Thinking Big vs. Living Cheap, Who Do You Think You Are?

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If you have read “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J Stanley, you’ll notice two obvious ways to become rich. But what is has to do with either thinking big or living cheap?

Living cheap is when you has limited purchasing power (or compromising what you want) in order to achieve your goal. For example, you can’t afford to “makan luar” because you have no extra cash after all other important expenses. Or, you might limit your expenses to save more money for whatever reason you want it to be.

This normally happens to people who totally depend on salary for living. The mechanism is simple, just because you have constraint in income (the same figure months after months & minimal increment), you have no choice but to reduce your expenses for maximum probability to achieve financial success.

Though I called it ‘living cheap’, this kind of financial management is not that cheap. One of US fireman worker with one wife  & 5 children became millionaire totally from his monthly savings. Isn’t that amazing? symptoms withdrawl eliminating effexor

On the other hand, thinking big can be about higher expenses for more money. For example, if you buy trendy shirts, wearing expensive watch or getting designer handbag to attract clients’ attentions. This thing works well in this materialistic world.

Self employed or business people really good at this. To them, it’s not easy to control expenses on high inflation environment. Therefore, the sensible way to go is, go get more money! If you are one of these people, clear objective & direction is a must.

But the problem is, it become easier for you to overspend in the name of “investment” when in actual cases, you are just trying to satisfy your instant gratification. Justifying your purchase won’t help. Spending too much can make you heavily in debt.

However, if it works, multiply saving to a factor of 2, 4 or even 10 in less than 3 years is doable; something that someone who “living cheap” have difficulties to understand themselves.

So, who do you think you are?

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24 responses to “Thinking Big vs. Living Cheap, Who Do You Think You Are?”

  1. mama emma Avatar

    nak kata akak ‘living cheap’ pun xleh… sbb still x cukup jugak.. ala2 kais pg mkn pg la jugak.. ngeh ngeh…

    betui ka comment ku nie?? (abaikan comment merapu tu, mood swing sbb kalah top commenter)

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      betul2, semuanya betul belaka 🙂

  2. mamamiya Avatar

    Here in Australia, ramai org sedar that living cheap is the key to survive during recession & most have agreed that it doesnt make u suffer. its not like u kena cut urself from any nikmat dunia pun.

    contoh- at supermarket, we no longer buy according to brands. we buy homebrands (eg kat msia tesco brand, carrefour brand. here each supermarket ada homebrand sendiri). researcher have proven homebrands sama bagus coz some of they being manufactured by prominent brand cam nestle & mc cain. cuma differenct pack. some said the home brand is cheaper coz dia use lesser sugar & salt..so isnt it better? even now, i see people buying fresh flowers yg takde brand. katanye the one takde brand ni pun looks good.

    also from a show i tgk last week & approving my budgeting method yg i dah amalkan bertahun2, never leave home to go shopping tanpa shopping list & budget. stick to your budget! cam i, i kira my 1 bulan expense is around $500. I also buat cost data comparison on stores & brands. So i tau where to shop for what.

    So each week when i pegi supermarket, I akan pastikan i tak spend more then $100. Kalau i have to spend more than $100, I’ll ensure that I akan spend kurang on the next shopping trip. And..most important, in the supermarket compare prices on the stuff u nak beli. find cheap2 & good2, mengikut ur budget & cost data yg u dah compile tu.

    Percaya lah, insyaallah each month u can save a lot. that extra money u can use for lots of stuff, contoh masuk piggy bank for emergency money, or simpan to buy special stuff for events like birthdays & anniversary, or buy that special book & toy u want for the family.

    As for us, we would like to use the fund for special moments like holiday or beli daging mahal to make steak. More like a reward to us for living smart. Atleast kita dapat rasa nikmat duit yg we work for. Jgn jd hamba duit..let the money make u happy.

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      what a good tip mamamiya! tq so much 🙂

  3. aidie Avatar
    aidie

    good advise mamamiya. i pun buat cost comparison. i normally go to tesco. but if the other supermarkets give better price, i’ll opt for it. tapi kena juga factor in the cost of travelling (i.e home to supermarkets) if rasa tk bebrbaloi just to grab the deal, then i ‘ll just stick to tesco :). IMO, malaysia’s recession not as bad as others, maybe because we havent fully recovered from the 1998 crisis. i can still see people buying for branded stuff..tp betul la kata mamamiya jgn jadi hamba duit 🙂

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      tru indeed! orang kata tgh recession tapi galak jugak bershopping. maybe impak pre-recession lebih hebat (high oil price & food crisis) so sekarang semua tu dah back to almost normal.

  4. fid Avatar

    leaving cheap kot!anda setuju?

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      setuju!

  5. farah Avatar

    dah tentula living cheap hehe…makan kat luar sekali sekala je…walaupon mampu….byk duit lebih boleh di simpan dgn masak di rumah…saya dah buat calculation sendiri boleh jimat almost 1k tiap2 bulan…

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      wah, banyak tu jimat 1k! in a year dah jimat 12k!

  6. Babe Avatar
    Babe

    I considered myself as a living cheap person yang berbudget:D Ada masa teringin nak something, I will indulge myself la tapi depends on budget. If people say i lead a ‘luxury life’ I ll take that as compliment sebab diaorang tak tahu aku plan financial budget aku mcm mana (esp tang backpacking tu)

    As for me (yang ada side income source) aku rasa cukup nampak presentable bila meeting dgn client. Aku lagi prefer org tgk kita presentable tapi dalam berisi dari pakai designer or branded tapi tin kosong,bila mai QA session tergagap.

    Btw it was nice meeting u yesterday, Malam ni aku upload pic 😀

    love
    Babe
    (yang masih lagi rasa nak bakar Toy s R Us)

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      ko mmg presentable. hehe. TQ for the gift, terharu aku dibuatnya. mandi2 je trus aku spraaaayy hurrmmm~~~

      ko jgn bakar toy s r us, itu je la tempat aku melepak2 kalo pegi Bintang Mall. eh, lupa plak, aku dah kat KL, buatpe nak heran ngan toysrus kat Bintang. bakaaarr!!! bakaaarr!!!

  7. suealeen Avatar

    kita orang memang living cheap pun… believe it or not RM50 can tahan in my purse within 2 weeks (have to remember that my hubby works alone)! yang penting still can enjoy blogging and bloghopping! rahsianya… erm.. nantilah share!

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      tak sabar tunggu Kak Sue nak share rahsianya! 🙂

  8. zuhaini Avatar

    living cheap..? aduhai.. sedap dengar, tp saya rasa saya x leh capai la.. barang2 da mahal.. and lack rajin pun ya gak.. malas masak (bawak bekal ke opis).. tp mmg terasa yg barang semua dah naik… 🙁

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      barang mmg tak akan turun2 melainkan saya jadi tokei tesco 😀 tapi saya tak turunkan jugak la.. hak hak hak ;P

  9. sya Avatar

    saya? living cheap kut… coz my income also cheap.. hehehe..
    takde lah, sebab dah makan gaji kan, jadi, banyak mana yang dapat, banyak itu je lah yang boleh digunakan… nak guna lebih2 pun, dah tak ada income lain.. pandai2 je lah… 😛

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      aha. itula ya, nak lebih2 kang kene tendang dgn boss plak wakaka.

  10. anasfadilah Avatar
    anasfadilah

    voting for living cheap. suami saya yang ajar. dia kata, tak mati pun kalau tak da barang2 branded tu semua. good tips there mamamiya :). kitaorg shopping grocery dekat kedai runcit.kalau beli in bulk baru pegi giant atau tesco extra.

    kalau tengok cerita 18 kids and counting, the duggar family cara dia save ialah

    buy used,saved the difference,dont do debt if possible 🙂

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      kalo nak debt, make sure it’s a good debt 😀

  11. Hanz Avatar

    I’m quite blur2 with the thinking big, but living cheap…nope, not exactly 100% implement because some things that REALLY necessities, quality comes first…for example, electronic products. Okay, do u rather buy cap ABC which is very cheap or at least SONY (just example) tv, paying more but not having the tv being repaired all the time? Accumulating the repair cost plus the ABC tv original price it total up to the branded one, rather in the 1st place you buy the branded one, isn’t it?

    I can’t compromise on baby stuff also especially toys because safety comes first, baby clothes because u need a lot & baby feeding stuff as well. But, let’s be smart to obtain those branded stuff. Like me, I’ve REALLY fully utilise the Bonuslink membership & since 1st son, I’ve redeemed a lot to get the Parkson voucher to buy worthy branded toys & done it only during SALE! 2 in 1, u see. Some that I’ve done was redeemed RM50 voucher plus 10% disc for LEGO set, many Fisher-Price toys & KIKO baby bag. And, I got Anakku membership also & by far I love the Anakku clothes material compared others because it last hands me down! Both of my boys having the luxury wearing the clothes that really can last. Besides, accumulated points u can use it for next purchases. They also having the luxury of toys that really can withstand the rough handling!

    For myself, I’ve redeemed voucher to get Crocs shoes & several branded items which is bags & shoes whereby two things that I’m quite finicky because I don’t need it a lot but I need it every single day so it must be sturdy enough with my manhandling. But for clothes, smart mix & match, u don’t have to spend so much. Also for books, I always hunt for bargain, 2nd hand shop & sale, of course.

    Call this frugalicious!

    1. Mommy Lyna Avatar
      Mommy Lyna

      many people become millionaire from being frugal! kan? kan?

      btw thinking big is like this = kita nak beli samting without compromising our salary yg tak seberapa, so cari income lain yang membolehkan kita menikmati benda yang kita nak tu. duit gaji kita still dpt saving macam biasa but still dpt rasa benda yg kita suka w/o kacau bujet dari gaji kita.

      makin besar benda yg kita nak, makin kuat kita usaha utk dapatkan side income.

  12. kak aliza Avatar

    Salam,
    Sekadar berkongsi pengalaman selama ini…kami memang hidup secara sederhana, dan pastikan membeli barangan secara tunai. Alhamdulillah walaupun sentiasa hidup dengan satu income saja, kami mampu menyimpan dan dapatkan keinginan dengan harga yang lebih murah. Ini kerana bila ada duit ditangan barulah kami survey harga barangan yang diperlukan, biasanya kami akan perolehinya dengan lebih murah.

    Bab rumahpun macam tu, kami menyewa dulu kemudian beli apartment kos rendah yg amat murah secara tunai, dalam masa yang sama boleh menyimpan untuk rumah seterusnya, serta membeli tanah dan sebagainya. Dalam hidup ini jika kita hidup berdasarkan kemampuan kita, kita akan lebih tenang dan dapat mengelakkan daripada berhutang.
    Bab keretapun macam tu, beli second hand secara cash, biarlah tidak sehebat orang lain tapi kami tidak perlu risau tentang hutang, alhamdulillah.

  13. zahra Avatar
    zahra

    apa-apa cara hidup pun, living cheap ka, thinking big ka… jgn la lupa bersedekah dan berzakat… supaya mana-mana hidup yang dipilih pun sentiasa diberkati-Nya.

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