How much money are you spending that you don't need to?

Over the years my wife and I have learned the value of sending less.  Now that may sound very simple, but when you look deeper it is profound.  One of the ways we stretch our money is to get great value for every dollar we spend.  We are a one income family yet manage to have a standard of living that some two income families can't manage.

How do we do it?  First thing is we have built our pantry to the point that now we only buy food when it is on sale.  We are no longer caught in the situation of having to pay full price for the groceries for supper.  We know what food items we use and what a good price is on those things and when we find them on sale we stock up on them (this alone effectively cuts our grocery bill by more than 30%).   We have also refinded  our dining cuisine to feature less expensive food items.  First and foremost  we stay away from prepared foods that cost way more.  Our goal is to keep the cost of food to less then $5.00 per day per person and that includes eating out.  Take note that I still have meat with most meals even at that price.  We also avoid the candy and cookies and potatoes chips and pop, as these are all very expensive and do not a meal make.  You can buy steak cheaper than chocolate.

Second, FORGET Fashion and NAME BRANDS, and go with practical and appropriate.  The jeans for $9.00 from walmart are just as good as the $80.00 brand name jeans.  Unless you are playing in the NBA you don't need $150.00 running shoes, (and neither do your kids).  Today I look as sharp as anyone else and for a fraction of the cost, pants from walmart, shirt from the thrift store (it still had the new tags on it $35.00  for $3.00) shoes on sale, my last two coats were bought at yard sales.


Third, read my recent post about not driving a new car.  You can save a bundle.

Fourth, we save a ton of money on things like cell phones (bought both of our cell phones at yard sales for less than $5.00 each) and have them on a pre-paid plan. We don't text and the cell phones are used sparingly and are often off more then on.

Do you really need 130 cable channels, 4 movie channels, pay per view sports?  You can function without a 64 inch HD LCD TV, really you can.

Fifthly, watch what you spend, things like gym membership, go for a walk instead.  Limit your eating out (brown bag it at lunch).  Turn off lights when they are not needed, like when there is no one in the room.

Think about what you spend and where you spend it, work on getting the best value for all your hard earned dollars.

Cheap_O Economics

And I thought I was a Cheap-o

I pride myself on being a cheap-O, I am always on the look out for the best deal and things I can pick up for free. This last month I have gotten a piano for free, and then had to learn to tune it, as I was to cheap to pay to have it done. Then picked up a bunch of soap making supplies from some people that were moving, all I had to do was haul the stuff away.

But I was reading the news and discovered that I have a lot to learn about living without money. In a recent article on Yahoo News I read about a man that has lived for a year with NO MONEY at all. .

Man has lived without money since 2008

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Michael Bolen
Yahoo! Canada News

If a serious person puts their money where their mouth is then Mark Boyle is the world's most serious man.

Inspired by Gandhi's famous words to be the change you wish to see in the world, the economics graduate from the U.K. has been living entirely without money since 2008.

He has written a book about the experience titled 'The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living' in order to share both the philosophy which led to his drastic decision and the tactics he has used to survive.

Living in a trailer given to him for free by someone on freecycle.org, Boyle cooks food which he either grows himself, barters for or forages from the land. He bathes in a solar shower, uses a compost toilet and even makes his own paper.

Despite his challenging lifestyle, Boyle has no plans to return to civilzation. He says the time he has spent away from money has been the happiest of his life.

That just goes to show that a person can make difficult choices and take control of their money or lack of money. I have a long ways to go to be in Marks league but every step I take in the right direction is a step closer.

Cheap-O Economics