Tag Archives: frugal

Christmas Spending Recipe

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Whether you’re ready for it or not, the yuletide season is now in full swing. Merchandisers persistently and persuasively remind us how much we really need to buy their products or services if we want to enjoy the holidays. Christmas is, after all, the major shopping period for the year.

It’s easy to get caught up in the wave of consumerism that engulfs us during at this time. With so many demands on your spending dollar during this month, you may feel overwhelmed by the pressures to spend, and frustrated if you don’t have enough money to satisfy all your desires.

You could develop a Scrooge complex and just hide away from the frenzy until early next year, but there are more sociable ways to cope with the seasonal shopping stresses. Here is a Christmas spending recipe which should help you to survive the holidays with your budget and sanity intact. Continue reading Christmas Spending Recipe →

Achieving Balance With Your Money

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“A very good friend of mine died suddenly; she was only 38 years old. She had been saving for many years towards buying a home. She refused to spend on luxuries or even buy new clothes, and now I think all her sacrifice was in vain.

“I really feel it’s more important to enjoy my money now, because the present is all I have, and the future will take care of itself.”

Deciding how to spend our limited incomes is a delicate balancing act. It can be hard to figure out how much to spend right now and how much to put away for future needs. If your money scale is too heavily weighted on the side of spending, or if it’s concentrated on saving alone, you won’t be able to achieve a balance in your financial life.

Let’s look at two real-life case studies to demonstrate the necessity for achieving a money balance. Continue reading Achieving Balance With Your Money →

Enjoy the Summer Vacation on a Budget

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“I would love to do some traveling this summer with my two children, but I don’t have a lot of money to spend. I don’t want to disappoint them, as they are looking forward to something different this year. Any tips on how to spend less and still have fun on summer vacation?”

School is out and summer is here! For the children it’s the beginning of two months of freedom, but for the parents it can start a period of over-spending and loss of budgetary control.

While you want to ensure that your children enjoy their vacation, it’s important not to spend more than you can afford on summer fun. The best way to ensure that your holiday plans are affordable is to prepare for it many months in advance.

How do you factor summer spending into your regular budgets? Continue reading Enjoy the Summer Vacation on a Budget →

Shopping on Impulse

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“My husband and I have been trying to budget, as we realize that most months we can barely make ends meet. Last week, a large-screen TV from a popular furniture store was delivered to our home. My husband had mentioned nothing about this purchase prior to delivery.

“I am very upset that he broke our budget for a totally unnecessary item. I can’t understand why he did this, and I need some advice to make sure he doesn’t do it again.”

It’s difficult to try to live a frugal lifestyle nowadays. We’re constantly bombarded with advertisements encouraging us to buy with no deposit down, or enticing us with expensive rewards if we purchase from their store.

Unfortunately it seems that your husband may have given in to the understandable desire to see the World Cup Football matches in large and living colour! Continue reading Shopping on Impulse →