Money Saving Technique: The Retro Budget

There are so many money saving techniques that we see today. Some of them are based on our mentality on money; some of them are based on careful spending while other just advocates that you get a good portion of your money as a budget. These money saving techniques could save you thousands of dollars every year while others will just give you an even earnings. You don’t save at all with their technique and worst, you find yourself overspending. A technique may be good for one person but there is no single money saving technique that’s compatible for everyone.

Here’s another money saving technique that you can consider. Called the retro technique, this idea clings to the fact of comparing your current living situation with the past. Comparing our life during the 70s or even earlier will give us new realizations in terms on savings, the equipments and the gadgets that we use today. Although this technique doesn’t give us any advice about money, we will certainly save as a whole.

The first thing that the retro years have taught us is the sizes of our homes. Back during the 70s our homes is less than 1,500 square feet. The number of families per home doesn’t suggest any difference. It was even more for some families because there are no regulatory rules or anything related to child control. Today, a home will take up space up to 2,500 square feet – an increase of more than 50%.

In the real estate market, every square foot counts so you’re going to find yourself spending a lot more compared when you were during the 70s. If you stick to the old ways, you’ll save not only in mortgage but also in your monthly bills.

The number of cars per home back then was smaller. Only one third of the population has more than one car. Although you can argue that the wives back then often don’t have a job, you can still compromise but carpooling within your family. Scheduling is the key in saving money and time in carpooling. It is estimated that you’ll be spending more than $7,500 a year in car gas and maintenance. With the way the gas prices skyrocket every month, the estimate could be a lot more.

Gadgets of course were a lot less. Except for our mobile phones, everything else seemed to be unnecessary if you compare it to the 70s. Back then iPods were not even though possible. The entertainment that we had then was from basic television. Today, we have TiVo, Blu-Ray and a satellite or cable subscription that offers hundreds of channels. But admit it: even when we have more than 100 channels, we only end up faithfully watching at least 10 – only 10% from what you are actually paying.

Another difference is our vacation preferences. Most of us want to end up in Hawaii, Florida, Asia or any other country that fancy our vacation relaxation. This type of vacation is definitely enjoyable but the scourge will often come when we arrive home. You’re literally spending thousands of dollars for just one vacation.

Back then, vacation was nothing more than going to the national park where you stay there for a day or two for an adventure with nature. We don’t even have to board the plan as most states have national parks that offer the beauty of nature. Although these parks are a lot smaller in size, these parks still exists and continuous to offer a viable option for a good area of vacation.

If you want to save money in so many things, live like you’re in 70s. Life was much simpler then and there’s not much difference as long as we know how to adjust to that way of living.