Over at The Simple Dollar there is quite an interesting article on frugal living and how to get over how overwhelming it can seem by taking several small steps instead of making big changes to your lifestyle. Ten suggestions have been made that you can try out for a week. The idea is that at the end of the seven days, you will hopefully find what meshes with your life, what adjustments you can freely make and what sort of expenses you can do without. Below are my favorite tips from the article with my own additional thoughts on how to implement them.
- Prepare and eat every meal you can at home
This is especially true. When tracking my finances I split my food related costs between eating out and staying in to cook my own food. Though more often than not I take the former option (a combination of laziness and it having become an habit), those weeks I have shown a bit of discipline and stayed in, I’ve more than halved my food expenses. I am currently trying to find a nice balance between the two approaches, by only eating out two or three times a week. - Buy generics at the grocery store
As the article says, generics/own brands tend to be roughly equivalent in quality. Sometimes own brand products are just named brands with a different label. It’s important to work out where the cheap/tasty line is crossed however (there is plenty of choice out there, you just have to experiment) because there is no point in sacrificing your taste buds and even your health to save a little money. If you go too low budget you may end up being put off by the quality and going back to expensive groceries or eating out (as discussed above). - Entertain yourself with things you already own
There is so much to do on the internet, just browse around. If you can’t find something interesting to read (like this blog of course), or find some browser games to play, or watch an engaging video on YouTube, then cancel your internet subscription now! Or go to your local library instead. Do you have some old books you can dust off? Any films you haven’t watched in a while? There are always options if you look around. - Adjust the temperature by two degrees
This is a running joke with people who know me, but unless its really that cold, why not just wear an extra jumper or shirt instead of having the heaters turned on burning up electricity? Besides, if you’re too warm and comfortable it will just make you tired and lethargic. You want to be active and alert! Two degrees makes very little difference to the temperature of the home but will result in big savings on your bill. - Turn on only the lights and devices you need
With this point I think it’s important to dismiss a common myth and point out that the electrical surge that comes from turning on a light will not make any difference to your electricity bill so don’t worry about turning lights on and off after only a few moments. Why do you even need lights on in rooms you aren’t even in? It makes no sense!
February 27, 2007 Lifestyle Design
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