What you are looking for?

SECURE THE BAG: HOW TO SAVE FOR YOUR NEXT BIG MOVE

After living in Austin for a full month even though I moved here 2 months ago (I was commuting between NY and ATX for the first month), I think that I have made all the necessary purchases and signed all the necessary documents to comfortably say that “I live in Austin”. Even though it might seem like an abrupt decision to some people, it was 6 months of planning and 4 months of waiting before I could uproot my life to a new city, new job, and new industry, without knowing anyone in Austin. That is almost a year of adding numbers, talking to people, balancing my accounts, interviewing for jobs, and cutting corners before I was ready.

For me, I knew that relocation was going to be all on aka money and I did not want to dip in my savings or rack up a credit card bill. Add the fact that I didn’t have a steady income for 3 months and you have an almost impossible task. SO, my only option was to plan ahead. I read books and began talking to people who had actually gone broke broke broke (I’m talking dollar pizza everyday) to gauge what I shouldn’t do and what I can actually afford to do in a new city. 

LIST IT:

For the three months leading up to my move to Austin, I lived on the very bare minimum by giving myself a “luxury allowance” of $50 per month. How did I arrive at $50? I listed everything that I spend money on in a month using Tillerhq (recommended by Zim Ugochukwu of Travel Noire). Tillerhq is an app that automatically connects to your bank account to create a spreadsheet that details everything you spend money on. It’s jarring when you see that you’ve spent more on take-out food in a month than some people spend on actual necessities. So, with the list, I was able to trim down all the unnecessary expenses and I realized that I can survive with $50 per month. So, get a good and honest “in-your face” list of what you spend money on in order to know what your real-time expenses are and what you’re actually splurging on. 

BUDGET IT:

With $50 per month, you would think that a normal person would know how to spend her money, right? NO. In order to actually stay within the $50 range without living paycheck to paycheck, I had to create a strict budget on what I would actually spend the $50 on. Granted, the majority of my paycheck was already budgeted into savings and living expenses but you also have to budget your extra coins. I had to schedule people’s birthdays and events into the budget, in order to be sure that I could cover it with my extra allowance for the month. Without budgeting those extra coins, you would either spread yourself really thin by the middle of the month or you would think that you have more cash than you actually do. 

REFUSE IT:

The important part about a budget is learning to say no. We’re all fairly youngish and everyone around us has different income and has different expenses, but everyone thinks we all have the same bank account balance (I don’t know why). The person who earns twice as much as you do will invite you to an event that will cost you a third of your payvhen because “yolo.” I am definitely still learning this, but you have to learn to refuse invitations. If it is over your allowance for the month, you are more than welcome to tell someone “I can’t afford it.” They’ll live and your bank account will live.

FLIP IT:

Besides investing your money (which I wrote about here), I learned that there are so many ways that you can earn cashback for your purchases. I do most of my shopping online-even groceries (shoutout to 1 hr pickup)-which allows me to earn cash back through Ebates and use coupons through retailmenot. How it works- You search for the stores that you need to shop on-shop online-earn cashback-get your check-done. The good part of this is that you are most likely already earning cashback with your credit card and now you can double that cashback with Ebates.

Fun fact: My allowance during the holiday season was from the cash back that I earned from previous purchases in 2018. With retailmenot, you will never pay full price for anything PERIOD. Discounted price + double cash back? More $$ to save (just make sure that you only spend your allowance on your credit card and you pay the balance in FULL before the due date. We are not paying fees or interest in 2019)

RESEARCH IT:

If you’re looking to relocate, do some research on the cost of living of where you are going to before accepting any job. You want to make sure that you have some wiggle room between post-tax income and expenses, so that you can actually have  double of your previous allowance. As I’ve found out from being in a new city where I didn’t know anyone, you will go out…a lot. You’re in a new city, and you need to network, make friends, meet people, and explore. So, you will be going out for almost every event under the sun and you need to make sure that your income can cover your rent/mortgage, your expenses, and now your friendship bills.

RE-USE IT:

I am probably the most unlikely person to say this considering the fact that I have a deep psychological appreciation for shoes. Re-use. everything. in. your. closet. I had the allowance to carry two suitcases when I came to Austin, and I had to come to a harsh conclusion when I was packing- I own a lot of clothes and shoes and I wear only half of them. Chances are that you’re very similar-you have your look and you stick to it but you keep on buying clothes and shoes like you’re clothing a family of 10 clones. So, I decided to create a capsule wardrobe which essentially means that I am on a clothing/shoes spending freeze for the entire season. This is particularly challenging for me, because as a style blogger, I am inclined to show new clothes and shoes but with this spending freeze, I am obligated to style the same pieces for 3 months so follow my Instagram and sign up to the newsletter if you want to see the results or inspiration for your capsule wardrobe. You can either sell or donate the things that don’t make it to your capsule wardrobe for some extra $$. 

There it is. This is how I was able to move, and spend thousands of dollars on relocation without a steady income, without racking up credit card bills and without dipping into my primary savings account. Oh, I even took a trip to Grenada with the extra coins/miles I earned from cashback, miles rewards, and excessive coupon clipping.

 

129 Comments
  14. Neal Mccullough

    I would like to add when you do not surely have an insurance policy or else you do not take part in any group insurance, you will well make use of seeking the help of a health broker. Self-employed or people who have medical conditions ordinarily seek the help of one health insurance brokerage service. Thanks for your writing.

    Reply
  40. Curso Hud Classe a Poker na Chapa

    I have noticed that repairing credit activity ought to be conducted with techniques. If not, you will probably find yourself endangering your positioning. In order to be successful in fixing your credit rating you have to ensure that from this minute you pay all your monthly costs promptly before their appointed date. It really is significant for the reason that by not necessarily accomplishing that area, all other steps that you will take to improve your credit positioning will not be helpful. Thanks for giving your strategies.

    Reply
  60. Semeando CC

    This is the best weblog for anybody who wants to search out out about this topic. You realize so much its almost exhausting to argue with you (not that I really would need?HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply nice!

    Reply
  63. Orion Estudos

    I’m really inspired along with your writing skills as neatly as with the structure in your blog. Is this a paid topic or did you customize it your self? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it?s uncommon to look a great weblog like this one today..

    Reply
  65. Afetividade Infantil e Harmonia Familiar 3.0 Ítalo Marsili

    Also I believe that mesothelioma cancer is a exceptional form of cancer malignancy that is typically found in those people previously familiar with asbestos. Cancerous tissue form within the mesothelium, which is a protective lining which covers many of the body’s internal organs. These cells ordinarily form inside the lining of your lungs, abdominal area, or the sac that encircles one’s heart. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

    Reply
  74. curso pet shop senac

    I’ve come across that right now, more and more people will be attracted to video cameras and the field of images. However, being a photographer, it’s important to first spend so much time deciding which model of video camera to buy in addition to moving from store to store just so you may buy the least expensive camera of the brand you have decided to settle on. But it would not end there. You also have take into consideration whether you can purchase a digital dslr camera extended warranty. Many thanks for the good ideas I received from your site.

    Reply
  75. cursos rateados

    Thanks for the ideas you are sharing on this website. Another thing I’d really like to say is getting hold of duplicates of your credit profile in order to examine accuracy of each and every detail could be the first motion you have to perform in credit score improvement. You are looking to clean up your credit report from detrimental details problems that ruin your credit score.

    Reply
  76. Rolland

    An interesting dialogue is worth comment. I think that you need to write extra on this topic, it might not be a taboo topic but generally people are not sufficient to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers

    Reply
  77. learn more

    Thanks for your writing. I would also love to say a health insurance specialist also works well with the benefit of the coordinators of your group insurance coverage. The health insurance broker is given an index of benefits needed by a person or a group coordinator. What any broker may is hunt for individuals and also coordinators that best match up those needs. Then he presents his suggestions and if all parties agree, the particular broker formulates a contract between the two parties.

    Reply
  114. world news

    One thing I’d really like to say is the fact car insurance termination is a hated experience and if you’re doing the appropriate things as a driver you will not get one. Some individuals do have the notice that they are officially dumped by their particular insurance company and several have to scramble to get extra insurance after having a cancellation. Low-priced auto insurance rates usually are hard to get from a cancellation. Knowing the main reasons with regard to auto insurance cancellations can help owners prevent losing one of the most critical privileges readily available. Thanks for the strategies shared through your blog.

    Reply
  118. sbobet

    601418 317079Normally I dont learn post on blogs, even so I wish to say that this write-up very pressured me to try and do it! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thank you, quite great article. 678635

    Reply
  127. youtube music

    788564 908537This design is steller! You obviously know how to maintain a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (effectively, almostHaHa!) Fantastic job. I truly enjoyed what you had to say, and a lot more than that, how you presented it. Too cool! 388857

    Reply

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *