When Money is Tight

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.13.10
Current Song - Lonesome Loser (Little River Band)

The economy has hit us all in some way. My hit has come direct from the source of income, work. It's in the form of hours worked. Less hours - less pay.

I've already found ways to cut website costs, but haven't really found ways to cut overall costs. I pretty much live paycheck-to-paycheck, which is something I'm not proud of but it'll have to do.

Whenever I find myself doing nothing simply because I can't afford it, there is a book on my bookshelf that I zip through: "365 Ways to Live Cheap" by Trent Hamm, publisher of thesimpledollar.com.

Yesterday I found myself going through this 225-page book trying to find tips in order to cut costs. Most of these ways are far-fetched ways ("Find Frugal Friends," "Attend Community Events," etc.). However there are some tips that I could start doing in order to save that extra dollar.

These were stemmed from tips in this book (and I will follow this with stuff I came up with as an indirect result of the book [the not-really-stealing-ideas type]):

1. Clean out my trunk. Thinking to my trunk, I have a few old car stereos (as unpaid collateral, sigh), some empty boxes, a folding chair for outside sports events, and a few more odds and ends. I don't know whether I really need this stuff, so out they will go. Cleaning out my trunk reduces the drag, and increases the gas mileage. I guess losing weight will help in this regard, too.

2. Divy a portion of my weekly paycheck to my savings account. When an enexpcted shortfall comes, the source of that money is my savings account. There is a certain amount I would not like to go under, but eventually I go under it when needed. I step foot in my bank about once a month, so I'll just set aside four checks and go once a month rather than making the extra errand.

3. The whole yard sale thing. I've blogged about it over and over again, and still can't find the time to put one up. Part of that problem is pricing everything. Perhaps when the weather is nice, I'll give items a certain pricing range: this stuff for five cents, this stuff for 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, etc. That may eliminate some of the time, and maybe I'll get this set up finally.

4. Motivational photos - I have tried this a couple of times, but with no luck. I once took a fast-food receipt and wrote "NO MORE" in black marker and taped it next to my speedometer. Didn't last. Time to find an image, be that of my family or a specific someone, and look at that before shopping.

5. Go the the library for similar books like "365 Ways." It doesn't cost anything. Plus I can add to this list. (Don't be surprised if this is a reoccuring topic).

6. Designate books for swapping. I have a bookshelf, but I also have books that are on top of the shelved books, and an overflow pile next to it. Some of these books I do not read anymore. Perhaps while I'm at the library, I can trade some of these for others that interest me. However, when was the last time a book at a swap-shelf interested you?

7. Pop for water. Yeah, best of luck with that! Turns out that drinking water will keep one's stomach occupied when it comes to finding something to eat. I have a pop cooler that I keep in my room that is quickly accesible from my computer, rather than going downstairs to the fridge. This cooler is small enough to take with me on trips. Often times, there is water on sale at a store cheaper than pop, and there is more water than pop in the process.

Going back to point No. 4, would a water label next to the motivational photo help? Perhaps. There are also places that sell water in the same soda fountain for a discounted price.

8. Typing these things in the blog. Provokes discussion, and therefore more ideas (HINT HINT!).

9. Coupons. They have pros, but there are cons involved in them as well. When I work Sunday nights at the gas station (maybe twice a month), I save coupons from the SV Weekend, Tribune, Dispatch, Register Star and QC Times. HOWEVER, I ONLY save such coupons of things that I purchase on a normal basis. There was one time that I cut out coupons of cool and interesting things and spent the money on these truly one-off things. Wasn't a good idea.

In my coat pocket are coupons for Steak 'N Shake. When I travel to a metro area such as Rockford, the Quads, Peoria, Madison or the suburbs, I will almost always have dinner on the road. More times than not, the meal usually comes from a drive-thru window. However, a place like Steak 'N Shake is one where not only I can get a discount on a meal, but also sit down and tally up my sports stats.

10. Eating breakfast. Breakfast is one of those things that sort of gets old by the time you turn 15 years of age. Then when you're 30 and have kids, you regret skipping out. While I don't have kids, yet, getting back into the breakfast slate of things helps fill the stomach when it's supposed to be filled.

11. Coupons.com - The first time I went there, there wasn't anything that I wanted, or needed. I never know now, perhaps when my things-needed list gets full, it's time to visit the website.

12. Comparison shopping. As mentioned, I go to Wal-Mart for my things. I know its cheap there; but when the things-needed list list just consists of food, I should remind myself that there are a few other grocery stores in town. However, this may not happen as often as you'd think. When the things-needed list gets full, it is often a mix of food and other items. These other things, such as pens and paper, are more expensive at grocery stores compared to Wal-Mart.

13. Shop local. There were times that I went the extra mile (or 75) to get something for the extra meaning. I once went to Wisconsin to get Wisconsin cheese, only to find out there is Wisconsin cheese back home. There have been some Christmas items that were available back home that I went far away to get. However, when the certain something I know for sure is far away, I'll go get it.

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So these above are from the book.

Here are things that I came up with on my own that I already do to save money, and even time, as well as killing two birds with one stone.

1. I don't get stamps at the post office. Instead, I'll get my stamps at Wal-Mart, while I'm shopping, in order to save a trip. It's the same price at Wal-Mart as the P.O.

2. Set aside a certain time to do every single errand. I call it running errands. When I do this, I map out all of the places I need to go and go to them in order of location. And rather than making four or five trips to places at four or five certain times, I try to bunch everything in one.

3. Collect silver. Silver is a hot commodity right now, and there are times you'll find it in cash registers. I know whenever I find silver when working, I'll trade it with something in my car container. I have a certain amount that I'd like to achieve before cashing it all in.

4. Bring small treats to the games I cover. This may seem like a knock on our high school booster clubs, but some things are overpriced. How do I know? I've been to enough high schools and eaten from enough concession stands to know the reasonable rates.

5. Fill up the things-needed list. I don't require much shopping, beings I live with my parents, but sometimes there are things I need to get on my own. Rather than going somewhere to get the one thing when I need it, I have five spots on my things-needed list. When these five spots are filled, only then do I go out.

6. Try not to gloat about being cheap. This is a long blog entry, yes, but it's not like I'm trying to cram something down your throat. I can see the future: taking my girlfriend home, living in a dump, but saying I'm proud to be cheap. That's not what I want to be. Every once in a while I'll get that hot item, or spend something for an entertainment purpose.

I think it's like saying: I'm not trying to be a tightwad for the purpose of being a tightwad, but rather making these things apply AS common sense.

The comment section is open, folks. Thoughts? Ideas?