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The best advice for living below your means

Posted Oct 30 2008, 06:14 PM by Karen Datko
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Sara at On Simplicity simply states what she calls the "cold, hard truth": "Advertising sucks. ... It's engineered to make you feel like you're incomplete, that you have an unfulfilled need, that you're not good enough."

Eluding ubiquitous advertising is one of the "18 means for living below your means" at Marc and Angel Hack Life, a blog that features compilations of valuable tips to deal with life's vexing problems. This particular post draws on some of the blogging world's best thinking on the keystone of financial health.

Once again, Marc and Angel do not disappoint.

For all 18, read the post, which includes:

    • From Frugal Dad: Redefine "rich." "Frugal Dad" remembers keeping a photo of the SUV he wanted to buy in his cubicle at his first job. It was long ago replaced with pictures of his children. He says that "my definition of being rich is having enough money to meet my family's basic needs, a few of our wants, and to be able to give some away to others."

    • From Billionaire Woman: Maybe it's time to find our inner child -- the one who had more fun playing with an empty box than the fancy toy that came with the box. "How is it that children can enjoy themselves without a lot of stuff, but we as adults feel the need to reward ourselves by buying more stuff?"

    • From Simple Mom: Cash is best. "Many bank accounts provide overdraft protection, so even with a debit card, it's easier to go over your account balance than you think."

    Comments

     

    People make fun of me because I am a cheap b@st@rd!  Who is laughing NOW?

    I'm downsizing right now. I just sold my snowmobile that I never have time to ride. We sold our 10 yr old camper this summer and went back to the tent and sleeping bags. That is way more fun than dragging that 30 foot monster around. I'm having a hard time trying to depart with the Harley though. It's fun but I don't get on it enough. I have saved plenty just doing those things and I'm looking for more ideas to downsize. I wish I could have a smaller house but with 5 kids it's difficult at times. Yes the kids do share rooms and as far as I'm concerned always will. I just sold one of my newer cars and purchased a 10 year old beater. Better gas milage and no car payment.

    When I started working my Dad told me to put all My overtime money in a special savings acount and never spend it,He called up the auto dealers and told them what kind of car He wanted for what price, when they told him they didnt have one He told them when they found one to bring it to our house,one time a dealer brought the car to our house and it was out of gas, My Dad told him to go fill it up and come back,how imbarasing was that!

    i somewhat disagree with the retail/mall bit.  Yes, paying full price is silly, but you can get amazing deals at the mall, even better than Target Marshalls, if you know how to shop. Know the cycle of the retailer, when they have promos, take markdows.  You can score  the hottest fall fashions right now because everyone is getting in the heavy winter clothes.  

    Come on people.This whole country is based on how nice your car is,how big your house is and people have perceptions on what type of person you are on these facts alone.Everyone has gotten lost in buying there next gaget to keep up with the next guy and forgotten how to stop and smell the roses.We have gotten brainwashed  by big business thet we need this and that to make you feel happy.What this country needs is a real good reccession to give america a little perceptive.Wake up,Enjoy your life.

    The best advice given as far as I am concerned is to keep track of what you spend your money on for about a month.  It will amaze you the things you can cut back on.

    I have something to add, and it goes along with the never pay retail - never just use a coupon. My husband and I only buy things on sale, even at the grocery store, unless the need is critical. We have two rules for using coupons: only use them when they're about to expire or if the item is on sale. Recently our local grocery store had the 15 oz boxes of Life cereal on sale for 2/$4.00. We had a coupon that we'd been hanging on to for the last few months for $3.00 off 2 boxes of cereal, so we got the cereal at $.50 a box. We try to do stuff like that as often as possible, with the result that we often save 40% or more.

    We all waste alot of money on food! Get back to the basics and start cooking again. We spend so much money on processed food and eating out. We can make supper for a family of four for less than five dollars and it is more healthy than spending five dollars each on a fast food supper.

    Make sure to change your furnace filter every three months and improve your furnace efficiency.

    In a way, living below your means is kind of like going on a diet or better yet making a life style change. Do I really need the extra large bag of chips or the t-bone steak? Or can I get by with the old fashion popcorn and some lean ground meat? Society and advertising keeps pushing the consumer to have more and better everything. Whose fault is it that we are unable to say NO? Dangling a carrot in front of the nose is an old addage on how to get a mule to move. For this mule, the carrot does not work anymore. It's my money and I'm very protective of how it gets spent.

    Living below our means would be on the streets.

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