Frugality 101

[Geneyus]

I shop all of my bills over again every year. I look for a better deal for cable, cell phones, car insurance, home insurance, etc. I recently swapped insurance companies because my wife hit 30 years old, so we're getting lower quotes than we were. We love our U-verse and DVR, but we have one of the lowest packages and cut out HD ($10 savings). We only have 3 GB for both of our cell phones and we save a ton of money. We use Wifi as much as possible to keep from paying extra for more data. Just try to squeeze a few dollars out of everything, and the overall net return will be quite a bit. When is the last time you looked at your mortgage? Are rates a lot lower? Can you workout somewhere for free instead of paying for a gym membership?

I have a credit card that gives 2% back on everything. I have all of my bills going through it, and I've tried to put the mortgage on it (they won't, lol) to get as much free money as I can. I pay it off in full every month.

I also build things and repurpose items to make them work in my house or to make them more appealing so someone else wants them. I make a little bit of money off of that, and every little bit helps.

[Fedupwiththis]

Learn to live without the things you don't need.. The easiest is usually packing a lunch, for a couple that can easily mean $400 a month. But remember to enjoy life. You don't want to pass up a once in a lifetime experience just to save a buck and always regret it either.

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by 4Florida2

I am new to frugality.
I want to embrace it.

Please list, advise your tips on frugality and what lessons to learn

Frugality 101 please!

You have to have a goal.

Dave Ramsey in his shows makes an excellent comparison: you must attack that goal with the intensity of a gazelle. If you ever watch a nature show, you'll see the lions and cheetahs stalking a gazelle, and then out of the blue, they spring and take one down. On TV, the cheetah catches the gazelle every time - but in actuality, it's only about 2% of the time.

That's interesting because cheetahs run twice as fast as gazelles, but the gazelles usually get away anyway. Look in the eyes of the gazelle as they're running away - they're hauling ass. It allows them, on most occasions, to defy the odds and somehow get away from a predator who can run twice as fast as they.

That's the way you have to achieve your goal(s). Your goals may consist of something like this:
(1) Pay off credit cards
(2) Save for kid's college fund
(3) Pay off house
(4) Fund the retirement

When you go through your own budget, through your own lifestyle, if you attack everything with the attitude of "I need to get out of here," I assure you that you'll find lots of ways to save money.