A man saved 77% of his annual income by living frugally - and only has one plate, no TV and has used the same towels for 11 years.
Bradley Alagna, 32, from New England, USA started making sacrifices after being left in $130,000 worth of student loans debt and he was only earning $12-an-hour.
He managed to scrape together his monthly $860 repayments by not using his heating, not buying clothes and not eating out.
Now his debt still stands at $147,000 due to interest - despite Bradley paying off $75,000 over the last 11 years.
Bradley Alagna, 32, from New England, USA started making sacrifices after being left in $130,000 worth of student loans debt and he was only earning $12-an-hour.
He managed to scrape together his monthly $860 repayments by not using his heating, not buying clothes and not eating out.
Now his debt still stands at $147,000 due to interest - despite Bradley paying off $75,000 over the last 11 years.
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FunTranscript
00:00I've lived a frugal, minimal lifestyle for 11 years now, and these are the 5 ways my life has improved drastically since living this way.
00:06One of the biggest benefits is I'm able to save money every month because I live within my means,
00:11and I'm not constantly chasing for more, I'm happy with what I have, and I always find the cheapest way to get it done.
00:15Trust me, even when I was living in New York City 8 years ago making $12 an hour, I was still able to get by because I lived frugally.
00:21My mental health has improved in ways I can't even explain.
00:24When your money's under control and you know you could pay your bills every month, there is no better feeling than that.
00:29And I feel like my life is very peaceful because of living minimally and not being surrounded by a bunch of junk.
00:34Living frugal allows me to treat myself to at least one trip a year.
00:37Because I don't go out to eat or go shopping or have a car payment that I can't afford,
00:40frugal lifestyle has taught me so much about gratitude because I'm very strict with my spending and I've cut a lot out of my life.
00:46It's taught me to really be grateful and appreciate those moments.
00:49Lastly, I've been able to become a lot more generous over the years because of living frugal and saving my money,
00:54like me surprising my sister with buying her wedding dress for her wedding last year.
00:58It was such a special moment and something we'll always share forever.
01:01I get a lot of criticism for living a frugal lifestyle, but honestly, I wouldn't want to live any other way.
01:05I don't run my heat in the winter to save money on my electric bill.
01:08First, we have to winterize the bed and make it all warm and cozy.
01:11Because one of my parents is a shopping addict, they have a shit ton of blankets, which I utilize.
01:15So step two is always wearing multiple layers because my apartment is almost always cold.
01:19So the layers help.
01:20Next, I open up all the blinds to let the sun in.
01:23The sun is such a natural and free way to warm up my place, especially because I live in a small studio.
01:27It actually warms it up quite nicely.
01:29I cook all my meals at home, so when I'm done cooking, I use the heat from the coils to warm up.
01:33Next, I have an uneven window, which lets cold air in.
01:35So I just make sure I tape it up and try to cover it up the best I can to try to keep the cold, drafty air out.
01:40This next one, you'll say I'm crazy, but sometimes I wedge my door open with my little recycling box,
01:44and I'll try to let the heat in from the hallway.
01:46And at an absolute last resort, if it's unbearably cold,
01:49I'll take my famous towel that you all hate me for, and I'll just run the heat for like 10 minutes and blow it around.
01:54That really happens.
01:55Okay, so now it's the nighttime routine.
01:56And we basically cover everything up.
01:58I lay this blanket along my window just to keep it insulated.
02:01I close all the blinds just to prevent any drafty wind from coming in.
02:04And I hop in bed under my multiple layers of blankets and clothes.
02:07And you'd be surprised, I actually get pretty warm and toasty at the end of the night.
02:10And that's how I survive winter is the frugal way.
02:12I made almost $20,000 in December working my part-time job in nine side hustles.
02:16Never in my wildest dreams did I think that could ever be me.
02:20Or the fact that my content got 91 million views in December.
02:23Yeah, this probably will never happen again.
02:24Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you guys so much for everything.
02:27Because none of this would happen if it wasn't for you guys.
02:29The next biggest income stream is that website, if you know, you know.
02:32Through subscriptions and custom video requests, I made $6,086.
02:36Boys in the top 3%, holy moly.
02:38To those who support me on there, thank you so much.
02:41I do have a part-time job as a financial coach, and I've been absolutely loving it.
02:45Work 20 hours a week, and I made $1,460.
02:48I have a brand partnership with Trusted House Sitters.
02:50I have a CD, and I earned $896 off of interest in December.
02:54I booked two dog-sitting gigs, and between the pay and tips, I made $670.
02:59I do also work on a crisis hotline.
03:01And I took seven shifts in December, which is a few less than what I normally do.
03:04And I made $462.
03:07I am also a dancer at a nightclub, and I worked two shifts, and I made $174.
03:11And I'm also a house cleaner. Talk about a jack-of-all-trades.
03:14And for my house-cleaning gig this month, I made $100.
03:17I also dumpster-dived to return bottles and cans.
03:19However, now that it's much colder and that's more of a summer sport for me,
03:22I just get my bottles and cans from family and friends.
03:24And I made $34 this month from that.
03:26And then miscellaneous, I sold two things, one of them being this iPhone box.
03:29Seriously, people will buy anything.
03:31So from those two sales I had, I made $17.
03:33And all of this combined brought my grand total income for December to $19,763.
03:40Typically, my biggest expense every month is my student loan payment.
03:43It's $915 a month.
03:45I have a big student loan update for you guys coming soon.
03:48But they're still consolidating, so I owe $0 a month.
03:50Which makes my rent the biggest expense of the month at $750.
03:55Groceries is the next highest expense. I paid $183 in December.
03:58Gas for the entire month, I paid $59.
04:02My electric bill came to $52.
04:04You guys know I do anything to keep the bill low, like unplugging my fridge when I'm gone,
04:07keeping everything unplugged on the daily, basically living in the dark.
04:10My fun category came to $47.
04:12I know some of you think all I do is stare at a wall all day.
04:14But I actually have a really fun life. It's just all about having self-control and moderation.
04:18My internet is now $46 a month ever since I called them and said,
04:21I'm gonna drop services if you don't lower my bill.
04:23For the holidays, I spent $42 on gifts, which was one gift for my mom that me and my sister split.
04:28My haircut with tip came to $29, which is becoming outrageous.
04:32Throughout the month, my total expenses came to $1,320.
04:36I've officially lived in my tiny little studio apartment for five years now.
04:40And as someone who's frugal and a minimalist, these are all the things that I have not replaced since moving in.
04:45For starters, my mattress.
04:47Yes, I got this college dorm mattress and the bed frame for free when I moved in.
04:51My curtains are actually bedsheets.
04:53And the bed set that I got with the mattress that I got for free came with two sets of twin-size bedsheets.
04:58I've been using these same two pans since I moved in.
05:00I've kept them in pretty good condition, to be honest.
05:02Honestly, I just respect my stuff and I take really good care of it,
05:05which is why I think everything's been able to last so long.
05:08The month of January started off with a bang, quite literally,
05:10because I got in a car accident, which gave me a pretty good payout.
05:14And in the month of January, I saved $8,305.
05:19The month of February is when I joined the Creator Fund, which was very awesome.
05:23And that month, I was able to save $5,748.
05:28Last year, I was able to save $89,134 of the money that I earned.
05:35And that breaks down to about 77% of my income, which I think is absolutely insane and incredible.
05:43You spent thousands of dollars on a chicken sandwich.
05:46You spent thousands of dollars to Amazon, to Starbucks.
05:50Wake up!
05:51And before anyone wants to invalidate what I've been able to accomplish last year and say,
05:56well, I'm sure if I was making a lot of money, I would have been able to save a lot of money too.
06:01Shut up!
06:02Do you realize there's people who make $100,000 a year who are living paycheck to paycheck
06:06because they have no discipline, they have no self-control, they have no idea what they're doing,
06:12they're living a much bigger lifestyle than they can afford?
06:14If you have not woken up yet, when are you going to wake up that living a frugal lifestyle,
06:19being responsible with your money, and saving your money could potentially change your life
06:23and improve your life and make your life better?
06:26And that is that. Class is dismissed.