You may have heard stories of people living out of their cars. Often, this is not associated with anything positive. It suggests someone who is destitute and down on their luck. However, as the story in this blog posts suggests, what if there was a way of living comfortably out of your car?
This story is part of a YouTube channel called Stories from a Van. It’s from a guy named Evan who suped up his van and shows people via videos how he manages to save significant sums of money by living rent free.
This idea certainly won’t appeal to everyone. But you have to admit it’s a pretty neat idea and fun to know that it can be done. He doesn’t have a lot of posts on his YouTube channel, but despitet this, he gets a fair amount of views on YouTube. So clearly people are interested in the concept.
The video seems to cover most of the questions that you probably would have when considering a venture such as this. Items such as how to find parking, where to find food, and how to deal with your mailing address are all contained in the video. And he shows you how he makes money too!
As Evan states in his video, “Moving anywhere that’s accessible by car no longer requires looking for housing, signing a lease, packing all my belongings, or dealing with housemates. I just pick a city and start driving.”
Summary
If you have a little over 16 minutes to spare and you are curious about this venture, I urge you to take a look at the video. Even if you have less than 16 minutes, you can speed up the video and not miss anything about how Evan made this happen.
Living out of your car may not be right for you, but you never know what circumstances you may be faced with in the future. It’s good to have at least an idea of how other people handled their situations.
The physical task of saving money is not difficult, so what makes saving money so difficult to do? There could be many reasons, but it likely boils down to people find better things to do with their money, even if it isn’t the best choices to make.
What’s worse is saving money often involves budgeting, which most people dread. It’s often a wake up call for people to go through their finances. This is a necessary aspect of the process though. You can’t spend more than you make and you have to find money to put away for a rainy day, so to speak.
Why then, can some people bite the bullet and become successful savers? It comes down to focus and planning. People who set financial goals usually are better savers. They put off instant gratification for increased satisfaction later on.
It’s Not Your Fault
This article isn’t about blaming anyone for the lack of savings. In fact, our society is predicated on consumption. We are seduced into the latest and greatest of everything. Just look at advertising. Someone is always trying to convince you to buy something. And these advertising ploys have been going on since many of us were young. You have or will spend a good portion of your life subjected to these spending encouragements.
Get Your Butt Out of Debt
While it may not be our fault about a lack of savings, that doesn’t shun our responsibility for our own finances. If you have amassesd or are amassing a huge amount of debt, it can be quite a challenge to get yourself out of that hole. But it CAN BE DONE!
Credit card debt has grown substantially since the 2008-2009 crisis. Take a look at the following:
St. Louis Fed Loans to Individuals: Credit Cards
Check your state resources for debt management or counseling programs. If these resources won’t help you directly, they may point you to trusted resources. This is a far better route than relying on the charlitans that will claim they can negotiate debt consolidation on your behalf. There are legitimate companies that do this, but there are also several scammers.
If you are facing collections, negotiate with them for debt relief. They would rather get a portion of the debt than to have to go through a lengthy collections process. For instance, if you owe $10,000, offer to be forgiven of half. They may not accept half, but they may reduce your obligation to $7,000. This happens often.
Be aware that companies are required to report any debt forgiveness to the IRS. You will need to pay taxes on the amount that was relieved!
How Does Savings Robot Help you Save?
We scour the internet and traditional places to find deals that matter. We look for legitimate resources that have a true potential to save money, help you earn rebates, or just are totally cool to join.
Along the way, we’ll offer tips and tricks to help you become a better saver, if that is on your list of things to do. We’ll help you save when you make purchases, but we’ll also help you find resources that can help you manage your finances a bit easier, too.
A Few Resources to Get You Started
Our savings robot has found a few resources for you to get started. We do review each resource to ensure that the robot is returning quality resources.
You’ve probably noticed by now that gas prices have increased and continue to remain high. This website surveys customers and reports the prices of various gas stations in your area. You would be amazed at how different the prices are between the stations.
It’s hard to beat the price of free. If you are looking for something, check out this website for people who may be trying to get rid of what you are looking for. The website has locations in many states so check to see if you state or local area is involved.
Reddit can be a bit confusing to newcomers. The site is divided into subreddits and are accessed using /r/subreddit name. For instance, to access the Savings subreddit, use the following:
Craiglist is not what it used to be but you can certainly find savings on the website. This is one of those sites where you should be vigilant and cautious about deals. If you are going to meet up with any counter parties, do so in busy locations. Otherwise, your life could be in danger.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you find some value from the tips and resources included on this page. If you have any tips or resources you’d like to share, feel free to included them in the comments below.
We all love to buy stuff, right? There is something satisfying with any purchases that we make. They empower us and make us feel like we in control. It’s also that newness feeling that we get with what we buy. But there is a time to save, too. Learn why saving money is important.
I found an article that explains why saving money is important. It’s not a lengthy article, but does give you a quick description of why saving matters.
The Savings Robot is pointing to the title of the article. This way, when you head to the page, you’ll know exactly what you are looking for. In a nutshell, saving money is about being able to sleep better at night. Initially, it’s tough to save. But after you get into the habit, you’ll enjoy watching your savings grow.
The article won’t tell you how to save. It’s just a high-level overview. But don’t worry! The Savings Robot is always looking for information to help you with saving money.
As the article shows, when you have enough saved for your future, you have control over your destiny. That is one of the most satisfying things we can have in life. It helps you keep your freedom.
The article is from Investopedia, which has great articles about finance.
Financial advisers often hammer into their clients the need to create budgets. Good advisers are hard-wired to offer this advice. It’s how they roll. For the rest of us, though, creating a budget is a daunting task. There are some budget resources for 2021 to help you get set up and reduce your anxiety.
A Budget Is a Staple Item for Sound Financial Plans
We’ve all been told that budgets are the key to managing your financing. However, sitting down to create one is essential to getting your finances in order. It also requires resetting your thinking about finances, for all the members of your family.
Using Online Resources
There are several online resources and apps that can help you manage your budgets (some of them included in this guide). However, not everyone feels safe entering information about finances online. Between hackers and the prying eyes of governments, there are valid concerns for wanting to keep sensitive data offline.
One option is to buy a notebook at the local stationary store and use it for your budget exclusively. Most technophiles would shun this practice, but there is something to be said for old-fashioned methods of living. It worked for many years before computers existed. It still can work for some people.
Here are the top resources to help with your budgeting for 2021:
Economic Policy Institute Budget Calculator
Want to know the average costs of your county? Enter your county into the Economic Policy Institute’s Budget Calculator and you will get an estimate. Obviously, each family’s situation will be different. But it provides a decent benchmark.
Family Budget Expert’s Budget Categories
People get tripped up with coming up with the appropriate categories when budgeting. This handy article, from the Family Budget Expert offers some help.
You’ll want to use the categories that make sense. Having a list of categories can often help spur new ideas, too.
Simple.com Guide to Creating a Family Budget
No resource list on budgeting would be comlete without some tips on how to create one. The Guide to Creating a Family Budget from Simple.com fits the bill for this task. It shows the process in a step-by-step manner that is, well, simple!
Money Under 30 – Article About Paying Off Debt
If you had $80,000 in debt and set a goal to pay it off in three year, do you think you could accomplish this? According to an article in Money Under 30, that is exactly what one person was able to accomplish.
Getting Out of Debt
You don’t have to be as aggressive as the author of that article, and hopefully you don’t have $80,000 in debt. But if you have any accumulated debt that you want to pay down, it’s good to know how to do it.
Paying down your debt is a sound financial principle. Don’t leave this to chance as you’ll need this to be part of your budget.
Also, it’s usually best to pay down your debts before you start investing. Since credit cards have interest rates often in excess of 20%, it will be difficult to beat that rate via any investments. You may get lucky on occasion, but history is not on your side.
Can you pay debt off if you don’t make a lot of money? From an article from the same website, you can learn how it is possible. In this article, you’ll learn about a technique known as zero-sum budgeting. It could well be the answer to your getting out of debt.
Setting Aside Money for Emergencies
Many financial planners will suggest setting aside money for emergencies. This is a wise financial decision to make. But it’s not always easy to accomplish. Something always seems to come up that requires spending that money prematurely.
An article from USA Today may help. It shows how to not only create an emergency fund but also to help get out of debt. That is often the roadblock that can prevent people from setting aside some cash for a rainy day.
Save for a Rainy Day
The tips presented in the article are not difficult to accomplish, either. That means you’ll have a better chance of making them work for you and your family.
Another Resource to Help Get That Personal Budget Created
Different resources will offer differing ideas about any topic. This is true with budgets, too. While there will be some overlap, the more resources you draw your ideas from, the easier it is to find a plan that will work for your needs.
That makes sense because no advice on budget can cover every situation for every household. Multiple resources means getting more ideas, it’s that simple.
Even when you finish with this article, consider searching for others to help when your formulating your budgeting plan.
To add to your resources, Income Buddies has a decent article about how to create a budget. Feel free to skip over the sections that aren’t relevant to you. Hopefully, there won’t be too many of these.
Hopefully, you have enough resources from this article to help you get going on your budget. The sooner you get started, the quicker you’ll get your finances back on track.
The title seems like a silly question. Who wouldn’t want to save money?
Well, we understand that just about everyone does. When you save money, it means more money for you and less for someone else. That’s cool! And, even better, it’s going to be easier to do with the Savings Robot!
We aren’t just another website that provides bogus savings to try and woo you to our website. We provide information on how to find the best resources to save you money. Any resouces we provide that displays savings will be high-quality. That is what we are all about!
We Will Listen to Our Readers
It isn’t about selling with us. We want to use this website to connect with our readers and give them a voice. If you want to see more of something, let us know. Whatever your idea, we’ll listen.
