Many people spend countless hours and tremendous energy trying to find the cheapest place to live by searching on the internet and comparing one location to another but if you consider the cost of a move and factor it into the annualized cost of a new location compared to the old one, it may be cheaper to just stay where you are and make changes. Even if the move you are considering is only across town.
Here are three ideas that can help you to save or make money and in turn, make the home you are currently in cheaper to live in overall. These won't all work for everyone but some of them might help some at least until the move will pay off in a reasonable period of time.
There are some time tested methods that have been used forever that have some value if they perfectly fit your situation but we are going to step outside the safe zone for now and look for ways that are even more unconventional and may hold more value for the participant.
Work Closer To Home
This is not an option for everyone but for some that may not have the most rewarding job; it could prove to be a real bonus. If you spent some time and figured out a way to use your talent in a local way, it could significantly change your net income. If you work closer you would be able to spend less time and money commuting or maybe if you find a job close enough you could walk or ride a bike. Imagine the impact of that!
Don't Work At All
Sometimes people take jobs that don't ultimately contribute to the bottom line of the household income at all. We said we were going to be step outside the box and with this suggestion we are stepping the furthest away. A job may not ultimately contribute to the household income for several reasons but one is because the person may have taken the job out of desperation and another reason can be due to the hidden costs associated with having the job. Things like dry cleaning clothes, happy hour gatherings, eating out more often, child care, and cost of having work done at home that you would normally do yourself like oil changes, lawn care or house cleaning.
Of course one that most everyone forgets is the wear and tear on an automobile and the extra expense of the insurance for the extra mileage to and from work. These expenses are a huge extra burden and all need to be factored into the 'cost of having a job'. Once you have these numbers all accounted for you will know if it might be cheaper to stay at home. I looked at the true cost of owning my mid-sized truck for the first five years and when the original cost is compared to the true cost, the true cost is about 200% higher. I wonder how many people figure that into the cost of their job?
Start A Cottage Business
Especially if you are not working or if your job has proved to be marginally profitable, this option could be pure profit provided you make anything at all. Choose a field where you may have some knowledge or advantage already. For instance, you might sell your services to support small businesses with advertising if you are in that industry. Or you could become an affiliate to one of millions of companies where you have some connections already. Even if you make only a little money, it would all be a plus and could grow into something far better. In some cases even if you cleaned one or two average houses a week, you would be far better off in the long run.
These are just a few ways that you could lower your cost of living right where you are and in some cases have decrease your overall burden and increase your available time. When you consider what may be the psychological value of the reduced stress and potentially increased calm, these ideas could prove extremely valuable. Of course, all these factors are heavily influenced by personality and individual habits. The good news is when you start to factor in all the cost of moving and the ways that you could change your financial situation. The suggestions mentioned here and others may make you to rethink your thoughts about moving. The best place to live could be as close as your front door.
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