Making Small Sacrifices Count

You hear and read a lot of debate about the value in making small sacrifices in your spending. Many habitual spenders resist the call to cut out their discretionary purchases of small items, e.g., that morning latte’ or lunchtime meal out. It’s part of their enjoyment of life, they say, and the costs are insignificant compared to their finances as a whole. To them, not having that daily treat is more than saving money – it’s sacrificing something of value. Read more

Holiday Spending Guide for a New Economy

If you are watching the stock market, listening to the politicians in charge, and reading the popular press, maybe you are starting to build some confidence in our economy. After all, there is nothing wrong with having some optimism during difficult times. The important question is what you do with that optimism. The politicians in charge and retailers want you to convert that optimism into spending. Mr. ToughMoneyLove has different ideas. Read more

Cutting Spending and Reducing Debt the Casino Way

I’ve been wondering if there are millions of Americans out there who are anxiously awaiting the return of the good old days of borrow and spend.  I have to think that there are some folks for whom saving and living within your means is like being in debtor’s prison. Read more

Splashing Cold Water on the Frugal Garden

Last night I watched part of a “baby boomer and finances” special on Public Television. Part of the program was dedicated to telling the stories of retirees who grew most of their own food. Read more

More Adventures as a Shopping Skeptic

I had two interesting experiences this past week-end as a skeptical shopper. One surprised me. The other did not. Read more

A Brief History of Generational Spending

Gallup published its survey of average daily spending by U.S. adults, according to their generation and annual household incomes. The results are interesting but not altogether surprising. Read more

Cut Spending Tips that Work

Not being a frugalist by nature, I don’t spend a lot of my time searching for frugal ideas. Most of my recent cost-cutting efforts have been in reducing recurring monthly expenses. In the past few months, we have cut our landline telephone costs to the bone, killed the satellite radio, cancelled the daily newspaper (although they gave it back to us for free), and a few other things that I won’t further bore you with. Read more

Cost Comparison Shopping for Professional Services

When you are shopping online for a product, finding comparative prices is easy. There are dozens of sites that promise scour the Internet for the best deals on almost any product that you can imagine.

But what about shopping for services, such as a medical test/procedure or for lots of other tasks that you might need performed? Read more

Penetrating the Packaging Fine Print

This past week our gas-powered string trimmer gave its final surrender to six years of hard use. I had vowed to replace my veteran lawn mower with a lawn service when it died, but the mower is still going strong at age 13. A new string trimmer can be had for $75 (the cost of 1.5 lawn service fees) so I decided to enlist a replacement.

Who knew that a shopping trip for a lawn care accessory would reinforce the importance of really studying what you are buying, including the packaging fine print? Read more

Thoughtful Spending to Save Money

I spent a significant amount of time this week dealing with home technology issues, some of which involved the concept of spending money to save money. I believe everything has turned out for the best – both the technology solution and the money savings – but it took me a while to reach that conclusion.

I also believe I slightly improved my spending habits by a process of thoughtful subtraction. More about that at the end of the post. Read more

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