I can do poor... been there-done that-didn't want to do it again, but since THE illness, the MOVE, and my not working, we're being very careful with our money this year. I've learned from the best- the generation that saved the waxed paper from inside the cereal boxes to wrap sandwiches- the original "reuse it" depression babies.

Count Your Resources:

REUSE: Almost everything I needed for the new house came from a thrift store- curtains, appliances, furniture (except my DVD shelves which came from a cut-end store), clothing and books for the new grandbaby. It felt like manna- if what I needed was at the thrift store, I knew to buy it even if money was a little tight because it wouldn't be there after payday. Plus it's 25% off on Mondays- so go early. Vintage fits this little 40's house perfectly and being shabby chic with dings and dents is fine. We bought a smaller house on the edge of a bad neighborhood even though we worried about it being a bad investment. We could have gotten a nicer house in a nicer neighborhood, but we were carrying two mortages and I worried about something happening (and it did) so while the resale on this house might not go up as much when the market goes up, we haven't lost either home.

Entertainment: we cut out cable and kept the internet (which is necessary for business here). This cost us a little since we upgraded the media center (but we bought the new refurbished one from Dell- complete with a warranty that includes sending someone the NEXT day to the HOUSE to fix it). We use a free app called Zinc for internet TV and it makes TV watching perfect. We record the few network shows we want to see with the commercial skip on and an hour show becomes a 45 minute committment. Plus- the lack of commercials doesn't feed the "I need that now" bug. We try to go to the movies earlier in the day when it's cheaper. He'll leave work a little early so we can catch the early show and then work after we get home to make up the time. We're blessed that he has a job with such flexibility and count it as one of our many resources. We have internet phone which means no long distance phone bills as well.

Count your Pennies! No magazines, newspapers, etc. They aren't a lot of money, but when you add up all the little expenses they make a difference. Watching your dimes and nickels makes a difference. Save enough of them and you can buy something you really want. Save the pennies in a jar and cash them in when you want to go out to dinner. You'll be surprised at how many pennies it takes to eat at Applebee's. Use the library- it's free! You can get movies, books, magazines there for FREE-- no rental fees! We tend to forget that the library is one of our resources.

Quit eating out! I cook nearly every night and buy lunch fixings. We still eat out on weekends or when we see the kid, but we try to keep those occasions down to inexpensive locations. The important thing is the time you spend together- not the expensive food you eat! And... I buy food with marked down tags on it and put it in the freezer- bread and meat mostly. I check the packages to see the date and condition before adding it to my cart, but as my dad says... it can be a 40% saving! I shop very carefully. Coupons don't always save me money. I had a coupon for cottage cheese recently- $1 off which made it $1.50, but the store brand was on sale for $1 so I saved fifty cents by NOT using the coupon. I only stock up when something is on sale AND we have the extra money to invest in it AND it's something we use frequently. I don't buy canned things very often though. I would rather spend my extra money on fresh fruit and vegetables. Learn when the stores around you mark down their meat. They mark it down the day BEFORE it expires and that tends to be on Mondays since most people shop on the weekend.

Make conscious choices! It may be important to you to stop at Starbucks and get a latte daily or buy a soda from 7/11, but plan it! Figure out how much it cost you and give up something else you don't care about- like the boy who mows your lawn! The important thing is that you have thought about your spending and decided that something is worth it to you enough to sacrifice something else. I figure everything by the cost of a manga. One manga cost me $10 so the boy mowing the lawn cost me 2.5 mangas. I chose to give up the manga after a few months of giving up entire Saturdays to take care of the lawn. (Plus the library has some- not the ones I want- but some!) My father talks about donuts. He loved Dunkin' Donuts in the morning but they were fifty cents and that would buy a loaf of bread to make lunch for his kids to take to school. Two donuts or lunch for five kids? It wasn't a hard choice for him. Still- once in a while he had a little extra in his pocket and on those mornings, he'd stop and have coffee AND a donut. Pure joy! Ten packs of gum = $10... 100 packs of gum = $100. How many times have you NOT given the kid going on a mission trip a little extra because you didn't have it? I have a friend who gave up the Sunday paper because all those ads made her want to go shopping. If she doesn't know something is on sale, she doesn't have to have it.

Things are still tough here. I'm still job hunting and he's still working even though he's ill. But we are doing ok. We can give one of our favorite college kids the things she needed for her first apartment and a bit of gas money to come home once in a while. We can help the Kid get ready for the new baby. Money isn't the big "DEMON". Living simply isn't torture or punishment, it's just a choice. Less really is more!

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