How to get rich by saving, not by earning

The rich don’t get rich by spending money.
-My grandmother

Stop spending money

There are two ways to get rich: earn more or spend less, and I’m too lazy to earn more. I spent most of my 20s living in San Francisco. How did I do it? Well, it certainly wasn’t from my earnings as a barista in a coffee shop. In fact, the first year I lived there, I recorded $6000 in earnings on my income taxes.

I remember telling my dad after I’d graduated from college that I was going to move back to San Francisco. He replied with something about it being too expensive. I remember my response, “Dad, there are 750,000 people living in San Francisco; I’m pretty sure I’m smarter than at least one of them.” It was that smarts that allowed me to live there for years while earning a salary that was below the US poverty level.

The first year, I lived in a closet and then a garage. What did it matter? I only slept there. When I was awake, I wandered the streets of San Francisco. My coffee shop job meant early hours so I was off by 3pm every day and had the rest of the day to explore the city. Naturally, it didn’t cost much to live in my less desirable arrangements, but they had the added benefit of being too small to accommodate much more than my clothes and toiletries. Less space means fewer acquisitions.

The door to my garage apartment in San Francisco is on the right.

If anyone claims to me that they don’t make enough money to save, I ask them to walk around their homes with me. I can usually walk through each room, pointing at the unused acquisitions that have made them poor. Sure prices have gone up over the years, but the bigger culprit is spending habits. No matter what your income, you should be able to set aside some savings.

Even that first year in San Francisco, I managed to put $100 a month into savings. Over time, that investment has become enough to put me in the top savings bracket in 95% percent of the world’s countries. Wealth is not generated solely by what you earn but also by what you save.

Let someone else pay your expenses

For the past five years I’ve been working as an “over the road” tour guide. That basically means that I lead a group of tourists on a motor coach for 1-3 weeks. Since most of these tours take place in America’s National Parks, I look at this as a paid vacation. All my lodging is covered, all my meals are covered, and they fly me to and from the destinations. Having very few expenses means that almost 100% of my income is profit. My biggest expense is my mobile phone bill, and half or that is deductible since I’m using it on the job.

My accommodations are much better when someone else is paying for them

Naturally, I try to get as many of these assignments as possible during the tour season, but there are occasional gaps in between tours where I have to fend for myself. As I mentioned, my flights to and from the destinations are covered, and they don’t really care where I fly from as long as it’s a west coast city. I’ll often fly out of Seattle and return to San Francisco. That means that in addition to getting paid for my work assignment, I get a free trip to San Francisco.

I have family and friends in the San Francisco bay area, and I often stay with them during my off time. Not only does it provide additional rent free accommodation, but it’s a wonderful opportunity to maintain relationships with the most important people in my life on a regular basis.

To avoid overstaying my welcome, I also keep an eye out for house sits. These can fill anything from a couple days to a week, and I choose them in places I love to spend my free time. Occasionally, I don’t have a free place to stay, and that puts me in an AirBnB or a hostel for a day or two. Regardless, my monthly accommodation rarely exceeds $200. That’s the reason I gave up my house and apartment for this lifestyle.

Even my hostel feels like home for a couple days

I realize that living such a nomadic life is not for everyone. I’m hoping that any of you who are struggling with your current situation, and open to trying anything different, can entertain the idea of at least one of the possibilities available.

Sometimes all it takes is a different perspective. After all, in the course of human history, it’s only been a very short time that we’ve been living and working out of boxes. Why not step outside and join the rest of the animals on this planet?