Frugality

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you may remember my post “Taking Cold Showers to Save $45 a Month” which was about my turning off my natural gas last summer to save money.  I’m doing the same thing this year and it will be easier this time around.  I’m staying with my mom during the week since my internship is in a town three hours away from Kansas City so I don’t have to worry about needing gas for hot showers then.  When I’m back in Kansas City I usually spend the night at my girlfriend’s place so hot showers aren’t a problem.  If for some reason that option wasn’t available I could take a shower at the school gym or just take a cold shower.  I need to cut expenses since the internship limits my availability for paid work.  I also need to increase my income and I’m working on a few ways to do that.

On an email list I belong to a member was recommending this gas-saving device.  It apparently works like the fuel economy gauge that many cars have in them already but supposedly is more accurate. It helps you save gas by helping you adjust your driving habits to be more fuel efficient. The reviews I’ve read on the web seem good but at a price of $169.95 it would have to save a lot of gas to be worth it.  It also has other features but since it is only for 1996 or newer cars it won’t work for me so I haven’t looked into them too much.

Another possible device for those with older cars is a vacuum gauge. There are some of them made especially as mpg gauges but you can get regular vacuum gauges for as little as $15.  These aren’t very accurate at telling your instant mpg but they are good at helping you drive more efficiently.  Since these are much cheaper than the ScanGauge it shouldn’t take nearly as long for you to make back the purchase price.

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days.  It has been harder than I thought to keep up with my blogging while working during the week and commuting back home for the weekend.

I posted last week about the “Six Questions to Ask Before Spending Money“. This post will give more detail about the six questions.

1.  What is the problem?  The secret to this question is to make sure you’re objectively looking at what the problem is and not just focused on the solution.

2. Who needs it?  This question is asking whether you really need it or is it just that society says you need it.

3. What would change the need?  An example is that if you can get cell phone service cheaper than home phone service than your need for a home phone has changed.

4. How long will it last?  How long your need will last helps determine how you will fill the need.

5. What are the alternatives?  Consider your alternatives before settling on a particular solution.

6. What are the costs?  These are not just the upfront costs but also any ongoing costs.

Many people have a warped view of what frugality is.  When I talk to my friend about saving money he just replies that he wants to enjoy his money now while he’s young not wait until he’s old and retired to enjoy it.  He thinks saving money now means a life of no fun until you retire and then you won’t have the energy to enjoy.  This is what I think many people who aren’t frugal think frugality is, and perhaps even some who are frugal think this way.

That isn’t how I think of it at all.  To me frugality is about making choices.  I have plenty of fun now and I expect to have plenty of fun when I retire which I plan on doing early.  It is possible to have fun and save money if you just make wise choices.  For instance I can pay $10 to see a movie at night, or $5 to see the first matinee on weekends, or $0 to rent a DVD from Redbox.  To me the fun value is the same, the only difference is in the price I paid.  Another example is that I enjoy a free book from the library just as much as one I buy at a bookstore.  For almost all kinds of fun you can have there is a frugal choice available.  When I’m spending my money on entertainment I look to get the most fun value for my dollar.  I’ve been going a little overboard on entertainment lately but I’ve still been able to save.  I don’t feel like I’m denying myself anything now, I’m just making wiser choices which will benefit me both now and later.

These six questions are from the book “How to Survive Without a Salary” by Charles Long. The questions are part of the process of examining your needs before spending money.

1. What’s the problem?
2. Who needs it?
3. What would change the need?
4. How long will it last?
5. What are the alternatives?
6. What are the costs?

The questions are mostly self-explanatory but I’ll have another post Monday going into more depth about what the questions entail.