hundred and fifty bucks and don't buy this pair of shoes?"

This really just helps put things in perspective with how much your money is really worth and really helps you focus on things that are really gonna bring you the most value versus something you're just going to enjoy in the moment.

Now, my third piece of advice is to think about how many hours you're going to have to work to pay for this. So, let's say you're making $10 an hour and the dinner is $40. Well, that dinner is really going to be costing you four hours of your life just to pay for that dinner. Same thing if you're buying a $100 pair of shoes. That $100 pair of shoes, at $10 an hour, is really going to cost you 10 hours of your life.

And if you're making $10 an hour, buying that $12 Nicolas Cage pillowcase is going to cost you over an hour of your life for a pillowcase with Nicolas Cage's face on it. So decide from there if what you're buying is worth your time to buy it.

So, my fourth piece of advice, which was also my favorite, is to set aside all the money I'm saving. So, let's say I was about to buy that Nicolas Cage pillowcase and then I decided, "You know what? I'm gonna save the $12 instead." As a reward for not spending that $12, I'll go and put it in a separate account.

And then, after a while, I will just invest whatever money is sitting in that account. By doing this, it's just really fun to see the immediate results of saving money, and then all of a sudden, I'll have thousands of dollars sitting in my bank account from things I just decided weren't worth spending money on, like $12 Nicolas Cage pillowcases.

And you can do the same thing. Let's say that instead of ordering a $50 meal at dinner, you ordered a $35 meal instead. You saved $15! You can go and take that $15, put it in the separate bank account, and then all of a sudden, that money is gonna start adding up over time. Again, it's like an immediate reward for not spending money and saving.

And then my fifth and final piece of advice is to see everything in its future value. Now, when you invest your money, it's going to grow over time. When you spend it, you're really just halting the growth that that money would have made you had you invested it instead.

So if, instead of buying the Nicolas Cage pillowcase, you instead decide to invest your $12 at an 8% return over 35 years, you got to think to yourself that $12 Nicolas Cage pillowcase now is really worth a hundred and seventy-seven dollars 35 years from now in future money. So think to yourself when it comes to every single purchase you make: is this something that's really going to give me an immediate value, or would I rather have the future value of this money if I invest it?

So, from doing all of this, I'll think to myself, would I rather have a hundred and seventy-seven dollars of future money? Whatever! Either have the $12 Nicolas Cage pillowcase right now, and I think the answer is pretty obvious. I'd rather have the $12 Nicolas Cage pillowcase because I've talked about it enough!

Link is in the description if you guys want to purchase a Nicolas Cage pillowcase. I can't believe this is what my channel has come to! I actually have an Amazon affiliate link to a Nicolas Cage pillowcase in my description. Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. This is what my life has come to.

The whole point of this is not just to be super frugal and cut back and not live your life; the whole point of this video is really to focus on the things that are going to bring you the most value, the most enjoyment, and the highest ROI on your money.

It's not just about cutting back on everything and being a hermit and not leaving the house because you're afraid of spending money. Just spend money on things that matter the most, not things that you're gonna buy and then tomorrow it doesn't make any difference in your life. It really doesn't add to anything; it really doesn't bring you any more enjoyment than not having it in the first place.

That is the entire purpose of this. And again, by saving money, you're gonna be able to invest it, grow your wealth over time, and then all of a sudden, one day you're gonna have enough money to buy whatever you want without ever even thinking about it—without ever having to worry to go to a job to afford these things because you have enough money saved up and invested to bring a passive income for as long as you live.

And that is the entire point of this, and it just starts with the small little things of saving money. So, as always, you guys, thank you so much for watching it! I really hope you enjoyed this. If you enjoyed this and you haven't already subscribed, make sure to smash that subscribe button.

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So anyway, last thing—last thing! I have a Facebook group for anyone interested in working in real estate, real estate investing, and wholesaling, agent in anything real estate—a free Facebook group! The link is in the description; feel free to add yourself on that.

Thank you again for watching, and until next time. And by the way, this video is not sponsored or brought to you by a Nicolas Cage pillowcase! Every single time it seems like I mention something stupid in my videos, people are asking for links of where they can buy it.

So, there you go! Link is in the description. Enjoy the joy of that pillowcase!