{"id":232613,"date":"2010-01-26T16:30:02","date_gmt":"2010-01-26T21:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/green.yahoo.com\/blog\/the_conscious_consumer\/119\/how-to-live-well-on-less-income.html"},"modified":"2010-01-26T16:30:02","modified_gmt":"2010-01-26T21:30:02","slug":"how-to-live-well-on-less-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/232613","title":{"rendered":"How to live well on less income"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"image
\n
(Photo: Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Looking for ways to cut back on spending without sacrificing
\nyour quality of life? Tom Hsieh’s family has figured out how to do just that.\n<\/p>\n

The technology executive<\/a>,
\nhis wife, and young daughter live on less than $40,000 a year in Pomona in Los Angeles county,
\nCalifornia, even though Hsieh’s annual salary exceeds $200,000. In some years, the family has lived on $38,000. <\/p>\n

The family donates the rest of Hsieh’s salary (after paying
\ntaxes) to various charities. Hsieh and his wife are committed to
\ngiving back<\/a> and have challenged themselves to live below the national median
\nhousehold income<\/a>, which is currently $50,740. A challenge they have
\nexceeded year in and year out. <\/p>\n

How do they do it? They rent a modestly sized apartment in what
\nHsieh calls a poor neighborhood that he has lived in for the past 15 years.
\nThat’s a huge cost savings right there, says Hsieh, even if it’s not the
\n“American dream.” He drives a used 1998 Nissan Sentra that he paid $2,200 for.
\nAnd the family doesn’t buy much stuff. <\/p>\n

The best part is that Hsieh and his family are happy and
\ndon’t feel as if they are making any sacrifices. Which corners to cut is a
\npersonal decision, but here are some more suggestions of how to live well
\nwithout spending a fortune. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eat lower on the food
\nchain<\/strong> <\/p>\n

You don’t have to give up meat entirely to save money on
\nyour food bills. Simply cutting back on portion sizes or limiting the number of
\ntimes a week or day you eat meat will benefit your wallet and your health.\n<\/p>\n

Preparing more meals from scratch, not
\nwasting food<\/a>, and cutting back on packaged foods and meals at restaurants
\nwill also save money. Here are some other tips for stretching
\nyour food budget<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Want to do more? Consider starting a kitchen garden and
\ngrowing your own herbs, lettuce, and veggies.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cut back on or cancel
\ncable TV service<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Watch TV shows for free on Hulu or rent
\nmovies on the cheap<\/a>. While you’re at it, consider getting rid of your home
\nphone if you don’t use it much. Use your cell phone or Skype for keeping in
\ntouch. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Avoid the airport<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Skip an expensive plane ride and take a road
\ntrip instead<\/a>. If you have to travel to a far-flung location, then check out
\nthese
\ntips for cutting your travel costs<\/a> this year. Some favorites: Sign up for a
\nTwitter account so you can take advantage of exclusive deals that travel
\ncompanies are promoting or find the cheapest
\ndates to fly<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buy only what you can
\nafford <\/strong><\/p>\n

Why get into debt to accumulate more stuff you probably
\ndon’t need? Most of us have unused things piled up in closets, basements, and
\nattics. In fact, you can earn a little extra money by cleaning out your closets
\nand selling your castaways. When you do need something, consider buying used,
\nshopping at thrift stores, going to swap parties, renting<\/a>,
\nor seeing if you can get
\nit for free<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alternative
\ntransportation<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Save money on gas by walking, biking, and taking public
\ntransportation when you can. Ask your boss if you can telecommute once a week.
\nIf you don’t use your car very much, consider selling it and using a car
\nsharing service such as Zipcar<\/a> so you’ll
\nhave easy access to a vehicle when you need one, but you won’t need to pay for
\ninsurance or maintenance. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green’s users. Send Lori a question or suggestion<\/a> for potential use in a future column. Her book,<\/em> Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping<\/a> and Amazon.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Check out Yahoo! Green on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo: Getty Images) Looking for ways to cut back on spending without sacrificing your quality of life? Tom Hsieh’s family has figured out how to do just that. The technology executive, his wife, and young daughter live on less than $40,000 a year in Pomona in Los Angeles county, California, even though Hsieh’s annual salary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3953,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3953"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232613\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}