Cheapskate Digest

The #1 thing no one has enough of and we all squander frequently is????

Time.  Once it’s gone you can never get it back.  Yet every day we all waste time on tasks that generate no benefits of any kind and in some cases have costs.  Why do we do this?  Sometimes it’s a way of avoiding doing something we don’t want to do.  Sometimes we do it because [...]

Libraries are wonderful places – and they’re free!

Use your local library.  Really.  What could be more frugal?  Membership is free.  They have all kinds of stuff that lots of people don’t know about – music CDs, DVDs, magazines, newspapers, phone books for other areas, and of course – books!  Picture books, novels, information books, poetry, art books, cook books, gardening books, self-help [...]

Bargain shopping – frugal budgeting?? Or not.

Although there are lots of after Christmas sales on everywhere you look, buying a bunch of stuff just because it’s there and you might need it – someday – is not being frugal, living frugal, or anything even approaching frugal.  It’s not even being sensible!  What it is, is being loosey goosey with your hard [...]

Being frugal, i.e. saving money takes effort!

Check your bills and see how much you pay every month for things like banking fees and cell phones.  Then do some comparison shopping on the Internet. It’s work but not hard work. Try to compare apples to apples.  That’s the hard part.  Those companies know we don’t want to pay more than we have [...]

Are you being frugal by making the most of points cards?

Recently I cancelled several credit cards because they either had fees or they offered nothing more than credit. I did a little research and found some no fee credit cards that give me something extra – either points towards items of my choice or travel or lower priced gas. The only catch is that you [...]

Ho ho ho – No, no, no!

I don’t hate Christmas, but I do dislike the crass commercialization of it as just another retail event.  I’m also not religious, but I do very much appreciate the time off to spend with my family.  So, as a means of both saving money and simplifying life, my family has decided not to participate in the [...]

From Two Incomes to Frugal Living

Many families start living a frugal lifestyle because one partner wants to stay at home with the kids. If you are going from a two-income household to one, you may be afraid of what all has to be done to live frugally. Below are several steps you can take to make the transition easier. 1. [...]