Frugal Way - Living well within your means

Communication

Assess your communications costs. As Internet and wireless use grows, many consumers are overpaying for unneeded communications capacity. For example, if you have a cell phone and two phone lines -- one for your computer -- consider receiving personal calls on your cell phone so you can give up one of the phone lines.

Communicate by e-mail rather than by phone. If you're on-line, e-mail communications are virtually free. Even for subscribers, landline and wireless calls often carry per-minute charges.

Be aware of your cell phone costs and how to reduce them. Cell phone use has dramatically increased communications expenditures in many households. Understand peak calling periods, area coverage, roaming, and termination charges. Make sure your calling plan matches the pattern of calls you typically make

Dial phone calls directly without an operator. Using an operator to place calls can cost you up to $10 extra per call. That could easily save you more than $100 a year.

Transportation

Keep your car engine tuned and its tires inflated to their proper pressure. Doing both can save you up to $100 a year in gas.

Shop around for gas. Comparing prices at different stations and using the lowest-octane (recommended by the car owner's manual) can save you hundreds of dollars a year. When driving, avoid fast start-ups and stops. Over time, you will save hundreds of dollars on lower gas and maintenance costs.

Take fewer cab rides. Using public transit instead of cabs can save you $5-10 per trip or more. If you're a frequent cab user, the savings could completely fund your emergency savings account Check all airlines for cheap fares. Since no website lists all discount carriers, also check out the websites of discount carriers like Southwest and Jet Blue, possibly saving you hundreds of dollars.

Banking

Save your loose change. Putting aside fifty cents a day over the course of a year will allow you to save nearly 40% of a $500 emergency fund.

Keep track of your spending. At least once a month, use credit card, checking, and other records to review what you've purchased. Then, ask yourself if it makes sense to reallocate some of this spending to an emergency savings account.

Never purchase expensive items on impulse. Think over each expensive purchase for at least 24 hours. Acting on this principle will mean you have far fewer regrets about impulse purchases, and far more money for emergency savings.

Use debit and credit cards prudently. To minimize interest charges, try to limit credit card purchases to those you can pay off in full at the end of the month. If you use a debit card, don't rely on an overdraft feature to spend money you don't have. With either approach, you'll have more money available for emergency savings. The surest way you can improve your fuel cost problem is to change your motoring habits. Listed below under four categories are 30 effective methods of doing so... no need to buy expensive add-on equipment.

The surest way you can improve your fuel cost problem is to change your motoring habits. Listed below under four categories are 30 effective methods of doing so... no need to buy expensive add-on equipment.

ENGINE WARM-UP

1. Avoid prolonged warming up of engine, even on cold mornings - 30 to 45 seconds is plenty of time.

2. Be sure the automatic choke is disengaged after engine warm up... chokes often get stuck, resulting in bad gas/air mixture.

3. Don't start and stop engine needlessly. Idling your engine for one minute consumes the gas amount equivalent to when you start the engine.

4. Avoid "reving" the engine, especially just before you switch the engine off; this wastes fuel needlessly and washes oil down from the inside cylinder walls, owing to loss of oil pressure.

5. Eliminate jack-rabbit starts. Accelerate slowly when starting from dead stop. Don't push pedal down more than 1/4 of the total foot travel. This allows carburetor to function at peak efficiency.

HOW TO BUY GASOLINE

6. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day - early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Keep in mind - gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration. You are charged according to "volume of measurement".

7. Choose type and brand of gasoline carefully. Certain brands provide you with greater economy because of better quality. Use the brands which "seem" most beneficial.

8. Avoid filling gas tank to top. Overfilling results in sloshing over and out of tank. Never fill gas tank past the first "click" of fuel nozzle, if nozzle is automatic.

HOW TO DRIVE ECONOMICALLY

9. Exceeding 40 mph forces your auto to overcome tremendous wind resistance.

10. Never exceed legal speed limit. Primarily they are set for your traveling safety, however better gas efficiency also occurs. Traveling at 55 mph give you up to 21% better mileage when compared to former legal speed limits of 65 mph and 70 mph.

11. Traveling at fast rates in low gears can consume up to 45% more fuel than is needed.

12. Manual shift driven cars allow you to change to highest gear as soon as possible, thereby letting you save gas if you "nurse it along". However, if you cause the engine to "bog down", premature wearing of engine parts occurs.

13. Keep windows closed when traveling at highway speeds. Open windows cause air drag, reducing your mileage by 10%.

14. Drive steadily. Slowing down or speeding up wastes fuel. Also avoid tailgating - the driver in front of you is unpredictable. Not only is it unsafe, but if affects your economy, if he slows down unexpectedly.

15.Think ahead when approaching hills. If you accelerate, do it before you reach the hill, not while you're on it.

GENERAL ADVICE

16. Do not rest left foot on floor board pedals while driving. The slightest pressure puts "mechanical drag" on components, wearing them down prematurely. This "dragging" also demands additional fuel usage.

17. Avoid rough roads whenever possible, because dirt or gravel rob you of up to 30% of your gas mileage.

18. Use alternate roads when safer, shorter, straighter. Compare traveling distance differences - remember that corners, curves and lane jumping requires extra gas. The shortest distance between two points is always straight.

19. Stoplights are usually timed for your motoring advantage. By traveling steadily at the legal speed limit you boost your chances of having the "green light" all the way.

20. Automatic transmissions should be allowed to cool down when your car is idling at a standstill, e.g. railroad crossings, long traffic lights, etc. Place gear into neutral position. This reduces transmission strain and allows transmission to cool.

21. Park car so that you can later begin to travel in forward gear; avoid reverse gear maneuvers to save gas.

22. Regular tune-ups ensure best economy; check owner's manual for recommended maintenance intervals. Special attention should be given to maintaining clean air filters... diminished air flow increases gas waste.

23. Inspect suspension and chassis parts for occasional misalignment. Bent wheels, axles, bad shocks, broken springs, etc. create engine drag and are unsafe at high traveling speeds.

24. Remove snow tires during good weather seasons; traveling on deep tire tread really robs fuel!

25. Inflate all tires to maximum limit. Each tire should be periodically spun, balanced and checked for out-of-round. When shopping for new tires, get large diameter tires for rear wheels. Radial designs are the recognized fuel-savers; check manufacturer's specifications for maximum tire pressures.

26. Remove vinyl tops - they cause air drag. Rough surfaces disturb otherwise smooth air flow around a car's body. Bear in mind when buying new cars that a fancy sun roof helps disturb smooth air flow (and mileage).

27. Auto air conditioners can reduce fuel economy by 10% to 20%. Heater fan, power windows and seats increase engine load; the more load on your engine, the less miles per gallon.

28. Remove excess weight from trunk or inside of car - extra tires, back seats, unnecessary heavy parts. Extra weight reduces mileage, especially when driving up inclines.

29. Car pools reduce travel monotony and gas expense - all riders chip in to help you buy. Conversation helps to keep the driver alert. Pooling also reduces traffic congestion, gives the driver easier maneuverability and greater "steady speed" economy. For best results, distribute passenger weight evenly throughout car.

30. During cold weather watch for icicles frozen to car frame. Up to 100 lbs. can be quickly accumulated! Unremoved snow and ice cause tremendous wind resistance. Warm water thrown on (or hosed on) will eliminate it fast.

Cutting down on your long distance cost.

There are many ways to cut down on your long distance spending, one is to stop making long distance calls altogether and just use emails or chat. Or you could always make free calls through the internet (PC to PC) like Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, etc.

Call on weekends. When using mobile phones, most providers give unlimited minutes on weekends or at night so you can make your calls (whenever possible) on those times to call for free.

Use phone cards. You can also use phone cards as oppose to your local phone provider when making long distance calls. Personally I am using Onesuite services because it's cheap and reliable at the same time. Rates are as low as 1.9 cents per minute and you don't need to pay any other fees unlike other phone cards and all transactions can be done online.

VoIP. Another option is to use VoIP and drop your landline which saves you about $20 to $25 in an instant for monthly fee. There are about hundreds of VoIP providers out there trying to jockey for position but I suggest read the terms and conditions carefully and check their fine print. Sometimes they advertise low rates but also charge you for incoming calls which if you receive a lot of calls, then it defeats the purpose of getting a VoIP to save. Onesuite also has their voip service called SuiteAdvantage which for $2.95 monthly will get you a phone number and unlimited incoming minutes, good deal for those people who makes moderate calls and get incoming calls a lot.

But dropping your landline is not for everybody. Take note that VoIP is internet and power dependent so better have an alternative if one those bog down. A cell phone is a good alternative but again it will cost you so maybe weigh things down if you will get a landline or a mobile phone.

Text it. Instead of wasting your minutes or paying for your call why not just say your message through SMS. You can make it brief and concise. Sometimes when we call, more than half of the conversation gets out of hand and we stay on the line unnecessarily.

Send your SMS free online. There are dozens of websites offering free sms. You just need to search whats working and whats not. Google "free sms online" and you will be taken to hundreds of websites. I also found textmefree that list free sms sites around the world.

Saving comes easy for some, but it’s an impossible task for others. When I ask some friends about their savings, they sometimes cringe or tell me “I don’t want to think about that!” as if I asked them about a life-threatening disease.

The act of saving doesn’t have to be difficult or painful. If done right, saving can be a wonderful thing you can look forward to each month. A few years ago, I didn’t really take saving seriously, but after implementing some techniques, it’s something I now look forward to with each paycheck.

So how can we make saving easier to do?

Automate it. If you are employed then put about 5 to 15 percent of your net salary depending in your situation right away to your savings. Make sure you prioritize savings first before anything else no matter how small of percentage it is.

Focus on the benefits. I’m currently saving up and looking forward to buy a brand new car within the next 3 years to replace my 11 year old Sentra. Buying a brand new car is more frugal than keeping your a decade old car because of maintenance cost. Of course, the way to motivate myself is to think about that car. This motivates me to put that extra money to my savings instead of going to Starbucks every weekend.However, other types of savings such as for an emergency fund or a retirement fund tend to be harder. Maybe because their purpose and benefits still seem a bit abstract. For these types of savings that you aren’t particularly fond of, focus on the feeling of security you’ll have when these savings are in order. From my experience, it feels great not to worry about losing my job or getting sick because I know my emergency fund is there to catch me when financial problems arise. Plus, I just feel so free not being pressured to work super hard. That feeling of freedom and security, I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Have a mantra. During tough financial times where I was forced to live paycheck to paycheck, I used to have a mantra that I would recite in my head every time I was tempted to spend on something frivolous. My mantra was “Every time I spend on a short term want, I give up a part of a long term dream.”

Get visual. It’s also more encouraging to save if you can actually see what’s going to happen when you accomplish your saving goals. For example, if you really want to save up for a trip to Paris, you can cut up pictures of France from a magazine and place them in an area you’ll look at regularly - whether it’s on your office desk or by your bed.

Note: The visualization doesn’t work for everybody, especially those who forget that action is needed to make things happen. Some get stuck in the visualization without doing anything about it. In those cases, it’s not visualization - it’s mere daydreaming.

Reward yourself. Break down your savings goals into milestones and have a reward for each milestone you reach. For example, reward ytourself something after you reach a certain point of your savings. Say after reaching halfway point, reward yourself a good night out or maybe treat yourself to soothing day in Spa. Rewards are important because you won’t feel too bogged down or tired, thinking that all you do with your money is save it. Without rewards, it’s easier to fall back on old spending habits when you get too tired of saving.

Being frugal isn’t something that everyone look forward to, but there are many ways to cut back on spending and live a more frugal lifestyle without being so hard on yourself or living

Frugal living will help you spend less than what you earn and don't splurge on useless items or expensive ones when a much cheaper alternative is readily available.

Here are some basic tips to live frugal.

Eat out less. Eating out is more expensive than cooking your own food aside from being cheaper, you are also sure what you eat is properly cooked and healthier. Restaurants are expensive, including fast-food (not to mention the health hazards).

Plan ahead. You can create a menu for 2 weeks so you can prepare and buy your groceries every 2 weeks and not every week. Save trip and gas going to the grocery store. Take the time to clip coupons for the grocery items that you buy regularly and shave an easy 20 percent off of your bi-montly grocery bill. You can also search for coupons online and just print it out.

Arrange your errands. Reduce your fuel cost by grouping your errands and plan which one to do first and only drive when you need to. For even more savings, consider biking or walking when you don't have far to go.

Car pool. Join or create a car pool with the ever increasing gas prices everyone is looking for some ways to save gas. You'll save more than half on gas bill than if you use your car to work everyday. Let's say you have 3 friends who travel the same route everyday within your area. Each person will use their car once a week alternately and the other 3 will hop in. You can have Friday as a free day. This way you only use your car for 2 days the most going to work instead of 5 hence giving you a savings of at least 60 percent on gas bills.

Turn off the lights. Most of us leave the lights open unnecessarily forgetting that it consumes electricity far more than we expected. Make a habit to turn off those lights and watch your electric bills go down.