Spending Zero Dollars and Working Two Jobs

I guess there are really only two ways to make money: either spend less, or get paid more.  I struggle daily to spend less.  So far, I’ve been able to pay off my credit card debt, but I haven’t been able to save much.  So I decided I had to earn more money in order [...]

September 25, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: My Progress, Spending Zero Dollars  No Comments

My Fall Spending Relapse

Ok, so I have to admit that I’ve had a minor spending relapse over the past couple weeks.  I woke up bored on Labor Day, so I decided to go shopping with my sister.  We ended up making it an all day event with a break for lunch.  I think we hit up about four [...]

September 16, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Credit Cards, My Progress, New Spending Habits, Want vs. Need  No Comments

A Cheap Family Vacation

So I’m finally back at home, unpacked, and settled in.  So let’s talk about my vacation.  For starters, it was pretty cheap.  Cheap as in affordable, not tacky.  We stayed at a nice beach house in the first week of off-season, so the rates were much more reasonable than if we had vacationed in the [...]

September 11, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Cheap Thrills, Food, New Spending Habits, Travel  No Comments

Think Before You Spend: Using WEALTH as a Guide

Hair woes for one contributor at Get Rich Slowly resulted in a handy acronym that she shared in this post.  Here is how the acronym works.  Before you make a purchase, think about the following factors and decide whether you truly need the item:

Want or Need
Ego
Add-ons
Lifestyle
Time

Happiness

The contributor created this acronym after splurging on a new [...]

August 18, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Money News, Want vs. Need  No Comments

Frugal Summer Reading

It seems that publishing has caught up with our view of the economy and spending habits.  Gone are the days of “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “Sex and the City”.  Here is a list of new fiction for today’s frugal women:

Hedge Fund Wives by Tatiana Boncompagni
Social Lives by Wendy Walker
The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah [...]

August 17, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Cheap Thrills, New Spending Habits  No Comments

Ouch, Medical Bills

I knew I shouldn’t have checked the mail today.  I’ve been having some health problems recently.  Nothing horrible, but enough that I’ve seen my physician and a specialist four times in the past month.  I just received some bills in the mail from their offices.  Apparently my health insurance doesn’t completely cover the procedures I [...]

August 15, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, My Progress, bills  One Comment

The Luxury of Laziness

One of my friends spends her entire Saturday morning shopping for groceries.  Each week, she scans the grocery ads that come in the mail, looking for deals.  Then she plans out which stores she will hit for these discounted items.  Grocery shopping takes her and her husband about 4 hours every weekend and they often [...]

August 12, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: DIY, Money News, My Progress, New Spending Habits, Spending Zero Dollars  No Comments

What If Something Bad Happens? Part Three

So let’s assume the worst, because it’s fun.  If I lose my job tomorrow, I wouldn’t be able to pay down my debt, pay my monthly bills, or even afford food.  And I might not even see any unemployment checks from the state any time soon.  Basically, I would go completely broke pretty quickly.  But [...]

August 10, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Credit Cards, Money News  No Comments