Saving is a tough state of mind for most of us. Saving
requires calmness, confidence, and a willingness to put up
with some inconvenience and do a little work. For most
super-stressed, overcaffeinated Americans, saving is just
too much trouble.
Shower curtain rips? Buy a new one. Feeling hungry? Let's
go to a restaurant. We toss thousand-dollar birthday bashes
for preschoolers and put our high schoolers in designer
gear so they can be bored in a drab classroom (and we buy
them a cell phone so they can text dopey messages to their
friends).
Our Depression-era ancestors would shake their heads at
such nonsense. It's no wonder Americans can't save their
money.
Now, to be fair, people in the Depression did not save
much, either. They didn't have much. They learned a lot of
skills that got them through the year with minimal
expenditures.
If you can do that and still earn what you earn, you'll
have saved a whole lot of cash. So what can you learn from
the Depression to make your present day more comfortable?
If you have frugal friends, try to shadow them for a while
and pick their brains. Where do they shop? How do they live?
Repair things that break or try to make do without it
rather than replacing it immediately. Buy clothing at yard
sales and thrift stores, at least for a season. Start to
find creative ways to amuse yourself (play cards instead of
going to the movies) and cook rather than eat out.
Most people hate the thought of that sort of lifestyle and
for good reason. It seems boring. It seems harder than it
needs to be.
But the trick is that every time you do something like this
you should reward yourself by taking the money would would
have spent and stashing it away. If your checking account
is a bottomless pit, try to take some cash and put it away
in your room.
For instance, if you normally eat out four times a week,
switch to home cooking and then calculate your savings.
Let's say you used to spend $160 a week on eating out and
you're now spending about $60. Make sure you pay yourself
that $100.
That's saving!
It's so far removed from the way most of us think today
that you have to discuss this strange new concept to get it!
Let's say the toaster breaks and you fix it. If a new
toaster might have cost you $30, put $30 in your savings.
If you need jeans but get them at a yard sale for $2
instead of a department store for $200, put $198 aside.
At some point, you'll need to transfer your wad of cash to
a more reasonable holding area. Open a special bank account
or, better yet, start a brokerage account and put it in a
stock or mutual fund.
A good method for doing this is to keep cash up to about
$400 (or whatever amount you prefer) and then deposit it.
If you have a lot of debt, you can take this savings and
deposit it into your checking account and then quickly
write a check to pay your creditor. Imagine if you could
live more or less at the same level and pay down your debt.
Frugality is one of those things that does not sound like
as much fun as it truly is. In the Depression, people
skrimped because they had to. But for us, the decision to
save is about personal choice and a desire to be free of
debt and build up savings for the future. We can view
frugality as an expression of our own creativity.
Here are some more creative ways to simplify your life and
save money:
Rent movies instead of going to the show; better yet, start
a home movie group with other families so you can do a
pot-luck dinner and take turns being host. Not only is this
more fun (and more likely to make real memories and
friendships), it's cheaper.
Read books and magazines at the library instead of seeking
your entertainment outside.
Learn to sew. Repair your own garments and learn how to
make adjustments to get yard sale stuff to fit just right.
Learn a craft that is suitable for gifts. For instance, you
can knit baby blankets for showers or needle point art work
for Christmas.
Forget coupons, learn to buy in bulk and cook from scratch.
Invest in a freezer, if you can afford it, because it's
cheapest to buy staples, cook in large batches, and freeze.
It's healthier, too, plus you'll develop a real knack for
cooking.
Savings is a mindset. Change your mind about your money,
and you can change your financial future.
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