Today I turn over to you, my wise readers – what is your biggest financial tip? You don’t need to be a financial wizard, but maybe something you do helps your situation and might help others too!
Please do share! 
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I'm Frugal Trenches (no, not my real name!) a lover of natural, simple and frugal living! I use this space and my camera to document a beautiful, purposeful, downshifted and abundant life! Life is not always simple (oh how I wish it was!) but it is always rich and I hope this space demonstrates beauty and joy!
If you have a question, feel free to leave it in the comments! I read and appreciate every comment and will reply to questions within the comment section, even if it takes a day or two (or three, but whose counting!).
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I operate 3 bank accounts. This keeps me sorted in terms of what goes out when, and I don’t have to do endless calculations to see where I am.
The first account my salary is paid into, and all monthly direct debits go out of on the first of each month. Included in these is a monthly direct debit into the two other accounts.
The second account is for yearly paid bills, e.g. car tax, car insurance, house insurance, Christmas, birthdays. I also include an amount for variable bills e.g. vet bills for my cat.
The third account is for weekly spends: petrol, food, cat food, incidentals.
Even though I’m single and run a house and car on a part-time voluntary sector wage, this system has helped me budget my way very sucessfully. When I had just one bank account, I was always in a muddle. This way I know exactly where I am throughout the month and the year!
Recent one i’ve adopted – if i don’t need my purse, i don’t take it with me!! This works great for workdays and stops me spending on stuff i dont really need! It amazing how a drink here, a magazine there adds up!
If you cant pay Cash for it…you cant afford it !
No credit card debt !!
Set aside a % of your income for savings. After you have done that, then allocate the rest for expenses.
Draw a set amount of cash each week and when it is gone, it is gone. Pay cash for everything.
My most recent thing has happened since I got my hens, (which I absolutely adore). I work in a city and often spent some money on chocolate, cake or iced biscuit, occassionally on a magazine.
I’m trying to cut this down….and while trying to persuade myself out of something the other day I suddenly thought if I get this magazine it costs the same as half a bag of hen food!! Somehow this makes it very real and stops me in my tracks.
I like to have my budget worked out in my mind, so I have some facts to start with! The book All Your Worth by Elizabeth Warren and her daughter Amelia Tyagi is a good help with this. Her basic premise is that 50% of your income should go to Needs, 30 % to Wants and 20% for Savings. Her way of determining Needs was interesting to me. I’m not quite in the category the book was written for because I am retired and for now, have enough money. But this helped me understand the situation much better. I’m also helped by the fact that at my age, I have more than I need of those tempting unnecessary things and am trying to “bless other people with my stuff” as one of my daughters says. But even at my age, it’s quite worth while to get a very clear picture in ones mind of what you need, and what you might want (charity of all sorts comes in this category).
Other than the usual: budget & track your expenses just to see where your money is going…
1. Save 10% of your income, then allocate the rest to whatever you want. If you have more wants than needs, cut back on the unnecessary items and stop thinking that you “deserve” entertainment/drinking/shopping in your budget.
2. Get the cheapest apartment possible if you are renting. You are only showing off to yourself.
3. Don’t buy on impulse. Either avoid going to the shops themselves, or set a limit on what you need/want to buy and stick to it.
Buy everything used. Shop thrift stores, yard sales, and such for clothing, household items, gifts. It’s amazing what you can find. The great thing about buying from thrift stores is that you can buy a piece of clothing with a great label and know what its going to look like after it laundered! Great for the earth and great for your budget.
Stay home! It’s amazing how little you spend when you don’t go out!
I try to live by the mantra:
Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make do,
or Do without!
Amazing how much stuff you think you need until you really think about it and realize you either don’t need it or something you have can already do the task.
you can have whatever you want as long as you pay cash and buy used. actually I only read that the other day, but its very good tip. the other really traditional one is that if you look after the pennies the pounds look after themselves. and tracking your spending is the way to do this. being aware is the best thing.
Cook my own food.
I agree with all of the above, which match how we try to live. Another thing we do is prepare a weekly menu before we shop. Planning ahead stops us buying on impulse and helps to use what we already have in the cupboard, freezer, garden, local forest, etc.
Brilliant tips, thank you for sharing!
online saving. . .with automatic deposits from my checking account. Otherwise I would never save any money!
If I never see it, or it’s taken away shortly after I get paid, I can’t spend it and I don’t miss it.
1. Do the accounts once a week; this helps me keep track of how much we’ve spent and where the money’s going.
2. Remember that many people live far below the breadline; this helps me counteract the “you’re worth it” feeling of entitlement, which fuels unnecessary spending. Sometimes I manage this!
I have long had the attitude that what I see makes me rich. It may be the right to scenery when I am in the country or the changing colours of the sea on the way down the hill to my place. It can be going to an op shop on the way to do my groceries or walking around the mall. I have no need to buy anything on the days without the resources but just seeing beauty in things, whether creation or created ie, clothes, books,jewellery, is enough for me. I can enjoy it all there without feeling the need to take it home or possess it myself. It is the attitude that counts and gives just as big a high as buying the thing without the guilt that comes with stretching the budget beyond reason. I also get a huge high from redoing or restoring and saving what I already have. Cherrie
Diligently pay off debt, even if you must sacrifice to do so. My dh and I live on a smallish American income and we are almost debt-free once again after a few set-backs this year. We are able to do it because we don’t live like everyone else with the latest and greatest. We stay home. We focus on what is important to spend our money on. Yes, believe it or not, there are Americans who live like this! We’ve not had a vacation since we got married. I don’t feel cheated as I have most of what I need and some wants, and I am home full-time. Not many can say this while living on a smaller budget! Money is not spent foolishly on things that don’t really matter. Stay out of the stores, use a cash envelope system (when the money is gone, it’s gone until next pay day). Find joy in the everyday simple things – reading a book, being in nature, putting your feet up with a nice beverage. There are many things I do that are home-centered.
Declutter your home – you’ll realize you have more than enough already! Pick hobbies that are beneficial to you or cost very little to do. If you don’t have like-minded frugal friends – read blogs online for inspiration (that’s what I do).
We have family and friends who live on two incomes and are steep in debt. We decided a long time ago to live within our means. It doesn’t mean I don’t have dreams, but if I can’t afford them, then I can’t have them (at least not right now). Contentment and thankfulness are key.
What can you cut from your budget to make your dreams happen? What can you change in your life to make your dreams more of a reality? Think you need cable? Fancy clothes? Gourmet food? No, you really don’t. You WANT those things. Having a clear perspective of what is REALLY important (a need), versus a want, is key.
Is your time more valuable to you than stuff? Read “Your Money or Your Life”. It’s a great inspirational book and will leave you thinking differently about money, stuff, and time. (I love to read and it’s a staple book in my home library.) Oh, and of course the “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” too!
A few more thoughts: I adore second-hand shopping, but if you don’t go with a list, it can be very dangerous! In my younger years I would just go to yard sales and such without a plan and came back with all kinds of things. Then in the long run I ended up having to declutter my home! Too much stuff is still too much, whether bought full-price or not.
Also, even if you have little to give, find a small way to do something. I give locally and it makes me feel great – it’s a wonderful way to get your mind off of your own financial thoughts and to think of others who have less than you do. Coupon shopping is very popular in the U.S. but I couldn’t live with myself having a large overstock and not give something to help those less fortunately. I find in giving back, somehow our needs are always met – funny how it works out that way.
Have a small personal stipend for yourself – even if it’s to treat yourself to a magazine or a cup of coffee (whatever you enjoy). Those little treats will enable you to keep a tighter budget and have something to look forward to.
Okay, I think I have shared enough (sorry so long!)
Know your priorities. I know you, our canny Frugal Trenches blogger, have them sorted pretty well, but if you don’ t know, you will waste money on all sorts of stuff that you didn’t really need and then you can’t get the things you do need.
Have an eye to the future -putting money away for bills as they come up and keeping records of what bills you have had in the past (useful for watching trends). Save whenever you can.
Don’t let financial affairs overwhelm you however. Money can’t buy most of what really counts. If we feel deprived because we are living frugally or saving hard, that attitude will ultimately defeat us. Contentment has a great reward. My DH and I just love to stay home and enjoy our garden or our hobbies. A nice cup of tea in a pretty cup on the patio is just as nice as one in a coffee shop.
The best thing I have found for getting on top of financial affairs is to stop yourself seeing or reading advertisements. I no longer allow junk mail to get in the door and I don’t watch commercial television. Therefore I am immune to all the latest “fads” which want to entice me to buy stuff I didn’t even know I needed until the ad came on.
I second the using of multiple bank accounts I have one for household/utility bills, one for day to day living, one for savings and then one as an emergency fund (which if it ever reaches over £500 get booted to savings….)
I have a question for those ladies that maintain separate bank accounts for different purposes. I think this idea would help me a lot. Right now I only have two bank accounts (and another for retirements savings) but it isn’t enough. I only have the option of 3 (which I’ve maxed out on) at my bank branch. Do you currently use different banks for all the accounts?
Joyful I too have several accounts, I will do a post later this week and hopefully people add their reasons/ideas etc!