Why Giving Money Away is Important to the Frugal Lifestyle
- Image by DavidDMuir via Flickr
Jim Wang posted, Don’t Donate Money To Charity, on the bargaineering.com blog. While he disagrees with the sentiment, he does do a good job of playing devil’s advocate. In times of financial stress, people tend to grip tightly to every penny and Wang’s post definitely gives some justification to do so. In reality, when financial turmoil hits… that is exactly when you need to start giving money away.
I am unemployed, and work as a freelance consultant. Money is tight… really tight, yet in my family, we make it a point to donate at least 10% of every dollar that comes in. I do this because what I gain from donating is far more valuable than what I can buy. Here’s why…
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Comments: 8Sorry Kids! We Can’t Afford It! Painless Ways to Teach Kids Good Purchasing Habits
- Image by Lukje via Flickr
Growing up I frequently heard those words and they frustrated me to no avail! In my early adulthood, it was the rebellion against those words that caused me to spend more money than I should have. Now that I have kids of my own, I want to instill upon them the importance of money management while not leaving them feeling impoverished and poor.
I never want to say, “Sorry kids, we can’t afford it!”
Article From ABC 7 San Francisco News
Last Friday, my family was featured in a news segment about saving money…
Here is the news article.
If I can find the news clip I’ll post that too!Enjoy!
How to Quit Buying Useless Crap!
- Image by voobie via Flickr
I’m not talking about decorations and items that really have no purpose but to look nice. I’m talking about the crap that we buy that we thought was a good idea at the time, thought that it was a must have, a time saver or would save us money in the long run. The infomercial cooking devices, the exercise equipment, the panini press.
I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done it… now here is how to stop doing it.
I HATE BUDGETING!
That is right. I hate saving receipts, plugging in data and making sure I don’t spend over my budget, which I always seem to do. The challenge is that I want to save money and not just go on a spending spree!
Well, for the past year, I have used mint.com and it has helped me get a handle on where all that money is going.
Valentine Mishap: How To Get an Oil Stain Out of a Shirt
- Image via Wikipedia
I was fortunate enough that the church my family attends decided to put on a nice, romantic family night for Valentine’s Day. We dressed up a bit, not too fancy, but I did put on a rather nice shirt. We arrived at the building and found the large activity hall to be decorated with lights, table cloths and fancy-ish place settings. Best part, they had a kids table where the kids could sit, eat, and color/play.
It hadn’t been but 10 minutes into the dinner that I dripped olive oil on the front of my shirt. My wife and her eagle eyes for anything fashionably amiss pointed it out almost immediately. “Not a problem, I’ll just throw it in the wash when I get home.” She chuckled and then informed me that oil doesn’t come out in the wash and I was probably doomed to have my shirt stained for the remainder of the shirts life.
No Spending Week!
We’ve declared this week “no spending week” in our household. The rules are simple, we won’t spend any money this week! There are 2 exceptions:
- We may need to get gas, as we may travel a bit this week.
- An emergency, which is something we can’t put off until next week and can’t find another way to solve without spending money.
We’ll see how well we do!
Here is what is coming later this week:
Tues: Valentine Mishap: How To Get an Oil Stain Out of a Shirt
Wed: I Hate Budgeting
Thurs: We Can’t Afford It! Talking about Budgeting with Kids
Friday: How Not to Buy Useless Crap
As I am always looking for a good deal and new ideas, I would love to hear any cost saving topics, tips or ideas that you would like to see appear on nates2cents.
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Saving Money: How to Enjoy Cooking
- Image via Wikipedia
It is no surprise that cooking your own meals can be hugely cost effective. The more you “eat in” the more money you will save. I enjoy cooking, but it can be a chore, especially when it is 5 o’clock and kids are clamoring for food, you are exhausted and nothing sounds good. Here are some tips to help ease the cooking woes. (each one will be expounded upon in further posts
).- CAYC (Clean As You Cook): Start with a sink of warm, soapy water and as you dirty a dish, drop it in. While waiting for food to finish… clean a dish or two.
- Practice makes perfect: The more you cook, the better and quicker you will be at it.
- Stock up on materials you use often: This includes the types of foods you eat as well as storage containers and bags. Having everything on hand saves time and buying in bulk saves money.
- Keep a list of recipes you like: The more you cook something, the faster you will be at doing it.
- Read a recipe over first and “cook it in your head”: It helps if you can mentally plan out how you are going to cook.
- Cook large amounts and save left overs: This will help cut back on your need to cook so frequently.
- Have a list of quick meals on hand: Nothing wrong with quesadillas and scrambled eggs!
Lastly, a lot of people get caught up with “professionals” on cooking shows touting proper technique and quisine. Don’t get hung up on using top ingredients or being a ninja with a chef’s knife. Sure you might be able to impress your friends with your filetting skills or the dish might be more authentic with slow cooked beans in a clay pot. When all is said and done, if you are going to be cooking on a regular basis… you are going to have to give yourself some shortcuts!
I would love to hear cooking tips from you?
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Let the Savings Begin!
I was let go from my job back in September. Since then I’ve been doing freelance work here and there as well as some online ventures while I look for work. Money has been tight and we have had to cut costs where we can. The economy has taken a huge dive and there are more and more people in my predicament. This blog are the tips and techniques that I have been using to trim the fat and save some mone!I am not an extremist. I do not spend hours a day cutting coupons or driving around shopping. I have better things to do! But I have been managing to take the cost savings one step at a time!
And now… on with the show!
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