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Ideas For Living On A
Strict Budget
SHOPPING, ERRANDS
1. Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to do all of your shopping at
once. You are bound to over-spend, buy too many things you don't need,
or forget something. Try shopping just for food, or only for household
items, or use a shopping list.
2. Try to consolidate your errands into the same trip during a couple
of hours - it will save your psyche and you'll feel a sense of
accomplishment.
3. You only need to have one credit card...really. One Visa or
MasterCard will take care of all of your needs. It is not necessary to
have 12 department store cards and 3 gas station cards. Before you know
it, your credit limit will be maxed out. Resist all of those enticing
offers and reduce all of your credit cards to one.
4. Make that credit card work for you! Have your one card earn you
points, miles or cash backs.
5. Only buy clothing and household items that are on sale. If you wait
long enough, absolutely everything goes on sale!
6. Don't become addicted to coupon-clipping - your time is worth money!
Scan through those coupon inserts quickly and only pull out the coupons
for items that you actually use, wear or eat in your household. Recycle
the rest of them!
ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE
Entertainment is an easy area in which to reduce expenses. There are
lots of cheap or free things to do on dates and for culture, including:
1. Libraries have free galleries, lectures, meetings and other events.
See, e.g., http://www.albanypubliclibrary.org/
2. State Universities have lots of programs open to the public --
movies, sports events, speakers, etc.-- which are often free or very
inexpensive.
Check out: U. at Albany's Page Hall movies at http://www.albany.edu/
3. Private colleges also often have free art galleries.
Check out: http://www.strose.edu/ >http://www.sage.edu/
4. Churches have many inexpensive classical art events (usually they
ask for a small donation)
Check out: http://www.ecdplus.org/parish/ for Episcopal Churches
http://www.catholic.org/clife/parish_usa/ for Roman Catholic Parishes
http://www.uua.org/ for Unitarian Churches
5. All of the NY State canal trails are free to use.
Check out: http://www.canals.state.ny.us/exvac/trail/index.html
TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION
1. Most of you know already about hostels, which are incredibly cheap
accomodations ($7 to $30 per person, per night).
Check out: http://www.hiusa.org/ for not-for-profit hostels and
http://www.hostels.com/en/us.html for all hostels in the USA
2. Most National parks are free or low cost.
Check out: http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parksearch/geosearch.cfm
3. Take advantage of the various discount Internet travel sites. Some
offer incredible last-minute bargains on airfare, car rentals, cruises,
etc.
Check out: http://www.vacationstogo.com
http://www.orbitz.com
http://www.expedia.com
http://www.travelocity.com
3. Transportation costs are going up (Duh!), so cut your costs with
these hints:
a) Buy a bus pass -- almost all cities have discount, disability,
senior, weekly and monthly discount cards.
Check out: http://www.cdta.org for Albany area
http://beelinebus.westchestergov.com/fares.htm for Westchester
http://www.transitinfo.org/ for the Bay Area
http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us for Metro NYC
http://www.njtransit.com/ for Joisey
http://www.cabq.gov/transit/tran.html for All-but-turkey
b) Buy an EZ Pass if you drive a lot on toll roads.
Check out: http://www.thruway.state.ny.us/
c) Consolidate errands into one trip to save gasoline.
YOUR TIME AND PSYCHE ARE WORTH MONEY
You might want to ask yourselves these questions:
1. Is it really worth driving 45 minutes to a busy shopping center,
negotiating the parking lots, just to save $10 on household items?
Would it not be simpler to just go to the neighborhood store, save the
gas and hassle and patronize a local business?
2. Does it make sense to have to worry about the taxes, security,
paperwork, and upkeep on that summer cabin/condo you own? Would it not
be easier, and maybe cheaper, to just rent a cabin or condo for your
vacation once annually?
3. Is it really necessary to own 3 vehicles (even if you can afford
them) when you live in a large city where there is plenty of public
transportation, including taxis?
Sources: USA Today, web sites listed, and contributions from members.
bravenet.com
