People have put themselves into some pretty unusual living setups just to cut costs.
You might’ve heard about, say, the Google worker who lived in a truck in the company lot to dodge San Francisco’s astronomical housing prices.
Or Heidemarie Schwermer, who’s managed to live without money for 17 years, moving between places and trading her skills for room and board.
Many of us have our own memories of crashing on friends’ couches, even if just for a rough patch or during travels.
Still, I hadn’t heard anything quite as odd as Matthew Haines’ tale. At 19,Haines scraped together $14,000 in only nine months… by sleepingbehindhis buddies’ couch.
Yep — we wanted the backstory, too. Here’s what we found out.
Ultimate Couch Surfing
Five years ago, Haines was an army private stationed in Manhattan, Kansas. After three months in the base’s oldest barracks building, he decided he needed a change.
But his modest paycheck of roughly $1,500 a month left little room for living off-post.
So Haines befriended some local college students and persuaded them to let him move in.
There was one hitch: Every bedroom was already taken. They did, however, have a couch — or rather, a dark nook behind it.
Because his new housemates were students, “they were always up late doing stuff for school,” Haines said. The WiFi was best in the living room, making the couch area prime study territory.
They pushed the couch out from the wall, threw a blanket over it and fashioned Haines the tiniest man-cave imaginable.
It wasn’t the plushest sleeping arrangement, but his tough training days made him acclimate fast.
“You have a couple of sleepless nights and then you get so tired you don’t care,” he recalled.
According to Haines, sleeping wasn’t even the toughest part. The real challenge was deciding where to stash everything besides his body.
“I had like three drawers to fit everything I owned in,” he said. And they were tiny. “I’m talking, like, a nightstand that we kept a lamp on.”
Even with cramped storage, he couldn’t argue with the cost: He paid just $100 a month, plus his share of utilities. Divided five ways, that rarely topped $50 a month.
Starting to sound less crazy, right?
How He Saved: Spend Almost Nothing
Because his living setup was so Spartan, Haines managed to stash away over $11,000 during his nine months behind the couch.
How’d he put away so much of his income? By minimizing spending on essentials.
Beyond the $150 he paid for living and electricity, Haines’ only regular costs were a $40 cell plan and groceries. He stuck to a basic but nutritious diet of eggs, chicken breast, oats and broccoli.
He didn’t own a car, so when he needed to travel he hitched rides and pitched in for gas.
He figures his total living costs were about $350, while he allowed himself an extra $100 each month for socializing and fun.
He also topped up his income by selling plasma, which brought in an extra $200 monthly.
Making about $1,700 a month and spending only $450, he could tuck away that extra $1,250.
After nine months, he’d saved $11,250.
He used $6,000 of that to purchase a used car, avoiding steep depreciation, and put the remainder into a Roth IRA, letting compound interest boost his savings further.
Looking for Financial Freedom?
First off, we aren’t necessarily endorsing Haines’ exact tactic, though it makes a compelling anecdote.
He insists he wasn’t technically squatting — the group cleared the setup with their apartment complex. Haines went through a background check and signed a sublet agreement to ensure everything was aboveboard.
Other people who’ve tried creative living arrangements to save money have run into legal trouble.
That said, Haines’ experience offers plenty of lessons you can apply safely right now.
And you probably should: His dedication to extreme frugality gave him a head start toward financial independence.
Today, heruns two businesses, earns $80,000 after taxes, and expects to pay off the house he shares with his wife within five years.He says he’s currently saving about 50% of his take-home pay.
Oh — and he’s only 24.
Why Budgeting Matters
Clearly, Haines held onto the habits he picked up behind the couch and applied them in the five years since.
If you ask him what the single most important thing about controlling money is, his reply is simple and timeless: It all comes down tomaking a budget.
With a budget, Haines explains, “you know exactly what’s happening, where [your money’s] going, and why it’s going there.” If you don’t understand how you’re allocating funds, it’s impossible to spot expenses you can trim to save money.
Plus, a budget can “open your eyes,” as Haines puts it, about wasteful habits: You might be surprised at how much you throw away on cigarettes, booze or video games.
Once you’ve created a budget, you can map out how to save for your financial goals.
Whether your aim is buying property, traveling the globe or retiring with a hefty nest egg, you won’t reach those goals without saving up the cash.
Even if great opportunities crop up, “if you don’t save, you won’t have the money to take advantage of [them],” Haines says.
His story also shows that creativity can help you save — and discover unconventional ways to increase your income.
Haines has kept selling plasma as often as possible and has banked nearly $8,000 from it alone. He says each donation takes about 45 minutes twice a week, making it an easy way to earn and help others.
How Will You Cut Costs?
Want to find your own methods to become a savings superstar? You’re in the right spot.
Even if saving $1,000 feels impossible while living paycheck to paycheck, we offer a step-by-step guide to help you get started.
We’ve also compiled great tips to shave money off your grocery bill — one of the most adjustable parts of your budget (psst — don’t have a budget yet? Start with these seven steps).
Follow enough of our suggestions and hopefully you’ll never need to sleep in anything stranger than a futon. Some things are just worth paying for.
Your turn: Would you sleepbehinda couch for nine months to save money?
Alex Morgan is a staff writer at Savinly who likely wouldn’t forfeit her bed unless a whole lot more than $11,000 was on the line. Her creative work has appeared in DMQ Review, Sweet: A Literary Confection and other publications.
