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[linnea]

Well, I'm attempting to change my ways and stop lusting after retarded stuff like a $798 handbag or a Tempur-Pedic bed. I am trying to join the ranks of the Frugal.

Ash, I know that you're a man who is very careful with his budget. Do you and any of the other TOUAMB party people have some tips for me? I got Microsoft Money to balance my checkbook. I have stopped going out to restaurants and have limited my grocery trips to twice a month, and with severe limits on spending (before I used to just wander the aisles whenever I got a hankering and buy tons of shit that I didn't need). 

Being unemployed for four months really decimated me, so now I'm slowly trying to rebuild. Pros/cons on the frugality lifestyle? Helpful tips to disabuse me of my desire for a retarded handbag that costs two car payments?

[theinevitable]

I am hoping I can avoid cultivating expensive tastes. At this point it's basically just CDs and sometimes going out to get cheap food or something. I guess it helps, though, that my food and board and everything are payed for. So, I can't really give advice.

[jaydub]

Don't have a credit card that you use.
At all.
Its OK to have one, but its not ok to carry a balance on it for any length of time.  Get home, write a check for the amount and put it somewhere you can see it until you can afford to send it to the credit card company.

When you get the urge to buy something, make a note of it and how much it cost.  Have a look at the note the next day and decide whether its something you really want.  I use that technique a lot.

I don't actually have a credit card (I have a check card), but if I did have one the first tip there is what I would use to control my behaviour with it.

YMMV.  You're actually getting old enough to have a reasonable chance at impulse control.  People under 25 should never have a credit card. 

[Arachno-capitalist]

  People under 25 should never have a credit card. 

QFT.

[Doc]

Yeah, fuck credit cards and any kind of financing or loan for anything short of a car. If you don't have money to buy a thing you should not buy that thing, you end up paying huge amounts more than it was ever worth and you're still paying for it after you don't like it anymore.

[CortJstr]

I guess this isn't a problem I have. Because when I started reading that post, my first thought was "$800? That's like 4 car payments."

I think the best thing is to not totally deny yourself. If you try to never eat out or not buy any CDs or whatever you'll go crazy and binge at some point. Set aside $20 or $50 or whatever per paycheck for completely frivolous purposes. Whether you buy 2 CDs every month or save up for something bigger is up to you.

[melack]

QFT.

Wish I had realized that during my senior year of college / post-graduation Europe trip. My debt isn't bad, and it should be paid off probably by summer, but still. Bad stuff, debt.

[jay-ell]

green living = lower costs. 

Try to use re-useable products rather than disposable ones -- e.g. 99 cent melamine plates you can wash and re-use instead of a pack of 100 paper plates for $2.99.  Use dishrags and cut-up ratty t-shirts to clean instead of paper towels.  Get a package of dryer balls ($10 at Target) and stop buying dryer sheets.  Make your own cleaning supplies with recipes from websites like this one.  (Be careful not to mix ammonia and bleach, if you choose to use them, and always use cold water when cleaning with ammonia.) 

Also, see if there's a farmer's market nearby.  Skip convenience foods.  Eat less meat.  When you do eat meat, buy large cuts and freeze individual-size servings.  Learn how to bone and separate a whole chicken -- a large bird can feed you for at least a week for under a buck a serving.  (And you can use the carcass to make your own stock for soup.)  You can also make a meal large enough for a family of four, divide it into individual-size portions, and make your own TV dinners. 

If you're *really* filled with the pioneer spirit, you can also switch to reusable feminine products.  Good for your body, good for the environment, and great for the wallet. 

Good luck! 

[CortJstr]

A lot of FSA's will even give you a debit card so you don't have to wait for a reimbursement check.

Virtually all OTC drugs are covered by FSA's as are things like band-aids. So if you have money from this year you can load up on Tylenol Advil and Pepcid so you'll be ready for January 1.

[wombat]

I think it would be really hard to go without a credit card in the modern world.  But you have to see it as no different from writing a check - it's just a convenient way to use the money that you already have.  Just because they're crazy enough to offer to lend you money doesn't mean you should take them up on it. Anyway, it's fun to rip off the credit card company by never paying them any interest.

But I see that no one has given any advice on the other question of how not to want an expensive handbag. I have never wanted an expensive handbag, so I can't help, but I'm curious about how one could kick such a habit.

[CortJstr]

I think it would be really hard to go without a credit card in the modern world.  But you have to see it as no different from writing a check - it's just a convenient way to use the money that you already have.  Just because they're crazy enough to offer to lend you money doesn't mean you should take them up on it. Anyway, it's fun to rip off the credit card company by never paying them any interest.

But I see that no one has given any advice on the other question of how not to want an expensive handbag. I have never wanted an expensive handbag, so I can't help, but I'm curious about how one could kick such a habit.

I suggest constant (quality) lovin'. It distracts the mind. You don't see Nabu pining for any handbags, do you?

[wombat]

1) Jaydub mentioned the ideal, use a debit card that will also function as a credit card issued by your bank, linked to your checking account and account for it just like you would a check.

Can you use a debit card for those kinds of things that only accept credit cards?  Like rental cars?  What is a debit card that is also a credit card?  Doesn't it have to be one or the other?

I have no idea how most of these things work. My financial knowledge is very primitive. I would probably keep cash under the mattress if the Technical Staff would allow it. We have some money 'invested,' which seems to me like giving a bunch of cash to a stranger and crossing your fingers for luck, and whenever we talk about it my eyes go all fuzzy and I get a buzzing in my ears...

[theinevitable]

yeah, I know very little about these things. Right now, what I am aware of is that I have a few hundred dollars in the bank, and I owe my dad a few hundred dollars for the amp I bought over the summer. He has said he will not start reminding me that I need to pay him back until after I buy x-mas presents for my family, which I appreciate.
So I guess the other thing I am aware of is that this is the only time in my life I will owe someone money and have them be OK with me waiting to pay them back. I guess, you know, he knows where I live. Also my money is coming from him, anyway, so it's kind of a weird situation to begin with.

[CortJstr]

I'm nervous about check cards. I remember a few years ago a couple of major retailers (notably Wal-Mart) were accidentally double and triple charging people who paid by card. The whole thing was worked out and the money credited back in a few days. But I'm sure quite a few people bounced their rent checks in the mean time.

I'm also a lot more comfortable with the "securing" that gas stations, restaurants, &c do happening on a credit card than with it happening in my checking account.

Plus, I like being able to carry a balance should the need arise.

[linnea]

I think it would be really hard to go without a credit card in the modern world.  But you have to see it as no different from writing a check - it's just a convenient way to use the money that you already have.  Just because they're crazy enough to offer to lend you money doesn't mean you should take them up on it. Anyway, it's fun to rip off the credit card company by never paying them any interest.

But I see that no one has given any advice on the other question of how not to want an expensive handbag. I have never wanted an expensive handbag, so I can't help, but I'm curious about how one could kick such a habit.

I suggest constant (quality) lovin'. It distracts the mind. You don't see Nabu pining for any handbags, do you?

I think that what you're saying is that the expensive-ass handbag is really just a potent metaphor for my pent-up frustrations.

Ash, thank you for the quality tips. I do allocate myself an "entertainment" budget each month. If I save part of it for long enough, I should be able to buy that handbag in about 6-10 months.

The retirement tips are incredibly important. Thank god I have a great job. I do have long term disability, life insurance (which means that my parents and sisters will get $30k each if I die...I'm going to increase the coverage after my cash flow situation improves), and retirement. I started a Roth IRA when I was 18 years old at my parents' behest and now I have almost $20k in that bad boy. I have mandatory pension plan contributions of 6.75% pretax, and I also opened a voluntary 457 (similar to a 401(k)). Of course...when I am 65 and have 2 million dollars in my damn Roth IRA and retirement accounts, you can bet your sweet ass that the IRS will figure out some way to tax my Roth earnings again.

Anyone under the age of 28: DO NOT GET ANY credit cards. Do not get them no matter how badly you're tempted. I had a bunch and had a stellar credit score for several years. Then bad stuff started happening and I started getting behind on payments. When I lost my job, it was all over. After being unemployed for nearly 4 months, I had to declare bankruptcy when I moved to Alaska because of the mountain of credit card debt that I amassed between age 18-24. YOU DO NOT WANT TO DECLARE BANKRUPTCY, TRUST ME. I am gonna be cryin' when I try to buy a god damned house, because all the lenders are just gonna laugh at me.