You may address me as the Queen of Green.
The “green” refers to the lovely folding money snuggling in my wallet—comfy and cozy in its home, the various denominations of bills as happy together as an extended family.
It’s not easy for me to come by this green. Like people everywhere in this difficult economy, I have to watch my finances as closely as a mama cat guards her newborn kittens.
Living a frugal lifestyle calls for following guidelines that help increase the number of my green friends. And if you listen to the Queen and practice these pointers, you too could be on your way to multiplying your money.
**Buy in bulk at discount warehouses like Sam’s Club or Costco. This is one of the easiest ways to shave dollars off your checkout total. My cousin Geoff tells me he feels blissful the rest of the day after leaving these stores with four or five shopping carts jam-packed with everything from toilet paper to pickled tomatoes.
**Pay off credit card debt each month. Your card’s APR (annual percentage rate) is especially fond of devouring your tasty “greens.”
**Wait until things you want go on sale. Yes, we all want what we want when we want it. I had my heart set on a gorgeous pseudo-suede living-room recliner I saw advertised. The fabric looked so soft and inviting, and I pictured myself relaxing in it, feet up on the footrest, head nestled on the pillow-top backrest. But at $800 it was beyond my strict budget. So, as much as I desired it, I made myself wait seven months until the store knocked off $225.
**Get a public library card—it’s usually free—and borrow books, magazines, compact discs, movies and audiotapes instead of buying or renting them, or going to the cinema.
**If you do go to the movies, choose a matinee. Tickets are cheaper, and matinees are usually less crowded—therefore less noisy than evening shows.
**Ditto for early-bird dinners. Prices are better, and since many people don’t eat dinner until 6 or 7 p.m. your late-afternoon restaurant repast could be quieter. (Which I’ve heard aids digestion!)
**Your pets deserve the best, but their health-care expenses, just like those of their human counterparts, can be high. Buy discounted pet medications online at such websites as PetCareRx.com or PetMeds.com, and use local humane societies for low-cost spay and neuter services. My best pal Lola loves her dog Boffo, her cats, Milly, Tilly and Ezra, and her sugar glider, Mrs. Flappy. But she was flummoxed when it came to cutting costs for their care, until she began using these dollar-stretching tips.
**And when it comes to taking care of your own health, the low cost of generic medications can be a godsend. Pharmacists should be able to tell you if a generic can be substituted for your prescription or over-the-counter medication.
**Be pro-active in your health-care needs: Fix a medical or dental problem before it becomes worse and much more expensive to treat. Spend $1,000 on a crown for that damaged tooth before it turns into a $3,000 root canal. This is especially important if you don’t have health insurance, forcing you to part company with your own supply of “green” friends.
**Use coupons. Jamal, my next-door neighbor, loves reading his Sunday newspaper—especially the inserts crammed with coupons. His grocery bill is generally $10 to $15 lower each week thanks to coupons, which he calls “little paper tokens of generosity from Manna.” And if you have access to a computer and printer, there are even more coupons to be had at websites such as Coupons.com and Couponmountain.com.
**Find a gas station that offers a discount card where on a particular day each week gas is a few cents cheaper. Filling up your car on that day can save you $1 to $2 each week, totaling big yearly savings.
**Carpool to work. Not only will you save bucks from splitting the cost of gas among four or five people, but switching carpoolers’ vehicles week to week will ease wear and tear on each one.
**This final tip is my personal favorite: You know those soft plastic tubes of lotion, face cleaner, shampoo, conditioner and so on that you think you’ve squeezed every last drop from? Trust me, there is more of the good stuff stuck in them. Grab a pair of scissors and cut the tubes a few inches from the bottom. Eureka—a wellspring of hidden product!
And that’s when—like Cousin Geoff with his jam-packed shopping carts—the Queen knows exactly how bliss feels.
An added benefit to living frugally is the warm feeling I get knowing I have saved enough money to donate some of my little green friends to my favorite charities—animal shelters. Even if the amount is no more than $100 a year, charities appreciate my effort, and a big smile creases my face as I write checks to them.
But you, dear reader, may not have to count your nickels the way I do. Still, if you’ve read this far, you certainly recognize the wisdom of watching your spending and being a responsible steward of your finances. If you agree that frugality is a virtue, then you also see the practical aspects: The money you save at the grocery, department store or wherever can be used for charitable projects that you support or for enhancing your quality of life in other areas—sending the kids to a private college instead of a state school or upgrading that Sea-Doo you’ve had your eye on from a sporty Wake Pro model to a true “musclecraft”!
Sara Sheckler is a freelance writer living on a tight budget in suburban Atlanta.
Tags: bargains, budget, debt, frugality, mortgage, savings, shopping