Live well without going into debt

Your money and your life

While you're checking out the message board, look for another thread devoted to collecting general frugality tips. I'll read them, test them and write about them. (At the end of this column, you'll see three to start us off.) Feel free to start your own threads, too, if there's a frugal practice or mindset you'd like to see discussed.

Be sure to check out some other threads, too. After almost two years of hosting the board, I'm still impressed by readers' resourcefulness.

There's nothing wrong with wanting stuff. But there's plenty wrong with letting someone else decide which stuff you should want.

• Talk back: What were your dumbest purchases?

"Living With Less" will provide practical advice from real people. Their tips will help you get the most out of every dollar, and their personal stories will help you realize that you, too, can regain control of your money and your life.

Save money today

1. Want a soda, son? Buy it yourself. This is pretty groundbreaking, so brace yourself: Melanie Harvey stopped buying junk food. Harvey feeds five people, including two teenagers, on $100 a week, and she expects her kids to pay for their own sodas.

I'm with Harvey on this one. If my daughter wanted small toys before or after Christmas or birthdays, I often required her to pay for them herself. For bigger-ticket items, such as a Nintendo system, I would agree to pay half -- but only after she had saved up her half. This taught her how to save and budget, and it seems to have done the same for the Harvey kids. Read the tip.

2. Spend quality coupon time. A Smart Spending message board reader posting as "Starting over in NY" invests $3 each week for two local Sunday newspapers. She spends what for her is a pleasurable hour going through coupons and sale ads; as a new mom, getting to read anything is a pleasure.

"The little time I spend bonding with my newspapers pays off in a big way," she writes.

Although I'm not a new mom, I still enjoy matching coupons with the Sunday sale ads and the grocery ads that arrive in the mail on Tuesdays. Grab yourself a Sharpie and start circling. Read the tip. And here's a related tip: Don't toss those coupon inserts for at least a month.

3. Become a stranger at the hardware store. Ever start a project knowing you had everything you need, only to find out that you really don't? Or bought another roll of masking tape when there are four floating around the house? Take the advice of several Smart Spending message board readers who recommend making inventories, or even Excel spreadsheets, for everything from cans of beans to leftover remodeling supplies.

Having been shocked by how much I'd stashed in my pantry, I strongly suggest you take their advice to heart. Incidentally, I now have a food and freezer inventory. Just not on a spreadsheet. Read their advice.

Published Jan. 21, 2009

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