Frugal living for dummies
Book - 2003
Saved in:
- Subjects
- Published
-
New York :
Wiley Publishing
c2003.
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Physical Description
- 264 p. ; 24 cm
- ISBN
- 9780764554032
- Introduction
- About This Book
- Conventions Used in This Book
- Foolish Assumptions
- How This Book Is Organized
- Part I: Getting Down to Basics
- Part II: Eating Like a King with a Peasant's Purse
- Part III: Funding the Frugal Family
- Part IV: Enjoying a Frugal Home and Hearth
- Part V: Part of Tens
- Icons Used in This Book
- Where to Go from Here
- Part I. Getting Down to Basics
- Chapter 1. Living Frugally in a Spendthrift World
- Defining Frugal Living
- To Be or Not to Be: Reasons for Living a Frugal Lifestyle
- Saving money and meeting financial goals
- Dealing with stagnant wages or low income
- Living through a job loss
- Reducing consumer debt
- Look on the Bright Side: Adjusting Bad Attitudes
- Canceling your reservation for the pity party
- Accepting that your money supply has a limit
- Reveling in the fact that you're free from credit card debt
- Finding freedom and financial strength with a budget
- Adopting wise spending habits: Saying no to impulse purchases
- Establishing Goals, Budgets, and Good Financial Habits
- Bringing the Family Aboard
- Finding Ways to be Frugal in Every Area of Your Life
- Chapter 2. All in the Family: Establishing a Frugal Front
- Working with Your Partner to Achieve Financial Goals
- Recognizing your financial strengths and weaknesses
- Identifying long-term goals
- Establishing savings goals
- Finding peaceful solutions to financial differences
- Taming Childhood and Teenage Spending
- Explaining that money doesn't grow on trees
- Instilling good spending habits
- Budgeting 101 for kids--from preschoolers to college students
- Helping your kids deal with peer pressure
- Chapter 3. Eliminating Debt and Setting Up a Budget
- Digging Out of Debt
- Step 1. Acknowledge the problem
- Step 2. Cut the cards
- Step 3. Set a frugal budget and live within it
- Step 4. Contact your creditors
- Budgeting for the Future
- Step 1. Categorize your expenses
- Step 2. Estimate what you spend
- Step 3. Calculate and adjust
- Part II. Eating Like a King with a Peasant's Purse
- Chapter 4. Going to the Grocery without Being Taken to the Cleaners
- Avoiding Common Gimmicks and Tricks of the Grocery Trade
- Seeing through the aisle switcheroo
- Understanding the store's layout
- Escaping the store with only the loss leaders you went in for
- Looking high and low: Finding the best bargains on the shelves
- Using Coupons and Rebates
- Boning up on coupon basics
- Rebating for fun and profit
- Saving Even More Money, Let Me Count the Ways
- Locating in-store specials
- Taking advantage of seasonal sales
- Buying in bulk
- Opting for generic products or store brands
- Building relationships with shopkeepers and store employees
- Experiencing the Wonders of a Price Diary
- Chapter 5. No More Macaroni and Cheese, Please! Creating Frugal Meals
- Creating a Meal Plan to Avoid the Fast-Food Trap
- Breaking Your Fast, Not Your Budget!
- Enjoying generic breakfast favorites
- Pulling breakfast out of a hat ... or the freezer
- Stretching Your Lunch-Time Dollar
- Counting the savings
- Packaging your lunch
- To sandwich or not to sandwich
- Deciding "What's for Dinner?"
- Serving breakfast for dinner
- Focusing on the sides
- S.O.S. = Saving on Snacks
- Having Your Cake without Busting the Bank: Dessert Ideas
- Using Leftovers Creatively
- Making a buffet
- Put it all in the pot and what have you got? Dinner!
- Sandwiching leftovers into savings
- Safety is as safety does ...
- Finding Alternatives to Store-Bought Items
- Growing your own produce
- Making your own mixes and convenience items
- Chapter 6. Quick and Thrifty Cooking Tips
- Freezing Food = Freezing Food Bills
- Easing into bulk cooking
- Freezing tips for homemade meals
- Choosing what to freeze
- Planning Ahead for Leftovers
- Stretching the bird
- Considering other creative concoctions
- Cooking Cooperatively
- Making cooking fun--sharing with a friend
- Exchanging frozen meals
- Trading hot, home-cooked meals
- Fixing Your Food Fast
- Stir-frying
- Grilling and broiling
- Dusting off the old slow cooker
- Making magic in the microwave
- Additional Money-Saving Tips and Tricks from the Kitchen
- Part III. Funding the Frugal Family
- Chapter 7. Cutting Kid Costs: Providing the Basics on a Tight Budget
- Budgeting for Babies and Toddlers
- Affording furniture and other big-ticket baby items
- Saving on diapering needs
- Feeding baby inexpensively
- Providing toddler toys and games
- Clothing the Kids
- Making the most of hand-me-downs
- Exchanging outgrown clothing with friends
- Shopping seasonally and planning ahead
- Saving on school clothes
- Caring for clothing so it lasts
- Requiring Kids to Cover the Extras
- Chapter 8. Putting Kids through School While Protecting Your Pocket
- Saving on School Supplies
- Finding Frugal Educational Resources
- Homework: Finding inexpensive methods with quality results
- Making use of low-cost tutoring options
- Budgeting for Sports and Other School-related Activities
- Buying and renting equipment
- Budgeting for fees
- Affording all the trips
- Protecting Your Budget during Prom and Graduation Season
- Funding a frugal prom
- Saving on graduation-related expenses
- Combating the High Costs of College
- Earning college credit early
- Benefiting from financial aid
- Attending community college
- Working while in college
- Taking summer classes
- Chapter 9. Looking Good and Feeling Good on a Tight Budget
- Saving on Toiletries and Personal Hygiene Products
- Cleansing your body on a budget
- Finding frugal make-up
- Discovering cheap acne treatments
- Cutting the cost of caring for your hair
- Saving on feminine products
- Health Isn't a Luxury--It's a Frugal Essential!
- Eating to live, not living to eat
- Exercising for a healthy life
- Saving on Medical Expenses
- Keeping a close eye on bills
- Looking into payment plans
- Coordinating insurance benefits
- Finding less expensive prescriptions
- Chapter 10. The Family That Plays Together, Stays Together: Frugal Family Fun
- Enjoying Family Field Trips
- Choosing an event the entire family enjoys
- Getting ready to go
- Having Fun in Your Own Backyard
- Reviving the lost art of storytelling
- Discovering the games people play
- Rekindling the joys of an open campfire
- Making frugal music
- Enjoying movie favorites
- Financing a Reading Addiction
- Finding books at the bargain sales
- Browsing used bookstores and exchanges
- Taking advantage of inter-library loans
- Saving on Fine Dining
- Seeing through suggestive sales
- Avoiding overpriced drinks
- Choosing dining times wisely
- Vacationing in Big Style with a Small Price Tag
- Saving for a family getaway
- Traveling on a few dollars a day
- Staying at home for the time of your life
- Chapter 11. Frugal Holiday Fun Year 'Round
- Finding the Path from Insanity to Blissful Celebration
- Exploring holiday priorities and attitudes
- Budgeting and setting limits
- Putting yourself into planning mode
- Cutting Back without Settling for Less Celebration
- Will you be my Valentine?
- Here comes Peter Cottontail! Easter decorating and gift ideas
- Honoring Father's Day and Mother's Day
- Enjoying frightfully affordable Halloween fun
- No Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, please!
- Keeping Christmas and Hanukkah from breaking the budget
- Celebrating Birthdays on a Budget
- Cutting gift costs: Keeping a birthday box
- Hosting a frugal birthday bash
- Catering to the kids
- Chapter 12. Celebrating Special Occasions, Frugal-Style
- Planning a Frugal Party
- Getting down to the basics
- Preparing a budget
- Generating a guest list
- Making up the menu
- Putting your preparations down on paper
- Decking the halls
- Here Come$ the Bride
- Planning saves you money
- Saving on invitations
- Playing dress-up
- Finding frugal flowers and decoration options
- Hiring photographers, musicians, and singers ... oh my!
- Saving on the reception
- Showering the New Bride or Baby
- Decorating for showers on a shoestring
- Showering with frugal gifts
- Part IV. Enjoying a Frugal Home and Hearth
- Chapter 13. Saving Money around the House and Driveway
- Cleaning ... Always Cleaning
- Saving on paper products
- Considering low-cost cleaning supply alternatives
- Caring for your carpets
- Decorating on a Dime
- Finding inspiration
- Locating inexpensive home furnishings
- Simple is elegant: Finding frugal final touches
- Maintaining Your Home's Exterior and Yard
- Caring for your home's exterior
- Caring for your yard
- Discovering the Joys of Preventative Auto Maintenance
- Consulting the manual for maintenance schedules
- Performing routine maintenance yourself
- Cutting down on wear and tear
- Saving on Pet Costs
- How much is that doggie in the window?
- Saving on assorted pet supplies
- Taming those dreaded vet and pet med bills
- Chapter 14. Cutting Utility and Service Bills
- Reaching Out to Touch Someone
- Saving on phone bills
- Using e-mail to stay in touch
- Rediscovering the joys of letter writing
- Saving on Climate Control
- Dressing for the weather
- Keeping your cool when the weather's not
- Warming the house
- Cutting Back on Electricity and Gas Use
- Improving your appliance efficiency
- Shedding some light on the subject
- Trash Talk: Controlling Garbage Costs
- Reducing what you use and what you throw away
- Reusing household items in creative ways
- Reducing Television and Cable Expenses
- Cutting Down on Water Use to Save Money
- Chapter 15. Saving Money on Big-Ticket Items
- Keeping a Ceiling on Housing Budgets
- Saving money on rent
- Buying into the American dream--Home ownership
- Getting Around: Cutting Transportation Costs
- Finding a deal on a set of wheels
- Using public transportation
- Biking or walking to keep your budget intact
- Finding bargains on airfare and rental cars
- Opting to travel by train or bus
- Purchasing Appliances
- Keeping energy efficiency in mind
- Shopping for scratch-and-dent and secondhand
- Thinking twice about the rent-to-own option
- Chapter 16. Calling Secondhand Rose: Finding Quality in Previously Owned Merchandise
- Thinking Thrifty Thoughts
- It's dirty: Clean it up!
- It's used ... but gently
- It's out-of-date: But "retro" is in!
- It's unattractive: Keep digging for the gold
- It's unkind: Don't buy what the kids don't like
- Discovering Treasure: Old and New
- Garage sales
- Estate sales and auctions
- Thrift stores
- Consignment stores
- Checking for Quality and Safety While Secondhand Shopping
- Consulting secondhand checklists
- Avoiding potential problem purchases
- Bargain Hunting for Gift-Giving Occasions
- Part V. Part of Tens
- Chapter 17. Ten Frugal Ways to Tell Your Sweetheart, "I Love You!"
- Baking Heart-shaped Food Items
- Making a "100 Reasons Why I Love You" List
- Reading Love Poems Together at a Local Bookstore
- Sharing Romantic Greeting Cards
- Bringing Chocolate
- Leaving Love Notes in Unexpected Places
- Sending a Singing Love-O-Gram
- Making a Scroll-of-Love
- Getting Sentimental at a Wedding
- Saying "I Love You!"
- Chapter 18. Ten Frugal Gift-Giving Ideas
- Making a Personalized Calendar
- Putting Together Favorite Family Recipes
- Giving a "Learn to Cook" Gift Set to a Child
- Giving a Coffee Mug or Tea Cup Along with a Tasty Treat
- Putting Together a Box of "Loving Memories"
- Acquiring Cotton Scraps for Your Favorite Seamstress
- Making a Soup Can Planter
- Giving a "Dress-Up" Bin to a Family with Small Children
- Delivering a Gift of Homemade Goodies
- Hand-decorating Glass Ornaments
- Index