situations that will guarantee you’ll never find a potential soul mate willing and able to commit to you.
If you don’t spend wisely, your savings will dwindle, you’ll be forced to borrow more money to cover for more expenses, you’ll accumulate debt—and you’ll move further and further away from your dreams.
Live within your means, and you’ll live with supreme confidence that you have your financial situation under control.
There are four basic rules to controlling your daily spending:
1. Live within your means.
2. Buy goods and services at the best value you can get.
3. Slow down on luxuries.
4. Avoid making purchases on credit.
These are obvious rules, but they can be difficult to implement. There are several strategies you can choose to adopt in order to reduce or control your spending, including:
• Joining and shopping at a wholesale superstore. You can buy items at a lower price in bulk. But choose what you buy carefully; never buy anything perishable in bulk
(you can buy perishable food items at a regular grocery or local market instead).
• Preparing your own food more often. Eating out or getting takeout food may save you time and energy, but doing so makes you spend more on your food. Learn to
prepare your own food at home, so you can bring homemade lunches to work. At the very least, you should cut down on the number of times you eat at a restaurant. (It’s frequently healthier, too, to prepare your own simple meals—if you have limited time you’ll end up eating salads and healthy sandwiches.)
• Living in a place that’s within your budget. Whether you’re paying rent or a mortgage, make sure that it’s what you can afford. Live in a community or city that has a lower cost of living than the national average, but is safe.
• Reducing your utility costs. Make sure you use
appliances that have energy-efficient technology. Likewise, use only energy-efficient light bulbs, and turn off
anything that consumes electricity when not in use. Install water flow regulators in both shower heads and toilet bowls. If you have a garden, collect your “gray water” or used water after you shower or wash dishes to water the plants. (Better still, have a Zen garden that requires minimal watering.) You can also switch to a telephone company with lower rates, or use VoIP (Internet telephony) to make long-distance calls for free. If you use a cell phone, see if your cell phone company offers pre-paid accounts where you simply load the amount of credit you need to operate your phone, if and when you need it.
• Reviewing your need to own or use a car. Buying a car itself isn’t the only expense you’ll encounter. Owning a
car eventually means added expenses in gasoline or diesel and car repairs as well. If you really need to own a car, you can still limit the additional expenses by limiting the number of times you use the car (use public transport or carpool if it’s cheaper), by using cheaper unleaded gasoline, and by servicing your car before problems can develop.
• Dress yourself creatively. When buying clothing, shoes or accessories, strive to buy items that are both high quality and aren’t too expensive. Follow the Parisian outlook to dressing: It’s in the way you put clothes together that defines your style, not how expensive each piece is. Buy mostly basic, classic designs that can be worn in different ways for different occasions, and make sure they’re crafted to last long. You can splurge occasionally on an expensive fashion accessory or article
of clothing, but make sure it’s something that you can wear with most of your clothes, and one which actually creates
a striking look for you. For example: You can wear just one luxurious jacket, scarf, belt, bag or tie that’s strikingly stylish, while the rest of your clothes are ordinary, cheaper goods. Other times, all it takes is a good hairdo or haircut to make you look well put together, despite ordinary clothes.
• Using your imagination in order to have fun. Do you really need to spend a lot in order to relax or entertain
yourself? As an example of low-cost ways to have fun, try to find out what young and talented artists in your area do in order to have fun within their budget. Many of them don’t need to go to an expensive fine-dining restaurant or bar to relax; they simply find or create events for themselves that are far more interesting and offbeat, like play or poetry readings with their friends, or performing music at the public park. You may not have the same
tastes, but you’ll get the idea. Sometimes all it takes is a good game of football, potluck or cooking party with friends at home to have fun. There are plenty of hobbies and sports that are free or low cost, and which will help you cultivate friendships as well. If you’re interested in watching movies or theater productions in your city, keep your eye out for any discounted screenings or shows.
E. Getting Rid of Bad Debt
Nothing spoils your life plans like debt. It’s like having to bail water out of your boat while there’s a gaping hole in its bottom.
However, there is such a thing as “good debt” and “bad debt”.
What is good debt? It’s anything you’ve acquired on loan or credit that’s:
• Within your current means to pay—you have the extra cash, income or savings to cover its payment.