Project No Spending Money (30 Days)

[rak]

This is a brilliant idea, Goodluck man!

Originally Posted by ken nubo

Project No Spending Money: Day 17

Today is a Saturday, and I usually head out to the casino to hustle but lately I've been tired of playing poker. I think I'm going to semi-retire for now. In December my friend and I are going to move into a major tourist resort to play poker part-time. (6 hours a day)

Today I didn't spend any money, just working at home in my underwear.

LIVE IN A CAR FOR A YEAR FOR NO APPARENT REASON

I'm thinking of living in a car -- not a van -- for a year. I would travel all over Canada/USA running my provinced approved business while playing poker at the casinos.

During the day I would visit my friends, go the casino, library, exercise at the park, read books, then at night I Would hit the bars, night clubs, live theatres and other cool events.

I would visit the major national parts, tourist destinations, take interesting courses (forest survival, urban escape, target shooting) and possible write a book that I'll distribute for free on the Internet.

What do you guys think?

I'm definately following this plan. Since I don't mind living in a car, think of the rent monies I would save in 10 years.

$600 for rent x 12 months x 10 years = $72,000.00

Total money spent today: $0

Originally Posted by ken nubo

WHY DO THIS?

Because being cheap is the new cool. Let's see how low can I go to save money.

INTRODUCITON

This is going to be interesting project — and I’m going to give it a 30 days test run.
Basically for the next 30 days I’m going to be as frugal as I can be. This means spending little to no money, thinking twice about traveling around town, and doing interesting things to make money (such as taking pennies and dimes from people who throw it in fountains at the mall)

It’s not a hard task for me, because I don’t:

- Buy $5 coffee daily at Starbucks
- Go to the bars or clubbing on the weekends
- Have expensive hobbies or schooling
- Have kids, mortgage or car payment

With that said, I’m not going to leave you without some couple of good tips that will save you tons of money in the long run if you follow it (Think $5,000 to $10,000)

- Next time you’re at the mall, steal tiolet paper.
- Bring a jar to the mall and “borrow” some of their liquid soap in the washroom
- If you see dimes or quarters in the fountains at the mall, be sure to pick it up

Live simple and be happy. Because you’re born naked into this world, and when you die you bring nothing. As for the saying “Those who die with the most toys win”, it was just a clever marketing slogan to trick dumb people into buying things. Don’t be one of them. :-)


Note: I'm going to post the next 6 days, because I started this on Oct 7 2009

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 18

Today I spent $8 on food -- 2 dozen eggs, chicken, and tuna. I like the minimalist approach when it comes to food -- no junk food, juice, soda pop, or any of that junk.

Anyways, I hopped on the bus today, and after 3-4 hours of sitting and waiting, I finally got to play some poker. I bought in for $100, played very tight for 3-4 hours.

Just folding and folding, and playing 20 percent of the hands. My last hand of the night I got 2 pair on the turn, guy shoves all in with an over pair (AA). I instantly call with my two pair and the board paired up. I got counterfitted so bad. (I was a 75 percent favourite to win)

It ticked me off, and I was swearing all the way to the bus stop. Afterwards I laughed at myself because $100 I lose is very inconsequential to me, it's just that the guy got lucky on the river peeved me off. He wasn't even a good player, that guy was playing poker for the first time!

Total money spent today: $120 ($8 on food, $112 on poker and transportaton)

[Felipe]

Originally Posted by ken nubo

WHY DO THIS?

Because being cheap is the new cool. Let's see how low can I go to save money.

I congratulate you for the determination, this ain't something easy to do, but I totally disagree with this idea of "the new cool".

I am sure that doing this would make me feel miserable. Why would you want to do something like that? Self-punishment? Why would this be cool?

Think that when you have the saving mindset, there best you can do is chasing the $0 just likeyou are doing. When you have the abundance mindset, there is just no limit.

Plus I consider this attitude a very selfish one. You don't want to consume (as you chase $0) so I believe you aren't very productive to society am I wrong? There is just no evil consuming when this is done right. (Regarding Americans & worldwide middle class, you are right but only because their consumption isn't backed by past/current production but backed by a promise of a future production.)

It would be nice to see you doing a "Providing Value to the World (30 Days)" after you finish this one and then compare where you felt better, with the scarcity or the abundance mindset.

Hope I helped you in someway. Wish you the best.

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 19

Today I spent $0, hehe. But I got some cool tips that you'll find usefull.

1. How to be fit and healthy without going to the gym

You can be as fit as you want without paying money to the gym, or any equipment for that matter. Go outside and run. Sprint. Jog. Then do some pull ups, squats, sit ups, burpees at the park.

2. How to save $7200 a year

You have to be a bit of a spartan, but living in a van would save you $7,200 provided you rent your place (600x12=7200)

3. The 1 hour per day habit.

If you have to do something, just spend 1 hour a day doing it. Reading a book? 1 hour of reading. Need to clean up the house? 1 hour. Want to lose that fat and look great? 1 hour exercise.

If you just put in 1 hour a day for the activity, at the end of the month it's 30 hours, which is a decent chunk of time.

That's my useful tip for the day. Hope you enjoyed it

Total money spent: $0

[ken nubo]

Originally Posted by Felipe

Hope I helped you in someway. Wish you the best.

Hey, thanks for the input.

For my next "30 Day Project" I might write a case study on how to make money online from scratch.

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 20

Today I spent $0. Girlfriend gave me $25 Mastercard gift card, so I'm going to use that money to buy us some food and we'll cook something at home -- now that is cheap!

HOW TO RETIRE BEFORE 40

The average American has 2 cars, 2 kids, and a nice house with a picket fence with an average life earning of $1.5 million or so ...

Now say the guy -- before getting trapped into marry -- decides to have a girlfriend who is cool with him living in a van.

He saved $700,000.00+ or so on his mortgage (total cost paying interest to the bank over 30 years period) and at least $500,000.00 if he chose to have 2 kids and raise them until they're 18 years.

NOT only that, but he'll "save" the planet because a kid will cost more environmental damage then any things he recycle or reuse during his life time.

He'll use the money to invest in land in South East Asia, guaranteed interests from foreign banks, and use the American dollar as leverage to live like a king in South East Asia (China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia etc)

Might sound a little extreme for some people -- but you got many paths to choose from. Retire at 65 years old (or work until you die for some people) or retire at 40 or younger by making a few wise choices ...

Total money spent today: $0

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 21 and 22

Yesterday was spent hanging out with friends, then we went to an "adult club" with my friends ... and girlfriend in tow. Of course, we were about to head to a club with cover charge ($7) and I was like "heck no", so we drove to another club that has no cover charge but it's the most ghetto bar in town ... (probably the worst I've ever been too)

We spent around computer shopping, and I bought the mouse I wanted ... for $6! (it was on sale). I was about to buy a $150 mouse, it felt so good, looks so nice, sleek and sexy ... but no, I don't REALLY need it. A cheap functional mouse is fine.

Afterwards we head out, I bought a cheap bottle of wine, a cheap $10 PC game ... and that's about it. We call it a day.

Today I spent the whole day with my girlfriend just chilling at home and cooking home meal meals (Greek salad for the win!)

Total money spent: $29 ($10 computer game, $6 computer mouse, $13 wine)

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: 23

I'm starting to think I'm a degenerate gambler. Oh wait -- no, I'm not. I'm fine grinding it out on online poker, I wouldn't want to do anything else.

YOUR POWER TO CHOOSE

Choose college. Choose job. Choose being in debt. Choose your 9 to 5 job and get stuck in traffic with other rats.

Choose wife. Choose your 2.3 kids. Choose white picket fense in some suburb, and you get mad when the nighbour's dog poop on your lawn.

Choose sunday night football with the boys. Choose insurance. Choose satelite TV channels. Choose matching dress pants.

Choose your choices while you coast through life following the cookie cutter life.

Choose cancer and old folks retirement home.

I choose to gamble. What's your choosing?

Total money spent today: $25.25

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 23 and 24

Yesterday I didn't spend any money but on Day 24, my friend call me to "hang" out at the casino, which translate into playing poker. I was short stack at $100 and waited until I had AA, raised to $22 in a 1/2 NL game, donkey calls me with KQ.

Flop was 3 Q 2.

I check, he bets $50 and I shove all my chips in. He instant calls and rivers a full house. This is the same donkey that went all in preflop with A8 and won a $300 pot. Funny part: he wasn't drunk.

I went home, then after some thoughts, cut up my casino membership card. No more casino for me

The Micro Habit

What I find works for me, is the micro habit. Say you want to lose weight, for most people they go out to buy things like diet pills and exercise machines but that's not the real solution.

The real solution is to have good diet and exercise. Say you spend 30 mins a day exercising, and you lose half a pound a week. That's 2 pounds a month, or 24 pounds a year. Not bad for exercising 30 minutes a day right?

This is a strategy to counter the problem most people face: too much effort and fast results. You'll put in little effort and get delayed results -- but you'll still lose weight

Total money spent in the past 2 days: $120 (AA got cracked)

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 25

I woke up 3 in the afternoon. Proceed to play 8 multi-table online poker and work on making monies on the Internet. I'm thinking of hiring an Indian virtual assistance but I remember to keep this simple when it comes to business.

Thinking of upgrading my home office with 2 more monitors and a new balling office chair ($200) but I'll think about it.

For the past 25 days I didn't make any major purchase. My biggest money leak has to be my vice -- poker and booze. Mmhmmm ...

Total money spent: $0

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 26

Wow, it's day 26 already. This project has been very interesting to track my expenses -- mostly alcohol and gambling. But it's okay! What's life without a bit of red wine in the afternoon.

I have been playing poker at the casino and getting bad beat so badly but doing well online -- been making 16 buyins in the last couple of days. I'm proud of my 9 multi-table skills

Today my girlfriend and I went grocery shoping and we bought mostly raw ingredients. Then we went home and made salads, jello, pasta, and all that healthly stuff. We didn't buy much junk food expect for those oakmeals bar ...

My friends and I haven't done any interesting social experiments in a while. The last time we did smoething was taking a $2 coin from those fountains in the mall. Another time we went to the 5 most expensive restaurants in town, sat down, ordered water, chill for a bit then walked out.

In the past 30 days, I read countless frugal blog so I'm a cerified cheapskate. Ask me any questions if you want to some save money on certain area (food, insurance, housing etc)

Total money spent: $25 (food, dog toy, can opener)

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 27

Today I spent the day with the girlfriend and she wants to go out. I ask her if we can stay home and watch a movie online. Later we went to the bowling alley with friends. I paid $7 in total and it was a fun 1 hour of bowling.

Total money spent today: $7

Project No Spending Money: Day 28

Today I didn't go anywhere, might go to the mall soon with friends. Thinking of renovating the home offfice with a couple more 24 inch monitors, a CPU and a new desk. I'm going to call it my battle station. (Dork, I know)

total money spent today: $0

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 29

Oh my god, it's the last day of this 30 years experiment. My how fast the days went by. Tracking my expense so far, the biggest expense is my vices -- alcohol and poker. I stopped doing both so far.

Today I went to the computer store and was about to buy another 22 inch monitor for my home office but then I realize that no, I DON'T NEED TO BUY ANYTHING. Buying is rarely the solution.

Tonight I'm going out with my friends and we're going to go to the strip bar, which has $5 cover charge and I'll order tap water. (Going to the bar and drinking water is LAME but I'll do it for this experiment!)

Total money spent today: $5 (most likely)

[ken nubo]

Project No Spending Money: Day 30

Today I spent $10 eating out, my meal costed $7.40 for delicious Vietnamese pho (type of soup) with a can of root beer. Then I walked into a bubble tea shop (think Booster Juice but more Asian), talked to the waitress and used the washroom.

There was not 1, but 2 brand new tiolet rolls! I was about to steal it but then I realize I shouldn't, stealing isn't nice. Especially if it's low-tier tiolet paper. Then I was about to steal the nice looking bottle of hand soap but I inspected it and -- what the heck? -- looks like a floating string of semen in it. So ... no soap, thanks.

Total money spent: $10 (tipped the waitress $2)

THINGS I LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIMENT

1. Who needs stuff. You need stuff?: I was seriously going to buy 2 new 22 inch monitor, a new computer, new chair and table for my home office. Now that I think of it, I should donate that money to charity instead. Who needs money? The poor.

2. You don't need to spend money to be happy. The funniest time I had was sitting in a car with my friends and talking while we wait for the fire trunk to stop the alarm in the mall. LOL.

3. How to almost die in a car crash: never get in a car with a guy who drives for 20 minutes without touching the steering wheel. He was driving while texting on his black berry with two hands. WTF?! Then the other driver falls asleep behind the wheel and it could've been 5 death bodies in the car wreck.

4. The $10,000.00 tip (vices are expensive). This means alochol, gambling and adult club. Stay away from those! Good thing I don't smoke. On the other hand, when I wentto the adult club I paid $10 for cover charge and didn't drink beer. Ordering tap water at the club is the way to go.

5. How to life stress free in 1, 2, 3: this means cutting off people in your life that takes your time and energy. I completely cut off communication with someone I knew for 7 years. Feels good man. It means reducing useless meanings, useless activities. This is why I never check facebook, and I don't use twitter or a cell phone for that matter.

6. Make money for lazy people: During the past 30 days I mostly played poker and did very little actual work -- and you know what? Winning in POKER is actually hard work and time consuming. SO I QUIT! So I'm going right back to Internet Marketing. Because nothing beats making money while you sleep. BTW, shout out to Full Tilt poker for sending a check for $200 every month. I think I did some promotion for you guys a year ago. ($200 is good for beer monies)

... and that's all I got for now. Thanks for reading. I might do a 30 Day Project when I decide to live in the car.