NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2008
Spend Less And Still Live Well
Resist Overspending AND Still Live The Good Life? Redbook's Alison Brower Tells How
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(CBS/AP)
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Special Report Money Matters Get words to the wise, from the wise, on handling, making and saving money.
Yes, says Redbook magazine Executive Editor Alison Brower.
She explained how to dress well, eat well, and live in comfort on a smaller budget in 2008, as well as how to determine your personal spending priorities, on The Saturday Early Show.
Brower says being frugal doesn't mean being cheap. You can tighten your belt, save money, and still maintain a solid standard of living.
Her words of wisdom, and those of fellow Redbook editors:
Determine Your Top Priorities
Whether it's the safari fund or the college savings account, the secret to living well on less is determining your personal spending priorities and putting the money there first.
Have a clear, single purpose guiding you as you change the way you spend your money. By zeroing in on that one motivation — whether it's staying home with your baby or traveling around the world — you can keep your resolve to walk past the coffee shop and find the energy to switch to a cheaper cell phone plan.
Find Smarter Ways to Spend Less on Things You Want
For instance, keep the date night, but choose a more affordable restaurant; keep the housekeeper, but use her every other week instead of every week.
When your values are steering your spending, you'll no longer feel that insatiable need for more, more, more.
Visit Web sites that can help you save
For example, Freecycle.org, where more than 4 million people list items they no longer need — everything from TVs to bicycles — and are giving them away for free. Grocerygame.com tracks sales and specials at grocery stores around the country. For $10 every two weeks, it will e-mail you customized store locations and tell you which coupons to use where. Hunt for clothing bargains on Overstock.com and SmartBargains.com
When is a bargain not a bargain? What should people skimp on and what should they save on?
Toiletries: Skimp
You don't need to spend a lot for high-end skin creams. All major manufacturers, including lower-priced brands, develop and test their products in state-of-the-art laboratories and use the same set of active ingredients.
Cashmere: Splurge
If a $30 cashmere sweater seems too good to be true, it probably is. Higher-priced cashmere sweaters typically use better yarn and a tighter knit than bargain cashmere. The result: stronger sweaters that are more resistant to tears. To avoid rip-offs, stick with big department stores such as Macys, where they test fabric quality.
Dry Cleaning: Splurge
You're taking chances when using do-it-yourself dry-cleaning kits. Only a dry cleaner can give clothes that good-as-new look.
Phone Service: Skimp
If you're paying for both Internet and unlimited long-distance, you could save $20-40 a month by switching to Internet phone service. Companies such as Vonage and Skype offer unlimited long distance via the Internet for around $25 a month, compared with $40-50 for landline phones.
Savings Tidbits
What You Could Save In A Year If You:
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Add a Comment See all 41 Comments
- Be thankful that gas is just $3.00/gallon in the US. We are US citizens living in Israel and are thankful that we can pay the $25.00 for gas that gives us less than half a tank for our small car. Count your blessings every day!
- Reply to this comment
- Another useless article from a magazine. High on fluff, low on substance. The secret is to live below your means, whatever your income level. Too many live paycheck to paycheck, even the rich. Say no to materialism and don''t go into debt if you can help it. When I got my first job out of college I spent money like a drunken sailor. I learned the hard way. I paid off my house years ago and I''m headed for early retirement. No regrets about not having lattes at Starbucks 5 days a week.
- Reply to this comment
- What a crock this ''''news story'''' is, it doesn''''t even serve as entertainment. Unless of course it was supposed to be sarcastic, then it''''s funny as hell.
Posted by gearkat at 11:06 PM : Jan 05, 2008
............
I''d have to say that some of these posts have been quite entertaining! (far more than the article was)...
...especially the posts from FeelFree1! - Reply to this comment
- All I know I would have been a millionaire at the Mobil Exxon merger, but instead I got sick 10 days before the 6 month cutoff for health insurance coverage. I had to sell the Exxon stock to cover the medical bills that insurance refused pay. The insurance company was sure to send me the bill next month though after refusing service though.
Its 12 years later and I still have recovered financially from the American disease management system.
Housekeeper? Please. I am on the lowest cellphone plan and the bill and it still is more than it should be. Somehow the rates keep going up. Thats right, Ma Bell is making a comeback. Monopolies, collusion, and union busting are right around the corner.
Latte? On Wed. when it''s a $2 special.
Please realize $3 gas is an artificially low price. You might complain about it, but remember you can take the bus. Oh thats right, public transportation is also a joke in most parts of America.
What a crock this ''news story'' is, it doesn''t even serve as entertainment. Unless of course it was supposed to be sarcastic, then it''s funny as hell. - Reply to this comment
- All I know I would have been a millionaire at the Mobil Exxon merger, but instead I got sick 10 days before the 6 month cutoff for health insurance coverage. I had to sell the Exxon stock to cover the medical bills that insurance refused pay. The insurance company was sure to send me the bill next month though after refusing service though.
Its 12 years later and I still have recovered financially from the American disease management system.
Housekeeper? Please. I am on the lowest cellphone plan and the bill and it still is more than it should be. Somehow the rates keep going up. Thats right, Ma Bell is making a comeback. Monopolies, collusion, and union busting are right around the corner.
Latte? On Wed. when it''s a $2 special.
Please realize $3 gas is an artificially low price. You might complain about it, but remember you can take the bus. Oh thats right, public transportation is also a joke in most parts of America.
What a crock this ''news story'' is, it doesn''t even serve as entertainment. Unless of course it was supposed to be sarcastic, then it''s funny as hell. - Reply to this comment
- All I know I would have been a millionaire at the Mobil Exxon merger, but instead I got sick 10 days before the 6 month cutoff for health insurance coverage. I had to sell the Exxon stock to cover the medical bills that insurance refused pay. The insurance company was sure to send me the bill next month though after refusing service though.
Its 12 years later and I still have recovered financially from the American disease management system.
Housekeeper? Please. I am on the lowest cellphone plan and the bill and it still is more than it should be. Somehow the rates keep going up. Thats right, Ma Bell is making a comeback. Monopolies, collusion, and union busting are right around the corner.
Latte? On Wed. when it''s a $2 special.
Please realize $3 gas is an artificially low price. You might complain about it, but remember you can take the bus. Oh thats right, public transportation is also a joke in most parts of America.
What a crock this ''news story'' is, it doesn''t even serve as entertainment. Unless of course it was supposed to be sarcastic, then it''s funny as hell.
EDIT: And CBS is disabling the publish button, nice censorship by the corporate media. - Reply to this comment
- All I know I would have been a millionaire at the Mobil Exxon merger, but instead I got sick 10 days before the 6 month cutoff for health insurance coverage. I had to sell the Exxon stock to cover the medical bills that insurance refused pay. The insurance company was sure to send me the bill next month though after refusing service though.
Its 12 years later and I still have recovered financially from the American disease management system.
Housekeeper? Please. I am on the lowest cellphone plan and the bill and it still is more than it should be. Somehow the rates keep going up. Thats right, Ma Bell is making a comeback. Monopolies, collusion, and union busting are right around the corner.
Latte? On Wed. when it''s a $2 special.
Please realize $3 gas is an artificially low price. You might complain about it, but remember you can take the bus. Oh thats right, public transportation is also a joke in most parts of America.
What a crock this ''news story'' is, it doesn''t even serve as entertainment. Unless of course it was supposed to be sarcastic, then it''s funny as hell.
EDIT: And CBS is disabling the publish button, nice censorship by the corporate media. - Reply to this comment
- All I know I would have been a millionaire at the Mobil Exxon merger, but instead I got sick 10 days before the 6 month cutoff for health insurance coverage. I had to sell the Exxon stock to cover the medical bills that insurance refused pay. The insurance company was sure to send me the bill next month though after refusing service though.
Its 12 years later and I still have recovered financially from the American disease management system.
Housekeeper? Please. I am on the lowest cellphone plan and the bill and it still is more than it should be. Somehow the rates keep going up. Thats right, Ma Bell is making a comeback. Monopolies, collusion, and union busting are right around the corner.
Latte? On Wed. when it''s a $2 special.
Please realize $3 gas is an artificially low price. You might complain about it, but remember you can take the bus. Oh thats right, public transportation is also a joke in most parts of America.
What a crock this ''news story'' is, it doesn''t even serve as entertainment. Unless of course it was supposed to be sarcastic, then it''s funny as hell. - Reply to this comment
- All I know I would have been a millionaire at the Mobil Exxon merger, but instead I got sick 10 days before the 6 month cutoff for health insurance coverage. I had to sell the Exxon stock to cover the medical bills that insurance refused pay. The insurance company was sure to send me the bill next month though after refusing service though.
Its 12 years later and I still have recovered financially from the American disease management system.
Housekeeper? Please. I am on the lowest cellphone plan and the bill and it still is more than it should be. Somehow the rates keep going up. Thats right, Ma Bell is making a comeback. Monopolies, collusion, and union busting is right around the corner.
Latte? On Wed. when it''s a $2 special.
Please realize $3 gas is an artificially low price. You might complain about it, but remember you can take the bus. Oh thats right, public transportation is also a joke in most parts of America.
What a crock this ''news story'' is, it doesn''t even serve as entertainment. Unless of course it was supposed to be sarcastic, then it''s funny as hell. - Reply to this comment
Re: "...and still maintain a solid standard of living."
I see.
Decadence+waste="solid"- Reply to this comment
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