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.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 41 CommentsPosted 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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Re: "...and still maintain a solid standard of living."
I see.
Decadence+waste="solid"
Turn down the thermostats in the unoccupied wings of your mansions to save a tidy little sum.
This is a two-for-1 saver:
Re: "...keep the housekeeper, but use her every other week instead of every week."
Your butler doesn''t need a fresh pair of underwear, EVERY SINGLE WEEK. We all have to buckle down.
She forgot one:
"Instead of lighing your Cuban cigars with $100 dollar bills, try using matches. They can usually be obtained for free at your favorite country club lounge, and they are still worth less than a $100 bill...for now..."
Eat dinner out twice a month instead of once a week:
(We eat out *maybe* once every other month)
Bring your lunch to work three days a week:
(Eat lunch at home every day)
Color you hair at home ($10 every six weeks instead of $75): (Don''t color hair)
Buy just two $3 lattes a week rather than five:
(Don''t drink coffee)
Looks like I''m just stuck being broke!
Posted by mediapreachr
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Or how they can tell us to live in a first world country. So far, poisoning goods, pirating IP, et cetera, seems to be the winning ticket to make it big...
Also, why was theirs third world? Why do we want to recreate the conditions they lived in?
...For the middle class, that will soon mean dinner with top ramen noodles on Dixie plates, utensils, and cups.
On "special" nights, it''s Hamburger Helper on Chinette with the "extra-durable" utensils.
(Top Ramen.... Mmmmm Mmm!)
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