What are some tips or advice for being more frugal with money?

I make a decent income, I鈥檓 not wealthy by any means, but I should have more in the way of savings than I do. I guess I鈥檓 in need of a good pep talk to curtail my needless spending.What are some tips or advice for being more frugal with money?
Stop going to those strip clubs and waving all those $1's I saw you there so don't lie. start bring the club to you ;-)What are some tips or advice for being more frugal with money?
The best advice l will give you is learn to pay yourself first and the second bit of advice is learn to save10% of your income each month so if you earn a $1000 dollars save $100 dollars over a year this mounts up into a nice sum which you can invest to make you more money.
Being aware of your spending habits helps to see where it will bring you if you keep spending that way and motivate you to improve your spending habits and elminate needless spending.


I use CalendarBudget to track my spending habits and I can look into the future to see how much money will be in my account depending on how much I spend. Delete the unnecessary expenses like movie out (get a movie in instead - fraction of the price) then see where that will bring you in your future.


Check out the blog for other spending or money management tips.
Stop paying exorbihant coffee prices, at........





Stop paying $8.00 per gallon for bottled water.
Hi i know the feeling, every now and again i need a pep talk about money or the lack of it. I have lived on a fairly tight budget for some time and find that living more simply a really easy way to cope with the fact that i can't splash out on all the things which are always being thrown at us via advertising. I try to live fairly frugally which makes me feel good about myself and how little i waste, plus most of the time i feel really satified with what i have and am always surprised at what i can get so cheaply when i take the time to really shop around. good luck and best wishes.
Do not buy coffee at 3 and 4 dollars a cup.


Don't spend money on bottled water


Carry lunch instead of buying.


If you smoke, quit and this is a big saver.


Spend less on clothes


Shop sales for grocery's and other expenses


Trim electric bills by being mindful of what turned on that could b off


Turn heat and AC down.


Wash full loads both washer and dishwasher.


Being frugal can be fun. You'll think of more as you go along.
Set up a realistic budget. Writing down everything you spend money on for a two week period will give you an idea of where you are wasting moeny.





Check on your regular bills. Look for ways to cut. For example, on your phone bill: do you really need call waiting, call forward or similar extra fee services? How about that line maintenance fee? Even if it does cost $90/hour to fix inside wiring, it cheaper than paying that fee. You can cut $15+ easily from your phone bill.





Groceries: plan menus using the grocery sale ads. Make a list and only buy what's on the list. Stay away from convenience foods -- making from scratch is cheaper and taste a lot better.





Put a set amount into a savings account every payday.
when you use your debt card paperclip the receipts to your card till you get home. also have some of your check-20.00 directly deposit to your saving
Keep an Excel spreadsheet of your daily spending and break it down to what you spend it on. It's amazing how fast it adds up. You can then make cuts on what you feel is not needed.
Every week take a certain amount out of your paycheck %26amp; put it in savings. Do this 1st every week before anything else. If the check is larger one week, take more out. Leave yourself enough for what you need. Food, gas, groceries. %26amp; a little for spending. A little. %26amp; don't use credit cards, use cash. You won't spend as much when you pay in cash.
#1 - Leave the credit cards at home..Or get rid of them altogether.


#2 - Dont eat (or drink) out. Or movies, or other expensive hobbies


#3 - If you smoke, quit.


#4 - Carry a ledger at all times and write down what you spend.


#5 - Dont buy what you dont need.





Force yourself to save by having a deposit into a 401K or IRA before you get your check. Have it taken out by your company.
I have some advice..





1- When recording your expenditures in your checkbook, round up to the nearest dollar, or 5 dollar increment, even if its only 1.98 that you spend. This makes balancing your checkbook easier, and also leaves your account with a little extra money in it.. A fast and easy way to actually save money, without thinking or worrying too much about it.





2- Buy generic brands, whenever possible. Especially when it comes to buying food- you can get the expensive spaghetti noodles, or the cheap ones. They both have about the same stuff in them, and taste the same, so save a buck and get the cheaper store brand. I get a 16 oz box of thin spaghetti from publix for 70c, about once or twice a month. The name brand, on the other hand, costs almost 2 bucks. Ridiculous!!





3- Cook at home.. Even if you are a ';bad cook';, you can buy a recipe book. There are loads of recipes out there that any fool can make, that dont take much time or preparation, or even ingredients. It also might help you to watch cooking shows sometimes, to get tips on how to amplify the flavor in your food, without amplifying the calories and fat. Cooking your own food will save you a fortune! Set one day of the week that you go out to eat, and spoil yourself that day, even if it is all day long. All these things will help your finances, and maybe even your shape.





4- Track your spending. Every time you spend money, write it down on a little pad of paper, what you bought and how much it cost, how much time you spent at the place, etc. This can help you to see where you spend the most time and money, and you might be able to give yourself more financial structure by only allowing a certain amount of time per week at any given place. (like if you go to the bar.. leave home later, and leave the bar earlier. That can save a person hundreds of dollars a month, if they are big drinkers)





5. Plan on saving close to the equivalent of every big occassional expense, every month. So, if you buy a new I-Pod, be sure that you have the same amount of dollars to put into savings too, or at least half. You will need to open a savings account, if you haven't already. Another good idea, is to use a Roth IRA. That kind of retirement plan is hard to withdraw from, until youre 55, and you can plan on putting a set amount every month into it. Oh and dont buy anything that you cant pay off on the credit card the following month. Those fees really add up.





6- Drive used cars, not new ones.. A new car loses its value at something like 10 miles, so basically driving it home, it loses thousands of dollars in worth. Imagine having a car accident just months after buying a new car.. then youre upside down on the payments. No fun. Just buy a certified pre owned car, instead, and save your hard earned dinero for the gas!! Gas is up next...





7- Gas- Well gas is not cheap. There are ways of curbing your fuel expenses.. if you can carpool, do it at least once a week. Take the bus, or even ride a bicycle to work, sometimes, if you can do this. If you go to the convenience store, and it is close, try walking or rollerblading over there. Just saving 20 dollars or 30 dollars a month on fuel will add up over a year.. 30 dollars multiplied by 12 is 360 bucks. Thats a lot of money!!! You could buy a reasonably nice suit with that! You could go on a mini vacation with that kind of money.





8- Have a garage sale, before you chuck all that stuff out. If you cant sell it, or its not sellable, post an ad on craigslist.com or freecycle (yahoo groups) and give it to someone in need. Joining groups like that is really great because you give the crap you dont like and cant sell, away to people who want it, and can use it, and you can also get all kinds of freebies, too, from other participants.





9- Eco-friendly your home. Weather stripping, tinting your windows, planting trees, rain cystines, putting a pond or fountain in the yard, all can help to curb your utility bills. There is even a way of getting free power, if you arent too close to sea level- by the use of large copper coils in the ground- and those cost less than it would cost to power your home for 5 years, so its totally worth it. You would be amazed how much money you can save by simply doing some cheapie stuff around the house. Storm windows and doors are also great to have, too!





10- Above all else- work to live, dont live to work. Dont let money run your life. Let your money be the passageway TO a healthy and happy life. All the best!!