Learn How to Be Frugal and Save Money!

Learn How to Be Frugal and Save Money!

There are many excellent ways that one can be more frugal and save money for their household and family. Many people do not consider how many ways that they can possibly save money. Let's start by considering saving money on food. Have you considered doing all home cooking with fresh ingredients rather than buying already made food? Consider homemade bread for instance, it only costs.12 cents per loaf! That's a lot of savings when you compare it to a loaf of bread that you have to pay for!

Remember that it is always vital to save as much money as possible on anything you can think of. From simple bread to tires, you should think of every possible way that you can to be more frugal in your life. This is not about just being "cheap" or a "spend thrift", it is about living a high quality and frugal lifestyle. Many people have achieved financial success merely by spending less money. In fact, many millionaires are considered to be frugal in their spending habits. Many of these millionaires testify that a frugal lifestyle has helped them achieve the millions they have!

Have you considered saving money by using less electricity? Have you considered that if you follow some green power advice that you can actually cut your electric bill by half and even more? I'm not kidding. I live in TX and my neighbors pay 66% more on their electric bill. This is generally a savings of 0 for my family every single month!

There are other interesting ways that you can save a lot of money as well. Have you considered saving money on gas by "hypermiling" or getting better mpg? We all know how expensive gas is these days and I promise you that the savings can really add up!

In these economic times, we all have to consider many ways that we can save money. Never forget that a penny saved is a penny earned. If those pennies are also used frugally, you may find that by simply saving money, that you can achieve financial freedom and success.

When we compile any type of money savings or frugal lifestyle skills with paying off any type of debt that we may have, you can quickly see that the money saving benefits will begin to compound themselves greatly. If you pay off one credit card, then you can pay off another. Eventually when you have no credit card bills any more, can pay your home off early and possibly retire early. Paying off your home will help you save money by the cartloads over the years.

Frugal Living - Learn How to Be Frugal and Save Money!

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:: Forgotten Expenses::

May 21, 2010

1) Roaming Fees: Make sure you check with your cell phone provider for international roaming charges. My carrier charges $1.69-$1.99 per min and $0.50 per text message.

2) Hotel Business Center: These vary as well. I just called my hotel in DR and it's not that bad. $4.00 for 15mins. That is more than enough time to check and send emails.

3) Postage: I have a list of about 15 people to whom I'm sending postcards. Most postcards are usually .50 each. I have no idea how much postage is going to cost. So I'll guesstimate for .75 for cards to the US and $1.00 to other countries.

What are some expenses you forgot about on your last trip?

Thanks for reading,

Meredith

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::Tip #2:: Currency Converter Calculator

This little thing comes in really handy for me during international trips. Even though I check Yahoo Currency Converter and have a general idea of the exchange rate, I like to know exactly what am spending in local currency and USD. I purchased one from the luggage store at my local mall. One of my biggest fears is to be on a trip and run out of money and that is what happened in Japan. Not a good look. I think I still owe my cousin 3344.58 yen. I got you girl! However, it was a lesson to always over budget and under spend.

Now that lodging, flight, and my excursions are paid for, it's time to calculate spending money. I've looked at the exchange rate trend for Dominican Peso for the last few months and it hasn't changed much, so it probably will be around the same in June. The peso oro is the currency of the Dominican Republic.

$1USD = RD$36.80

$500 USD = RD$18,400

Example: I buy pair of earring for RD$500, I paid about $ 13.65USD.

Some cellphones have a converter application, but I usually don't carry my phone out and about. This one cost approx. $15. It's the size of a credit card, fits in my wallet and simple to program.

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Quitting my job is not an option.

I follow a number of travel blogs whose authors, for some reason or another, have the ability to drop everything and travel around the world. One is an attorney who worked for five years just to save for her around the world adventure, other bloggers have sponsors, many have no financial plan in place, while others just “have it like that.” I respect everyone who takes full advantage of their unique circumstances. With that being said, I think it is unacceptable to ask someone about their state of personal affairs. Upon my return from a recent trip, a colleague asked, "How did you pay for that? Did you put it on a credit card?" I thought that was inappropriate. Not that he asked, but the nature in which he did. I believe we all possess an audacious spirit and if something is important to me, I am going to do it.

Quitting my job is not an option, nor a desire [at this time]. That doesn't mean I can’t travel. It simply means I must consider my commitments as an employee while planning. However, the universe does sprinkle some fairy dust my way from time to time. For example, I didn’t think I'd make it to the land of the rising sun, but then my agency issued a mandatory furlough. So there I was with a week off, plenty of personal leave and an invitation to Japan. I booked a flight and a month later was walking along Tokyo Bay!

NYC on the other hand was a bit different. It was the height of the tourist season and the accommodations needed to suite both of our work schedules. Planning for a week long stay was meticulously. We took full advantage of the Google applications and I watched Rachel Ray: $40 a day. I also found a blog that post a daily list of restaurants serving free lunch/dinner. The neat thing about that was discovering places we would have otherwise over looked. We also took advantage of museum coupons and other discount options. For example, The International Center of Photography has Voluntary Contribution Fridays 5:00–8:00 pm. So instead of paying $12, we donated whatever we wanted. Those small savings came in handy, b/c when it was time to visit 5th Ave, we indulged ourselves and escaped without buyers remorse.

Spontaneity can make or break a trip. Some of my best memories weren't planned. They just happen to happen, but I think research is important as well. "Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent Return on Energy!" Brian Tracy. Now I know that sounds a little formal for travel plans, but it has proven to be helpful to me. In 2011, my best friend Kia and I will turn 30 and have decided on South Beach as our celebration destination. That’s 1.5 years away, so every now and then I'll do some research to get a feel for the best time to visit the city, AAA lodging on Ocean Drive [ or the street behind it], best place to snorkel and over time the trip will start to take shape and before we know it, we will be ♪♪ lying under the sun until our skin change ♪♪ [Gotta love Diddy].

So aspiring excursionist and fellow travelers, I shared all of that to say this. It may take a bit of creativity, planning and sacrifice, but we can still pay the bills, save for retirement, purchase a new hand bag, score the latest ipod and see the world. Domestic or International. 5 Star Hotels or Hostel. Road Trip or Amtrak.Tour Guide or Independent. I say go for it!

Thanks for reading.

Off to eat a bowl Cheerios for dinner [wink]!

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