I finished the short book “Stop Working” by Derek Foster. It is pretty good. Very interesting to add to the list of financial books I have been reading. This book is very different from others I have read in that the author has retired, (at age 34) and he has explained exactly how he did it. It might not contain all the financial knowledge you want if you are new to investing and similar things, but if you already have a foundation like Todd does, it is a great read.

The best thing about it was seeing what he did, and how he did it. Many books are very vague as to how the process of “cashing out” works. In many cases, they are vague with a good reason, but in others, when you are crying out for examples, and cannot find them, it becomes frustrating.

The way he cashed out might not be for everyone, but then again, not everyone actually takes control of their finances.

Saving money by geeking out and doing it yourself.

I know how laser printers work, I know this because I am a geek. The cartridge on my Samsung ML 1710 was running out of toner. However, the drum and cartridge were otherwise fine. I know that toner is, basically the same for most laser printers, and having worked at Staples some time ago I know that it is possible to purchase loose toner. I headed to the nearest Staples (sold out of loose toner) but I noticed my cartridge cost $109 full. Heading to the other Staples I picked up loose toner for $39 after taxes, brought it home, and filled my cartridge - with much toner left over in the bottle to spare. I knew there was a risk of the toner not being the same, possibly damaging the cartridge, and maybe the printer… But after filling the cartridge, and printing a test page…the first test page was a mess of dark toner. The second test page however, turned out much better, and the third page looked quite normal. So, filling my cartridge with “Ko.Rec.Type” toner for a sharp SF-7300 / 7370 / 7350 / 7370 worked just fine. The drum will eventually wear out on this cartridge - but it is metal unlike the Plastic HP drums. And it seems like the Ko.Rec.type toner will last for 2 - 3 cartridge refills. So, that is about a $70 savings right there.

I also recently purchased a soldering iron for $9, so I could repair my expensive computer heaphones (still working on that) but I was also able to repair the headlights on my road bike - saving me about $150 from buying a new set! I only needed solder and a $4 switch from “The Source” (Formerly Radio Shack). I was also able to diassasemble the BLT water bottle batteries that had died, and found that the Lead Acid battery inside is a industry standard 6 volt. So, I can order one of these batteries from an electronics store for $24 - the complete battery sells for $50. So I can replace both my water bottle batteries for about the same price as one new one. Granted, I have to take time to do these things - and time is money - but these little projects take such a short time, you would be crazy not to do it yourself.