Watch how people living on less than $1 a day in Mali, West Africa are taking their first steps out of poverty through Trickle Up’s unique microenterprise development program!

Duration : 0:6:38

[youtube Yt0_sa_wr_U]W

Here we are looking for ways to “get by” … it’s all relative isn’t it? My suggestions deal with things like buying generic as opposed to named brands. These women face more basic needs, like food and education for their children.

Kind of makes some of our struggles pretty trivial doesn’t it?

They are real to us just the same. So my tips for the day deal with cutting down on impulse buying.

  • Don’t shop if you don’t need to.

I don’t know about you but I have found myself shopping for entertainment, not things, and I rarely enter a mall or discount store and come out empty handed. It’s difficult to ask the question, do I really need another pair of slacks when they are marked down and the color is just right for my favorite sweater.

  • Don’t pick up that sales ad or catalog.

If you aren’t looking for something in particular, don’t browse those shiny bright pages just to amuse yourself. If you do, odds are those high paid marketing folks will draw you in hook line and sinker and before you know it you be on the phone with credit card in hand.

  • Don’t watch the commercials.

I think my monthly payment for satellite TV with a DVR is a good investment. Since I have acquired the pause button I have given up watching commercials almost entirely. As a result, I am no longer the slave of Madison Avenue. I don’t need to change the brand of toothpaste I’m using or buy a whitener. I don’t fret over a few gray hairs or crows feet around my eyes.

I do however have more time to myself and my business interests as I can watch a two hour movie in an hour and fifteen minutes and a one hour program in about forty minutes. I use the free time playing with the puppies, talking to my grandson or daughter or planning our next vacation with my husband.

These are favorite tricks for cutting down expenses. What are yours?

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Filed under: living on less

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