Well, apparently the author bug has really bitten me, because I’ve already released another book for the Amazon Kindle!

The book, “Family Money: Easy Ways to Cut Your Family’s Expenses,” is a light-hearted how-to book on ways to drastically slash your monthly expenses without correspondingly affecting your lifestyle. Through years of writing on Saving Without a Budget I’ve found that the single biggest reason people don’t adopt a frugal lifestyle is because they think they’re going to have to live a life of self-deprivation. It’s not because they’re lazy or stupid; it’s because they falsely believe they’re going to have to drastically alter the way they live day-to-day.

The book offers well over 100 simple ways individuals and families can reduce their monthly expenses without ever really noticing a change in their lives. These money saving tips are broken down into different types, like utilities, clothing, and groceries; i.e. the major expenses in people’s lives.

Considering the price of the book is only $3.97, buying Family Money is certainly a worthwhile investment, especially when you consider following just a few of the tips for less than a day will save you much more than $3.97!

Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

All too often I hear people complain about how hard it is to begin living frugally because they think they are going to have to live this terrible life in the World of No, meaning any impulse they have to spend money on something they’d like automatically must be shot down with a resounding no.

I’d like to think nothing could be further from the truth.

Yes, living a frugal life does require a bit of sacrifice and you are going to have to give up some of your guilty pleasures.  I’m not arguing that.  What I am saying, however, is that by choosing to live a frugal life you aren’t necessarily headed down the path of self deprivation either.  In fact, many people – myself included – feel their quality of life actually increases once they fully commit to living below their means and making a conscious effort to not get caught up in the rat race of “who can buy the most things.”

Frugal = Compromise

If you’re still having trouble with the concept I have a trick that may help.  Going forward, when you hear the word frugal and throw up in your mouth a bit, instead, use the word compromise.

Here is a great article by Meg Favreau of WiseBread, which, as its title suggests, gives you 12 Frugal Compromises you can make that allow you to avoid self deprivation while enjoying a life of living below your means:

When we talk about frugality, it can be easy to get into an “all or nothing” mentality. Our two options are to eat a big meal out or cook at home. To have a lot of stuff or pare down all of our possessions to the very basics. But the reality is that there are a lot of savings compromises that can be made — frugal things you can do that, while they may not save you as much money as other efforts, might also save you time, make you happier, or make your life easier. Here are 12 frugal compromises to consider.

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of the article, which, again, you should read in its entirety.

1. Buy part of your meal already prepared
2. Hire moving helpers
3. Meet somewhere cheap for dinner
4. Buy new accessories
5. Drink cheap beer… or just one nice beverage
6. Hire a cleaner once a month
7. Don’t take the car… sometimes
8. Get take out instead of delivery
9. Rearrange the furniture and buy one new thing
10. Have a coffee treat day
11. Trim your own bangs
12. Use disposables alongside reusables

Obviously, all of these things are little splurges that won’t sound like much if you’re currently living a lavish lifestyle.  That being said, take it from someone who has been practicing frugality for a few years: a lot of these little guilty pleasures can actually help to keep you on the frugal path.

So, what are your thoughts on this?  What are some frugal compromises you allow yourself to have?  Leave a comment below and, as always, please share this post using the social bookmarking buttons below and at the top of the page – especially Facebook and Twitter.

In continuing with my new obsession – and hopefully yours as well – I thought I would write more about some less-than-extreme couponing tips that I think will help you save hundreds of dollars per week and thousands of dollars per year.

CouponMom.com is one of the best resources to learn about couponing.

Considering the economy is growing at a much slower than expected pace, being able to save every dollar you can is certainly a great idea.  And when you take into account the fact you can cut lots of money per week from your grocery bill by taking just a few minutes to clip coupons and plan your meals around good deals, there’s really no good reason to justify not making the effort.

In an article in U.S.A. Weekend entitled “How You Can Become a Coupon Queen” – which, to be perfectly honest I do take some issue with considering I’m a 30 year old man who clips coupons and most certainly is not a “queen” – Jean Chatzky offers up the following couponing insights and tips:

When it comes to grocery shopping, the New American Pantry study says 48% of us are now willing to wait for a sale. Shoppers have tuned in to the fact that prices change frequently. For them, the sale price has become the only price they’re willing to pay.

Do it right: You have to know how much the items you buy most frequently cost when they are on sale. This may mean keeping a log of the best price you paid for a particular product (sometimes called a “price book”) until you commit those prices to memory. Then you stock up when items are cheapest and shop in your own cupboard until they go on sale again. Take apple juice, for example: Mullen knows if she can get it for $1 a bottle, that’s a good price. Note: The website grocerypricebooks.com can help you get started.

She then goes on to write:

There’s couponing — sitting down with the Sunday newspaper and clipping those offers your family will use — which saves the average family about $1,000 a year, according to NCH Marketing Info, which tracks coupon use.And then there’s organized couponing — spending hours clipping and organizing coupons, buying an extra copy of the Sunday paper because the deals are so good, downloading and printing coupons from the Web and using technology to clue you in on which stores in your area have the best deals each week. That, as Mullen has learned, can save you much, much more. Last year, there were 332 billion coupons and 3.3 billion redeemed, which put $3.7 billion in consumers’ pockets. “The overall face value savings per coupon is $1.46,” NCH vice president Charlie Brown says.

Do it right:Despite advances in digital coupons, the biggest bang for your couponing buck is still the Sunday paper. Those shiny inserts contained 88% of all the coupons issued in the past year.

Clip the ones you’ll use and start a file that will help you keep track of them. Watch expiration dates, Brown says.

Next, hit the Web and spend a little time on couponing sites. Nationals such as couponmom.com and thekrazycouponlady.com, and locals such as ppgazette.com in Los Angeles, can help you keep track of where your coupons match up with the best sales. These websites also will point you to digital coupons — the ones you can download and print at home or load onto your smartphone.

As you know, I’ve raved about CouponMom.com and TheKrazyCouponLady.com before on this site, and believe they are great resources for anyone — again, not just coupon queens — interested in learning how to cut their grocery bills by up to 60%.

As Chatzky points out in her article, extreme couponing is tough and, more or less, is a full-time job in and of itself.  If I had the time to do it, I’m sure I would try, but having a full-time job and wanting to enjoy my remaining free time with my wife and friends, I just can’t do it.  But, I’ve also learned how spending just 30 minutes every Sunday morning clipping coupons and planning our weekend meals can save my family thousands of dollars per year.

If I were you, I would certainly give it a try!

Do you clip coupons?  Do you extreme coupon?  Leave your comments and share your best couponing tips below!  And, as always, please share this post using the social bookmarking buttons – especially Facebook and Twitter!

Related articles

• The Best Sites for Extreme Couponing (savingwithoutabudget.com)
• Extreme Couponing Is the Most Addicting Game I’ve Ever Played (savingwithoutabudget.com)
• Extreme Couponing Tip: Patience Pays (livingrichwithcoupons.com)
• Are Coupons Really Worth It? (couponshoebox.com)

We all know that being overweight is unhealthy and can lead to a lot of chronic disorders like high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as increased chances for a heart attack and many forms of cancer.  However, did you know that being overweight can have a lasting affect on your personal finances as well?

In an article on Get Rich Slowly entitled “The Financial Cost of Obesity,” April Dykman writes that after years of research, a recent study has been able to quantify the cost of being fat in America:

After tabulating various costs associated with being overweight or obese, the researchers found that being an obese individual in the U.S. costs $4,879 for women and $2,646 for men each year. The overall annual costs of being overweight are $524 for women and $432 for men. The researchers defined “obesity” as a body mass index (BMI) higher than 30, and “overweight” as a BMI between 25–29.

A balanced diet and regular exercise can help you keep more of your hard-earned money!

Adding the value of lost life to these yearly costs makes the price tag even higher: $8,365 and $6,518 for women and men, respectively.

The analysis showed that obese women pay nine times more and obese men pay six times more in associated costs than do individuals at a healthy BMI. The results also showed that women are affected much more than men when it comes to obesity and job-related costs, including lost wages, absenteeism, and disability.

The report, which was released by George Washington University, can be read by clicking this link.

This seems to make sesnse obesity increases the likelihood of chronic diseases, which certainly are not cheap to battle.  Additionally, if someone is obsese or has had chronic health issues brought about due to obseity, they’re a lot harder (read: expensive) to insure, both for things like health insurance as well as life insurance.

Then, there’s everyday expenses – larger clothes cost more, added weight to a vehicle reduces fuel economy, more food is consumed, etc.  It’s easy to see how all these costs can quickly add up.

These costs are staggering considering they’ve been provided on an annualized basis.  So, if you spend your entire adult life as someone who is obese, you’re going to effectively waste tens of thousands of dollars.  If you would have invested the money instead, you’d be looking at probably a hundred thousand dollar or so nest egg.

This just gives one more reason why it is so important to eat a balanced diet, get plenty of exercise, and lots of sleep.

What are your thoughts regarding this issue?  Leave your comments below and, as always, please pass this post along using the social bookmarking buttons below – especially Facebook and Twitter.

Related articles

• The Financial Cost of Obesity (getrichslowly.org)
• Study Says Being Overweight Hurts Your Finances, Mental State (askthemoneycoach.com)

Have you noticed that your grocery bill has gotten more and more expensive over the last couple of months? Turns out you’re not alone.

I think that while in the short term this is going to hurt a lot of people financially (last time I checked, we do have to eat, so we’re probably going to continue to spend money on food despite the higher prices) in the long term higher food prices may be exactly what the United States needs.

The reason being, when prices increase above what you’re normally used to paying (especially if the jump is both unexpected and dramatic) on some level there is a correlating reduction in demand/consumption of that product. For example, let’s say gas prices jump to $4 – invariably more people will think twice about hopping in their car and going for a drive and will simply drive only if they have to.

Now, let’s translate this idea to food.

What’s the country’s most pressing health related issue? If you said obesity, you’d be correct. Obesity obviously has been linked to increased risk for a myriad of chronic health problems, from heart disease to cancer to erectile dysfunction.

What’s one of the largest growing costs for the average American family? Aside from energy, health care has the highest year over year out of pocket expense increase. Much of the reason health care has become so expensive is because the health care system has had to treat more and more of these very expensive chronic diseases.

On top of all of that, there is the brewing Medicare/Medicaid problem for the U.S. government. With health care costs expected to continue to skyrocket, the United States government won’t be able to continue the current health care plans without selling its fiscal soul to China (if it already hasn’t).

So, back to the price of food – if it continues to jump, people are going to have to be more selective about what they eat and, more than likely, do a better job of eating less and rationing their food. Last time I checked, it’s pretty tough to become morbidly obese when your caloric intake is slashed by 10 to 20 percent.

So, with people having to actually adjust to eating less and not being so gluttonous, there should be a decline in the obesity rates throughout the country. In turn, over time this should lead to a corresponding decline in chronic diseases which more than likely will lead to a decline in health care costs for everyone.

Granted, this is a very rough theory, but in the end, I think it’s easy to see how an increase in the cost of food would likely bring about a less fat society, which in turn would hopefully bring lower health care costs for everyone.

In case you haven’t noticed, the price of groceries has started to slowly inch higher, thanks in large part to the huge increase in demand for corn.  So, does this mean that corn is driving up the price of corn?!?  Sounds like quite the paradox.

Anyway, the reason corn is in such high demand (thus driving up the price of groceries) is thanks to our obsession with Ethanol – an alternative fuel that is made from feed stock, usually corn.  Currently, Ethanol is an additive in most brands of gasoline (usually about 10% of what you put into your tank) however, many people – including President Bush – feel that Ethanol will be a great stand alone alternative fuel.

The reason many people believe Ethanol has such great promise as an alternative fuel is because it comes from a renewable source (plants) and can be produced domestically.

Unfortunately, this increase in prices will be felt almost everywhere throughout the grocery store. 

Expect the prices of beef and poultry to continue to increase, as the feed for these animals will continue to rise, meaning the additional costs are going to get passed on to us.  In turn, this means the price of dairy and eggs will also continue to rise.

And because land is at such a premium, the price of any crop, not just corn, is going to shoot up as well, which in turn is going to drive up the price of everything else in the grocery store.

Today’s tip sort of piggybacks off of my previous “Buy Generic Groceries” post, and may be able to help you save a bunch of money on your food bill.

While doing my weekly food shopping this morning, I realized there’s no reason why anyone should ever buy anything at the grocery store that isn’t on sale.  It seemed that no matter what I wanted to buy, there was at least one brand that was on sale.

So, I decided to conduct an impromptu experiment.

Essentially what I did was go up and down the aisles of a local grocery store and pick out some name brand items that were on sale and compared their prices with other name brand items that weren’t on sale.  Here’s what I came up with:

By simply not worrying about which name brand item was being purchased and just buying the item that was on sale, I would have saved over 37% on the above sample grocery list.

By saving only $25 per week by purchasing only the brands that are on sale, which would certainly be easy to do, you would be able to save $1,300 per year.

Seems to me that your purchasing loyalty should only be to which ever items are on sale!

Over the course of a year, it’s amazing how much money people spend on eating out, and one of the places you’re most likely to spend a bunch of money is on lunch at work.

That’s why you should bring your lunch to work, and save a lot of money.

If you go to a fast food restaurant to get lunch, chances are you’re going to spend between $6 and $10 a day, which over the course of a year adds up to between $1,500 and $2,500 per year.  If you go some place a little more upscale, you can expect to pay $12 to $20 per day, which adds up to $3,000 to $5,000 per year.

Now, let’s see how much it’ll cost for you to bring your lunch instead:

• Sandwich = Less than $1.50, including bread, lunch meat, etc.
• Banana = Less than $.25
• Apple = Less than $.35
• Soda = Less than $.25
• Peanut butter crackers = Less than $.35

Well, I guess you now know what I eat for lunch!

Anyway, this lunch, which does a good job of holding me over, cost less than $3 to make.  Over the course of a year, that’s a cost of $750, which could save you over $4,000 per year!

As an added bonus, you don’t have to waste time driving back and forth between the office and where you get the food.  Plus, you’re probably going to end up eating healthier if you bring your own food as opposed to going out.

While it may be true that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” that certainly doesn’t mean that you can’t get a cheap lunch!

If you’re like many of us working stiffs, you need a strong jolt of coffee each morning to get you through the morning commute and the first part of your day.  Unfortunately, far too many people are spending way too much money by stopping off at gourmet coffee shops when they could brew coffee that tastes just as good – for a fraction of the cost.

This is another one of those “small daily purchases” that doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but if you were to step back at the end of the year and realize how much money you could have saved, you would probably decide to do things a little bit differently.

For the sake of comparison, I went to both Starbucks and 7-11 to find out how much each place charges for a 12 oz cup of regular coffee.  Not surprisingly, Starbucks was more expensive, charging $1.50, while 7-11 charges “only” $1.09.

How much would it cost you to brew your own coffee in your own kitchen?  Here comes some math, so stay with me:

A 39 oz can of Folgers coffee costs about $10, and each can makes about 120 12 oz servings (according to the label).  That means each 12 oz cup of coffee should cost you about $.08 in coffee.  If you want to throw in the cost for coffee filters, water, the coffee machine, etc., each cup should cost you roughly $.10 to make.

That’s a $1.40 difference from what you’d be paying at Starbucks and a $.99 difference from what you’d be paying at 7-11.

I know that doesn’t seem like much when you look at these items as one time purchases, but if you look at these items as daily purchases over the course of a year, the money really adds up.

For example, if you bought coffee 300 days per year (we’ll say 250 working days and every Saturday), you would be spending $450 per year on Starbucks and roughly $325 per year on 7-11 coffee.  If you just brewed the coffee yourself, you’d spend about $30.

That’s a savings of about $420 per year over Starbucks and about $300 per year on “less premium” coffee.  If your vice is one of the higher priced specialty drinks (usually between $2.50 and $3.00 for a 12 oz cup), you could be looking at a savings of well over $800 per year!

No matter what you drink, the potential savings add up to a lot of money.

Every Sunday morning, without fail, I wake up, make my grocery list for the week and then head out to do my food shopping.  However, this week I tried something a little different – this time I brought my notebook and jotted down the price difference between the generic and name brand items that I bought.

I was really surprised by how many items had a difference of $1 or more – and was even more shocked by the amount of money I saved by buying generic items as opposed to their name brand counterparts.

Below is a list of the items I bought, along with the corresponding price for the name brand and generic product, as well as the corresponding price difference:

By buying generic, I saved over 30% on these items.  And the best part is, I won’t even taste a difference.

Granted, you’re not going to buy the generic form of every item you get from the supermarket, and I’m not entirely suggesting that you should.  But, if it helps you save 30% per item, you should probably think about tossing name brand loyalty out the window.

If you were able to save just $25.00 per week by purchasing generic food items (which is probably on the low side, especially if you’re buying for a family), you would save $1,300 per year on your groceries.  That’s a lot of money!

Considering most generic groceries are made from the same ingredients as their name brand counterparts (often they are made in the same locations/factories), it makes a lot of sense to make the switch.