Cheap Living Tips

• How to Handle a Door-to-Door Salesman

March 15, 2010 – I think Lotich’s insights about salesmen should be extended further to reading catalogs and watching commercials on TV. Since the advent of DVRs and TIVOS I rarely sit and watch commercials and I don’t browse malls for entertainment. So why would I want to leaf through sales papers or catalogs unless I was expressly looking to buy an item and want to compare prices? Too often looking leads to buying something we really don’t need.

• Premarital Financial Counseling: Questions To Ask

March 15, 2010 – Bob Lotich offers very sound advise… I have much personal experience with marrying without the benefit of financial counseling and learned the hard way that my husband(s) handled money much differently than I would.

• Planning a (Debt-Free) Dream Vacation

February 28, 2010 – If you are one those fortunate enough to still be taking vacations, this is an excellent article on how keep one affordable.

• The Fine Art of ‘Reverse Budgeting’

February 28, 2010 – This unfortunately is true. Most of us don’t budget our spending, we just look it over after the fact. Retirement has made me start planning more and spending less on an impulse.

• Make More Money: How to Use Your Other 8 Hours

February 3, 2010 – This is good reading and excellent advise. I recently watched a video (sorry I forget where) in which an group of people shared how losing their job changed their lives for the better because they used that opportunity to start doing something they loved. Pagliarini points out that you don’t have to wait until you are unemployed to start exploring your talents and passions. I give it a 9!

• Financial Literacy: Kids Get New Money Lessons

February 3, 2010 – This is long overdue! Nothing irritated me more than to watch my friends’ kids spend money on foolish things and not have a clue where that money came from.

• Retirement Planning: Cut Your Debt Before You Quit

February 3, 2010 – I really blew this one…instead of paying everything off I went out and bought a new car the year before I retired so I’m stuck with payments for another three years. Told myself it would be like getting a raise at the end of the contract when I no longer had that payment. I also ‘borrowed’ to buy an additional year of service credit for my retirement fund. This however almost balances out as the increase in monthly income ALMOST covers the amount deducted to pay for added time. Again, in four years time I will give myself a ‘raise’ because this will be paid off and I will get the full benefit added into my monthly check.

I did do well with the credit card issue though. I only use credit cards for expenses I can pay in full at the end of the month or purchases that come with a no interest for 12 months option. I find that using a card gives me a more visual handled on what I am spending and helps me keep it in check.

• Chris Farrell: Dumb Debt vs. Smart Debt

February 3, 2010 – Must read for the frugal minded! I do take offense that Farrell says no one wants to be known as cheap! A rose by any other name….

I highly recommend putting CBS MoneyWatch RSS into your feed.

• Buffett Watch: Should You Own Berkshire Hathaway?

January 27, 2010 – I recently read that Berkshire Hathaway owns 10% of BIY, a Chinese company that builds batteries for hybrid vehicles.

• Make More Money: How to Use Your Other 8 Hours

January 27, 2010 – This is an excellent place to find ideas about making money and making your money go farther.

• Reader Story: Rental Properties for the Average Joe

January 25, 2010 – I personally experienced one of the “rental horror stories” mentioned in this article. Although I had in the past worked for a rental management firm and my family had owned a few rentals over the years, my first attempt at owning rental property on my own was a disaster. I made a couple of mistakes that ended up costing me dearly. The first was letting a prospective tenant supply their own credit report, the second was not waiting until I had checked out their references thoroughly before allowing them to move in.

I ended up with an activist who belonged to something called a “renter’s coalition” who deliberately set traps in an effort to entrap me into violating their renter’s rights. While doing this they flagrantly caused damage to my property and violated health and safety standards in such a way that I was required to give them an eviction notice.
They counter-sued me and I ended up paying out thousands of dollars to see the end of them. Do be careful, there are people who are not nice and do not respond to your efforts to treat them with kindness or fairness.

The Truth About...

To be perfectly honest I haven’t had to face this dilemma in several decades but this morning I came across a “How To” article on this subject and it looks to me like the authors have covered the topic very well.  Therefore I would like to pass this on to all of you here at Cheaper Living Tips.

The writers presume that you have an income of roughly $1000 a month after taxes.  With that some to work with they outline an excellent guide for budgeting those funds to get by.

$500 (or less for rent & utilities)
$200 Food & household necessities (toiletries etc)
$100 Leisure
$30 Cell phone or Cable (pay as you go or drop entirely)
$170 (balance) Medical insurance or save for emergencies

Read the full article “How To Live On Minimum Wage” to get more tips on how to actually manage within these parameters.