How I survived on £2000 for a year!

nicholataylor

I am a student. I did not include my rent which was £2400. I read a book which you don't need to buy. It is basically financial advice given in the form of short stories but all the themes are recurring. So below is a copy and pasted summary from wikipedia.

The book is "the richest man in babylon" by George S Clason

So here are 7 rules on how to live off a small budget.

Start thy purse to fattening Take one-tenth of what you bring in and save it for the future. The book uses a coin analogy: for every nine coins you spend, take one and put it away for yourself. This is very sensible; a goal all of us should have.

I used a jar and put my money into it and saved it initially like this.

Control thy expenditures Don’t buy frivolous things even if you have enough money to pay for them. Instead, make sure that you can continue to save one-tenth of what you bring in.

I stopped smoking just to be able to afford this.

Make thy gold multiply Once you start to build up some savings, invest that money so that it will make more money for you. Another pretty clear point; if you start saving money, it shouldn’t just sit in a mattress.

I made an ebay shop and a drop-shipping website.

Guard thy treasure from loss This one is interesting: you should only invest in things where the principal is safe. In other words, the book seems to discourage stock investing. I found this to be particularly interesting given that it was written in 1927, right in the midst of the first big American stock market boom. Of course, 1929 proved the author right.

I did enough research and made sure all investments were close to risk free! You won't make millions but eventually it snowballs.

Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment One should own their own home rather than renting because then money can be invested in the home or invested in other things rather than handed over to the landlord. Something tells me that this lesson applied better before people were looking at homes that were three or four times their annual income.

I am student! Couldnt buy a house

Insure a future income In other words, invest for retirement and your family’s well being after your passing.

I put a stream of money into an ISA which i cannot touch.

Increase thy ability to earn Work hard, look for opportunities, and educate yourself. Today, a college education is one of the best investments you can make; I’m not saying that it’s a requirement to be successful, but it opens the door to greater possibilities.

I am a law student! I look forward to being qualified!

Clearly, i started off with 2000 but I have made a profit off the year!!

dorisday

just to say ive read this book also and found it to be very helpful when I was going through some financially difficult times. Very wise written words.

Grek

"Make thy gold multiply"! Very wise words. Make thy gold care of you.