100 Ways to Improve 1% – Part 1
If you are reading this, then chances are you are already on board with the whole FIRE thing. I cannot really blame you, if someone told me that with by just being smart with my money and sacrificing a little that it could allow me to retire 10-20 years earlier than I would be on board immediately.
That is such a significant goal, to reach FIRE, and it will take a significant amount of time, work and money. This is why showing you ways you can be 1% better with your finances, it might almost feel boring and insignificant. I get it, you are after the big-ticket items that save you 20-30% of your monthly bills, so why would you care about the 1%?
Well, it is simple, because all these little 1% improvements can make a big difference down the line, especially when you compound dozens of them, if you incorporate 40 x 1% improvements, all of a sudden you are 40% better off! Not to mention, even small changes magnify significantly over time. Remember in this POST here where I talked about the future cost of spending today.
Also, if you have already started your journey to FIRE, chances are you have already made all the big changes to your lifestyle. You might find yourself in a situation where you feel you have got your life as efficient as possible and now you are just letting time do it’s thing until you reach that end date. I want to talk about these as it is just a continuous improvement, not only with your finances, but on yourself as a person as well.
This is only a starter, there is countless ways you can improve yourself and your finances, but for now I want to start by sharing this list from the amazing people at ChooseFI who have put in a lot of work to compile quite a comprehensive list.
ChooseFI have a website HERE, they also host a regular Podcast and although they are from the US, so while there are some things they talk about which is not completely relevant, a lot of their content is universal and given the amount of content they have available it really is a wealth of information to be discovered.
Below are links to the other sections as part of this series:
Part 1 – Exercise and Personal Growth
Part 2 – Debt
Part 3 – Emergency Fund Savings
Part 4 – Home Expenses
Part 5 – Transportation Expenses
Part 6 – Groceries and Dining Out
Part 7 – Shopping and Services
Part 8 – Internet, Phone and Entertainment
Part 9 – Travel and Sightseeing
Part 10 – Earning Extra Money
Part 11 – Investing and Retirement Planning
Part 12 – Job and Career
1) Exercise at home
A gym membership can cost you around $100 per month. That is $1,200 per year that we end up spending when a lot of us barely even use it. Even if you did make use of it, if you have the space at home, you could easily set up a home gym which could cover your workout requirements. Or if you did not want to spend money on equipment, there are plenty of alternatives which require no equipment at all.
2) Look Into Free Programs and Classes
A lot of the time when we look to improve our skills, we immediately go to look what classes we can take to help us reach our goals. If you do not need formal education however, you could just as easily learn the skills yourself from books/internet. There is also a good chance that your local library or community centre might be running free (or at least heavily subsidised) classes regularly.
There are also online institutions like Coursera, Khan Academy and Udemy which have several free courses available.
3) Read (or Listen to) one new Finance/Investing Book Per Month
There seems to be an endless selection of finance/investing books available on the market. With new ones coming out seemingly every day, there is no danger of running out of new material. Reading books are great for you to learn new ways to handle your money, or potentially look into different investing strategies you may not have known existed previously.
4) Learn One New Skill A Month That You Currently Pay For
This might sound tricky just looking at it but think of services that you pay for people to currently do. Maybe it will be changing the oil on your car or grooming your pets as a couple of examples. Both of these tasks are relatively easy to do once you have the skills and knowledge and can end up saving you several hundreds of dollars per year.
5) Try a New Hiking or Biking Trail Every Week
Biking or Hiking is a great form of exercise, but it can be boring if you do the same trail every week. And for me, the best part about going on a hike is seeing something new and different. This might be dependent on where you live, but even if you are in the city there are always some really good walking routes to do that are easy commutes.
6) Volunteer With An Organisation That Can Help You Develop New Skills
Volunteering is a great way to give charity, when you donate your time to the cause it can be a lot more fulfilling compared to just giving money. Why not use your charitable decision to try and improve yourself at the same time? Maybe you could volunteer gardening for example.
7) Participate in FIRE Discussion Groups
Participating in finance related groups is a great way to keep yourself motivated, not only can you learn from people who may have more experience than you, but you can also provide help to people who are just starting out. There are great ones on Reddit on the fiAustralia or AusFinance sub.