Smart Ways to Live Frugally

There are many reasons to save money and to spend below your means. These are the top 10.

1. The borrower is slave to the lender.


2. You never know when an emergency will happen, or you will get the opportunity to take advantage of an opportunity or a great deal. Without savings, you won't be prepared.


3. If you spend more than you have, you have to pay interest on everything that you borrow. Interest is wasted money.


4. Compound interest is powerful.


5. Many people are only one paycheck away from being homeless... with a savings, you won't have to be in panic mode if you lose your job.


6. Social Security probably won't be around when I retire... with the government wasting the money the way it is, it might not be around for my parents, who are in their 50s. At least not for their entire lives.


7. You can afford to give more if your entire income isn't bogged down with debt.


8. You can have a little now, or a lot more later. If you spend $1000 on an indulgence now, or have $10000 or more when you retire.


9. Without interest payments, your dollar goes a lot farther.


10. By living like nobody else now and saving, you can live like nobody else later when you get older (to paraphrase Dave Ramsey).
    
    Photo by Woodsy at sxc.hu.

If You Need to Sell Your Gold, Make Sure You Get the Best Price

You've probably seen the banner ads and late-night television commercials advertising that they'll buy your cash for gold. Perhaps you have some broken jewelry lying around and are wondering if you should send it in. Should you send away for a gold kit and ship off the broken items in your junk drawer? Should you sell gold at all? That depends.

The Value of Gold

Gold has risen in value over the past several years. Although its value has gone up recently, historically, its value has not outperformed the stock market. As a result, many financial advisors would tell you that gold is a poor investment, even though the price has done well recently. While gold is often used as a hedge against inflation, it may not be a very good choice as a long-term investment in a healthy economy.

Investors are looking for a safe place to park their money. The stock market is not performing well. With billions of dollars of bailout money being given out by the American government, some people question the future viability of the dollar. Many people are looking to gold, which can hold its value in the case of inflation. According to The Times Online, the demand for gold "smashed the previous record in the three months between July and September". The increased demand for gold correlates with the increase of commercials asking for people to sell their old gold jewelry for cash. Read the full story on selling gold for cash->>

Recently, China has been telling its citizens to buy gold. Should you be selling your gold when the government of the most populous country on earth is telling its citizens to buy? Something to think about.

Photo by novitas at sxc.hu

Would you like to save 50 to 75% off your grocery bills? I LOVE the Grocery Game! The Grocery Game comes out with a list every week telling you what items are on sale at rock-bottom prices, and what coupons you can use with them to make your groceries cost even less. Sometimes you can even get groceries for free.

The trick to shopping at the Grocery Game is to buy things that you will use when they go on sale, not when you are running low. So, if you know that you use toilet paper, or Hamburger Helper, you will buy extra toilet paper, or extra Hamburger Helper, when it is on sale, before you plan on using it.

The Grocery Game lists the sales on food, paper goods, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. So even if you buy a lot of fresh food, or have a special diet (foods that don't go on sale as much) you can still save a lot by using the Grocery Game.

It costs $1 to try for the first 4 weeks, and $10 for every 8 weeks after that. I know that I save a lot more than I pay to use the Grocery Game.

If you try it and like it, please tell them that grocerygame (AT) brooke lorren (dot) com referred you. :-)

Photo by MFinderup at sxc.hu.

One way that you can save groceries is to take advantage of seasonal sales. If you recognize the yearly sales cycles, you can make sure that you buy what you need to last until the next sales cycle.

Seasonal Summer Sales

With summer coming up, it is important to know what will be going on sale, to plan accordingly. Look for these items over the course of the summer and stock up.

• barbecue sauce
  
• marinades
  
• fruits and vegetables (you can can them or freeze them)
  
• Kool-Aid
  

Labor Day/Memorial Day/Fourth of July

Over the Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Fourth of July holidays, stock up on steaks, soda, chips, and other foods people will use during their celebrations.

Winter sales to stock up on

• canned foods
  
• pizza (I can't stock up enough on these)
  
• Frozen foods in March (March is Frozen foods month)
  

Christmas and New Years

Over the Christmas and New Years holidays, grocery stores will try to lure in customers by putting party foods like soda, crackers, and chips on sale. Also, now is a good time to buy a turkey (although I don't know where you're going to store it, unless you have a stand-alone freezer).

photo by turbidity at sxc.hu

I was at the grocery store earlier today, and I was buying peanut butter. The Skippy package has shrunk once again. It used to be 18 ounces, but now it's 16.3 ounces. Jif and Peter Pan are still at 18 ounces. I'm not sure when this shrinkage happened, but at some point it did.

Many other products do this as well. That's why it makes good sense to compare prices using price per unit. Sometimes, larger packages are seen as a better value, but they are more expensive. Also, if you have coupons, you often will find a better price per unit on the smaller packages.

There are many reasons why people choose to live frugally. For some, frugal living allows one parent to stay at home with the family. For others, living frugally now allows them to build up a savings and live a more comfortable lifestyle later. No matter which boat you are in, the ultimate goal should be to reach financial freedom: without debt, you will spend less money on interest payments. Why should the banks get your money?

Financial Overdrive is a four-week course designed to teach you how to save money, get out of debt, and increase your income (which will help you get out of debt faster). It is designed to help you reach financial freedom, and is worth looking at.

Saving Money

Where to Get Free Magazines
Where to find Grocery Coupons
Never Pay Too Much For Groceries
Increase Your Savings With Short Term Financial Goals
How to Save Money by Going to the Library
Host a Budget Birthday Party
Where to Find Cheap Textbooks
Family Fun on a Shoestring Budget
Getting a Musical Instrument Without Spending a Fortune
Lower Your Water Bill With Simple Steps

Money

5 Financial Lessons for Elementary-Aged Children
Don't Buy A Time Share
Should You Spend or Save?
How to Have a Sunny Financial Future When the World is Drowning
Selling Gold for Cash: A Good Idea?

Debt and Credit

New Credit Card Fee Exposes Risks of Debt
Illegal Debt Collection Practices
Old Debt Doesn't Stay Forever

Work

Summer Work for College Students
Summer Jobs for High School Students
Legitimate Work at Home Jobs
Is Education Your Answer to Surviving the Recession?

When the weather starts warming up, the water bills also tend to go up. Lawns need more water, kids like to play in the sprinklers, and forgetting to turn off the sprinklers when watering the lawn can add up to a lot of money. By following a few simple steps, you can use less water and
save some money.

Save Water in the Shower

If your house was built after 1992, you probably have a low-flow showerhead. In that year, legislation was passed that all new showerheads have to have a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute. If you do not have a low-flow showerhead, you can purchase one for as little as $20, and they are easy to install. All you have to do is unscrew the old showerhead, and screw in the new one. Some new showerheads even have settings that detect when the shower has warmed up, and pause the shower once it warms up, until you are ready to get in the shower.

Read more about lowering your water bill -->

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