Cheap Living Tips

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City Dwellers Looking for Cheap Living Tips Too!

November 10th, 2008 | Add a Comment

Living in rural area of Northern California, I don’t often give much thought to the challenges faced by city dwellers until I see a television program or article that brings their plight to mind. This morning I came across an article about Frommer’s NYC Free and Dirt Cheap by Ethan Wolfe and I realize how fortunate I am to not be looking to economize in a large city!

Here the questions go beyond the amusing… “where can I pay less for corkage fees or theater tickets?” to more practical “where can I get a box of Mini-Wheats for less than $6?” or “what if I need medical care?” Let’s face it, not everyone who lives in NYC can afford to go the theater or worry about bringing a bottle of wine to dinner at a nice restraurant.

Not everyone in NYC is a stock broker or attorney. Someone has to be minding those tables, tending bar or teaching school! My question is how does the average Joe or Jan afford to pay rent? How far do they need to commute before they can afford it?

Technorati Tags: cheap living tips, frugal living, living on less, surviving the economic crisis

Filed under: cheaper living

Any good ideas for saving money and living on less?

October 12th, 2008 | 9 Comments

Everyone is coming up with tips!

ZDNet offers secrets to stretch your tech budget.

WiseBread, an highly diverse Forum on frugal living, presents everything from suggestions from the past for surviving a financial panic to market advise about staying on course.

The following recommendations come from Wordpress Answers:

Start with clearly pointing out your NEEDS from your WANTS.

-Food = Need (Not eating out, not $9.00/lb steaks)
-Shelter = Need (Not resort-like living
-Clothes = Need (Not Versace or other moronic big brand that sucks your money in)
-Transportation = Need (Not a 2009 BMW)

Get my drift?

-Netflix = Want
-Directv = Want (If you can spend $20/month with Netflix, then it is good)
-Starbucks = Want -Bar Tabs = Want -Eating Out = Want (Suppress to about once every two weeks)
-Rims = Want -Plasma/LCD HDTVs = Want (Get a Slim RP, just as good and cheaper)
-Drive to close shops = Want (Walk a little, it’s healthy) XM Radio = Want (this is the dumbest way to lose your money)
-A/C below 78 F in the Summer = Want (You can relax at 78 with no problems)
-Premium OJ = Want (Buy some limes, 5 for a buck, and make limeade)
-iPhone/iTouch 8Gb = Want (You can get a iPod Classic w/ 160GB for less money
-Clubbing = Want (Quickest way to blow $300 – $500 per weekend, dumb… dumb)
-Shoes (Women) = Want (How many shoes do you need? In women, this is the most expensive bill and anti-savings attack)

SAVING TIPS

-Create a bill (your name) and pay yourself every month, start with $100 per month and increase as money permits
-Enroll in your employer’s 401k, they will match some money, it’s free money
-Enroll with your employer’s tuition reimbursement and get more education, this is the best way to enhance your income and you have to pay nothing
-Create a budget, then goals and do your best to meet them
-When vacationing, take a cruise instead. Everything is included and you see and enjoy more.
-Sell the stuff you don’t use anymore on Craigslist.com, over 90% of the transactions are local and in cash (Forget eBay, they got to bloody greedy)
-Keep your credit cards under 25% of their credit limit, this enhances your credit rating, resulting in better deals when getting cars or homes -Learn to do things yourself (Change car oil, save $20; lay out tile, save $300 – $500; change car brakes, save $100; ironing your clothes, save $30 – $100 per month; etc)
-Shop around for car insurance, Progressive has really good rates -Get an online savings account, returning around 3% on average, as opposed to the brick-and-mortar banks’ average of 0.25% (insulting, in my opinion)