Thursday, March 12, 2009

Intermediate Frugality II

Okay so you have figured out the basics and some of the stuff that even investors like Sam Walton and Warren Buffett do! Now it is onward to trimming down needless spending.

Curbing Spending on Consumer Goods

Movies: this is a no brainer. The best way to eliminate such spending is basically shop around. Most places sell the old DVDs for roughly $10, but there are now free internet sites that you can watch movies at without being tasered by the FEDs for breaking the law. While you will not get the "latest" and "greatest", you will still be able to enjoy quality entertainment. You might have to pay a one time fee for a receiver, if you cannot live without movies, but it is worth the investment.

Games: Pawn Shops often get video games that you can buy for $5, if you are good at bartering, you might be able to get one tossed in there for free. This is good if you are a gamer like me. Also if you are really savvy with the Internet, you can re-sale them for more money after you beat them!

Books: If you do not mind the commute, surf through your local Barnes and Noble or Borders and sit down and read the books. I have yet to be kicked out for reading a book that I was about to buy. There is also the library and used book stores. Again a haven for books that have a high resale value. (Note: If you have a laptop with potable Internet, you can target books that will sale for a profit. Hey their gain does not necessarily have to be your loss).

Cloths: Shop clearance for cloths. Sure they are not the "latest", but they will be the cheapest. If you are patient enough, you can get pants for around $7 and hooodies for around $10. There is also Craigslist and my favorite, a charity store.

Shoes: You do not need the latest Nike or Adidas. Let's be honest, if you walk approx. 30-50 miles per year in any shoe, they will ware out. Since I do not take the bus, I have get whichever shoe that is a 14. Yeah I can land aircraft on my feet. I have heard all the jokes. But would a frugal person like me spend $20 per set of shoes or $200? I also do not like spending a lot of time trying to find "trendy" shoes. I think Wal-Mart and Payless Shoe Store is an excellent place to search for shoes. I have to think that time is money so I also do not want to make 3 trips for $200 shoes; that is a rip off.

Socks and Underware: This is the most difficult thing for me to find. But, again Wal-Mart is probably the only place that has my size other than some overpriced big and tall store. I am actually due for another trip because socks ware out the fastest for me because I walk around a lot. Boxers also get a decent amount of wear and tear, but nowhere nearly as much as socks do.

Jackets: I stockpile jackets. I have not bought one in years. In fact I got one for free. So I just wear the same jacket for a few months.

I would make this one longer, but I have quite a bit of old e-mail to go through because I have been logging on at a weekly basis. I am almost at the point where I will have an established Internet connection so I will be able to take this blog and add more content on a more frequent basis. The frugality special will probably end in 2 weeks, then I will continue my track on investing.