Cheapskate's guide to buying more Bitcoin

Need to free up some cash for Bitcoin? Here are some cash-saving tips!

I often find myself in conversations with friends where the subject of Bitcoin comes up. They know I've bought it, so they ask how it's going. Of course, it's been going great, so it's easy to talk about - I have to be careful to not be boastful, which is admittedly a challenging temptation to resist. When I ask them if they have thought of buying it themselves, they often reply, "Nah, I can't afford it."

Maybe they're just trying to find a polite excuse for not wanting to buy Bitcoin, but I doubt it. These friends have no problem mocking me, so they would be more likely to tease me about the crazy idea of buying Bitcoin if they actually thought it was a bad idea.

What we can and can not afford is a very subjective concept. If you are interested in buying Bitcoin, but just don't feel comfortable spending a little discretionary income on it, have a read. In this guide, I will suggest some ways to free up some monthly income to delve into a little Bitcoin buying.

Now, before going on, I have to mention debt. Debt is the biggest barrier to your personal wealth. If you have leftover balances on credit cards, this needs to be paid down first. Do not pass GO, do not collect Bitcoin. This needs to be your first priority before you even think about going out and buying crypto.

If you are at the stage of life where you are looking at buying a home and are mortgage shopping, be aware - the banks will approve you for as much as they legally can (and then some). You might be surprised by how much a bank might approve for your mortgage. Think about it. The longer you are in debt, and the closer you are to being unable to get out of debt, the more money the bank will make from you. Always ensure you have a financial cushion and do not max yourself out on debt. It might mean living in a more modest home, but it's worth the peace of mind to not live on the edge of collapse. Same thing with cars. You can get loans approved for buying cars that you have no business owning. Dealerships will loan you as much as they can to get the largest profit from you at the highest interest rate possible. Give yourself room financially and don't get sucked in by the deal.

So, assuming debt is not a big issue, what are some little ways to shave off some money that can instead be set aside for Bitcoin? I'm not talking about selling all your possessions and camping for a year here! Just a few little things that can add up!

We often spend money month after month on things that we just don't think about, or wouldn't really miss if we didn't have it. Here are a few ways to save a decent bit of money that won't affect your lifestyle:

Cable. This is my number one savings because it's really quite easy to live without. You can save anywhere from about $40 - $80 a month, depending on the cable package you have, by cutting cable entirely. If you live in any major urban center, go buy an HD antenna at your local electronics store. You can receive all major networks in HD over the air for free. If you really want to pull in a bunch of channels, you can get an external HD antenna, but I have found an indoor antenna, like the one pictured, works just fine. Most current shows can be legally streamed on major network websites too, so hook up a PC to your TV and stream away!

Phone. This is also quite easy to live without. Now, I don't mean having no phone whatsoever. I mean, cutting your landline. Many people just use their cell phone instead, saving about $25-30 a month on phone charges. If you can not live without a landline (maybe your kids need to phone from home or whatever), get a VOIP phone.

VOIP phones use your internet connection and act exactly the same as landline phones. You can even port your old phone number to the VOIP phone, usually for a small fee. Ooma phones are quite nice. Here is an example of one available at Best Buy for $87. What's really nice with VOIP phones is they allow national long-distance calling for free, too. This could save you a bunch compared to old landline long-distance deals.

Another way to save on phones is to look for a better deal on your cellular provider contract. Often, we just leave ourselves in bad contracts because it's easier than changing. You can often find a better deal, and switching is not near as difficult as it used to be. Do with slightly less data, for example, and you can save $10-20 a month just from that switch.

Fast food. Fast food is expensive. It's advertised as very cheap, so we are often fooled into thinking so. An average meal for four at a fast food restaurant can cost anywhere from $25 to $40, depending on what you buy. This is a good few days of groceries for most families. If you're in the habit of eating fast food often, this is a sure-fire way to save a TON of money. Take a little time to think about how much you spend on a monthly basis on fast food and add it up. You might be surprised how much you spend!

Gym memberships. I know, it's good for your health to go to the gym. But just having a gym membership will not get you in shape. Many of us have fallen victim to the good intentions of getting in better shape come January 1, going out and signing up for the gym membership deal that just happens to be offered when everyone is making their New Year's resolutions. Then, we end up spending $50 or more a month and quit going by February.

Having said that, some people really do take advantage of their gym memberships and would not go without them. If you are using it, great! It probably is worth it, then. Mind you, there are a lot of more affordable "no-frill" gym membership facilities now that only charge around $10 a month instead of the usual fees of the bigger gyms. If you don't need to go for that special spin class or Pilates with a trainer, you could save some money looking into one of these more affordable gyms.

Re-thinking what is a need and what is a want. This is a bit more general, but take some time to think about what you need versus what you want. Often, we get sucked into buying things because we are told, whether by marketing or simply by peer pressure, we need to have whatever the thing is. You might find you can save another $100 a month just by cutting down on frivolous purchases that, really, just end up cluttering up your home.

With these few money-saving methods, you can easily save anywhere from $100 to $300 a month without even noticing the difference. Then, you can have a little guilt-free pleasure buying Bitcoin!

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*This is not professional advice - just my opinion! Don't spend what you can not afford to lose!

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