Being Frugal doesn't mean you are cheap!

It's smart living! Here are a few tips that I can share with you from living frugal. It's the recession! We can't be living paycheck to paycheck or just relying on our unemployment. We have to realize at one point or another that we have to cut back. When you are ready...try these...

1. Pay off credit cards - are you paying just the minimum? Go to dinkytown.net. This site has calculators that will help you determine how much interest you are paying off on your credit card(s) and how long it will take you to pay them off. Sometimes by adding $200 or more cuts down your payoff time down significantly.

2. Call your credit cards to see if they can lower your monthly finance charges. This will help out with your monthly payments towards paying off the principal.

3. Pay off the one with the highest interest FIRST. It is much desirable to pay off the one with the lowest balance first, but if you do the math, you actually pay more that way on interest.

4. Once you paid off one card, use the money you are using there to pay off the other ones...for example. If you have 2 credit cards and you are paying off $100 each...but you have paid off one...so now pay the other with $200 rather than keeping the other $100 for yourself...This cuts the time to pay off your debt.

5. People are saying it...live within your means. Cut down to the bare minimum. Eating out is one of the worst expense! Eat in, Brown Bag...Buy in bulk (meats too!), and store them in your freezer (even bread). They will be good for 3 months. If you have a zero degree freezer, they are good for up to a year!

6. Shop for bargains (and only if you need the item).

7. Cut coupons and use them when items go on sale...some grocery stores will accept expired ones.

8. Pay in cash. If you don't have cash, you can't buy it.

9. Don't be afraid to buy 2nd hand. Checkout Craigslist, Garage/Yard Sale...or even swap clothes with friends/family. Also, you can sell your clothes at a consignment OR have a yard sale of your own.

10. If you like to go out, skip the concerts, museums or any events that you have to pay for. Enjoy the outdoors by walking to a park, checking out free festivals...

11. Go Green. Cleaning the house with chemicals can cost you money...A simple bleach/vinegar/lemon, water and baking soda/salt, can help clean your kitchen, bathroom, windows, etc... On BBC, there's a show called "How Clean is Your Home". But if you don't have it, just do 1 cup of water to 2 tbsp of vinegar or bleach or lemon with a drop or 2 of dishsoap. If you have hard to clean surface, use salt. - Skip the A/C...If you are extremely hot, go to an ice rink and sit by the bleachers and watch a hockey league for free. Or go to the mall and just walk around (don't buy anything)...go to the movies (matinee for cheap ones) If cold, wear layers rather than increasing the thermostat. - Ride a bike or walk to the store - Carpool

12. Lower your plans - TV/Cable, Cell Phone...is it really necessary for you to have internet access on your phone? Or subscribe to a plan for 250 text messages per month...Closely look at your statements...even your car insurance.

13. Budget gifts to $5- $10 per person (and yes, include Christmas gifts there)...You'll be surprised how creative you become. Checkout $.99 stores...It's the thought the counts...really...

14. Have a clothes and shoes switching party. Gather friends and friends of friends and switch clothes/shoes that you have barely or never worn, and it just sits in your closet. You get new clothes without buying a new one.

15. Fill up your tank frequently. Don't wait until your tank gets closer to E.

16. Make sure your car is at its optimum performance, that means check air in tires, fluids are all at the right levels. Why? Saves gas = saves money.

17. Cut back on luxuries - take advantage of free coffee and water (from cooler or fountain) at work. This will be a good way to cut back on those sodas...

18. Get your friends to cut hair...or have a low maintenance hair cut...maybe even grow your hair for donation.

19. Do your own nails and spa stuff...Instead of going to the spa, just get a kit at home and it'll save you money not just the trip but also the tip.

20. Most shows and movies are online. If you can avoid not having the enormous TV plan, just watch the shows online. The big networks post their shows online the next day. If you want to watch movies, check out Hulu. They may be old, but they are still free!

Watch CNBC "On the Money". They have FREE podcasts that you can download. I learned A LOT by watching the show. All of these are tips to help you save money and getting close to achieving your goal of becoming debt free and more money in your pocket. The hardest part is discipline...You gotta keep focus...Always remember your goal to keep you true to yourself. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND watching On the Money. You'll learn a lot from watching it...I know I did.

Good luck!

The Power Hour

One of many time managements that I have come to practice is called a Power Hour. I have heard it several times, and I advocate this over and over. If you somehow have a lot of tasks to do that you need to check off your list, a power hour is a good way to manage that. It is where you are able to check off 5 or more things in your to do list in an hour. It helps when the tasks are less than 20 minutes. So, here’s what you need to do…

Pick out 5 things in your to do list: one that takes 20 minutes, four that takes 10 minutes. For example, it takes you 20 mins. to clean the bathroom, 10 mins. to load and unload laundry, 10 mins. to unload and load the dishwasher, 10 mins. to clean the kitchen and 10 mins. to vacuum the house. In an hour, you have done your chores.

You can also vary it to 30/10/10/10 or 20/20/20 or 20/10/30 or make it all 10 minutes…The idea is to be able to accomplish a bunch of tasks in one hour. You may also use it to your job searching strategies: 20 mins. to submit your resume for a job, 10 mins. to search and make a connection with the company you just applied at, 10 mins. to blog and tweet about your experience, 10 mins. to update your profile on LinkedIn and 10 mins. to update your website. No matter where you use it for, you want to make sure you are utilizing that hour to the fullest…after all time is something you can never take back, right?!

The difficult part about this is discipline. There are a bunch of distractions, and you just have to keep focus. When you designate 10 minutes to answer emails, stick to it…don’t end up surfing a bunch of videos on YouTube 20 mins. later. Be true to yourself. You are robbing yourself of that time rather than checking off another task in your to do list. Keeping a timer would help (that kitchen timer is not just for baking any longer). The beeping or bell will help to remind yourself to move on to the next task.

Tip: Keep a log and use a timer to measure how long a new activity/task is. In the future, you’ll know how long it will take you to finish that task which will make planning much easier for you.

Try it out. I would love to hear your feedback on how successful you were and the challenges you faced…