365 Ways to Live Cheap (28 page)
360. F
IND
F
RUGAL
F
RIENDS
It’s hard to live cheap when you’re constantly encouraged by your friends to spend money. How can you save money, after all, if your friends are constantly heading out to the mall? One way is to simply look for new friends who share your other interests. Try some of the socializing tips to find people who share your values. Look particularly for activities that might attract frugal people, like the film club and the book club at the library or at a volunteer project. Get to know people and suggest frugal social opportunities with them to build a friendship. It’s a lot easier to be cheap if you have friends who share the same philosophy; you can constantly help each other and motivate each other to make good financial choices.
361. T
HINK ABOUT
W
HY
Y
OU
W
ANT
S
OMETHING
We all have idle desires. We think about the things that we wish we had and we’re often tempted to make choices to allow us to have these desires. Instead of just thinking about how much you want something, ask yourself why you want it. Did you see an interesting advertisement? Is that advertisement realistic? Maybe you saw someone else enjoying whatever it is you’re thinking about. That person might be having fun, but would you really enjoy it? Use this tactic every time you start thinking about something you want, and you’ll be surprised how often that idle desire is actually working to convince you to buy something you don’t really need or even want when you think about it rationally.
362. R
EMEMBER
T
HAT
T
IME IS
M
ONEY
One of the most common complaints about living cheap is that many money-saving tactics also can eat up a bit of time. If you’re wondering how you’ll ever be able to live without paying for convenience (like when eating out instead of making food at home), look for ways to save time in your own life and tackle them as fervently as you tackle ways to save money. There are countless tactics for saving time: Cut down on your television viewing, reduce the number of activities you’re involved with (particularly ones that eat into your personal expenses, too), and keep a sharp eye on your personal energy level.
363. K
EEP
T
RYING
N
EW
C
HEAP
T
ACTICS
Just because you’re turning your financial life around doesn’t mean that there’s no longer anything useful you can learn about living cheap. Look online at various websites that offer frugal living tips and other good financial advice, particularly those that engage you in conversation (you can start by visiting my own site, The Simple Dollar, at
www.thesimpledollar.com
). Visit the library and check out books on frugal topics. Most important of all, actually try out the ideas you learn. You might find that the most surprising things work well for you.
364. S
HARE
Y
OUR
E
XPERIENCES AND
F
RUGAL
T
IPS
While it’s great to find new frugal tips, it’s also useful to share them as well. Talk to your friends and swap frugal ideas. Search online for frugal message boards and blogs to share your ideas. Perhaps you could even start your own blog to share frugal tactics. You can get a free one at
www.blogspot.com
or
www.wordpress.com
. Putting your frugal ideas out there not only helps inspire and motivate others to be frugal, but it often inspires others to share their own frugal tactics— a win-win situation, indeed.
365. H
AVE
F
UN
This is the most important thing of all. Have fun in whatever you choose to do, and realize that living cheap can often be incredibly enjoyable. You’ll never know how much fun frugality might be until you dip your toes in and give it a shot, so flip through this book, find a tactic or two, and get started today. Not only will you discover something new to do, but you’ll also save money, and that will likely help relieve some of the stress you feel about money. What could be more fun than that?
A
DDITIONAL
R
ESOURCES
For more information on these tips, additional money-saving tactics, and suggestions for additional reading, please visit this book’s free companion website at:
