It’s not often that a young, female star of music, movie, and television can avoid financial scrutiny. Tales of financial woe tend to be much juicier, anyway. It’s not difficult to remember the Britney Spears train wreck. She couldn’t handle earning more than $700,000 a month. At least her antics kept her in the news.

I’ve been recently enamored with Zooey Deschanel. She’s a fine actor and a fine singer; I own her three albums on vinyl — including a Christmas album, something of a stretch for me. But today I learned something that increased my respect for her: she spends responsibly. According to the financial disclosure she included when she filed for divorce last year, obtained by TMZ, she keeps her spending under control.

That’s not to say she doesn’t spend extravagantly. According to the disclosure, she pays $4,000 per month for a mortgage ($3,000 of which is interest on the loan), $1,000 per month on groceries, $1,000 on entertainment, and $2,600 on clothes including laundry. In all, Zooey spends more than $27,000 a month. That’s not exactly frugal living.

That doesn’t tell the full story. The actor also disclosed that she earns $95,000 per month. She owns her own businesses:

• Oscar Jaffe Productions, a loan-out company. This is a type of organization used in entertainment so that when a film or television producer hires an actor like Zooey, the production company pays the actor as a corporation, not as an employee. Since the actor wouldn’t be an employee, it reduces the tax liability for the company producing the show or movie (all other things being equal).
• She & Him LLC, a music licensing company. Again, with a corporation owning the licensing rights to her music, there might be some tax advantages above and beyond what might be the case if Zooey were to own the licensing rights herself.

From the earnings of these two businesses, she passes $95,000 to herself as income. All of Zooey’s expenses, including debt, add up to less than 30% of her pre-tax income. That’s not bad — but it’s not too hard to accomplish when you have $95,000 per month to work with.

Photo: breezy421
TMZ [pdf] via Well Heeled Blog

The original version of this article, She Spends Less Than She Earns: Zooey Deschanel, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This is a guest post by Forest from Frugal Zeitgeist. Forest writes about frugality, finance, minimalism and lifestyle. In this article, Forest shares his experiences in the kitchen. Cooking great meals is a great way to save money and stay healthy, but it’s a skill that I haven’t developed for myself. Passion can boost motivation, though, and this article might help me find that passion about preparing meals.

When Flexo wrote about alternative financial resolutions he mentioned the idea of cooking more often at home. Cooking at home is often described as a way to save money. It will do that if you replace your dining-out habit, but it does much more than just improve your finances. Cooking can quickly become an enjoyable hobby, and when you get into the groove you can even use it to impress your friends. The health aspects cannot be overlooked, either. Replacing processed foods and restaurant foods with home-cooked versions, where you know the ingredients, will affect you and your family’s diet in a positive way.

But you can’t just expect to fire up the stove and produce an award-winning dish. Learning to cook takes time and patience. You will fail, and you will find that at times cooking isn’t as economical as you originally thought it would be. Investing in a stock of spices and speciality ingredients can quickly blow a shopping budget!

In this post I want to share my journey into the wonderful world of cooking at home and then hopefully convince you to make it a regular activity and a beloved hobby.

How I found my passion in cooking

I never learned to cook anything as a kid. My kitchen wizardry stopped at being able to “cook” a perfect slice of toast and heat an egg in hot oil. Sometimes I would experiment, but I’ll skip the tales of my candy-bar sandwich and curry hot chocolate. When I moved out of my parents’ home at the age of seventeen, I sucked at cooking.

Luckily I had a corner store within twenty seconds of my house. I became a wiz at putting plastic-wrapped steak bakes and hamburgers into the microwave, and later I even progressed to turning on the oven to warm up a frozen pizza. Breakfast cereal was a favorite dinner of mine too. Cheerios for dinner! Yum!

This went on for quite some time. When I turned eighteen and started to throw regular pints of beer into the mix, my belly decided to grow big and round. Through the age of twenty, not much changed apart from my pants size.

Weight is easy to put on and reasonably easy to fix, but the bad habits had been affecting another aspect of my life, something not immediately apparent to most around me. As my belly grew, so did my overdraft. My money situation wasn’t going too well.

In addressing the cash flow problem, I knew I had to make all sorts of cut-backs. It wasn’t exactly a secret to me that my processed food habit was costing me a lot of money and I decided to tackle it by learning how to cook at home. This was also around the same time that I became vegetarian, which seriously reduced the selection of ready-made foods I could purchase at the corner store.

One of my first trips to the supermarket after the decision involved me stocking up on spaghetti, cans of tomatoes, dried basil, salt, pepper and lots of fruit.

I remember throwing myself head first into cooking, just like the way I refused to read instructions when I got a Transformer for Christmas. I didn’t read any cookery books.

For one of my first home cooked meals, I threw a few cans of tomatoes into a large wok with a little oil. I tossed in a load of basil, a little salt and let it simmer for quite a few hours. The result was better than you may think for a first attempt, and although the work was minimal, I enjoyed throwing some stuff in a pot and coming out with an edible meal. I was intrigued enough to learn more.

I continued to develop my “tomatoes and stuff in wok” speciality and would try adding different veggies and herbs. One important thing I did do was learn the basics. This included cooking eggs in their various forms, the basics about herbs, simple stir fry, fried rice, stews and chilis. Occasionally I would follow a recipe.

The big change for me came when I quit my job and moved from England to Canada. I found food to be even more expensive in Canada, and my budget was very thin. I had left behind a high-paying job in London and was now washing dishes in a pub kitchen. Of course being around cooking all day was part of my inspiration, but working out how the hell to feed myself on minimum wage was the real kick in the butt.

I started to buy a lot of raw ingredients and had moved in with my girlfriend. A student and a kitchen boy needed some entertainment and that was where Manjula came in! We enjoyed making dinner together, even though it was stir fry most nights. Cooking with your family and friends can be a lot of fun and a motivation to push yourself forward. We both enjoyed curry so we learned how to cook it properly. I started to search for recipes online, and I discovered Manjula’s Kitchen on Youtube. Manjula cooks a lot of great Indian dishes and her lackluster commentary creates a homey, “I can do this” vibe that I found quite warming. After my first Manjula curry I was hooked.

I was being reeled into this cooking thing.

When you make that great meal, something you never thought you could make, it’s like you finally get it. Cooking can be drudgery, especially when you have to cook for many and you just don’t enjoy it. I look at it like painting. Painting a house is boring as hell, and the outcome is nice, but nothing special. Paint a picture and you enjoy the whole process and the outcome immensely. If you approach cooking like painting a picture you’ll enjoy it very much.

Next up for me was my other favorite food, bread. I had a drunken conversation with a Mexican lady who convinced me tortillas were just flour and water cooked in a flat pan. I had flour and water at home so a day or so later I mashed them together into a dough, rolled them into tortilla-shaped discs using a Snapple bottle, and fried them in a hot pan. Like my very first tomato experiment, it worked again — not perfect, but within reach of being able to be called bread!

This put me on a bread kick and I turned to the internet for a real loaf. The first recipe I ever used is one I still use today, and variations on the dough are easy to experiment with. There is something calming about kneading dough and something very satisfying about eating it hot out of the oven.

Where I am today?

I cook almost every day. Cooking is a hobby and something I do almost without thinking. I’ll happily tackle any kind of cusine and challenge myself to new recipes on a regular basis. I’m not afraid to pick up something I have never seen before and experiment with it. I still make a lot of mistakes but that is half of the fun.

Along with my confidence, my knowledge of food sourcing and nutrition has increased. I try to buy in-season foods and balance my diet with meals that contain the right amount of carbs, proteins, good fats and all of that stuff.

I absolutely adore cooking. Food is something we all need, but good food is something we all love. The smugness and satisfaction from being able to match meals at your favorite restaurants is unbelievable. Cooking isn’t an art or skill that only a few people have, it can be learned. If you keep at it, you will learn. You’ll want to share your new-found love with friends, and they’ll get the bug too.

Tips to start cooking

Starting off any new endeavor that you hope to grow into a hobby can be tough work. If things don’t work out the first time, it is easy to give up. Often, fear of failure, poor early results and lack of time push people back to TV dinners and prepared meals. Like any feat you want to achieve, you need to go in knowing that you will fail, you will make terrible food, and your journey from a person who reads recipes to a full-fledged cook will not be linear.

Making failure part of the learning process will guard your self-esteem enough to help you get through the rough patches. Set goals and make time for cooking. Instead of going to the pub, stay home and follow a recipe, bake a cake for the family, or go shopping for a cook book.

I would suggest you set goals centered around being able to cook your favorite meal or a favorite meal for your family, learning to cook a few dishes of a certain cuisine, or replacing a regular store-bought item with a homemade alternative. The goal should be something that matters to you and keeps you focused. A solid option is baking bread that is better than the store variety. It’s not easy but a skill that is a lot fun — and messy — to learn.

As your cooking progresses something will happen. Your lack of confidence will subside and you’ll fall into the groove I mentioned earlier. For me, indicators of this were being able to add ingredients without measurement and being able to open anyone’s pantry and put together a meal without a recipe book. At this stage, you won’t be a master chef, but you’ll be competent and confident enough to take on any recipe.

Experimentation is very important and is key to discovering the joy of cooking. If you think chocolate and chili pepper would be good on pork, try it. If you are bored at home, just grab some random ingredients and see what you can cook up.

Make cooking social

Keeping cooking a lonseome pursuit could stop it from progressing into a full-fledged hobby, so it’s important to share. Sharing the cooking and eating experience with friends and family is one of the best parts.

I remember baking cakes as a young kid with my grandma, and I think baking and cooking with kids is a great learning tool. I wish cooking with my parents had been a part of my whole life. Cooking with your partner also brings in a new intimacy to a relationship and shares a responsibility that is often left to one person, most often the woman.

Expanding beyond family, it’s great to host potluck meals or host a dinner party on rotation. Friends of mine set up a little club where four couples set four Saturday nights aside. Each Saturday night, the eight people would all visit one house, and the hosts would cook a three-course meal. The result was that it pushed everyone in that group to try to up their cooking game, and it was somewhat competitive. The dinner parties were successful enough that they have all improved their cooking skills.

Get started

I hope I have you convinced to give it a try and I hope you have overcome any apprehension. You may not even enjoy cooking at first, but you’ll enjoy the challenge. Here are some tips to help you get started. Please come back to let us know how it went.

• Cook a basic flat bread that can be used for lunches, side dishes and more.
• Bake a real loaf of bread. This is the very first basic bread recipe I ever used, and it’s good.
• Find an online video recipe for your favorite restaurant meal and try to make it.
• Use the ingredients in your pantry and create a random meal. It doesn’t matter if it turns out bad, just mess around!
• Try another favorite dish or two from another part of the world.
• Invite a friend over for dinner and you cook. They can bring the wine.

Good luck with your new money-saving, healthy hobby.

Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions, or ask for any resources, ideas or anything that comes to mind. If you love cooking, what inspired you to start?

Photos: John McClumpha, jeffreyw, woodleywonderworks

The original version of this article, How to Love Cooking, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Michael Bloomberg, the king-slash-mayor of New York City (will he increase term limits again to stay in his position?), has announced that Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will be transforming 11 acres on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island into a graduate school for technology. Classes will begin as early as next year and the first phase of construction on 300,000 square feet will be completed by 2017 and construction on 2 million square feet will be completed twenty years later.

Developing the land into a world-class graduate school will displace a hospital and some other facilities, but will generate $23 billion in economic activity and 20,000 construction, 8,000 continual operational jobs, and 30,000 jobs as a result of graduates’ activities according to Bloomberg.

A $150 million venture capital fund will provide resources to new start-ups affiliates with Cornell that promise to stay within New York City for at least three years.

With a world-class high-tech graduate program, New York City will become a tech start-up incubator, on par with Stanford University, who lost the bid for building a campus in New York City, and Silicon Valley.

Cornell’s bid for the land and the opportunity to transform New York City was assisted by a $350 million gift, anonymously given but later revealed to come from Charles F. “Chuck” Feeney. Feeney is a former Cornell student who co-founded Duty Free Shoppers Group and turned his wealth into a foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies. With the foundation incorporated in Bermuda, its activities are not generally public knowledge, but its grants are on par with the Ford Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Chuck Feeney has accumulated significant wealth over his lifetime, but you wouldn’t know it from watching him. When in New York, he walks and rides the subway, though he’s not the only New York billionaire to mingle with the people. He rents rather than owns a house, having parted with seven houses in a divorce settlement, but renting in New York is not necessarily an indicator of frugality by itself. He doesn’t own a car and flies coach. Feeney reportedly wears a $15 watch. Not wanting money to consumer his life, even his ownership in the business he founded was transferred to a charitable organization. Perhaps having given away most of his fortune away, Feeney has no choice but to be frugal, but his approach to money seems to be similar to Steve Jobs, the quiet billionaire next door.

Assisted by the gift from the Atlantic Philanthropies, a pledge from Bloomberg for $100 million in infrastructure improvements to the Roosevelt Island land on which the university will build the campus. Cornell will also partner with the State University of New York and the City University of New York in some capacity.

This could be an exciting time for New York City. Residents of Roosevelt Island won’t be displaced by the new construction, but patients and employees of the hospital that currently exists on the property will be. Having a University’s high-tech graduate program will change the character of the island, which was formerly known as “Welfare Island” and was a depository for prisoners.

Photo: shinya
New York Times, New York Times, Atlantic Philanthropies, Cornell University

The original version of this article, Frugality Plays Role in Bringing Tech to New York City, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This guest article is written by YFS, owner and author of Your Finances Simplified. YFS was born and raised in west Philadelphia and is now a financial adviser, IT contractor, landlord, and treasurer of a non-profit.

If you and your family of four received an annual income of $22,350, could you survive? You would be living at the 2011 poverty line for the 48 contiguous states. If you were to make less than this, you and your family would live in poverty. If you were to earn more than this, you and your family would be above the poverty line, though it might not feel like that. Here is a breakdown of the typical costs that everyone encounters on a day-to-day basis; you can see how quickly $22,350 can be spent for a family of four.

I’ll assume you’re in Charlottesville, Virginia, where the Cost of Living Index is 100, the national average.

The things we need

Rent/Mortgage. We all have to pay something in order to keep a roof over our heads. This could be a mortgage payment for a house that we have bought or it could be rent for a house or an apartment. In Charlottesville, the average rent is just over $900, and the average house payment is nearly $1500. For the sake of this article, the calculation for rent or mortgage is the average of these numbers, $1,200. The yearly housing expenses are about $14,400. Subtracting this from the income leaves $7,950 to pay for everything else.

Many people at this level of income can qualify to live in subsidized housing, and many have to live in substandard conditions so that they can afford it. Those conditions could be a dilapidated apartment for low rent or sharing a house with another family. For purposes of this example, we are using average costs, which will often be much higher than what a family at this level would pay.

Bills. Even if you rent your home, you still probably have to pay some of the bills, like electricity or gas. Water, trash (sanitation), phone, cable, and internet are all some common bills to pay. Average energy costs in Charlottesville are $165 per month ($1,980 per year), which brings the total remaining down to $5,970.

At this level of income, could afford a phone or cable or internet?

If your cable and internet service costs $50 a month, that will be another $600 a year. Because it is hard to function without a telephone, for this example, we will include one cell phone for the family that costs $25 a month, which would be $300 a year, bringing the total down to $5,670.

Transportation. You can argue that a car is not necessary, and in some cases that is true. However, in some parts of the United States, you will not be able to hold a job unless you have your own transportation. This is due to the lack of extensive public transportation, especially true in suburban and rural areas of the country. Even if you have access to public transportation, how much will that cost for a year? Car payments vary depending on income, credit, and car choice. This example assumes a relatively inexpensive car payment of $300 per month ($3,600 per year), bringing the total down to $2,070.

Many people at this income level do not buy new cars or certified used ones. They find very inexpensive cars that are sold by the owner or they go without.

Insurance. If you own a car, you must have insurance. The average annual car insurance premium in Virginia is about $1,000, which we can also take off of our total. This leaves $1,070.

What about health insurance?

Do you think that you could afford health insurance at this income level? It’s unlikely that you could; however, people at this income level probably qualify for Medicaid. In most cases, at least the children in the family will qualify.

Food. The bare necessities for food are what it costs to keep a family of four fed. A family at this income level likely qualifies for food stamps, and many public schools have programs offering reduced-rate or free lunches to children who qualify. Food stamp benefits vary from state to state and situation to situation. For the purposes of this example, the family of four spends $50 a month of their own money on food (with the remaining $200 or so being provided by food stamps). Food stamps can only be used on consumable products, excluding alcohol, in most cases. As a result, the family still has to buy sundries like soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, and so on out of their own money. This results in about $600 a year in food costs, which brings our total remaining to $470.

Could you provide for a family of four with $200 to $250 a month on groceries?

Clothing. Consider not what the family wants, but items that the family needs to stay decently clothed and warm. In Charlottesville, the average men’s shirt in a department store costs about $25, while a pair of boy’s jeans costs about $20. We’ll say that the family spends about $10 a month on average for clothing. This would be a new item for one member of the family every two months or so. This would average out to about two new items per person per year, and it would bring the annual clothing budget to $120. Such a small clothing budget could be expanded by shopping at thrift stores and other organizations where needy families can receive free used clothing. The total is now down to $350.

When was the last time you bought an item of clothing? How much did it cost?

Debt. What about student loans or credit card payments? You might think that the adults in a family at this level didn’t earn a college degree, but that’s not always the case. Many college students, especially graduate students, are married, and many of them cannot or do not hold jobs while in school. This means that they might be unemployed or a part time employee. As a result, the family could be trying to survive off of one income or two small incomes. Fortunately, most student loan payments can be deferred if you are unemployed or earning below a certain level.

Credit card debt, however, continues to grow. Assume the minimum payment is $15 a month, an annual payment of $180. A payment this low would likely be for a card with a low limit, around $500 or so. This brings our total down to $170.

How much do you rely on your credit card on a day to day basis? How much do you think you would use it if you were in this situation?

The things we want

Extraneous purchases. With some skimping, federal and state assistance, and swallowing of pride, the family at the poverty level has $170 left to spend on things that they want throughout the year. This might mean a new jacket or a new pair of shoes.

How much do you think you spend on Christmas gifts?

If the couple spends $100 on each other and their two children, the total is now down to $70. If the family goes to the movies just once during the whole year, they’ll pay about $50 just for the tickets, with the average movie ticket price in Charlottesville at $10. This brings the total down to $20, and it will be even lower if they buy popcorn.

Travel. The family might travel to see relatives at some point during the year. They could not afford a hotel room or plane tickets. If they do not have their own car, they might be able to afford bus tickets. For example, four bus tickets, two adults and two children under 11, from Charlottesville to Memphis would cost over $500 one way. This brings our total into the negative numbers. If they have a car that gets 30 miles to the gallon then it would cost about $75 one way to get to Memphis with the average cost of gas being $3 or so per gallon. This means about $150 to get just there and back, bringing the total down into negative numbers again. As a result, any type of travel for this family is unlikely.

Savings. If the family manages to stick to this budget, they can save about $20 a year. However, this budget did not include any unexpected expenses, such as an unplanned doctor’s visit or family emergency. As a result, it is unlikely that a family living at this income level would be able to save anything at all. In reality, it is nearly impossible for a family of four to live at this level without going into debt.

Minimum wage

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Some states have a higher minimum wage, but Virginia, used in this example, uses the federal minimum wage. Assuming a full-time job, which isn’t often the case for minimum wage jobs, an individual would earn about $14,500 a year before taxes. In this situation, two people with full time jobs at minimum wage (with two weeks’ vacation or sick days) would have $29,000 before taxes. This level of income is quite a bit higher than the poverty level income. However, to put things in perspective a household of four could be a single parent with three kids on $14,500 a year, which is well below the poverty line. If one or both spouses cannot find work, full-time or part-time, a family can easily fall into poverty.

Federal and state taxes vary so much that they were not included in this example. In many cases someone who makes so little money and who has children will not have to pay much in taxes at the end of the year and, in some cases, particularly due to the Earned Income Tax Credit, will receive a refund.

Do you think that you would be thrifty enough to make this work? Have you ever lived at this level of income? How would you adjust the budget to survive on $22,350?

Photo: Orin Zebest

The original version of this article, Could You Survive at the Poverty Line?, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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After noticing, month after month, that I include the value of my 2004 Honda Civic in my monthly net worth updates, a reader wrote in to Consumerism Commentary to ask why I haven’t given into my desires and purchased something newer or more exciting. I’ve had a bit of a storied past with cars, but in my current, more responsible era of my life I’ve been sailing through without any car problems, and saving money in the process.

I had been driving a Honda Civic I purchased used, but after receiving the car back from a relative, it never operated the same. In 2004, I accepted a teaching position and I needed a reliable car to drive to the school every day. The old Civic, at 160,000 miles, just wasn’t as reliable as I needed it to be. Since my necessity to avoid breaking down was my new first priority, I decided to sell the old Civic and buy a new one. As the 2005 models were arriving, I purchased a brand new Civic.

Typical financial advice at the time was to always buy a used car. With Civics, which were said to operate great beyond 200,000 miles if cared for well, there was just a small price difference between a slightly used car and a brand new car was. For the extra one or two years of worry-free driving at the beginning of ownership, the extra money seemed to be worthwhile to me. I bought a 2004 Honda Civic around the time the 2005 models were arriving, so I was already getting a slight discount on the new car. I took out a loan (outside the financial industry) at an interest rate of 2% to finance the purchase.

The car in this photograph is not my car.

Rather than trading in the old Civic, I sold it on Craigslist, and got more cash than I expected. I paid the loan off quickly. Since paying the loan off, I’ve had very little car-related expenses. I have the dealership perform regular maintenance and oil changes, and besides tolls, fuel, and the occasional car wash, that’s all the money I put into my car. I could probably save more money by choosing a mechanic other than the dealership, but I’ve had problems with that approach in the past with other cars. Going to the dealership gives me peace of mind, and I’ve never had any problems with their work.

Although I was a fan of driving when I was younger and always jumped on every opportunity to drive on road trips, years of commuting have spoiled my joy. I do enjoy driving fun cars, but I see that more as an occasional luxury than a lifestyle choice. A recent study shows that the enjoyment drivers get out of driving fun or luxury cars doesn’t last more than a few weeks, so when you buy a BMW or Ferrari, the euphoric feeling you might get from driving doesn’t last long. If I want to enjoy driving, I can always rent a nicer car. This should help me better appreciate the fun.

Buying a new car like I did doesn’t pay off if you have the desire for a new car every few years. I have no need to impress clients, so leasing a car doesn’t make any sense. Also, I don’t have a garage, so leaving a nicer car out in the open in asking for trouble. I live in a crime-free area, so it’s not that much of a concern, but I’d prefer knowing that something of great value could be locked away. I’m not going to park a Ferrari in my open parking lot, and I’m certainly not going to take it to Queens to visit my girlfriend and leave it parked on the street.

• By not having a $300 per month car payment since July 2007 has saved me $14,400.
• By not choosing a gas-guzzling vehicle, I’ve probably saved another $9,000 since buying the Honda Civic new in June 2004.
• I’ve probably saved another $3,000 to $4,000 by buying a car that requires hardly any maintenance.
• I’ve saved at least $16,000 and possibly much more by choosing not to buy another new car until this Civic dies. Now that I’m not commuting to an office every day, this car could last for many years.

At some point, my needs might change. Maybe I’ll have a family and need a bigger vehicle for transporting my hypothetical children and their friends. I can’t predict my needs or desires in the future, but for now, I’m not buying a new car, and I’m enjoying the savings both by spending money on other things I enjoy and by thinking about and investing in my future.

Would you replace your current car if you had cash available? Should I put a small part of my future aside to spend extravagantly on a nice car and have some fun?

Interesting. This article drew a lot of criticism from Consumerist readers who say that a car from model year 2004 isn’t old enough. The criticism missed the point of the article, which is that continuing to drive the same car saves money over buying a new car. There’s no competition to see who can drive the oldest car. As I pointed out in the article, at a time when reliability was the foremost concern, buying a ten year old (or older) used car, without a strong indication of how well it could run and for how long, would have been a significant mistake. Plus, the mileage is a better indication of operational “age” than model year.

Photo: save_7

The original version of this article, Why I Still Drive My Old Honda Civic, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This is a guest article by Leo Babauta, originally published on Consumerism Commentary on April 3, 2007. Leo, the author of Zen To Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System writes about achieving goals, creating habits, productivity, personal finances, frugality and more at his blog, Zen Habits.

On Zen Habits, I detailed some of the things I have cut out of my life in order to save money and eliminate my debt, such as cutting my own hair, cutting out cable TV, becoming vegan, working out at home instead of the gym, brown-bagging it to work, never going out to clubs or the theater, and more.

An anonymous reader then commented, sarcastically, “Here’s another way to save money. Lock yourself in a box until you slowly die of starvation and/or boredom.”

I understand that sentiment. When I list out all the things that I’ve cut out of my life, it sounds horrible, even to me. But here’s the secret: if you cut things out a little at a time, it doesn’t seem hard at all.

And here’s another secret: living frugal isn’t that hard at all — in fact, it’s extremely enjoyable!

I didn’t cut out all the things on my list all at once. That would have been quite a drastic change, and I’m not a fan of drastic changes. My philosophy is that changes should be made gradually, with baby steps, over a long period of time, otherwise they won’t be sustainable. Want to lose weight? Don’t try to drop 30 pounds in a month — lose a pound or two each week, and over the course of a year you’ll lose 50-100 pounds!

The same goes with frugality. Cut out one thing from your life, or change one spending habit, every couple weeks, and over time you’ll have cut out a lot of unnecessary spending. The thing is, you get used to the changes, and after a while you don’t notice that those things are gone. Sure, cutting out cable TV was a big change at first, but after a month or so, we didn’t miss it at all. Now, it seems crazy to have cable TV all the time. We go over to other people’s houses, and they’re glued to the TV all day long. That’s not a criticism of them, but an indication of how our lives have changed. There are other things we love to do besides watch TV, and if you’re creative, they can be fun and cheap!

Here are my tips for gradual frugality:

• Start out by making a list of things you spend money on each month, big or small. List all your monthly bills, but also the little things you buy, like magazines and books and DVDs and gadgets and car washes and lattes and beer. It’s helpful to track your spending for a month — I just did it in February and it was very revealing.
• Mark the things on your list that are optional, not essential to living. There may be quite a few, if you haven’t been trying to be frugal until now.
• Choose a small goal to start. Don’t choose anything too outrageously difficult. Just choose something small that you think you could do without, perhaps magazines. This shouldn’t be something to which you’re addicted; that should be saved for later. The reason for starting small is to give yourself a chance to be successful in the beginning and then build upon that success for even bigger successes down the road.
• Stick with that one change for at least two weeks. A month would be even better if you can be that patient. After those 2-4 weeks, choose another item on your list. Make it a small one again, perhaps slightly bigger, but nothing huge. Repeat this process every 2-4 weeks, and you won’t notice much of a change.
• Celebrate every success! It feels good to accomplish a goal like this, and you should be proud of yourself. Reward yourself (but nothing too expensive!).
• Put your extra money towards debt or savings. If you’ve cut out $20 a week on small purchases, put $40 extra every paycheck towards paying off one debt, or put it towards savings if you don’t have debt. That’s a small amount, but it’ll add up to $1,000 every year. And as you cut out other things in your life, that amount will grow every month.
• Have fun for free or cheap. Don’t let this process of frugality be a process of suffering. Have fun while you’re doing it. Cutting out going to expensive restaurants? Pack a picnic and go to the beach or park instead. Cutting out your weekly movie night at the theaters? Rent some old movies on DVDs, pop some popcorn, and cuddle together with your significant other or family. Be creative! There are lots of great ways to have a blast on little money.
• Enjoy the process. You are cutting back on things to achieve a financial goal. That in itself is very rewarding. Always keep a positive mindset. If you feel like you’re having a difficult time, it will be difficult. But if you only allow yourself to think positive thoughts about your process of frugality, it will be as easy as pie. Speaking of which, making pie is a great thing to do for cheap!

Photo: pittaya

The original version of this article, Gradual Frugality: Finding Enjoyment in Saving Money, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Set-top boxes continuously run in homes who have them. Cable boxes, satellite boxes, and digital video recorders (DVRs) are designed to constantly remain on, even while no one in the household is home. According to the National Resources Defense Council, these devices cost $3 billion to run every year, and $2 billion of that cost is incurred while the boxes are not being used.

Part of the problem is the design of the boxes. Television providers want the ability to communicate with the boxes at any time, for example, to send software upgrades late at night when fewer people are watching television, and so they don’t encourage consumers to turn the boxes off. The boxes are also designed to take a long time to reboot and download programming guides, so powering down the boxes frequently could be a nuisance for customers who don’t want to wait before being able to tune into their favorite shows. Furthermore, for those with DVRs, shutting off the boxes might result in a missed recording.

Turning off the cable boxes — many households have more than one — is an easy way to reduce the power bill. The issue isn’t just affording to pay the bills, however.

In 2010, set-top boxes in the United States consumed approximately 27 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is equivalent to the annual output of nine average (500 MW) coal-fired power plants. The electricity required to operate all U.S. boxes is equal to the annual household electricity consumption of the entire state of Maryland, results in 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions…

The average new cable high-definition digital video recorder (HD-DVR) consumes more than half the energy of an average new refrigerator and more than an average new flat-panel television. Even more troubling, when not displaying or recording video content, U.S. boxes draw nearly as much power as they do when in use.

The NRDC offers suggestions for manufacturers and television providers to improve energy consumption, but it could be worthwhile for consumers to get in the habit of removing the cable box from the power source on a regular basis. Turning the power off often just results in turning the clock display off with the device remaining on to communicate with the cable or satellite company and for programming to be available immediately when the box is turned on. Unplugging or shutting off power (via a wall switch) is the best way to ensure the box is not consuming any power.

For those who use the DVR to record programs while they are away — and DVRs consumer 40% more energy than boxes without recording technology — there are more ways to view programs you missed. Many content providers offer a wider selection of shows to be viewed at a later time (like Comcast’s “On Demand”), and networks offer full episodes to be streamed from network websites.

Photo: meddygarnet
National Resources Defense Council [pdf]

The original version of this article, Unplug Your Cable Box to Save Money, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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CNN is offering a compilation of the ten biggest money wasters. These items would be obvious to most loyal Consumerism Commentary readers, yet it would not be out of the question to disagree with some of these money-wasters in some circumstances.

ATM fees. You shouldn’t be surprised that banks will charge multiple fees for the same transaction. If you use an ATM that isn’t operated by the bank that houses your account, the ATM owners will often charge for the transaction — as much as $5, Chase’s new ATM fee — and your bank could charge you for the transaction as well. This is why, even though I strongly recommend high-yield savings accounts that are often operated by online-only banks, it doesn’t hurt to have your primary checking account at a bank that has convenient ATM locations. While many online-only and some traditional banks will reimburse you for ATM fees charged by another banks, receiving this reimbursement could be a hassle.

I visit an ATM about once every two weeks. For me, I save $130 a year by not patronizing an ATM that charges $5. According to the source quoted by CNN, many people could stand to save $500 a year by ensuring they visit free ATMs.

Lottery tickets. For the most part, people who play the lottery tend to have a lower socio-economic status, perhaps those who think that winning the lottery is the only hope of financial freedom. The odds are stacked against winning a lottery jackpot, and if the money used to buy lottery tickets was set aside in an interest-bearing account, there is a better chance for strong finances later in life. That doesn’t stop office pools from buying lottery tickets when the jackpot is sufficiently high, however, and in some cases, income from lotteries run by states can be put to some good.

According to CNN’s source, typical lottery participants spend $520 to $1,040 a year on tickets. Another downside to lottery tickets: buying lottery tickets on your credit card can reduce your credit score.

Gourmet coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I can understand why people pay $1,000 a year in order to help wake themselves at a certain time. The obvious resolution would be to save money by switching from the more expensive brands to coffee you brew yourself. This is the basis of David Bach’s Latte Factor, which illustrates how incremental savings can lead to significant increases over time.

Cigarettes. How much money you could save by quitting smoking depends on how much you smoke and how much it costs to buy each pack. In New York, a heavy smoker could save a whopping $13,000 a year! That’s just on the cost of buying the cigarettes; if you quit smoking, doctors say you will live a healthier life and a reduced risk of cancer, so being a non-smoker will result in lower health care bills over your lifetime, as well as lower life insurance premiums in some cases.

Infomercial impulse buys. According to CNN’s source, most infomercial purchases go unused. It’s not just infomercials — any impulse purchase or anything you buy that you end up not using is an unnecessary cost. I have some kitchen appliances that I have not yet used, though I hope to some day. I didn’t buy these from infomercials, but the result is the same. One way to beat this is to stop yourself from making the purchase without a night — or perhaps a week or a month — to think about it. I ended up not purchasing many things I thought I needed, after deciding to wait some time before completing the purchase.

Brand-name groceries. In many cases store-brand or generic items are of the same quality as brand-name items in the grocery store. I’m not a fan of all generic items. For example, I prefer Cotonelle over store-brand toilet paper, because I have yet to find a satisfying alternative. But rather than blindly go with name brands, I buy cheaper alternatives to discover where I am willing to compromise — if any compromise is necessary — to get buy with a lower price.

Eating out. This is a category of spending I’ve struggled with. (See my comment about unused kitchen appliances above.) For the most part, I have only myself to feed, and the healthier groceries are designed for multiple servings. As a result, I either overeat or buy the less-healthy options. I’ve improved my habits a bit, but this is something I still struggle with. Furthermore, when I spend time with my girlfriend, we often find it easier to go out to eat rather than cook for ourselves.

CNN also mentions bars and alcohol in this category. While I’m not interested in bar-hopping, the wine I may buy with dinner is often much more expensive than buying wine from a store. It’s not uncommon to pay $12 a glass when an entire bottle of wine that is just as good costs half as much.

Unused gym memberships. I haven’t yet fallen into this trap, but I know many who have. For about a month, I was getting the exercise I needed by running every other day, but as the weather turned cold, I let this habit slip. Now I plan to go back to my previous state of activity, and I’ve considered joining a gym in addition. I haven’t pulled the trigger because I haven’t been able to convince myself that I would use the membership to its fullest extent. This is similar to my experience with Netflix; I joined the subscription service to receive movies by mail after a referral from a friend, but I didn’t have the time to watch movies or TV series as often as I thought I would.

Daily internet deals. CNN comes out on my side of the argument regarding social coupons and group coupons. There are some cases where the deals work out well. In fact, I used one with my girlfriend’s family this past weekend to see a movie that didn’t interest me. But the key to these deals is that you pay up front for the deal and claim the items — in this case, movie tickets — later. Many people never claim the items even though they’ve already paid for the deal. And, as I’ve mentioned before, sometimes the deals aren’t that great in the first place.

Bundled cable or phone services. The reason these waste money is because you often result in paying for a service you don’t need. It starts innocently with bundled old-fashioned phone service, where you would have to buy dozens of features you didn’t need just to get voice mail service or call-waiting; now, the communications companies want you to buy voice, television and cable services together in order to qualify for the best prices. With cell phones, chances are you’re paying for minutes you’ll never use, so it helps to downgrade your plan to one that fits your actual usage patterns. If you don’t need smartphone features and don’t talk much, pre-paid plans could end up saving you money, but many middle class households don’t consider them because they’re marketed towards lower income families.

CNN Money

The original version of this article, Avoid These Big Money Wasters, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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I’ve rearranged my dining room to function as a small photography studio. I haven’t had much time, but this metamorphosis should give me more opportunities to practice photography. Since this might involve people visiting my home, I finally stopped procrastinating and called a maid service. Upon some recommendations, I found a local office of Maids.com. They will be sending over a four-person team tomorrow, which also forces me to organize my living space a little bit more today.

The service is a little more expensive than I expected. After tomorrow, though, I’ll have a good indication of whether it will be worthwhile to have a regular cleaning schedule.

Part of the reason for my procrastination is the idea that I should be able to clean the apartment myself, but in reality, I just don’t do it well enough. I have no problem calling in the professionals — and paying for it — as long as they perform better than I would, save me time, and have an affordable service.

Here are some interesting articles I’ve enjoyed recently.

Four Expenses You Must Negotiate. This list by Miranda Marquit includes medical bills. This is one type of negotiation I have not tried — mostly because almost all of my medical bills are simply handled by my insurance company and I have had very few out-of-pocket expenses. The Health Care Blue Book allows people to search for the average price of any medical procedure in the local area, which might be able to help with negotiation the same way the Kelley Blue Book can often aid with car price negotiation.

Will Mac OS X Lion Kill Quicken 2007? Nickel points out that the newest version of the Apple computer operating system will prevent Mac users from running Quicken 2007, the last full version of Quicken for Mac. Quicken Essentials for Mac was released more recently, but the software is missing many features that many Quicken users have come to rely upon. Nickel is looking for replacement software to avoid working around the problem using Parallels, but I think he’ll be disappointed. Without Microsoft Money being developed, there is no serious alternative for those who use the deepest features of Quicken.

How Much Should You Spend on Self-Improvement? J.D. asks his readers this question. Self-improvement is an important piece of living a satisfied life. It is valuable to evaluate yourself and decide what needs to be changed to be the “ideal you.” I think most of self-improvement is based on gimmicky motivational programs. I will spend money for classes to improve my skills, like in photography, but I will not spend money for seminars to improve my sense of self or my productivity.

Here are some carnivals Consumerism Commentary participated in recently: Carnival of Personal Finance #297, Carnival of Personal Finance #298, Festival of Stocks Carnival of Money Stories #94, Totally Money Blog Carnival, Festival of Frugality, and Tax Carnival #82.

The original version of this article, In-Home Photography Studio and Hiring a Maid Service, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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My birthdate is public knowledge. I’ve entered it on credit card applications, brand loyalty program forms, and websites like Facebook. Computers all over the world know when my birthday is coming, and companies use this information to help fake a personal relationship. It’s not a bad approach, but it certainly is fake. No individual marketing employee knows or cares that my birthday is within the next few weeks, but when the date approaches I get emails thanking me for being a customer and a coupon to make me happy (that is, make me spend).

My responses to receiving these coupons vary. I have a favorite restaurant that I visit only once or twice a year. When I receive this annual coupon I save it and use it. Although I don’t shop at Best Buy often, surprisingly they occasionally have the best price for a product that interests me. I accumulate rewards at a 2% rate (on top of my credit card cash back) in the company’s loyalty program. When I get the rewards certificates, I make an effort to visit the store before they expire. I still don’t buy anything, though, unless it’s a good price.

I get a package of coupons in the mail every week for local vendors. I don’t bother looking through the envelope any more. I might have used a coupon from this package once in the many years I’ve been receiving them. I also get circulars for the local grocery store. Most of the time these are not coupons, just a catalog of the latest deals that I qualify for with my loyalty card.

Social coupons are the latest trend. I discussed Groupon recently, which changed their advertising campaign after the Super Bowl fiasco. (The company removed the controversial commercials from Youtube, but you can still find them.) Groupon negotiates discounts with retailers and then sends a promised number of customers. Often, the deal expires when a limit is reached, and sometimes, a deal might not be available unless a certain number of people sign up. Given Groupon’s popularity, that latter aspect may no longer be an issue.

LivingSocial is another social coupon service designed to help you spend your money. Through the power of social media, customers become advertisers. This company entered mainstream consciousness with a great half-price Amazon.com gift certificate deal — a $20 benefit for $10. If you’re wondering why so many of your friends were telling you about the deal on Facebook and Twitter, it’s because if three of their friends signed up using their link or reference, they got the $20 gift certificate for free. Once signing up for the coupon, you had the opportunity to advertise for LivingSocial as well.

I still haven’t used my full $20 gift certificate.

Coupons are designed as tools for saving money, but they often encourage you to spend money on something you might not have otherwise. This is why I’m very wary about spending significant amounts of time clipping coupons and comparison shopping between any number of local grocery stores. Time is valuable. Unless I could save a significant amount of money, it’s not worth the effort.

Do you feel compelled to use all the coupons, for loyalty or otherwise, that you receive in the mail, and will you take part in social couponing?

Photo: Lomo-Cam

The original version of this article, The Power of the Coupon Compels You, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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In December 2010, I quit my day job. Leaving behind a salary and benefits was a tough decision to make, and I wasn’t under the illusion that I’d be able to make up for the lost income solely by saving money. Predicting my future expenses wasn’t difficult. Some expenses would automatically decrease, like travel expenses, while some would likely increase, like heating bills. There was at least one surprise, however.

Food

Throughout my adult life, I’ve attempted on several occasions to train myself to prepare my lunches ahead of time and bring them to my office every day. At work, a refrigerator was available for storing personal food, so I had the opportunity and capability to save money every day. Nevertheless, either my lack of discipline or lack of desire prevented me from achieving one of the most basic tenets of saving money for the working middle class.

For several years, I traveled out of the office almost every day with co-workers to buy lunch at a variety of local quick and unhealthy restaurant options. Later on, I opted for lunch from the office cafeteria, which was often just as expensive as dining out, but possibly healthier. This was a fairly expensive habit, sometimes about $50 a week.

Although I was able to afford it in the past few years, it was an unnecessary expense that I was never able to tame. Now, two months into my new routine, I’ve established a healthier and less expensive pattern. In the past, lunch was my largest meal. Now, I shop for groceries once every week or two weeks, and make my own lunch with relatively healthy ingredients.

My “dining” category in Quicken, which includes dining out at restaurants, ordering delivery, and buying food at the office cafeteria, has been significantly reduced from an average of about $350 a month to a little over $200. On the other hand, my “groceries” category has increased by about $75. I’ll need a few more months of data to be able to get a good look at the trend.

Travel

In the “auto” category, which includes fuel for my car as well as tolls and maintenance, my expenses have decreased by about $100 a month. I’ve slashed my spending on fuel alone in half. My car, a Honda Civic with 128,000 miles, will thank me for its increased longevity.

I expect to be doing more traveling in the future. For example, there are conferences across the country I’d like to attend. I’d like to use my new flexibility to travel for personal (non-business) reasons, as well.

Utilities

The “utilities” category includes my gas and electricity usage, consolidated on one bill from PSE&G. Considering I’d be spending most of my time at home, I expected a big jump in my power bill. The latest bill covered service from December 13 through January 13, a time period that includes several major snowstorms and cold weather. The total was about 25% higher than the amount on last month’s bill. That’s not bad, considering that except for a week out of the apartment, I was maintaining a comfortable temperature for working almost all day every day.

My electricity and gas usage what about the same as January’s bill last year, and I had expected a significant increase from January 2010 to January 2011.

It’s still early, and with the holidays and more snow than usual, it’s been hard to gauge what kind of expenses will be normal. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be able to save enough money to make up for the loss of salary and benefits, but the extra freedom is allowing me to do more with my time while reducing my levels of stress. I’ll be watching my expenses over the next few months to determine whether there are more opportunities to save money by working out of my home.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been writing about my experiences after quitting my day job to focus solely on Consumerism Commentary and other related projects. I’ll continue to write more on this topic as I discover more about myself through this process.

The original version of this article, Life After Salary: Changes in My Expenses, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Yesterday, American Express reported its fourth quarter income, and the company had much to cheer about. The company’s net income during the last three months of 2010 was an impressive $1.1 billion, up 48 percent over the fourth quarter of 2009. It gets better than that. If you isolate just American Express’s card business in the United States, the increase from 2009 to 2010 was 70 percent. That’s a significant comeback reflecting a better economy, even if the portion of the economy reflected in the unemployment numbers hasn’t bounced back yet. American Express says that their revenues “reflect higher cardmember spending.”

For this to be mentioned in the press release announcing the company’s financials, it must be a significant increase. It is enough for American Express to cite as a major contributor to their success last year.

In the midst of the recession, mainstream press offered article after article about the New Frugality. Like the Great Depression defined a generation of savers, the Great Recession would change the attitude of millions of people, leaving spending on credit behind in favor of spending no more than what someone could afford. The young people whose attitudes were defined by the recession, those hit hardest by unemployment like recent college graduates, would forever have an approach towards money that mimicked their great grandparents.

I was skeptical. Life moves at a different pace than it did eighty years ago. Attitudes, fads, and philosophies change from television season to television season — even from the Emmys to May Sweeps. I had no reason to believe that once the credit card offers started appearing in the mail again (they have), and businesses have access to loans again (they are starting to), that the country won’t quickly remember the benefits of leverage and using other people’s money. If the American Express financial report is to be believed, it looks like this is happening now.

Here is what the CEO has to say:

“Continued investments in the business helped to generate higher consumer, small business and corporate card spending while expanding the use of our products online,” said Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer. “With cardmember spending up 15 percent this period, we reached all-time records for the quarter and the full year.”

2010, the year barely out of the most severe economic recession since the Great Depression, set all-time highs for consumer spending on American Express cards. While the numbers are looking good, keep in mind that American Express wants the economy to improve. The more positive financial news the company produces, the more other companies in the industry will need to produce to remain competitive, and in an interesting feedback loop, all this good news helps increase investor confidence, companies will perform even better, and consumer confidence will continue to improve. American Express has a strong business reason to believe that consumers are spending more because that is how the company will continue to survive.

The findings by American Express may not reflect the average consumer. Are you still being as frugal as you were last year or the year before? Have your spending patterns or attitudes changed recently?

I think it won’t be long before the new-found frugality becomes a thing of the past, with easy consumer credit and the desire to make up for some lost time.

American Express Reports Fourth Quarter EPS of $0.88, up 47% From a Year Ago; Cardmember Spending at Record Levels and Credit Quality Continues to Improve
Photo: neoliminal

The original version of this article, Is Frugality Still Here?, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The concept of frugality has permeated mainstream personal finance in the past few years. That’s understandable, given the state of the economy. For many who have been personally affected, following the loss of income or a job, this frugality is a forced approach. People are looking for ways to save money because they have less of it to spend. Those of us who have been fans of the concept of frugality have been proud that the rest of the country is starting to jump on the bandwagon, re-affirming our outlook on personal finance.

Businesses are experiencing a forced frugality as well, particularly those whose business models rely on access to credit, a resource that all but vanished for some businesses during the credit crunch. As CNN Money pointed out recently, business aren’t hiring because they’ve learned how to survive on less. The employment numbers aren’t improving significantly, and unemployment forces more people to live on less, just like those businesses.

The economy won’t improve until businesses begin hiring and the public sentiment about the economy improves. It’s a feedback loop.

The primary tenets of frugality work well within an individual’s personal finance philosophy, but once the concept becomes a movement that spreads to a greater population and businesses, the economy can’t move. Here are some of the aspects of frugality that improve your own personal finance, but when practiced by the business world, keep the economy from growing at the pace we would like.

• Building up your emergency fund. Businesses like to call this their cash reserves. One of the first steps to creating a solid financial foundation for your family is fully funding a savings account to a level that could cover, for example, six months’ worth of expenses. This keeps cash liquid to help pay for necessary items during an unforeseen loss of income. If a company were to take the same approach, it would mean they’re not increasing return for shareholders by either investing in their business or by returning the cash to investors in the form of dividends.
• Spend less than you earn. This tenet is so basic that anyone who doesn’t follow this rule will, given enough time, eventually find themselves without a home or any other assets. Most of the time, the results are less drastic. Credit card balances increase and families become buried among high-interest debt. Many businesses rely on leverage for growth, and without access to credit and without a desire to over-extend, they can’t compete in the marketplace as well as they could otherwise.

There are other aspects of frugality that don’t particularly have a negative effect when adopted by businesses en masse. For example, smart shopping — finding the best discounts and the best value, not necessarily the cheapest option — benefits the economy overall, because vendors who provide the most efficient solutions will receive the most business.

On a personal level, let’s keep frugality alive as long as possible. The sooner businesses are willing to take on a little more risk, however, the sooner employment will improve, people will feel they have more money to spend, and the economy will start growing.

The original version of this article, Frugality is Bad For the Economy, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This is a guest article by Sam, the author of the blog Financial Samurai and the founder of the Yakezie Challenge and Network. He writes a column for Consumerism Commentary every other Tuesday.

This past summer I went to my friends Peter and Stephanie’s wedding in Hawaii. Peter is 35, but looks 25, and works as a manager at a boutique strategy consulting firm. He probably pulls in between $300,000 and $400,000 a year, but you’d never know it by the way he casually dresses outside of work. Peter is a jeans and a t-shirt kind of guy and was once the quintessential super-motivated boyfriend. Stephanie is 31, but actually looks 22 and makes women jealous because she is so petite. Stephanie is also a manager at an accounting firm and earns between $100,000 and $150,000 a year with much better hours than Peter.

With roughly half a million a year in combined income and no family to support, Peter and Stephanie are surely considered well-to-do, even in an expensive city such as San Francisco. One would think that Peter and Stephanie would throw a lavish wedding of 200 or more people at some fancy resort for $80,000 to $100,000 like every other couple I know who makes that much. Not so.

Stephanie is even more conservative in her spending habits than Peter. Stephanie’s favorite store is Target, where twice a year she’ll splurge anywhere between $100 and $200 on her favorite clothes. She’s not into jewelry and her biggest vice is collecting $2 magnets and used stamps whenever she goes on trips. Stephanie is as low maintenance and non-material as it gets — a guy’s dream!

Lest you think Peter and Stephanie are cheap, I assure you they are not. They donate more than $10,000 a year to a charity I’m involved with, and they don’t skimp on their vacation adventures abroad.

The wedding

After reading their backgrounds, how much do you think they spent on their wedding? How about $50,000, or just one tenth their gross annual income? Nope, not even close. Including airfare, they spent $2,050, or just 0.4% of their annual gross income! Let’s break down the costs:

• Airfare for two from SF to Kauai: $1,100
• Wedding ceremony with ukulele player and minister: $250
• Photographer with CD of photos: $300
• Beach venue: Free
• Hawaiian lunch reception for 20 where Peter first took Stephanie out on a date: $400 after tip

Peter and Stephanie invited their immediate family and closest friends. They didn’t want to make their wedding a big spectacle at all. For those who were able to fly out, fantastic. For those who weren’t, they threw a 50 person house party for them upon their return.

The wedding was absolutely magical. There was no stress and such a casual way about everything. The sun shined warmly and you could hear the palm trees ruffle in the breeze as the ukulele hummed and the minister preached. I’ve been to around 20 weddings, and this one was the most memorable by far.

What’s with the massive spending?

I don’t really understand the point of spending much more than $5,000 on a wedding, no matter what your income is. Sure, you want your moment to be magical, but the magic is more about surrounding yourself with magical people than thousand dollar floral arrangements and lobster tail entrees.

Instead of spending $20,000 (the average cost of an American wedding), you can use the money towards a house down payment or new household items. Invest the $20,000 in your retirement or in your child’s education. There are countless better ways to spend $20,000 than on a wedding that lasts half a day.

Like my one-tenth rule for car buying, perhaps each of us should adopt the one-tenth rule for wedding expenses. If you make $100,000, spend no more than $10,000 on your wedding. The rule helps ensure that you focus on what’s truly important, while maintaining sound finances. If you want to spend that typical American wedding amount of $20,000, make it a goal and try and make $200,000 or more before you get married. Peter and Stephanie spent 0.4% of their gross annual income on their wedding; surely you can spend 25 times their percentage and still have a grand time too!

How much did you or would you spend on a wedding? Do you believe it’s right for a couple to ask their parents to pay if they can’t afford the wedding themselves?

The original version of this article, The Perfect Wedding Doesn’t Cost Much, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This is an article by Consumerism Commentary staff writer, Smithee.

This article assumes that some people smoke and some people don’t. It won’t address the notion that smokers shouldn’t smoke, and I hope you will also avoid that controversial viewpoint in the comments below.

People are vaporizing all over town, but don’t worry, they’re doing it on purpose using a “personal vaporizer,” also called electronic cigarette or e-cigarette. These are basically just alternatives to the normal cigarettes you and I have known about all our lives. An e-cigarette is made of plastic, has a battery, is re-usable, and lets you decide what to fill your mouth with.

If the advertising is to be believed, this is a product which doesn’t rely on smoke, or fire, or tobacco, not to mention dozens of foreign toxins normally found in cigarettes, for example, tar.

So how would this affect a smoker’s finances?

It’s almost certainly less expensive

E-cigarettes use cartridges to store the liquid that gets vaporized into your mouth when you take a puff. A cartridge is equivalent to about 10-12 normal cigarettes. Taking the low end of the estimate, a cartridge lasts about as long as half a pack. Assuming a pack of cigarettes costs an even $5.00, and you can get five e-cigarette cartridges for $9.00, you’d be saving about $1.40 per “pack” if you switched from regular cigarettes to the electronic variety.

Some models don’t use disposable batteries, either. You can get one that plugs into a USB socket in order to charge it.

It’s almost certainly less offensive

As an added bonus, smokers don’t have to smell bad to non-smokers anymore. The cartridges come in countless flavor varieties. You can even mix them if you want. I’ve been in the room with many of them, and none of them smell even five percent as bad as normal cigarettes do. Of course, part of that might be due to the vapor traveling less far than smoke would. It might still get on your clothes, but at least you can choose to smell like bacon, or vanilla, or chocolate.

Furthermore, you won’t be needing the ashtray in your car, anymore. Your occasional passengers will appreciate this a lot more than you know.

I personally think it might even be okay to allow e-cigarettes into restaurants and other public places. It’s really that inoffensive.

Is it healthier?

Nobody knows for sure, though most companies are making bold claims about the health benefits of switching. There haven’t been many studies done on the numerous providers of e-cigarettes, or more specifically, the e-liquid that makes them work. Some countries have banned them altogether, but those decisions may be political as much as anything else.

Recently, the U.S. FDA sent letters to five different providers about how they’re not in compliance with the law, and explaining the pathway the FDA intends to take toward proper regulation of this new product. Maybe in the near future e-liquid will also come with enormous, purposely ugly warnings about the dangers of smoking, which other countries have been living with for years, but which is brand new to the U.S.

People do seem to agree, though, that moving from regular cigarettes to the electronic variety brings back one’s sense of smell and taste.

There’s no timer

Since an e-liquid cartridge lasts about as long as half a pack of normal cigarettes would, it’s much more difficult to tell when you’re done smoking. Someone who switches to e-cigarettes as part of a plan to quit smoking might actually end up ingesting more nicotine in a day than they used to.

In order not to overdo it, a person would have to start exerting a new kind of self-discipline, which is always difficult.

Conclusion

I’m not a smoker, but unless some new damaging evidence comes to light, I have to conclude that compared to the paper kind, electronic cigarettes are better for your body (if only just your sense of smell), better for your non-smoker friends, better for the environment, and better for your wallet.

The original version of this article, Electronic Cigarettes Might Just Be Ideal, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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A Consumerism Commentary reader wrote in with a simple question which should have a simple answer: What percentage of income should a person spend on hobbies? I enjoy talking about hobbies. I have a wide variety of interests, and many of these have little prospect of making money for me for the time being. This is a great question. There are a number of factors someone should consider when deciding how much money to spend on activities that don’t generate any income.

Although a hobby doesn’t generate income now, it might surprise you in the future. I started writing Consumerism Commentary as a hobby, without any thought of being able to earn money from a blog. Now my hobby has become my primary source of income — and it’s great being able to earn money doing something I enjoy.

On the other hand, I’ve spent money on photography, and that hasn’t generated much in the way of financial return for me yet. I expect this is the type of of hobby the reader might be thinking about. It’s not an issue of how much of your income you can afford to spend on a hobby because that will depend on your necessary expenses. If your after-tax income is already dedicated 30% to your mortgage, 20% for food, 20% for utilities, 10% for transportation, 10% for saving for the future, and 5% for paying off debt, you only have 5% left to play with before tapping the income you’ve dedicated to your future.

I wholeheartedly believe that life is about living and that it’s always worthwhile to spend time and some money on activities that make you happy. It’s not always easy, though, when your concern is making all the bills and having enough left over to build a future. If you have excess income after meeting your obligations including saving, using 50% of whatever is left for your hobbies can’t hurt.

Some hobbies are more expensive than others, so find ways to achieve the same level of enjoyment through spending less money. Taking a frugal approach to the activities you enjoy can help the money you set aside for hobbies last longer. If you like photography, buy used cameras and lenses. If you write short science fiction stories, put off the new computer purchase and skip Dragon-Con for a year.

There is no good answer in terms of percentage of income. When it comes to activities that add joy to your life, spend as much as you want as long as it’s not detrimental to your current or future financial situation.

After paying for all your necessary expenses and after saving for the future in line with your goals, spend anything that’s left over on activities you enjoy. That may be 1% of your income or 10%, but as long as you’re not putting your future in jeopardy, you need to enjoy the time you have.

Readers: how much of your income do you spend on your hobbies?

The original version of this article, How Much Money You Should Spend on Hobbies, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The recession may be officially over, but that doesn’t mean everyone has seen a personal financial recovery. The rate of unemployment, always the last piece of the economy to improve after a recession, is still high. A friend of mine who was laid off during the financial upheaval finally reached his 99th week of unemployment and no longer receives benefits. He has a job lined up, one that requires training ahead of time. He’ll be officially employed in January. For the last couple of years, he has had to find income here and there and stretch his dollars while going on as many job interviews as possible.

So for those who are looking to make the most of their cash in a tight economy — and even those with jobs could be feeling the pinch — here is a sampling of suggestions from the blog 31 and Holding:

Before the price of your health care insurance goes up or if you’ve met your deductible, renew any medications that have either a high co-pay or you use in frequently but keep on hand. For example, I have a non-narcotic pain patch that I use about 20 a month of on my back. My former insurance had a maximum out of pocket that included prescriptions. My new insurance does not: I renewed the prescription twice as I had met the maximum out of pocket (thanks ankle surgery!) saving $50 a renewal on the new prescription.

It’s been said a ton: ask if there is a generic option for prescriptions. Check into local pharmacies to see if they have options: many offer free antibiotics on some types of antibiotic prescriptions.

Eat ethnic. Seriously. Many, if not most, cuisines from developing nations can be both nutritious, better for you and cheaper. I purchase many groceries from local “ethnic” grocery stores. I’ve picked up a few words of Portuguese thanks to the Brazilian grocery, a bit of Hmong thanks to the Cambodian market saved money as well as put money back into locally owned businesses in my community. Black beans, brown rice and a myriad of interesting foods wait: with recipes abounding all over the internet!

Recycle! Bringing your own bags to many retailers earns $0.10 to $0.25 off per bag. In states where you pay a bottle deposit, return them. I’m stunned at the number of people who toss the bottles they paid a deposit on in Massachusetts.

Create a budget. You don’t need fancy budgeting software: Excel works just as well (although MS Money is also good and comes preinstalled on most windows based systems). Write down everything you spend money on: it’s an eye opening experience.

Know what is tax-deductible if you itemize. Keep track of expenditures for medical bills including mileage and parking! If you met the deductible for medical expenses, this is additional expenditure you can write off.

Read more at 31 and Holding.

The original version of this article, Stretching a Dollar During Unemployment, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Last week, the New York metropolitan area experiences a heat wave with temperatures above 100°F for several days. The hazy, hot, and humid weather kept people in the air-conditioned indoors as much as possible. Con Edison, the power company that provides electricity to New York City, called customers asking them to preserve energy by turning off their air conditioners and other appliances to reduce the chance of blackouts or other power interruptions.

Naturally, some residents took this as a sign of impending blackouts and acted in the opposite direction of the request, ensuring their dishes were clean, laundry finished, and as cool as possible just in case the power went out.

The air conditioner is the single biggest factor in summer power bills. You can save hundreds of dollars during the hottest months by modifying your behavior.

Use a small fan to keep yourself cool. Central air conditioning works in every room, but any one person can only occupy one room at any one time. A portable fan keeps the cooler, moving air with you rather than wasting energy cooling empty rooms.

Turn off the lights. Light bulbs generate heat, so keep them off or replace high-wattage bulbs with energy efficient lights. Refrain from using the stove or oven. The microwave isn’t a bad choice but consider grilling outside if you can.

Use someone else’s electricity. I don’t mean steal from your neighbors. Spend some time in a library or a movie theater, two locations often air conditioned.

For several more suggestions, check out a recent discussion on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast about saving money during the summer. Share your summer money saving tips here.

Photo: Joe Marinaro

The original version of this article, Turn Off Your Air Conditioner and Save Summer Money, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This is a guest article by Donna Freedman. Donna writes the Living With Less personal finance column for MSN Money, posts weekly at MSN Smart Spending and blogs at Surviving and Thriving.

Is your budget hurting? It could be overuse syndrome.

Ergonomically speaking, a body part that is forced to work at a greater level than it is prepared for will suffer strain and possibly serious damage over time.

Economically speaking, a budget that’s impacted too hard will suffer, too.

The obvious answers are to earn more or to spend less. A whole bunch of people would love to earn more. But during a recession, a whole bunch of people feel lucky to have jobs at all.

Which brings us to spending less, i.e., causing less strain on your paycheck. But suppose you’ve already cut the health club membership or the 600 cable channels. Or suppose you never had those frills to begin with and are wondering where to cut back.

Try some macro savings techniques. Specifically, look at the things you do every day to see if you’re overdoing them.

Here’s an easy example: driving at the speed limit or above it. If you slow down from 65 to 55 mph, your gas mileage improves by 15%, according to this article.

It’s hard to estimate the cost of some habits. Water is a good example. Some people pay for city water (and, later, for the city sewer). Other consumers pay only for the electricity needed to pump it up from their own wells (plus, maybe, eventual pumping of their septic systems). Folks who live off the grid use people power to pump or haul. The first two groups can benefit from suggestions like xeriscaping the yard, installing faucet aerators and low-flow showerheads, and breaking habits like letting the water run while dishes are rinsed or teeth or brushed.

But we indulge in many other forms of waste that are much stealthier. I’m talking about habits so ingrained that we don’t realize how much they cost us – or why they might be unnecessary.

Pill popping

For example, do you take a pain reliever at the first twinge of a headache? Maybe you really need that ibuprofen. But maybe you just need a change of scenery, especially if you’re stuck in Cubicle Land with a bunch of other Whack-A-Moles. Some people take several smoke breaks a day or hang out by the water cooler; surely you can justify stepping outside for five minutes of fresh air, or at least to walk out of the room and move around for a few minutes. (Best-case scenario: You find a quiet spot to take a power nap.)

Headaches can sometimes be a sign of mild dehydration, so take a drink of water. Massage your neck or scalp. Brush your hair. Stretch. If you can find that quiet and private spot, do a couple of simple yoga poses.

Feel better? If not, then go ahead and take the ibuprofen.

Notice that I said “ibuprofen” rather than a brand name. The generic versions work just as well and are almost always cheaper, unless you have a coupon or rebate deal.

Keep it clean, on the cheap

Do you fill the laundry soap cap all the way? It’s probably overkill, unless your spouse is a farrier or a sewer worker. Clothes that aren’t heavily soiled can be washed with as little as one-fourth the recommended amount of detergent. Cut back slowly and see if you notice any difference. If not, then you’re spending 50% to 75% less each year on soap.

Some people make their own laundry detergent. You could do that, too, if you like that sort of thing. Maybe I’ll try it myself, once I go through the approximately two years’ worth of suds I’ve stashed cheaply thanks to coupons and rebates.

Speaking of laundry: Do you wash a bath towel after one use? Do you have to launder clothing every time you wear them or could you sometimes delay laundry day? I’m not talking about clothes you’ve worn while toting barges and lifting bales, but rather a shirt you wore for a few hours at church or a dress you wore to a job interview. Re-wearing means saving more laundry soap plus water, utilities, and wear and tear on your washing machine and your clothes.

Not on your dryer, though, since you mostly hang clothes to dry. You do, don’t you?

Cleanliness is next to thriftiness

Apparently you have to fill only one of the two detergent cups in your dishwasher. Personally, I use my dishwasher for storage; it’s full of canning jars and lids. Thus I can’t vouch for this tip -– but I see no reason to doubt it.

You don’t need to frost your entire toothbrush with toothpaste, despite what you see in the ads. (Think about it: Who designs the ads? The folks who sell toothpaste!) My sister the dental hygienist says this is true. In fact, she agrees with Amy Dacyczyn, who wrote a “Tightwad Gazette” article saying that you don’t really need toothpaste at all: Just plain water and dedicated brushing for at least three minutes will do the trick.

Myself, I like feeling all minty-fresh. But a little dab’ll do ya. Really. Try a spot of toothpaste the size of a pea. That’s up to a 75% annual savings.

How many times have you accidentally squeezed out too much shampoo but used it anyway? Next time the bottle is half-empty, fill it with water and shake well. Just a little squirt of the resulting liquid lathers quite nicely. When the bottle is empty, pour half of a new bottle into that one, fill both the rest of the way with water and shake, lather, save.

Also, consider washing your hair every other day (unless it’s particularly oily) and conditioning only a couple of times a week (unless your hair is particularly dry). Potential savings: 50% or more.

Or: Don’t use shampoo at all. This one’s a bit fringe-y for me but some folks swear by it. (Others swear at it.) Potential savings: 100%.

More ways to save

Do you automatically order soda or iced tea with meals out? At fast-food restaurants do you always upgrade to the cup that’s big enough to bathe in? In both cases you could save a couple of dollars a pop, as it were, by sticking with water or choosing the regular meal sizes, which are usually plenty big enough. Or try this: Order a kid’s meal and refill the cup as needed. It’s not only cheaper, you get a toy!

Of course, restaurant meals should be the exception, not the rule. Packing a lunch is a much thriftier way to go. Healthier, too, since you can control portion size, sodium intake, etc. When I interviewed people who’d started doing this, a common refrain was, “I just never added it up — I could kick myself now that I realize how much I’ve been spending all these years.”

Could you cut back on the meat used in a chili, stew or casserole? Or do you need to use meat at all? I’m a dedicated opportunivore — I’ll eat whatever’s around — but I can also go a week with few or no animal products. Maybe you can, too. Try a “meatless Monday,” a “vegan until 6” or some other way to go vegetarian once a week.

When making that chili or other dishes, do you need to use canned beans? Dry beans are much, much cheaper; for the price of one can (1 and 2/3 cups) of beans, you can buy almost two pounds of dry beans, which will yield six cups when cooked. They’re easy to prepare in a slow cooker or a pressure cooker.

Penny-ante or penny-wise?

Some people decry these nickel-and-dime tips as, well, too nickel-and-dime. They don’t think that packing a lunch or washing Ziploc bags could translate into real savings.

I don’t agree. If adjusting a few habits saved you 50% or more on everyday expenses, why wouldn’t you do it?

Let’s assume you spend $50 a year on that laundry soap. (I have no idea what it actually costs, thanks to those coupon/rebate deals.) Paying attention to how much you use could put up to $37.50 a year back into your budget. All it takes is a minor lifestyle change.

And that’s just one change. Add up all the examples cited above and it starts to sound like real money.

But don’t stop there: Come up with your own small changes. Start paying attention to the way you do things. Ask yourself why you do it that way. Brainstorm ways to do it differently. Keep track of the savings, which may motivate you to find more ways to save.

And by the way, washing Ziplocs is completely optional. So is washing your hair with baking soda.

Photo: dpatricklewis, Tamara Burross

The original version of this article, Eco-ergonomics: Reducing Strain on Your Budget, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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“Hypermiling” is a word we use for doing everything you can to squeeze the best mileage possible from your car, including hardware modifications which may or may not void your warranty and certain driving techniques which may be both dangerous and illegal. You may have seen some of these tested on Mythbusters, such as driving ten feet behind an 18-wheeler.

It’s fun to read about, but I won’t be doing any of that, myself. However, somewhat buried in a story about “mileage maniacs” in Japan, I found the idea of using only your big toe on the accelerator. This doesn’t seem to add any danger, because I’m still breaking with my other foot which is normally shod. And except for days on which I wear boots, it’s easy enough to slip one shoe off after I get in the driver’s seat.

So I decided to run a little experiment. This first screenshot shows what my normal morning commute looks like, mileage-wise. I take surface streets in the morning, because the traffic is negligible between 6:00 and 7:00 AM, and I don’t go more than 45 mph:

And here’s what it looked like the next day, when I removed my right shoe:

On both days I had the music on like normal, and neither day had more stoplights than the other, at least at first. The last five minutes on day two were kind of a traffic beating, but that’s bound to happen from time to time. What’s more important, I think, is that when I was shoeless, I got up over the 50 mpg hurdle much faster. Why is this happening?

I think that when you’re using just your toe, you’re putting less pressure on the pedal as a matter of course, and your body encourages your brain to think harder about how you should be accelerating. Also, and this may be psychosomatic, the engine noise seems more apparent to me, and I don’t want to hear any crunchy revving noises, so I back off more often.

I’ll keep running my experiments, and I hope you consider performing your own. This looks like a great way to save a few dollars a week without even trying.

JBloomberg

The original version of this article, Save Money By Driving With Your Toe, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Among the more popular reasons for not ditching cable is the desire to watch live sports. ESPN is coming to the rescue of many future cable-less households by introducing live, streaming sports in HD through the Xbox.

In order to benefit, you’ll need to be an Xbox Live Gold member, which is about $50 a year, and also brings you benefits like Netflix streaming (with a separate but cheap Netflix membership). You’ll also need to be a subscriber to a limited (albeit lengthy) list of broadband providers. Big players like Cox, Comcast, Verizon and AT&T are on the list, though AT&T comes with the warning that the service is for DSL and Uverse customers only.

As for the content itself, CNET reports:

The ESPN service will offer 3,500 live events in addition to on-demand content from college football and basketball, MLB, NBA, and soccer games; though there was no direct mention of the NFL and NHL. These streaming games will also offer some DVR functionality too…

You can also sometimes find certain sporting events, like the World Cup, available streaming through services like Boxee, but you can’t always rely on that happening. It’s good to see an established, big-budgeted institution like ESPN making their content available to “broadband-only” households.

NCNET News

The original version of this article, Live Sports: One More Reason to Get Rid of Cable, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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About a month ago, I spoke with Tom Dziubek about frugal photography for the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. The frugal philosophy is simple: always pay the least for the level of quality you want. In a field like photography where electronic equipment is the focus, your best friends are Amazon.com, eBay, Craigslist, and specialty stores like KEH.com and B&H. Almost all of the time, the lowest price once could find for equipment, new or used, can be found through one of these five locations.

With photography, if you purchase equipment, you want the opportunity to try it out in person before you buy. There are a few options: find a friend who has the equipment you want to try and convince her to let you borrow it for a while, buy online and return the items if you don’t like it or it doesn’t work to your expectations, or try out similar items in a local store and leave the store to spend less money online. With the last option, you’re not auditioning the specific equipment you’ll end up owning, so that’s just one reason that strategy isn’t ideal.

Local stores have enough trouble trying to compete with stores with low overhead costs that are able to consistently undercut those stores on price. Consumers with a frugal mindset generally take the approach that the struggle between local stores and major mostly-online retailers is irrelevant.

I like walking into a store and building a rapport with the owner. In my case, I’ve been working with a local photography store to expand my hobby. For the last few years, I’ve passed control over most of my photography to software on automated digital equipment. While I use some manual settings, I’ve decided to challenge myself a little more and move into a subset of photography that might produce more satisfying results: medium format.

The owner of the local store has been very helpful. The store has tons of equipment to try. Although I researched quite a bit before venturing in, the owner’s knowledge and experience has been very helpful in troubleshooting both equipment and technique. I discovered a minor problem with my Mamiya RZ67 Pro II, and rather than sending it back through the mail to a stranger, it will be diagnosed, and fixed if necessary, locally.

While some equipment will cost more, I will most likely deal with this store directly rather than shopping online, at least for used photography equipment, the bulk of what I buy for medium format. Nevertheless, I feel I would have to draw a line at a certain point. When equipment is sufficiently expensive, there might be hundreds of thousands of dollars between the best price I can find and the best price this local store can offer. For used equipment, I may be willing to pay the extra cost to work with the store owner I trust, but for new equipment, where quality control is usually excellent and return policies are sufficient, it would not be financially responsible to pay more than I need to.

The $500 difference in price for a camera on KEH.com compared with the local store could be used to buy and develop many rolls of film. Speaking of film, the photograph included with this article is from the first roll of medium-format film I shot this past weekend. I have much room for improvement.

Are you willing to pay more to buy from a trusted, local source or is price for the same piece of equipment the only determining factor in your choice? If you are willing to pay more, is there a threshold at which you draw the line?

The original version of this article, Local or Online Stores: Pay More for the Personal Touch?, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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One successful retail business model is the concept in which a company sells a main device at a discounted price while the necessary, refillable or replaceable supplies for that device are sold at a premium. One example is the ink-jet or laser printer; the printers are generally priced to be bargains, occasionally included for free with computers, because the manufacturers know the customers will be coming back to the well for ink cartridge after ink cartridge. A consumer who buys a Canon brand printer will basically be locked into buying Canon brand ink.

The same is true for cartridge-based razors. Some time after college, I graduated from the electric razor to the Gillette Mach 3 razor and shaving cream system. I had heard that making this switch would be better for my skin, and like Smithee, I was dealing with razor bumps and ingrown hairs. I have a habit of sticking with things for a long time even if they don’t work, and this was not an exception. The razor-in-a-cartridge system was an improvement over my cheap electric razor, but I still wasn’t quite happy with the results.

Ten years later, I decided to make the adjustment. Other shaving techniques, like the use of a straight or double-edge razor, was foreign to me. I remembered reading an article by someone I knew as The Frugal Law Student, teaching his readers on The Art of Manliness how to shave like their grandpas. Searching out the article and reading advice from more experienced shavers on the Badger & Blade message board, I took the plunge.

In February, I ordered new shaving materials from Amazon.com:

• Merkur Model 180 Long Handled Safety Razor ($32.49)
• Omega Stripey 100% Pure Badger Shaving Brush with Stand ($27.25)
• Colonel Conk World’s Famous Shaving Soap, Bay Rum ($6.20)

The razor came with one blade, but that would not be enough for me to grow accustomed to a new shaving technique. Armed with advice from the message boards, I purchased a blade sampler pack from Amazon.com ($38.75 for 80 blades) in order to determine which brand of double-edged blade is best for me. I am still progressing through the brands, experimenting with my technique, and discovering what works best with my skin. Each brand is surprisingly different. My favorites so far — those which do not do much damage to my skin while providing the smoothest shaves — include Feather and Astra, while I will likely never let another Bic razor touch my face.

While this seems like a significant financial outlay at the beginning, it’s a much cheaper system than a cartridge system. My start-up cost was $66, and the recurring costs of blades at one blade per week will be about $0.50 a week or $25 a year if I continue shaving three times a week with multiple passes using one blade per week. You might be able to find blades on Amazon for even less, approaching $0.15 a blade. The shave soap might last six months so that’s another $12 a year. The total cost for the first year is $103, and the total cost for every subsequent year is $37.

Compare this with the costs of the cartridge system. The Gillette Mach3 Turbo costs $8 but 16 blade cartridges cost $30, or about $2 a piece. One blade a week (three shaves) adds up to $100 a year, though we can subtract $8 from the first year because the razor includes four blade cartridges. (In other words, they’re giving away the razor.) Shaving foam costs $18 for a pack of six, which might last one year. The total cost for the first year is $118, and the total cost for every subsequent year is also $118.

When I previously shaved with the Gillette Mach3, the earlier version of the Mach3 Turbo, I would do so in the morning and the process would take about three minutes. Shaving with a double-edged blade and safety razor is more of a ritual. At first, it took from twenty minutes to half an hour to shave properly, including hydration, building and applying the lather, shaving with two or three slow passes, and further hydration. To accommodate the new requirements of my time, I shaved at night. I woke up in the morning still smooth, and that was never the case when I shaved at night with a cartridge razor.

As readers have already mentioned in the comments below, it is possible to keep this process under ten or even five minutes. My face has adjusted to the new shaving technique and the process no longer requires as much hydration, speeding the process further.

More important than the cost savings, and worth the extra time and effort, is the fact that my skin is much more comfortable. For the most part, I have no more ingrown hairs, razor bumps on my neck, or other unsightly skin blemishes due to dull blades that require pressure and pull hairs away from the skin.

Although I’m happy with the change I made, whether you follow suit is up to you. It will save money and will eventually be just as quick as shaving with a cartridge razor, but it’s a personal choice. If you are already satisfied with using a cartridge razor, there is no need to change your process, but this has proven to be worthwhile for me.

I’ve already mentioned some of the resources I’ve used to improve my shaving technique, but I also recommend the instructional videos on YouTube created by mantic59 for anyone who is interested in pursuing a similar path. As you watch these videos and read articles on Badger & Blade about finding the right technique, you will find a lot of differing opinions. It’s best to take some suggestions and experiment in order to discover what works best for your skin. There is one thing to be sure about: just about anything other than a cartridge system will be best for your wallet.

I should also note that I use no other chemicals on my face during this process other than the shaving soap. I prepare my face with hot water, keep hydrated with hot water, and rinse only with cool water. I don’t use any fragrant aftershave chemicals, astringents, or balms. There is a tendency for my skin to dry out after the shave if I don’t hydrate with enough cool water.

What materials do you use for shaving, and are you satisfied with the results?

Photo: Dharion

The original version of this article, Getting a Better and Cheaper Shave, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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As you might know, I live alongside three ridiculous dogs. We take turns being in charge, but most of the time I end up feeling like their servant with titles like “Emergency Backup Food Giver” or “Guy With the Food That Smells Better Than Mine.” The eldest of our three dogs has a friendly relationship with me, though. He’s my good-natured buddy.

But he wasn’t always that way.

When he was young and without peers, he was a biter. He would bite anything and everything. For hours. In addition to the biting, he would chew, and tear, and otherwise disassemble every toy we gave him. Ropes, frisbees, other ropes, rubber bones, and don’t even get me started on the stuffed animals. Literally 100% of the toys we brought him were destroyed and spread across the floor within minutes or hours.

One year we took a trip to the top left corner of the country and in a moment of boredom, stopped into a pet store, where we found the Everlasting Fun Ball.

The package read “Virtually Indestructible” and we had a good laugh about that; we knew better what was destructible or not, but at the same time, this was a material that we’d never squeezed before. We were on vacation, and in a mall, so we were in a spending mood. I think it was about $15 with the store markup, but here it is on Amazon for $9.99.

That was over four years ago, and as I was sitting here writing this, the same bitey dog just brought me his “green ball” to play with. It is indestructible, and it lasts forever. If you have a dog that constantly chews things up, I can’t recommend this enough.

The original version of this article, Everlasting Fun Ball: a Toy for Dogs, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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I have trouble shaving, and it seemed to be getting worse with age. It seemed that no matter what I did, I’d end up with a red bumpy neck and hairy spots I had missed. In the last eighteen years, I’ve tried every normal razor and electric razor I could find, and none of them ever made me look like the guys in the commercials.

Some of this just comes down to genetics: some men don’t grow a lot of hair, other men do, some men don’t have stubborn hair, some men do. I have the unfortunate combination of tricky, light-colored hair and more than a couple acne scars, which means that even if I went with a beard, it’d take about four months to grow out and it’d look patchy anyway. So, shaving it is. But none of the razors or shavers worked.

The Problem Part 1: Pores

A few weeks ago I even sought out an old grizzly barber with a straight razor, and he acknowledged that there was something abnormal about my facial hair. It just doesn’t respond easily to blades.

However, he did something before the razor that I’d never heard of before: he pre-treated my face with a hot towel a couple of times. I knew that skin was supposed to be humid before shaving, but I always thought that simply wetting it with a shower or a washcloth would be good enough. Not. At. All. This was the missing link! It got me halfway toward solving my problem. Here’s what I have to do these days:

1. Drench a small towel, squeeze out most of the water
2. Fold it in half (twice if it’s big enough) and roll it from both ends so the rolled-up bits meet in the middle
3. Put it on a plate that won’t get hot in the microwave
4. Put it in the microwave for two minutes

The towel will be quite hot when you unroll it, but don’t let it get too cool before you put it on your face. Use your best judgment; we at Consumerism Commentary certainly don’t want you scalding yourself. Lay back and smush it against all the hairy parts of your face and, I don’t know, ponder the nature of the Universe. Over time, the towel will grow cold. When that happens, follow the drench / squeeze / heat / roll / face process once more. Your face should now be ready for shaving.

The Problem Part 2: Blades

I like the expensive razors. They work well. The problem is that they only work well maybe three or four times before they’re used up. In my research I even saw recommendations to use the same blade only once. When you’re talking about something like a Mach 3 blade, those are over $8 for three cartridges. Nobody should have to spend that much merely to appear civilized.

Thankfully, my wife is awesome, and she found this video which solved the other half of my problem. All you need to make your blade new again is your forearm:

I’ve tried this and can vouch that it works. If your face responds well to electric razors, you’re blessed and can ignore all this, but if you have trouble, give this a try. It works for me.

The original version of this article, Shaving: Neither Electric Nor Expensive, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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I’ve written before about how “alternate commentaries” can make old movies seem new again, mostly as a way of saving money vs. buying more DVDs. In that article I made a few recommendations from Rifftrax, among them the teen “vampire” “love” story “Twilight”.

(Without resorting to any more snark, I’ll just say that there’s a part of the public that really enjoys the Twilight books and movies, there’s a part of the public that likes the books but not the movies, and then there are people like me who don’t understand the fuss. That’s okay, though, I recognize I’m not in the target audience. No big deal.)

The good news is that the Rifftrax crew have, as their fans fervently hoped, released a new MP3 download to play along with the recent DVD release of “Twilight: New Moon”. I’m happy to report after watching it that it was at least as good as the first one. Best $4 I’ve spent all year, in fact. You can watch a video sample on the Rifftrax page, and I’ve noticed some unofficial fan compilations on YouTube, as well.

There’s a very good chance someone in your family has already bought the “New Moon” DVD, or you could borrow it from a friend of your kid’s. All you need to enjoy the funny edition is an mp3 player of some type. The downloadable commentary track comes with instructions and a reference file of sync points. I highly recommend it.

In addition, since my last post about Rifftrax, these other great commentaries have been released:

• Paranormal Activity
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
• Star Trek (2009) – it’s not often I enjoy the Rifftrax as much as the original, but this one is top notch
• Casablanca
• The Happening – though there’s a less-than-even chance you might find a free copy to borrow

The original version of this article, Twilight: New Moon: The LOL Edition, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Doing laundry is one of those chores that’s rather easy, but I find myself avoiding it as much as possible. As a result, I end up doing large loads every seven to ten days. Even for these full loads of clothing, I usually only fill the detergent cup about half way. Even at that point, I may be using too much soap, wasting money, and decreasing the life of my washing machine.

I have noticed that the texture of my clothing, towels, and linens changes considerably even after just a few washes. I don’t use dryer sheets, so I am certain that is not the problem. My new plan after reading an article in the New York Times (linked below) is to use as little detergent as possible. It can’t hurt to start with a small amount of soap and increase only if necessary.

As suggested in the article, I took one of my towels that has not been used since being washed, and placed it in the washing machine without any detergent. After running the machine for five minutes, it was full of suds. I used so much detergent that it was still embedded in the fabric after normal rinsing and drying. This is not normal. I’ll probably need to run my towels through several times without new soap just to remove all that is still on the fabric.

I may have to run my towels through the washing machine as many as eight times before all the leftover soap comes out. While that’s not a good idea for saving money on electricity, I’ve learned a lesson. Even though I thought I was making a smart choice by filling the detergent cup only halfway, the soap stays with the material.

How much detergent do you use?

Photo: mccheek, nateOne
New York Times

The original version of this article, Use Less Soap and Detergent in the Washing Machine, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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I really dig movie soundtracks, by which I mean real albums of music written for the movie, not the fake soundtracks that are just collections of pop songs. Ever since I first heard the music from E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial while not watching the movie, I’ve been fascinated by the effect of feeling the movie’s emotions using just my ears.

But just like other albums, a movie soundtrack isn’t usually 100% good, and unless you’ve got plenty of money to burn, there’s no excuse to pay $10 on $3 worth of music. I’ve got a few pieces of advice that have worked well for me in the past.

Trust the wisdom of crowds

If you have iTunes, you can sort tracks by popularity. Just click the word “popularity” in the list and the tracks will sort themselves:

Of course, you can still use this technique even if you don’t want to buy ultimately from iTunes.

Preview the whole song

We’re mostly familiar with the 30-second preview available for years on both Amazon and iTunes, but now you can listen to the entirety of most songs on LaLa.com. They also have a handy, high-quality MP3 download option.

Special terms

A lot of the time, composers will re-visit the best musical themes in the opening or end credits. Look for these terms:

• theme
• prologue
• opening
• overture
• suite
• end titles
• credits
• prelude
• medley

Or, if you were paying better attention than I usually do while at the movies, look for tracks with your favorite character’s name in them. For example, “Valerie” from V for Vendetta, “Jack Sparrow” from Pirates of the Caribbean, or “Martha’s Theme” from Doctor Who Series 3. For what it’s worth, all of those tracks have five stars in my library.

Track length

You may just want to get the most bang for your buck, so look for tracks over five minutes long. Music labels aren’t foolish, of course, so the longer the track, the more likely it is to be marked “Album Only,” which we all know is obnoxious and stupid. All it means is they won’t be getting my money for that track. But what can we do other than complain?

The original version of this article, Saving Money on Soundtracks, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Over the past couple of weeks, six finalists have been auditioning for the opening of “staff writer” at Consumerism Commentary. Each is providing two guest articles to share with readers. After the six writers have shared their guest articles, readers will have an opportunity to provide feedback before we select the staff writer.

This article is presented by Ray, the owner and primary author of Financial Highway, where he discusses investing, saving and practical money management concepts.

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and with the new area of frugality most Americans are looking to enjoy a fun but frugal thanksgiving. A few weeks ago I posted some frugal thanksgiving dinner tips for our Canadian readers (yes we celebrate thanksgiving earlier), but since then I learned a few more tricks to cut down your thanksgiving costs.

Dinner

Free turkey. Yes I mean FREE turkey! Many stores have promotions during Thanksgiving, where they give away a free turkey if you spend a certain amount on groceries. You will be buying groceries anyways, just make sure you make the bulk of your purchases during this promotion and enjoy the free turkey! Take some time to check out several of these promotions, because every store will have a different spending limit. However make sure you do not make unnecessarily purchases just to get the free turkey.

Avoid buying too much. At almost every thanksgiving dinner I have been to or hosted we have had tones of leftovers, only to have them thrown away. Buying too much and throwing things away is not very frugal, estimating the right amount can be difficult; you can use this turkey calculator to calculate how much turkey you should buy.

Have a potluck dinner. This may not sound appealing to everyone, but for us Thanksgiving dinner is more about friends and family getting together and not so much about the food. If you are hosting the dinner you might want to consider a potluck style thanksgiving dinner where you provide the turkey and assign everyone else a dish. Not only will everyone save money by doing a potluck, but it also saves the host a lot of time.

Use leftovers. No matter how hard you try to have the right amount of food, chances are that you will have leftovers. Do not just throw away your leftovers use them for future meals. The leftover vegetables can be used to make soup and you can just freeze the leftover turkey for future meals.

Decorations

In Recent years thanksgiving dinner decorations have become more and more popular, these can be a strain on your budget if you are not careful, so here are some tips that can hopefully help.

Make your own. Instead of spending money on decorations, just buy some supplies to make your own. If you have kids this can be a fun family event. You can easily save a large chunk of money by just buying a few supplies from your local craft store and make your decorative items at home.

Forget paper and foam dishes. Paper and Styrofoam dishes can save you some time cleaning up, but is it really worth the extra cost? An easy way to stay on budget is to just use your own dishes rather than paper and Styrofoam – this is also a more environmentally friendly alternative.

Forget the centerpiece. I personally am not a big fan of centerpieces so we rarely ever use one. How many people will really pay attention to the centerpiece? Plus they obstruct your view and often limit conversations. I suggest you forget about it and spend the money on something more important.

Decorate from nature. A great way to have some thanksgiving decorations is to use the nature. Just head out and grab those colored fallen tree leaves and arrange them neatly around the table.

Thanksgiving does not have to be a budget buster; by just using a few of these tips you can trim your budget. Remember to keep thanksgiving about family and friends and enjoy each other’s company.

What are your frugal thanksgiving tips? Do you have any other savings tips or tricks?

This is a guest article by Ray, one of six finalists interested in being Consumerism Commentary’s staff writer.

The original version of this article, Thanksgiving on a Budget, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Over the next couple of weeks, six finalists will be auditioning for the opening of “staff writer” at Consumerism Commentary. Each will be providing two guest articles to share with readers. After the six writers have shared their guest articles, readers will have an opportunity to provide feedback before we select the staff writer.

This article is presented by FruGal, a consultant for a prominent online educational program.

Chances are, I have something in common with either you or someone you’re close to. That’s right, I recently found myself unemployed. After a five-year employment with a steady organization and what I thought was a prosperous future, I woke up one morning to find myself blindsided by the news that I no longer had a job. Luckily, being a financially-conscious individual, I’ve always been wise about investing a percentage of my earnings in various places, such as high-interest savings accounts. While this left me with enough money to “survive,” I knew that there were some concrete steps I was going to need to take in order to ensure I was making the most of my hard-earned dollars and, in believe it or not, cents.

Cents you ask? Yes, cents. Coupon-clipping has changed my life. What has long been considered a hobby of a let’s say, more “seasoned” individuals (a.k.a. senior citizens) has truly become all the rage with today’s average consumer. As a 28 year-old single female, I may not be your “average” coupon clipper, but my point is coupons are a smart move, no matter who you are.

Coupons have long fascinated me, but it wasn’t until recently that I began to master the art of this ever-growing practice. Spend just a few minutes online, and you’ll probably find quite a few useful web pages where people dedicate their whole site to the art of coupon clipping, complete with weekly store deals, coupon links, and much, much more.

I’m excited to share with you just a few simple steps you can take TODAY (well, maybe this Sunday) to STOP seeing your hard-earned money dwindle each week, and START seeing incredible savings in your everyday expenditures.

1. The good old Sunday newspaper is an excellent place to begin your new-found hobby of clipping coupons! On Sunday morning (or perhaps Saturday if the early edition is available where you live like it is In my city), head out to your local grocery store or gas station and pick up a copy of the Sunday paper for generally around $2 or less. Your $2 will go far based on the incredible savings you find inside. (Also check out your local paper on Thursday, as they often have coupons and promotions.)

Inside your $2 treasure, you’ll find a wide array of coupon inserts from companies such as SmartSource, PGBrandSaver, and others. Note that your coupon inserts may vary from ones you’d find in other cities, but regardless, you’ll find endless deals inside.

2. Now that you’ve got your coupons, what do you do with them? Get out your scissors and start clipping! There are tons of different organization systems that you can use, such as keeping a three ring binder with inserts. What I find works best for me is a plastic file folder organizer with tabbed letters of the alphabet. You can find these at any office supply store, and again, the couple of dollar investment you make will be well worth it in the long-run.

Once you’ve clipped all of your coupons it’s time to file them into your folder. I clip just about everything, even if I think I might not use it, because you never know. You also might find yourself giving coupons that don’t apply to you to your friends and family members. Find a system that works for you, but I usually file by the brand name of the item, rather than the general category. That way if I’m going through my sales circular for next week (see the next step) and see that Cheerios are on sale, I can simply flip to the “C” section and pull my coupon!

3. The key to successfully using your coupons is in the timing. You don’t want to go to the grocery store and simply buy items because you have coupons for them. Instead, check out your local grocery stores’ sales papers ahead of time. Prior to your weekly grocery store trip, go online to your store’s website. Most stores I’ve ever shopped at post their weekly circulars on their site. Some of them even have copies of the next week’s sales circular just past the checkout near the exit, so pick it up on your way out to start planning for the next week. Once you know what’s on sale, match up those items that are on sale in the circular with those items you have coupons for.

Of course, you won’t have a coupon for every item you want to buy, but you’ll definitely begin to see some significant savings in your weekly spending. Once you become a coupon-clipping “expert” you’ll begin to see your grocery bills decrease more and more, with strategies such as clipping coupons on the web, taking advantage of stores that double (and sometimes even triple!) your coupons, buying multiple copies of your Sunday paper, and using online resources to plan out how to maximize your coupons at different stores each week if you’re super ambitious.

Since I’ve begun steadily clipping and using coupons, I’ve seen my grocery bills more than cut in half each week. Not only does this give me some degree of personal satisfaction, but it also lets me know that I have a bit more money that particular week to go out with friends, or buy that bestselling novel I’ve been wanting to read. Or better yet, maybe I should just get it from the library for free.

So, Consumerism Commentary readers, what do you think? Are you an avid coupon-clipper like me? Do you have any tips to share on how to stretch your dollars and cents even further at the grocery store? If you get a little thrill from looking at the bottom of your grocery store receipt and seeing your savings, I’d love to hear from you!

This is a guest article by FruGal, one of six finalists interested in being Consumerism Commentary’s staff writer.

Photo: Roadsidepictures

The original version of this article, Couponing Makes Cents, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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We all have power meters attached to the buildings in which we live, and the little needle keeps spinning around and around, ad nauseum, at least until solar panels become affordable. I recently read a story of a family who managed to install solar panels, and while that would normally have cost over $20,000, with various national and state rebate programs, they only spent $8,000.

Wow. Imagine having $8,000 to spend.

We’re customers of Green Mountain Energy here in Dallas, so our bill payments go toward producing more renewable energy (see the big bathtub analogy for more on how this works). But the hardware is operated by a company called Oncor, which has decided it’s time to upgrade our power meters to be smarter. Oncor worked through some calculations (Surcharge Analysis PDF) and figured that the best way to install them would be to charge the average customer $2.12. Every month. For eleven years.

That’s $291.72 for a new power meter.

Within the last month, a hundred grants were given out to companies making improvements to power meters. The company in our area was not one of them. So residents of DFW are likely stuck with the fee.

On their FAQ about the Advanced Meters, Oncor made this suggestion for dealing with the extra $2.12 per month:

How can you offset this fee? Just replace a 100W light bulb with an Energy Star CFL light bulb and you could save more than $2.30 a month.

That’s cute, and likely true, but I don’t believe we’re still using any of the old style bulbs at our house.

This entire scenario of being charged over an eleven-year period for something that won’t be available to everyone until 2012 would be supremely depressing, were it not for the fact that I’m a big data nerd. I love efficiency, and you can’t improve efficiency unless you know exactly what is being wasted. A smart meter will do that for me.

But what’s depressing again is that I could have this right now, for only $200. The Energy Detective (TED) Series 5000 is a device that attaches to the power control panel on the inside of your house, rather than the outside. Other than that, it does all the same stuff: analyze your power usage in real-time, and over regular intervals, then adjust your behavior accordingly.

I’d be excited to get a TED set up in my house, then walk around unplugging one thing at a time, finding the major offenders, maybe put some devices on a schedule; or find out exactly how much we’d save by keeping the house, say, 2 degrees warmer. Those are just a couple of examples. For all I know, more energy is being wasted when two particular devices are running together for one hour than by running both separately for one hour each. Like I said, I’m a big data nerd.

I’d be very interested to hear your story of using a smart meter. Has anybody had the pleasure, yet?

The original version of this article, Smart Power Meters, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The staff of cockeyed.com (it might just be this one guy named Rob, and sometimes his friends), has a series called “How Much is Inside?” which attempts to figure out how much mundane items should cost. Recently, they tackled the sandwich.

He weighed and measured and inspected every ingredient in your average turkey & cheese, grilled cheese, and peanut butter & jelly. And after some very funny and intelligent writing, he found this:

• Processed turkey sandwich: 93¢
• Grilled cheese sandwich: 48½¢
• Peanut butter and jelly: 64¢

But that’s not all. Rob went all out and created the Sandwich Price Calculator, where you can assemble your own sandwich and see how much it should cost.

Read How Much is Inside a Sandwich?

But seriously

You should also check out Rob’s experiment to see if he could apply for a credit card using a torn-up application.

The original version of this article, The Real Cost of a Sandwich, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This is a cliché, but I need my coffee in the mornings. I prefer it iced, except in the very brief winters we have here in Texas, and for a long time, I was a loyal customer of the Starbucks Iced Coffee in a Can.

I’d have one every morning at least four times a week, at a cost of about $2.00 each. They cost more in the convenience stores, but at my former employer they’d have them stocked in the cafeteria downstairs. It was the perfect amount of caffeine, deliciously flavored, to help me self-medicate my A.D.D. And in terms of the Expensive Coffee-Related Drink factor, two dollars is on the low end of the scale.

And then Starbucks stopped selling them. Like Pudding Pops and the Bar None candy bar, my favorite treat was yanked out of my grasp with no alternative presented. Since then, I’ve gone back and forth to iced tea, water, some truly awful “energy+coffee” replacement that Starbucks is now doing, the bottled Frapuccino, and my more normal “iced venti vanilla latté, please.”

None of them have really satisfied in the same way. I just want roughly 8-10 oz. of iced coffee, and I want it to be easy. Well, I found a way (thanks to my wife) to make it easy, and cheap, through this cold-brewed iced coffee recipe at the New York Times.

The recipe makes a measly two drinks, so I just tripled the recipe to make a full week’s worth (give or take a day for the vanilla latté, which is something I like to do for myself on Fridays, anyway). I tried it out for the first time this morning, and it was an instant success. All I had to do was put some ice in a glass, pour in the coffee and go.

There are about three cups’ (the measuring kind) of ground coffee in a one pound bag, which is enough to make the modified recipe three times. That’s eighteen mornings’ worth of iced coffee for $10, presuming you’re buying the expensive ground coffee at Starbucks. Which I will probably continue to do. Nobody’s perfect.

The original version of this article, Iced Coffee Savings, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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I am a typical American consumer. I buy books, music, and movies for my own entertainment, and the objects spend more time on my shelves than they do in their respective playback devices. I make an exception for music as everything I buy is almost immediately transcoded digitally and transfered to a portable media device. The entertainment industry is thankful for people like me. I don’t even maximize my Netflix subscription, which I seem to have kept despite considering quitting the program over two years ago.

The library should be a money-saving option for people who like reading, watching movies, and otherwise consuming media. I found a calculator that will put into numbers how much money you could save by utilizing a library’s services rather than opting to buy everything you consume. The calculator is designed for library patrons who already use the free services and would like to see how much they are currently saving, but a slight modification in the terminology would focus the calculator on how much you could save by getting to know your friendly neighborhood librarian.

A quick run of the calculation shows that I could save $100 per month in books, movies, and CDs alone. How much could you save by visiting the library rather than the store?

The original version of this article, How Much You Can Save By Using a Free Library, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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When DVDs (and before them, Laserdiscs) were new, I really used to enjoy listening to the commentary tracks. Granted, some were better than others, but I couldn’t seem to get enough of the “behind the scenes” talk, and to hear the cast and crew telling funny stories about each other.

Those don’t interest me as much as they used to, and in fact these days I’m more likely to rent a DVD than buy it, but there is a kind of commentary track that I still enjoy: the kind made by people who weren’t at all involved in making the movie.

The gold standard for these is Rifftrax, from three of the people who made Mystery Science Theater 3000. When it comes to making fun of movies, few people have had anywhere near as much practice. It’s a pretty ingenious system that manages to avoid conflicts with copyright law. Here’s how it works:

• Find a commentary track for a movie that you have a copy of (or want to rent, or buy)
• Pay $3 or $4
• Download the .mp3 file (free of DRM, of course)
• Play the movie and the .mp3 file simultaneously (the commentary will come with instructions for syncing and a guide to help you get back on track if they drift apart)

Here’s an example from the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie:

This is a great way to spend a few dollars and make new again some of the movies you probably already have on your shelf. Some of my favorites from Rifftrax go with movies that honestly, nobody should own (Troll 2 comes immediately to mind), but among those you’re likely to have lying around, these are good, too:

• Twilight
• Road House
• 300
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (with guest commentator Neil Patrick Harris)
• The Grudge

Do you know of any other good “alternate commentary” sources? Tell us in the comments!

The original version of this article, Movies Are New Again With Fan-Made Commentaries, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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There’s a toll-free number on the back of my driver’s license labeled “Roadside Assistance.” I’d never noticed it before today, when a co-worker was telling me how she used the number to get her tire changed on the dangerously-busy Tollway.

“For free?” I asked. “Of course,” she said.

So I started to wonder if I’d been paying AAA for services that I could be getting for free. I did some Googling and found this:

The toll-free line has been operated by DPS since 1989 for motorists to use when reporting non-life-threatening situations… If a tow truck is ultimately dispatched, the motorist is responsible for any costs incurred. Some cities and agencies do have courtesy patrols and roadside trucks to provide non-towing services and they may be dispatched by the local agencies when appropriate.

Examples of when a motorist should call the Roadside Assistance Hotline include: stranded with car problems, hazardous road conditions, debris in the roadway, suspicious activity at a rest area, and obviously intoxicated or dangerous drivers.

So, to summarize: we want you to call us if you’re having trouble or see something dangerous. We might send help, and it might be free.

My state isn’t the only one with a possibly-free state-run roadside assistance program. If part of the recession means not renewing whatever service you use for emergency roadside assistance, check online to see what’s available for free.

The original version of this article, Free Roadside Assistance, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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During previous economic downturns, publications have offered done stories about saving money by borrowing books, music and movies from the library. This is true not only in recessions, but every time you want to save some money. Libraries aren’t just for research; they have plenty of entertaining material as well.

But of course, they suffered from a problem that many bookstores didn’t: if a book was popular, you’d have a hard time finding a copy. It’s the 21st century now, most things have been digitized, so a perfect copy of anything shouldn’t be hard to find.

Well, with actual books printed on paper, you might still have to wait to get a copy of a popular title, but we recently found that our local library system is partnered with a service that enables it to offer digital downloads to anybody with a library card.

What’s more, it looks like this service, called “Overdrive” has partnered with many many libraries throughout the world. Search their site to see if your library is offering this sort of thing. And if necessary, pick up a library card. They’re not expensive, I promise.

The original version of this article, Local Libraries Still Innovating, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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When Wal-Mart announced that it will be lowering its expectations for the year, the CEO believes that this country is experiencing a “fundamental shift in spending,” in which consumers have adopted frugality as a way of life.

There is no fundamental shift. Any widespread frugality we are currently experiencing in the United States is temporary. For better or worse, unfettered consumerism drives the economy. Once the economy begins to improve, people will find new jobs, head back into the stores and car dealerships to buy products they don’t need, buy real estate looking to sell it to someone else later for a higher price, and take vacations. This “fundamental shift” is nothing more than a blip, at least so far.

It’s too early to say whether we’re due for a prolonged recession. But even five years isn’t enough to signify a philosophic adjustment. It would take a generation before we can say that we’re experiencing a fundamental shift in consumerist behavior. We won’t know whether frugality is the norm until the children of today’s shoppers inherit a new approach. Wal-Mart must like the way the idea sounds, however, because the company does want a shift. Rather than blaming the company for low profits, they want analysts to blame the economy.

If there were a fundamental shift towards frugality, Wal-Mart and every other company would have to adjust their marketing strategies to be appropriate in this supposed new era of conscious consumerism. That would require more than just advertising campaign emphasizing the ability to save money through shopping, it would change the way retailers do business. It’s more likely to see Wal-Mart ride out the turbulent times and just wait for consumers to get through their temporary frugal phase.

Reuters

The original version of this article, Wal-Mart: Consumers Have Shifted Fundamentally To Frugality, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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When the economy is growing and consumer confidence is high, it is common not to think twice about saving money and reducing expenses. If you are saving money every paycheck, investing in a 401(k) or other accounts for retirement, and spending less than you are earning there isn’t much motivation to reduce your expenses further.

I have experienced this first hand. As my personal economy improved through earning more money than I was accustomed to, I allowed my expenses to increase. For example, I moved into a more comfortable (and more expensive) apartment.

It’s hard to find a news story today that doesn’t comment on the current economic decline in the United States. Companies across all industries are not profiting. Many are declaring bankruptcy or laying off employees. With unemployment rising and the country in recession, there is less available spending money in the hands of consumers. Less spending leads to lower profitability again, and the cycle is complete.

Those who have lost jobs in this economy have found it tough to find new jobs at their old salary levels, and many have not found new jobs at all. I would hope that while the economy was prosperous, many families worked to form an emergency fund, but I recognize that many other families did not. For some, the loss of income will thrust a family into an emergency mode in which debt will escalate or savings will be depleted.

In this emergency mode, families and individuals should consider some tactics which may have seemed unnecessary, and in some people’s opinions, cheap, during happier economic times. Reality strikes hard, and desperate circumstances call for desperate measures.

Here are some tips for scrimping and saving through a recession.

1. Keep track of your spending.

There is little you can do to cut back your spending if you are not sure how much money is going out the door. When you know that you’re spending less than you earn, you may feel the urge to not worry about every single dollar that escapes your wallet. I use Intuit Quicken but there are other options for tracking your money. Once you know how much you are spending, you can make intelligent decisions about where you can cut back.

2. Reduce your ECRD factor.

You may have heard of the Latte Factor™. This infamous concept suggests you stop spending $5.50 on gourmet coffee every morning and replace this expense with a $1.50 basic cup. Saving $4 each workday translates to a savings of $1,000 per year. I’ve written this concept off in the past as a way to focus on small change while ignoring the bigger picture, like making sound decisions about buying real estate, cars, and education.

But your Expensive Coffee-Related Drink (ECRD) is not meant to be taken literally; it may not be a latte for you. The ECRD factor is any recurring expense that can be reduced. Yes, look at your morning drink habit, but also look at your smoking habit, your cable bill, your tendency to dine out, and your choices in the grocery store. Generic brands and store brands for certain products can be good substitutions.

Without much effort, I saved $360 a year by optimizing my cell phone plan and have the same service.

3. Revisit your budget.

For those who don’t have a budget, this suggestion should be “Visit your budget.” When your spending is naturally well below your income and you’ve been saving comfortably, budgets are less important. I’ve never been a fan of budgets in the first place, but I’ve used them at certain times in my life when my financial situation warranted. In an economic recession, a budget will help you stay on track. This is something you can control, and managing what is within your control is more worthwhile than worrying about things you can’t control, such as the financial health of the large corporation that employs you.

If you’ve tracked your spending, and cut back on a few reducible expenses, consider formalizing your budget by writing down what you expect to spend each month in certain categories. Here are my thoughts about budgeting and an example budget I established for 2008.

As you budget, consider some of the tenets of frugal living. Use filtered tap water rather than buying water bottles. Use vinegar mixtures for house cleaning rather than buying chemicals. Cook your own food rather than dining out. Don’t drive a car as often as you do. Want to go farther? Eliminate an extra telephone plan. Downsize your car or truck. Downsize your house.

Prevent the need for panic next time

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” according to Benjamin Franklin. Alternatively, “The best defense is a good offense.” Whatever your adage, take advantage of the more fruitful economic times. When you are fully employed and have excess income, this is an opportunity to shore up your emergency fund, pay off debt faster, and invest for the future. Historically, economies tend to operate in cycles, oscillating between periods of exuberance and recession. Level out the volatility by planning for the downs during the ups and refraining from getting carried away in bubbles.

The original version of this article, 3 Major Ways to Scrimp and Save in an Economic Recession, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Recently, JLP discovered that if he needed to, he could “find” an extra $13,000 per year by cutting back some of his discretionary expenses. By eliminating beer, soda, and a number of other unnecessary but nice expenditures, the savings can add up quickly. (I’m a bit surprised that JLP spends $50 per month on beer. But I’m not a beer drinker, so I’m unfamiliar with those types of expenses.)

My situation is similar. Once I was able to dig myself out of a hole and began earning income outside of my day job, I decided I should allow myself some of the more enjoyable aspects of life rather than wallow in extreme frugality.

But if I had to cut back, could I still do it?

Cable television and movies

I have a Netflix subscription I could cancel if necessary. In fact, I’ve considered getting rid of the service already, as I’m not an optimal user. I initiated my subscription while I was starting to earn more money but didn’t want to make the jump to another cable television service beyond the basic 13 channels. Netflix currently costs $15 per month, or a savings of $180 each year if I cancel.

I’m currently paying about $20 for an extended Comcast cable television service including all the standard channels plus an HBO package, the basic high-definition package, the sports high-definition package, and a digital video recorder. The $20 price includes the high-speed broadband internet connection, as well. I could drop HBO and the HD sports package to reduce this cost to $0, a yearly savings of $240. Even paying $0, I could still have my internet connection, which is important for continuing my extracurricular activities.

Meals and dining out

Based on my progress so far, I expect to spend about $1,400 dining out and ordering delivery from local restaurants. That includes off-campus lunch with my co-workers. I could shave this expense by making smarter choices at the groceries, forcing myself to cook, and motivating myself to bring in homemade lunches to the office. For a full year, I could probably save about $1,500 by cooking more and eating out less.

Communication

After purchasing a BlackBerry 8830 to keep me connected to the world when it’s probably inappropriate to be so, Verizon Wireless suggested the unlimited data plan for a total, including both voice and data, of $80 per month. This saves me from being charged per byte for every email or text message I transmit or receive and every web site I browse. Those charges would add up, but $80 per month isn’t slim, either.

I do not have a land line and I have no intention of getting one. I recently signed up for Skype so that can be used in some cases, but I believe I’ll need to keep a minimum cell phone if driven to extremes. I could choose a prepaid cell phone option and reduce my $80 per month expense to $20 every three months. If so, I could save $880 throughout the year.

Live entertainment

I spent over $200 at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival this past weekend, including admission, snacks, gifts, and tee-shirts which functioned well for a change of clothing when we were drenched in sweat. I’ve spent several hundred dollars on Broadway shows so far this year. I intend on seeing more concerts and shows this summer. I’ve also spent close to $200 on the “Goodbye Shea” package of 7 tickets to Mets games during the last season at Shea Stadium, with the first game scheduled for this upcoming Saturday. I expect I’ll spend more this summer on souvenirs and stadium food.

I see perhaps an average of one movie a month with my girlfriend, though that may be overestimating. We aim for matinées but they’re not discounted much.

Let’s just estimate that I could probably save about $2,200 throughout the entire year by cutting out my live entertainment expenses, including related travel.

Vacation

I haven’t purchased my tickets yet, but I plan to visit my family in California for Thanksgiving again this year. The flight will likely cost around $600. My girlfriend and I haven’t solidified details surrounding our summer vacation yet, either, but I would expect what we decide may cost from $600 to $1,000. Add in my spring visit to the west coast, and we can estimate $2,000 spent on vacations per year.

The little things

I buy books, music, and videos (DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, etc.) to enjoy. I also slowly work on a coin collection which involves purchasing new releases from the U.S. Mint and perhaps some coins from shows or eBay. I purchase miscellaneous electronic equipment and gadgets occasionally, such as last year’s TomTom GPS device, last year’s Sharp Aquos HDTV and last year’s now-extinct HD DVD player.

While I haven’t spent as much this year, I could see looking for a new computer by the end of the year. Let’s say I could save about $3,000 a year by cutting all of this out of my life for a while.

$10,000 may not be enough if I’m faced with a crisis. I’m glad I have a healthy emergency fund which can help me recover. I intend on reducing expenses when possible before tapping the emergency savings accounts, however.

What would you do to find an extra $10,000 or more over the course of a year?

The original version of this article, How I Could Find $10,000 Per Year if Necessary, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Life is short, and I believe it’s important to do and accomplish the things that make us happy while we can enjoy it as much as possible, healthily and with full wits. Is this philosophy at odds with the idea of frugality? A reader recently wrote in with this question for other Consumerism Commentary readers: Are you missing out? Here’s John N.’s email:

I buy into the importance of not living beyond our means. And there’s a great deal of comfort and satisfaction to be had in having money in the bank so that we’re not devastated by the next misfortune.

But, when it comes to living frugally, do you feel you’re missing out by forgoing the sports car, fine dining, and exotic vacation? If so, how do you make a place for those things in a frugal lifestyle?

Robert Kiyosaki’s (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad) answer is to wait until you’ve saved the cash and then go forth and spend. But some of us, depending on predisposition and earning power, may grow old or die before that happens. Are there compromises? Can you make them and remain financially secure?

I say absolutely. Frugality is not my strong suit, but I believe it’s important to strike a balance. I try to do what I can now to secure a comfortable retirement so I can stop trading my time for money — working to earn a living — and to make relatively smart financial decisions throughout my waking life. At the same time, I strive to enjoy the time I have today that’s not spent typing at a computer in an office or in my living room.

Frugality and making the most of the present are not mutually exclusive. First, not everyone needs to spend on a sports car, fine dining, and exotic vacations to feel they are making the most of their life. Simple pleasures can often be the most satisfying. That’s not for everyone for a variety of reasons.

So, you want a buy a sports car because that would make you happy. That doesn’t make you a bad person, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t be frugal at the same time. No, a sports car is not the most economical decision, but for people with the means, financial decisions can be weighed against other, somewhat more nebulous aspects, like the thrill of driving (known popularly as fahrvergnügen).

Whether fahrvergnügen exists as a reflection of a true feeling or only as a feeling created by a marketing term is an entirely different discussion.

To the point of John’s question, what if you don’t have the means to afford the thrill today? There are three options. The first option is to go into debt or forgo saving for the future. Obviously that’s not recommended and could lead to problems down the road. However, everyone is different, so if one understands the cost and risk of debt then one should be free to make that decision.

The second option is to wait as long as possible, but what if you never have the money to experience a safari in the Serengeti? What if by the time you could afford it, you won’t have the capacity to enjoy the trip? Life is for those who don’t wait.

The third option is to realign your expectations with the reality of your financial situation. This option is the hardest but the most rewarding. I’m not saying a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure & Wild Safari is a worthy alternative to the Serengeti, but there may be other experiences that induce a comparable level of happiness and satisfaction.

What do you think? Does a frugal philosophy necessitate missing out on life and how can one compromise?

Photo: Stig Nygaard

The original version of this article, The Frugal Lifestyle: Are We Missing Out on Life?, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This is a guest post, written for Consumerism Commentary by Single Ma. Single Ma is the author of Fabulous Financials, a blog presenting a chronicle of a 30-something single mother’s pursuit of financial independence.

I’m paid bi-weekly, which is typically twice per month. Every now and then, there’s a month or two sprinkled throughout the year when I’m paid three times per month. But regardless of how often payday arrives, most of my salary is already spent before I see a dime. Why? Because, excluding taxes, there are several transactions that process automatically through payroll allotment:

• $574 goes to 401k
• $185 goes to IRA
• $150 goes to emergency fund
• $74 goes to my daughter’s 529 account
• $38 goes to FSA
• $Big Chunk goes to employer benefits (health, life, pension, etc.)

By the time I receive my “real” paycheck, it’s less than half of what I actually earned, which is ok with me. All of my financial priorities are accounted for, so I have fewer things to worry about. Automation also locks in the funds to make sure I achieve my financial goals (e.g. max out 401k, IRA, and tax deductible college savings).

However, the challenge is being able to control expenses and live on the remaining ~45%. And baby, please believe, this is a challenge indeed! Just to give you an idea of what I’m working with, here are my major monthly expenses:

• $1,825 Rent (an entire paycheck + some)
• $1,600 Mortgage (always in reserve but paid by tenants)
• $300 Utilities
• $300 Food & Essentials
• $170 Transportation

None of this includes discretionary spending, such as donations, doctor’s visits, personal grooming, pet expenses, dining out, entertainment, and the occasional fabulous shoe shopping excursion. So if something out of the ordinary happens, such this month when I need new tires, I find myself strapped for cash — or dare I say BROKE — before the month is over. Because incurring debt is NEVER an option, I have to make hard and fast choices about how I will manage the rest of my cash flow. A few things I’ve done so far:

• Forgo all shopping until things are back to normal.
• Skip a bi-weekly salon visit and wash & set my own hair.
• Brown bag and invite friends to my office for lunch.
• Choose between the wine festival and the banging concert of the year.

You’re probably thinking, “I work hard for my money and I deserve…” but that mentality will cripple you financially. We can never have it all. I guess if I really wanted to, I could opt to change anything that causes me to be short on cash. Am I willing to reduce my retirement contributions? NO! Reduce my emergency or college fund savings? I don’t think so! Move to a cheaper apartment in a less desirable neighborhood and settle for a less than desirable school district. Absolutely not! Instead, by prioritizing my needs and being selective about my wants, I am able to strike a balance to live a fabulous lifestyle AND achieve my financial goals.

There was a time in my life when I lived paycheck to paycheck because I had to, but now, I do it on purpose. And I like it!

The original version of this article, Living Paycheck to Paycheck On Purpose, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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I’ve never been a big movie buyer, and I own a whopping three DVDs. If I can’t guarantee I’m going to watch it at least five times, I don’t want it cluttering my abode. But I do like movies, and so I opt for rentals. And there are more rental options out there now than ever before. Plenty of ways to add another bill to my monthly deluge.

I hear Netflix is pretty good, as long as you properly estimate how many movies you’ll need at one time. And my mailbox is constantly bombarded by ads for Blockbuster’s similar offering. There’s also the downloading option, from iTunes and the like.

But to me, nothing compares to my local public library.

In the very minimal off-time I’ve had lately, we’ve been chilling out with free movies, everything from foreign films to more recent hits like Babel, I Heart Huckabees, City of God, and The Corpse Bride. They even have HBO’s wonderful Rome series, which retails for $71.49 for the complete series on Amazon. And that’s the discounted price.

They don’t have every movie I’ve wanted to see, but there’s a very nice selection, I can take out as many at a time as I like, and keep them for a whole week without cost. I can renew them, too.

I keep a list of movies I’d like to see on my desktop, then go online every so often and request a couple via interlibrary loan. When they’re in, I get a call and go pick them up.

I’m lazy that way–it’s been months since I searched the shelves for anything. I do the same thing with books, and I feel like I have my own personal concierge service. It’s pretty sweet.

I don’t remember Blockbuster ever having a stack of my choices waiting for me when I got there, even when I phoned first to make sure my selections were in stock.

Plus, while I’m there, I can pick up some books to help grow my career skills. At the local video store, I’m just likely to pick up popcorn.

The original version of this article, My Favorite Source for Movies? The Library, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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When it comes to getting rich slowly, I’m generally a skeptic. The typical path to getting rich slowly prescribes investing $1,000 a month for thirty years into the stock market, earning 8% each year. At the end of thirty years in this example, you will find yourself with $1.5 million, but there are major assumptions that must be overcome:

1. Do you have $1,000 each month to invest? Many people live paycheck-to-paycheck. $1,000 may be 25% to 30% of your monthly pre-tax income.

2. Will you earn 8% each year in the stock market? It’s possible; over long periods of time, the stock market has provided this level of return, but it isn’t guaranteed. Taxes and fees eat into this return as well. Many professionals believe 8% is too aggressive an assumption; stock brokers will tell you it’s too conservative.

Even after considering the above, there is one major problem remaining: inflation. If you accept the government’s measurement which declares that money loses purchasing power at a rate of about 3% each year, to find the “real value” of your future investment, reduce your assumed return percentage by that amount. Suddenly the $1.5 million 30 years from now looks more like today’s $836,000. Although most Americans do not have a balance that large in savings and investments, in most social circles, that balance won’t earn someone the title of “rich.”

Despite my thoughts about the fallacy of getting rich slowly, an enticing but ultimately disappointing endeavor, people make it work. Paul Navone from Vineland, New Jersey is an example. He worked in a mill for never more than $11 per hour, but he retired with millions. He doesn’t say how much he has to his name, but it was enough to become a significant philanthropist, giving away millions of dollars.

The below is from the Philadelphia Inquirer, from an article no longer available online.

The day he turned 16, Navone left the eighth grade and applied for a factory job at Wheaton Glass in Millville. When he got his first paycheck two weeks later – Navone was earning 75 cents an hour – he thought he was a Rockefeller… At 21, he joined the Army and spent two years assigned to the base post office in West Germany. Back home, Navone moved in with an older sister until he had saved $6,500. With that stake, he bought his first property. He moved into one half and rented out the other…

“I lived on the income the one unit provided me, and I saved my wages from work,” Navone said. Not just saved, invested. He acquired a second rental property, then a third. Eventually, with the advice of stockbrokers, Navone expanded his investments.

So while Navone was working at is $11 per hour job at the mill, he was also earning money in property. That’s the key in this particular case, despite Navone’s penchant for cutting expenses. Even so, living frugally puts money in the bank and certainly contributes to a large bank account.

• He seldom watched television.
• He has never read a book. (What?!)
• The last girl he had a crush on contracted tuberculosis and died; he has avoided relationships since.
• He has no children. (Now this certainly contributes a lot to his bottom line!)
• All of his clothes come from thrift shops.

Navone’s mantra is, “I’ll work for the money, and then I want the money to work for me.” It sounds to me like he attributes his wealth to his investing prowess rather than his extreme frugality habits.

The original version of this article, Case Study: Retire a Multi-Millionaire With a $11 per Hour Job, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Here’s a hypothetical situation. Let’s say you’re a single mother with two children to support. Let’s also say, for the sake of argument, that thanks to royalties and such you earn $737,000. That is $737,000 a month. Even if you’re a big spender, surely close to $9,000,000 a year, and the income generated from investments of that money, will allow for a solid future for yourself and your kids.

Not if you’re Britney Spears, according to court papers reviewed by CNN. The former pop princess doesn’t save or invest any of her income. Is she financially reckless? Or does she simply believe that this income will always be present?

Britney’s spending habits certainly paint a picture.

Spears’ monthly expenses include $49,267 in mortgage for two houses, $16,000 for clothes and $102,000 on entertainment, gifts and vacation, according to her financial declaration… Spears declares she spends about $4,758 per month dining out. Meanwhile, she spends zero on education, savings and investments and gives $500 a month in charitable contributions, the documents said. She has to pay her ex-husband $15,000 per month in child support and $20,000 in spousal support.

It seems to me, and it’s no surprise, Spears has income to spare. Think of the possibilities of a $9 million income, a good portion of which possibly guaranteed for the rest of one’s life, for someone who handles their finances with sanity. I dream of starting a foundation. I could do that and have a nice house and provide every conceivable opportunity for my theoretical future children for the amount of money this particular has-been wastes every month.

Thanks to Advanced Personal Finance for pointing out the article.

The original version of this article, Britney Spears: Doing Nothing With a Six-Figure Monthly Income, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Here is the second couple featured by CNN Money in their series about five couples living on an income of $46,000 a year. Michael Thibault is an insurance claims adjuster and Lisa Thibault works part-time. Together, they may earn about $60,000 this year in Indianapolis, Indiana. That seems to put them at an income significantly higher than the rest in CNN’s series, but this couple has three children.

They had to apply for food assistance for their children. The Thibaults are earning more than the median household in the United States, but still can’t afford to feed their children.

With a family of three and fluctuations in their employment status, the couple spends about $1,700 per month for full insurance and medical visits.

As Hazzard noted, 42% of their income is spent on health care. To me, this seems high, even for a family with three children, but I have no personal experience. Perhaps this will stabilize as the children get a little older. Their medical issues are not entirely clear from their profile.

Regardless of their struggles, the couple still tithes to their church an undisclosed amount. The article says they have asked for public assistance in order to pay for food; I wonder how much they receive in assistance and how much they give to their church.

CNN Money

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CNN is featuring five couples living on about $46,000 a year. How do they do it? The first couple is Matt and Ginger Ogle. Matt is a public school teacher and speech coach bringing home the largest portion of the income, while Ginger adds a couple thousand a year as as part-time assistant speech coach.

The Ogles manage fairly well on their household income but they are having trouble getting ahead. “It’s very difficult to save,” said Ginger. “I keep a mortgage payment in the bank…If there are big expenses that aren’t expected we use the credit card.”

In Salem, Oregon, they were able to find a home that fits their budget. If they were to transplant to New York City, Matt would earn a $5,000 to $10,000 raise, but Ginger wouldn’t be earning much more.

This hypothetical salary increase will definitely not make up for the cost of living difference between Salem, Oregon and New York City. To maintain their lifestyle, the couple would need a salary of $85,000.

It sounds like the Ogles are just getting by now, with income just enough to meet their expenses. They don’t have an emergency fund larger than one mortgage payment and sometimes need to put unexpected big expenses on a credit card. They also want to start planning to have children. They might have to find other ways to cut back in order to take on the expenses of having kids.

CNN Money

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A few months ago, television watchers like myself were bombarded by commercials featuring a young man attempting to “live” out of his car for a few days. However, this guy has been doing it since July 2005. Andy Bussell lives out of his pickup truck, sleeping in the back. He wakes up, showers at the university gym, attends classes, then goes to work at the Apple Store. To keep himself from going insane, he is a yoga-practicing, guitar-playing rock climber. Always pushing him towards insanity are the voluntary living conditions:

What he misses most are a kitchen and a bathroom. To deal with the former, he buys food such as yogurt and fruit in small quantities; for as regards the latter, he takes advantage of public facilities. On occasion, he has resorted to employing an empty Gatorade bottle.

Andy decided to lean towards the simpler life when his credit card debt kept piling up. Now that he has been able to save some money, his debt is almost all paid off.

This adventure takes place in California; living in the Northeast, you would need to leave the heat on in order to survive in your car. The frequent gasoline fill-ups would negate any savings you’d manage to keep.

Read the hundreds of comments below for more interesting experiences had by those living out of their vehicles. If this describes you, please feel free to share your experiences below, as well.

Seattle Times

The original version of this article, Extreme Frugality: Living Out of Your Car, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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