I don't mean in the sense of how Beth explained that she gets 10% deducted from her pay and put into savings. I mean more along the lines of budgeting. What little things do you do to save yourself a few bucks here and a few bucks there.

One thing i wanted to do was look into a library card to save myself from spending ten bucks on a book, but my local library has a huge french section and a paltry half-assed attempt at having an English section.

I always buy store brand unless i'm buying a can of soup to actually eat as soup. If i'm using soup for a sauce, store brand is fine. If it's for a bowl of soup i insist on Campbells. Shopping like that saves you a few cents here and there but it really pays off when you total it up.

What else? How do you save your money?

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

Answers

After working at a grocery store for years, I do exactly what you do re: store brand products. Some stores, however, are better than others. You have to be careful on that.

I usually do have enough self-discipline to wait until recurring needs items go on sale before I purchase them. And the foresight to anticipate what my needs will be. I buy the bulk of my Christmas decorations and lights at after Christmas sales.

When I bought my couch, I was an entry level employee with entry level salary. I bought a floor model from a large department store, the day after Christmas when they usually have *everything* on sale, including big ticket items. I used the day after Christmas discount AND the floor model discount in addition to having a lower price on the couch because it was a floor model. (This store gave you two discounts for floor models - ASK.) Ended up paying less than $200 for my couch & I still love it. And it was in excellent (translate perfect, no stains, no deformities) condition.

When I bought my car two years ago, I used www.autobytel.com.

As a whole, I am cheap. I don't like to pay a lot for things and will wait until something I want goes on sale.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

This is such a timely question! We're looking to get a loan at the moment for some home improvements, so I was checking out our bank statements yesterday to see what we've been spending money on, so we could calculate how much we could afford. We never run out of money so we don't pay as much attention to what we spend as we should, and it was bloody scary what we do with it all. Tristan doesn't seem to be able to walk past an ATM without getting #50 out. I only get #10 out at a time, but I spend so much arbitrary money in shops on Oxford Street that it's scary. And we spend twice as much on eating out as we do on supermarket shopping each month.

It makes me sick to think we fritter away so much money! We could be having a fab luxury weekend in Europe every month with the extra amounts we spend. So we're going to start really allocating money to different areas - loan, savings, holiday funds, and probably give ourselves a monthly limit each for shopping (I'll have to leave my money card at home). And when our new kitchen is built we'll have no excuse to not learn to cook and eat at home (our current kitchen is so grotty that we hate cooking there ... that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

My husband and I save money by cooking and baking [he does most of it]. Baking bread is easy and you can get a dozen good loves for the price of one store loaf.

Buy staples [rice, beans, grains] in bulk, even if it's just one or two people. If you store things carefully, they'll stay fresh. Make your own soup stock and soups.

If you're having money problems, don't buy anything but necessities. A lot of people who've overspent already have a ton of stuff.

Be wary of the little purchases that add up--snacks and beverages, especially. It's easy to spend $500 or more a year if you buy a latte every afternoon. Ditto costume jewelry, paperback books, cosmetics, etc.

When we were having *bad* financial problems, we went for virtually 2 years without buying anything but the bare necessities. That finally broke me of the compulsive shopping habit. I still enjoy window shopping, etc., but I don't waste my money or buy stuff for the sake of buying.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

I agree with most of the above. Some tips:

• Go over your bank or credit card statement to see where your money goes. You may be horrified to see how much you spend on stuff you don't need (or even use) every month.
  
  
• Draw up a budget. Yes, an actual budget, in ink, and keep it around. Start with the expenses you can't really change: rent, utilities, any credit or loan payments. You can take your 10% savings out of this, too, if you're committed like that.
  
  Then figure out how much you have left after that. This is everything: groceries, gas, bus fare, movies, toys, clothes, dinner, lunches, lattes.
  
  If I'm REALLY trying to save money, I find it helpful to divide that leftover amount into four (I'm assuming a monthly budget here) and take that amount out of the bank in cash every week. That's my money for the week, and that's all I get -- no more trips to the bank and no credit cards. It only takes one or two times of running out of money by the end of the week before you start realizing what you can do without. Paying for things with actual cash, from a limited cash pool, is a great way to force yourself to save money.
  
  
• Some places where you may be spending way too much money:
  
  
  • Not taking your lunch with you to work. Where I live, eating out is a minimum of $25 a week, more likely $35-40. Taking lunch saves over a hundred bucks every month.
    
    
  • Coffee. Someone mentioned the lattes -- what are they now, $2.50 or something? You can live without them, and you should if you're trying to save money. Cokes, too. Water is better for you anyway! Learn to live with the free coffee at your work place, or invest in one of those cool little thermoses and bring your own coffee.
    
    
  • Eating out. This is the biggee; everyone knows that. You can eat at home for a month on what you spend eating out for four days. Buy a basic cookbook if you don't have one. We find that if we spend MORE money on more interesting groceries (fish, good cuts of meat, nice veggies, good wine), we save money in the long run because we don't get sick of eating at home and just go out.
    
    Also, you can cut out the boring, stupid meals out -- like diner breakfasts (you can make that stuff at home, you know), fast food, quick meals, cheap stuff. Save your eating out money for a few really special outings a month (even once a week). If you stop eating out most nights, you'll save in the long run.
    
    
  • Magazines. Man, do those things suck up your money. Kick the habit! Read them online!
  
  
  
• Give yourself a present now and then. Save up for small things, even if you have to revert to your childhood and use a piggy bank. "I'll save two bucks out of my lunch money each week, and then when I have enough I'll [insert treat here, because I can't think of one]." It really helps to get yourself in the habit.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

About magazines, I just disagree, Beth. I mean, I guess it depends on if you're buying them off the newsstand or subscribing. I subscribe to Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, National Geographic, and Vanity Fair, and it adds up to about $60 a year. That's not much, and it provides me with so much good reading that it is absolutely worth the $2.30 per paycheck. Much better than a latte per paycheck. :)

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

I guess it just depends on what you think is worth spending money on. Personally, I just put magazines in the pile of things I don't need, and when you add in the $10/week on cappucinos and whatnot, etc., it winds up translating very easily into 10% of your income going into a savings account.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

Our office, like many, has a little kitchenette area. I have a little rice warmer set up there. Buying rice and/or lentils in bulk is just as filling as those instant-soup cups, and a heck of a lot cheaper.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

I always feel like a little old lady, but coupons can really save a bundle at the grocery store. As do the "grocery store card" discounts that have started popping up -- where you sign up for a card and swipe it every time you shop and then you get special "member discounts." I save anywhere from 10 - 30 dollars a week buying things that are on sale or that I have coupons for. The ones I save the most on tend to be house stuff, like laundry detergent and shampoo. Things you can count on always needing -- so you watch the sales each week, and when there's a special on, say, Tide, and you've got a coupon, you can end up saving quite a few dollars right there. And don't even get me started on double and triple coupon days.

Also, this is something my mom does that I love -- lots of banks have what they call a "Christmas Club." It's a separate account that earns very low interest but has no monthly charges and maybe a $5 minimum balance. You deposit a set amount into it each week, and by the end of November, when you're ready to start your holiday shopping in depth, you know exactly how much you've got to spend. It's a principle you don't need the separate account to follow -- an envelope in your underwear drawer will suffice. I think my mom is the only person I know who isn't still paying off holiday bills in February and March 'cuz she paid for everything in cash from her Xmas CLub account.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

I have made an attempt to budget myself. I figure $50 a week for groceries, $20 a week in gas, add in bits for utilities, etc..things that must be paid. Once I cut that out of my monthly earnings, I cut what is left in half. Half goes into savings, the other half into the checking account for stuff. Cds, going out to the movies, etc. Money usually accumulates in there until we decide to redecorate or something though.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

I wouldn't underestimate the value of getting money deducted from your pay, actually. If you commit to going on an all-cash diet (and balancing your checkbook, if you're writing checks to utilities and the landlord/mortgage bank) that's pretty much all that needs to be done. I tried lots of budgeting methods when I married my husband: envelope system, writing everything down system, whatever. They all failed miserably, oh la la, did they. Eventually I gave up.

Now when we get paid, the following things happen: (1) our employers take money out of our checks and stick it in our 401(k) plans, (2) the remainder is direct-deposited, (3) Vanguard (the firm we invest with) takes the amount we designated ahead of time out of that deposit on the very same day and sticks in one of our funds (yeah! we have multiple funds!) and, (4) we spend the rest. We had a couple of months at the beginning there when we ran out of grocery money because we were dummies, but things are better now.

Once every quarter I rebalance the money in our investment accounts (the money market serves as emergency fund, vacation savings, downpayment savings, and a holding place for long-term investment funds; everything else is long term growth.) The coolest thing is that it's easy to save more if we need to by just requesting that Vanguard and the 401(k) yank out a bit more each month. And we do. We're good little savers now. But we don't budget, per se, we just gradually got used to having a little less money each month. The day to day things happened as a matter of course, which is fine, since everyone has different priorities.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

Yeah, direct withdrawals are the way to go, I think. My paycheck is direct deposited into our joint account, and our mortgage payment is deducted almost immediately. Then a certain amount goes into one savings account, a certain amount goes into another account, and some more goes into a Roth IRA. Roughly the same thing happens with Jeremy's check, except he actually writes a check for his part of the mortgage and puts it into our account.

Some other stuff gets deducted throughout the month: my car insurance, one of my student loans, internet access payments, and the gas. I wish I could get *all* the utilities on there.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

I think a budget, even a very basic one, can help a great deal. When I was having lots of problems with money, I literally didn't know how much I had or how much I owed. Getting things organized is a very valuable first step.

Quicken is very easy to learn, and great for maintaining household accounts.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

Rule #1 - Pay myself first. It's the same thing as that 10% savings. Rule #2 - Sale shopping, with the caveat that it isn't a bargain if you don't need it.

Rule #3 - I have a housemate. I could swing the mortgage alone (and lately, I really wish I was; she's driving me nuts!) but the rent allows me to save almost $500/month + half the utilities.

Rule #4 - I don't buy new books or magazines anymore (mostly). I take used books and cds in for trade and get credit at used booksellers and then use the credit to get other books and music. The library rocks! Aside from books and magazines, ours has cds and videos, all for free!

I read a book a while back called "Your money or Your Life" about debt management. One of the things the author recommends is to write down every cent that comes in or goes out of your hands for a month. Yeah, it's obsessive, but it really does give you an idea where you're spending. I had no idea my latte habit was costing me nearly forty bucks a month. It was eye opening. There's also a section on budgeting and priorities.

Everyone has already talked about bringing lunch, etc. Not buying prepared food helps, too. And using the "club cards" for discounts on groceries. And not belonging to the gym (no gym payment)and instead using the university facilities or running in the neighborhood. I think getting a handle on finances is really about letting go of that sense of entitlement and coming to grips with not needing so much stuff. Of course for some, that's easier said than done.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

1) Give up going out to eat, except for one treat night out per month. This is a biggie for us, because we love good food. When looking for entertainment, we'd rather try out a new restaurant or an old favorite, than going to a movie or anything else of that nature.

2) Go to matinee shows. We get up early (ugh) on Saturday or Sunday and go to a 10:30 am show. Seats are practically guaranteed. Price: $10 instead of $17.00 in the evening.

3) Bring lunch in from home, or if we're running late or forget the bag, we eat at the local deli where I can get lunch for less than 5 bucks -- sandwich with free side of fries $3.50, chocolate milk $.79

4) Stop shopping online. Amazon is evil. I love it but it's evil. So is CDNow. And even my beloved Land's End. Online shopping was invented to part me from my hard-earned cash.

5) Make do with holey socks and slightly frayed shirts. As long as there is no dress code at work, no one will notice.

6) Stop driving to work. Saves on gas. Use bike, much cheaper and it will help me lose weight so the base cost of my clothing is less.

7) Buy shampoo, soap and so on in bulk in the bargain items aisle. I had enough shampoo to last me over a year between the 2 family size bottles of Pantene.

8) Okay and last but not least -- stop getting online. If I could just wean myself off the 'net, then we wouldn't have to pay for the connection anymore.

HAH.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

Hrmmm. I thought this was going to examine what types of accounts folks dump savings into. Beth, please tell me you don't actually use statement savings.

~ Okay, now to be on topic:

I've managed to both spend and save a lot of money over the past few years, swinging between "what the hell, I'm so far in the hole it doesn't matter" to "hey, if I get off at the next metro stop, I can save .10!" Believe me, neither pays.

General rules I've settled on:

Buy yourself nice stuff. Not nice as in "ooh, I saw that in Glamour just last month!" but "wow, classic style with solid construction- I'll never have to buy another endtable." We do ourselves a disservice by living with Target (don't forget the accent) plastic furnishings. Buy it once, and you save the expense of multiple purchases in the future.

Don't buy/rent your place at your maximum possible rate. Consider what you *need* and get that. Yes, one day you can buy whatever the hell you want. In the meantime, following this allows me and Her to sock away over a grand a month in rent savings alone. That's a hellified down payment in a couple of years.

Don't be a moron. Really, I mean that. I was just at a party this past Saturday which seemed to be filled with people who'd gotten screwed on the purchase of their houses, cars, or services recently. A little bit of homework and a healthy dose of skepticism will go a long way.

Finally, learn about money. Take the time to sit down with fool.com or something similar. No one makes so little money that they can't put some money into some intelligent investment vehicles, avoiding the trap of basic savings and CDs.

Cheers-

Curtis

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

I definitely second that "don't be a moron" bit. Or at least, don't knowingly be a moron. Occasionally we all do moronic money things because, damn it, we just want the stainless steel refrigerator!

Ahem.

As for the type of savings accounts we use, it depends on what it's for. I use easily accessible, low-interest accounts for short-term stuff (i.e., the account I use to bail myself out at the end of the month when I fuck up and run out of money), and different types of accounts for other things.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000

I'm going to stick up for the latte drinkers here. All my adult life, I've treated myself to being able to go to a cafe or diner and have something to drink and maybe a snack, whenever I wanted, because those places are where I do my best work, and sometimes it's the only way to get away from my flatmates and officemates. It has been well worth it. Things I skimp on: Rent - why not live with flatmates when you're rarely home anyway?
Toys - my computer runs Word 2 and I do everything else at work.
Clothes - except for shoes, coats, and underwear, they come from secondhand stores, and they're better than most of the crap that's selling new.
Phone - not a big chatter.
Transport - mass transit rules, ok?
Housewares - I hate having lots of crap in my kitchen and I hate chachkas. Anyway there's no room.
Beauty products - I'd never remember to use them anyway.
Restaurant food - easy when your friends never go to restaurants either.
Things I do not skimp on: Books - though I do buy secondhand wherever possible.
( Music - although a certain application has changed my habits.
Travel and seeing friends.
Everyone's list is different. Some people have to see movies, some people have to go to the theater, some people can't stand to live with flatmates. If I stressed over the raw vs. prepared foods thing, I'd probably raise my blood pressure so much I wouldn't live to enjoy my retirement. If I were a welfare mother, I'm sure I'd end up with a jar of shrimp cocktail in my cart and people giving me dirty looks.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

Whenever I can, I've ridden a bike to work, instead of driven a car.

I cook fresh, instead of prepared foods, but buy stuff on the reduced produce, or meat table for soups, and stews.

I make a hoecake of cornbread out of waterground cornmeal.

I buy dried beans and brown rice from a food co-op, in bulk.

I eat game and fish and shellfish that we gather, or people give us, including road-kill deer-meat. This may not be practical, where you live.

When we had fruit trees in our yard we ate avocado, key lime, orange, and grapefruit, off our tree. I made my own mojo criollo sauce, for salad dressing and a marinade, and baste.

Brenda has a breadmaker, and bakes bread and rolls in it. She makes her own pizza dough. She keeps chickens for yard eggs. You may not be able to do this, where you live.

In the past, we have grown our own sprouts and made our own yogurt, but this economy is more trouble than it's worth, as cheap as sprouts, and yogurt are.

Brenda makes wine. The boys make homemade beer.

One thing I haven't seen on the list is shopping at thrift shops. If you have an eye for quality, you can buy good clothes, especially for growing children, at secondhand stores. Also cooking utensils, furniture, books and records, and objets d'art.

Trade art with other working artists, or perform some service in exchange for art.

Katharine Hepburn said exercise out of doors, every day, and learn to do things for fun that don't cost anything. We walk, after supper. Instead of watching television.

A bookmobile, or the public library, is a necessity, for me.

Enough about me. How did you like my book?

An important part of living poor is keeping your sense of humor.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

Joy, do you bake your bread in loaf pans in the oven or do you use a breakmaker? If it's the latter i would greatly appreciate suggestions as to good but not overpriced brands. I've actually wanted to try making my own bread for awhile.

Dorrie, what's the envelope method??

Beth, you tyrant! Give up my magazines? Whimper, okay, you're probably right.

I should also follow the coupon suggestions, but we usually just pick up groceries on the way home from work so we don't usually have any coupons on us.

One thing i must do is cut down on the eating of take-out food at lunch during work. George and i have this teeter-totter thing going on. For two or three weeks we'll dutifully bring in lunches whether it's leftovers from supper or sandwiches and a can of soup. Then for a couple of weeks we fall off the wagon and order food. It's disgusting.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

In re: the envelope method.

This is just a variant of a cash diet, though it's based on a budget plan. First you need to spend a few minutes and set up a very basic budget: so much for groceries, so much for rent, so much for entertainment. Then when you get your paycheck you cash it and divide the cash up into different envelopes, marked groceries, rent, entertainment, etc. (it's to be hoped that something is left in the bank for savings, too.) Over the course of the next two weeks (or month, if you're paid monthly), when you need groceries, you take cash from the grocery envelope. If you run out of money in "clothing" or "entertainment," well, no more shoes and no more movies this month.

People in the early stages of using this budget often find themselves raiding the entertainment envelope for grocery money if they're not careful, which is fine at first. It's also fine if you realize you've completely missed the boat on certain costs and change how much money goes where the very next month. Most people I know who use this method were struggling under a lot of debt and in big trouble; they could implement this plan almost immediately and start making progress on their debts without tracking every expense for a month first, and that was important for them.

Our experience was that this method won't work for you at all if you have an unfortunate visceral spending reaction to seeing a lot of cash in one place (my husband) or if the idea of having that much cash lying around the house gives you the willies (me.) However, there are many, many people who swear by it. It was definitely worth trying for us, and it was a useful experience, even though it didn't work out. For people who would rather be eaten alive by ants than write down every expense, or who find the process of making a detailed budget the equivalent of "No Exit", it often works well.

Anyway, good luck!

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

These are all great! Thanks for the great question, Sherry! Especially having just read the 'credit and debt' thread. How I save money:

#1 Quit smoking. I cannot believe how long a $20 lasts when I stopped paying $6 a pack (in BC) for smokes. Plus all the yada yada good for you health crap, but financially, this was my biggest frivolous drain (Since I don't consider buying alcohol to be frivolous). When my parents quit smoking, they kept paying out that money into a jar, and at the end of the year, went for a cruise on it.

#2. I got this one from my Dad - every time you get a $1 coin in your change, save it. This is more applicable to Canadians, because we have loonies instead of bills. Two Xmas's ago, I started saving all of my loonies, emptying them into a jar at the end of the day - from January to the following November, I ended up with seven hundred of them, and voila! Instant Xmas fund. No credit card hassles after the holiday was over.

#3 Before I buy anything, I have this little conversation with myself. "Do I want this, or do I need this? And if I want it, why do I want it?" And if the answer is, "Because all of my friends have it", I consider how embarrasing that would be to say out loud, and then leave the store.

#4. My girlfriends and I clothing swap.

#5. I send away for a tonne of net freebies. My medicine cabinet is stocked with sample sizes of every headache/indigestion medication that exists! Usually, you get killer coupons with the freebies ($1 and $2 off purchase), and sometimes you get extras later on. I just got a free bra in the mail from Jockey (in my size) because I had signed up for something from them previously.

#6. If you can, pick one company/store to do all of your gift shopping from. I like Harry and David, personally, but to each their own. Establish yourself as a regular customer, and then ask for a volumn discount, or a corporate rate.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

My parents have used the envelope method for almost 30 years, and they swear by it. My mom would even think ahead and place $25 or so in an envelope marked "Extra." If one of us kids came home remembering some fee for a field trip, or if guests were staying so she needed to have some extra food on hand, she didn't have to raid the entertainment envelope, or dip into her own weekly "allowance" (yup, even they had them). When she went grocery shopping, she would add up the prices on a calculator as she went, including subtracting the coupons. That way, she'd know if she could afford to treat us to, say, a box of Dove ice cream bars, or stick with the store brand of popscicles. It is unbelievable how much patience this takes!

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

Okay, here is a great idea that, I'm sad to say, I did NOT come up with. Everyone spends money on clothes, right? Everyone spends money on going out, having a bit of fun, maybe havinga get together? A friend came to me with the idea of starting a "dress club". Here's how it works. It's best to have around 20 women for it to be worth your while, and you want them to be dependable, so that they won't bugger off when they've gotten their share. Each of the women involved put $20 in the pot, and they draw one name to see who gets the $400. The women that gets it HAS to spend it all on clothing. The next week, or month, or whenever you meet again, you all get together at the house of the person who won the pot, and the evening starts with the women who won modelling all the new clothes she bought herself. Then everyone does it again, and a new lady is drawn. We work thru all the names until everyone has had their turn. It's nice to do it like it this, b/c I never buy myself clothes...there is always something (or someone) else to spend any extra money on. Now I get a new wardrobe every five months (we meet once a week), and guarnteed plans every Satuday night. And at least I get more out of it than a hangover.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

I keep track of every cent that I spend. I use my Palm for this, but before that I had a little notebook. I've done it, off and on, for years. It helps if you kind of enjoy this kind of anal activity.

Anyway, it helps me see how much I'm actually spending on things which is good because I have a terrible memory.

Also, I try to ask myself if I really want something and if I do want it, do I really want it $20 worth? I try to keep in mind that if I spend $20 on this, I won't have it to spend on something else. More money isn't going to fall from the sky. Sometimes this actually helps me get a grip on myself and keep from buying things.

For me magazines are worth it. I figure there are other things I save money on, like I don't smoke and I never go to the movies or rent then or buy CDs. You have to set your priorities.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

Sherry: We don't use a bread machine. IMO, the bread made in them isn't anywhere as good as the kind you can make yourself. Which is not hard.

Mel: Sorry, but I don't get the point of the dress club. I mean, it sounds like fun to get together with the gals and talk about clothes, but all the $$ part is is a small-time pyramid scheme. If each person contributes $20/week, when you get your $400, you're not "getting" anything. You're just cycling money.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

Joy: I guess while some people could look at that a see it as not really getting something, I do get something out of it...normally if I have an extra twenty, I spend it on a treat for the kid, or it just gets spent foolishly and doesn't really count. I don't spend money on myself very often, and this way it gives me and a few friends a way to put a little fun into our hectic lifestyles. Alot of the women I hang out with are single moms, and they don't have more than 20 dollars extra to throw around (and you can't really buy clothes for 20 dollars), so I guess the pyramid thing works for us, because it's like saving up our money together, and doing something for ourselves for once. It's not really "money saving" but I think it's a neat idea, and that I'd share it with the group.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2000

In shopping - especially for clothes, software (a BIG downfall in our house), and other luxury-type items, we use the 24 hour rule. Never buy anything you didn't plan to purchase without waiting 24 hours. Put it on hold if you need to (almost every store will do this), and GO HOME. Amazingly, when you get up the next morning you often don't even think about the item left behind. Stores are designed to foster impulse buying - 24 hours kills that.

Re: magazines. Love 'em, but either subscribe or read them for free. Once or twice a month, we go to Border (or Barnes & Noble or some other 'coffee & books' place) and stake out a table. Pile up the magazines, order a coffee and sit for as long as you like. For $4, you can read an entire month's worth of magazines. Note any articles you really want for reference (in a Palm, or on a piece of paper) and look 'em up online when you get home. It's cheaper than a movie for an evening's entertainment!

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2000

This maybe only helps city-dwelling fashion slaves like myself -- and I hope I won't get ragged on for my friviolity. Anyway, I absolutely cannot wear last season's clothes. Nope, can't do it. Most of my friends and I buy clothes constantly. The difference between them and me is that they spend thousands every month and I spend maybe 3000 a year. (I know, that's ridiculous anyway, but I work in entertainment and it's somewhat necessary to be hip.) Anything "classic" like leather coats and boots and black pants I buy quality, pay what's necessary and take excellent care of. Anything "trendy" (magenta silk capris with gold embroidery on the cuff, eg), I buy in teenagers' stores at the mall, or internet order from delia's or mxg or girlfriends or somesuch. So, maybe you can't wash it without it falling apart -- I'm only wearing it for three months, anyway. I also try to pick up on fashion trends early so that I can wear stuff longer before the look gets old.

I do all the finances for myself and my husband-like-creature... budgeting every penny, including the cash in our pockets and the change in the car. We never buy Starbucks or water (I have a few Poland Springs bottles filled from the tap in the fridge for taking with me in the morning). I make my own greeting cards (in a big birthday month you can spend $18 on Hallmark), and make my long distance calls from work, since they never pay me for overtime. Oh, and I use the rabbit's poop in the garden.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2000

I stay home.

In the past two weeks, I've bought a CD burner, a PowerBook and a MiniDisc player. Now that I've got the damn gadget monkey off my back, I'm staying at home. If I go out, bad bad elves will force me to spend money.

-- Anonymous, June 24, 2000