Frugal Tips - Saving Money Tips “When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something’s suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful.” -Barbara Bloom You know what one of my favorite things in my house is? It’s a bunch of candleholders that I made from small jelly jars. All I did was wash them out and stick some tea lights in there. They’re the best candleholders I’ve ever had. My jelly-jars-turned-candleholders have history, and good memories. Here in America, we have a serious “throw it away and buy something new” problem. But by doing this I think we’re robbing ourselves of the lessons the Japanese have learned a long time ago. The lesson is that the items we use everyday become dear by our use and familiarity with them. I have to tell you that when my copy of Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things: 2,317 Ways to Save Money and Time finally came in, I was enraptured from the first page. Fabulous. Let’s go: Last Word… Simple.
Frugal for Life 5 Things to Do at 50 with No Retirement Savings EmailEmail Sometimes, it seems as though personal finance advice is all about what you should have done. But we’re all able to easily identify the mistakes we’ve made in the past. The important advice is what you should do to correct those old mistakes. Shoulda coulda woulda is singularly unhelpful in those situations. This is particularly true when it comes to retirement savings. 2. 3. 4. 5. Starting your retirement savings late is not ideal. Tagged as: 401k, Retirement Special Offer: Trade free for 60 Days and Get Up to $600! Related Posts COZY LITTLE HOUSE: How I've Learned To Live Frugally My life changed pretty drastically a couple of years ago. I was divorced and moving to a different state, and wondering how on earth I was going to pull this off. The dogs and I crossed the border into Oklahoma and I thought: Well, another chapter in my life begins. What kept ringing in my years in those early days were someone's words, meant to make me feel small. "You can't make it by yourself." I'm pleased to say that, through thick and thin, I have managed to make it. Now I'll tell you how I learned to live frugally. 1. Wait, if you possibly can, until you have two to three errands to run before you head out. 2. It was two cups of coffee for years. If you want to eat out, lunch time is the cheapest time to go to restaurants. Restaurants tend to serve big plates of food. I sometimes order a pizza online and have it delivered. For supper (which is what we call it around here), I tend to have a potato. The next night I will have a baked sweet potato. 3. 4. I don't go to movies. 5. 6. 7.
Living Wage Calculator How to Downsize Your Lifestyle EmailEmail Many of us look around and wonder how we ended up with so much stuff. Sometimes I wonder why I spend the money I do on things that don’t get used a whole lot. There is a lot to be said for a little more simplicity, as many people have discovered during the recession. It is possible to spend less money, and still live a full life. Examine Your Expenses and Your Priorities Before you can downsize your lifestyle, you need to understand what you are spending money on, and decide whether there’s a better way to use your money. Look at all of your spending. Next, consider your priorities. Decluttering Your Life Another essential step in downsizing your lifestyle is to get rid of the clutter in your life. Technology can make your life easier in this regard as well. Making a Plan Finally, you need to make a plan for your money and for your life if you want to downsize your lifestyle. Choose which aspect of your lifestyle you want to downsize the most, and start there. Related Posts
Worried About Reaching Your Money Goals? Just Set One EmailEmail One of the problems I have with goal setting is that I often set too many goals. Indeed, I’ll make a whole list of goals I want to accomplish — only to have most of them fall to the wayside. That’s the problem with setting too many goals. Many of us can’t do that many things at once. Instead of setting a whole bunch of money goals for the coming New Year, consider whittling it down to just one. What is Most Important to You This Year? Look at your financial situation, and consider your financial priorities. You can set up a similar plan with paying down you debt, or with saving up for a family vacation. Planning Your Efforts Every guru out there points out that you should break down your big goal into smaller steps. Your first step is to figure out where you’re at right now. Once you know where you are, and see where you need to be, you can start making a plan to get there. Bottom Line Tagged as: Better Yourself, Budget, Money Management, Money Tips, Retirement Related Posts
How to Live Frugally Reddit user manbeef says: "Hit up a couple of grocery stores in your area or look at flyers. Compare your food staples and see which store is cheaper. Hopefully you'll notice a trend. In my area, I have three grocery stores to choose from: one is overall a lot more expensive, but has a lot of unique and hard-to-find items; the second is expensive, but has a good selection of produce and meats; the third one is cheaper overall, but lacks some items. "What you should be able to do is walk into a store, look at a product, and know what a good price for that product is. Reddit user seriouslyjessie shared a listing of national averages for various grocery staples.
Free Shipping Codes & Coupons to 4,000+ Stores! FreeShipping.org™ Three Easy Steps to Determine Your Financial Priorities EmailEmail When you are trying to make a financial plan, or reach a certain financial goal, it is important to have an idea of your financial priorities. After all, without priorities, it is impossible to decide what you should do with your money — not to mention figure out what actions you need to take to reach your financial goals. Determining your financial priorities can take a little bit of time, and it requires some introspection. The good news is that once you figure out what your priorities are, it is a little easier get your finances on track. First, Decide What’s Important to You Your financial priorities will be heavily influenced by what’s important to you. Next, you need to look to the future. Do your spending habits line up with what you want to do in the future? Second, Focus On What’s Important After you have determined what’s important to you, and set some specific goals, it’s time to focus on what’s most important. Third, Stay On Track Related Posts