The Top Three Mental Things You Need to Live Frugally

Naomi asked me to write about the top three things I believe someone needs to do to live frugally. There are a million and one ways to be frugal, but not every frugal tip is right for another. To live a frugal lifestyle, I think that what you do is less important than how you think. So I came up with three things I think enable those that want to live frugally to do so, especially in the United States where abundance is the norm and PayDay Loans are on every corner if that's not enough.

Have a clear reason or goal for why you want to live this lifestyle

Hopefully, the core reason behind living frugally is to live below your means, but what is the underlying moral or principle for why you and your family choose to do so? Is it because you want to remain debt free? To have financial security? To be a faithful steward of what God has given you? To be able to afford to give more to those in poorer situations? To teach your children financial wisdom? etc.

The more specific you can get, the easier it will be to continue a frugal lifestyle when you......

Realize that you are going against the flow

You'd think that living within your means would be applauded, but our soaring national debt is truly just a reflection of the status quo. I've been rather surprised at how often we are made fun of for living frugally, or how many times people buy us items they can't believe we can live without. I've actually had family members and coworkers purchase paper towels, scrubbing bubbles, and pillow pets for us because they thought we were too poor to do so, when we most likely earn the same wage. Evidently the use of cloth napkins, homemade cleaners and our child being without the latest toy fad (though she hadn't any clue what it was since we don't have television) is a wrong that must be righted.

Sometimes when you see others gobble up cool new toys, when you lament that your siding will probably rot off before you can save up the cash to replace it while your friends move into a nice new house, when you get razzed for bringing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to work every day for five years, it can be tough to fight envy, especially in the USA when it would be so easy to drop by a store and purchase an item you are in need of, but are you truly in need? Or do you need to.......

Learn to avoid functional fixedness

Sometimes a need to buy something is really just a lack of imagination or resourcefulness. Why buy paper towels to use as napkins when a few cloth napkins in every washer load won't affect your utilities a bit? Why buy taco seasoning when you already have every ingredient needed in your cabinet? Why buy special liners for your food dehydrator when your cold cereal plastic bags can be cut and used? Why buy cloth diapers when you can make them from discarded clothing? Why purchase a shoe organizer when you have an empty bookshelf taking up space in the garage? Why use bleach when the sun does the job for free?

Sometimes I find that if I just sit and think for a few days I'll discover how to meet my need for free with stuff I already have on hand. I started my Making Do with the Not So New blog when people thought I was rather ingenious for coming up with some ways to avoid spending money, but through the online community I found out I'm not the only smart one. The online community of frugal people is a real treasure, not only because of the ideas they share, but the camaraderie you are not the only freak trying to live simply and spend wisely.

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Melissa Jagears is a stay-at-home mom who writes fiction into the wee hours of the night.

If you read Christian Historical Fiction, check out her Inspirational Historical Fiction Index to find those books sorted by setting, decade and other subjects.

If you are interested in frugality, check out the archives of her Making Do With the Not So New blog.

You Need A Budget Software Review

My first year of marriage, I was still in school and we made a total of $21,000/yr. and every month I worked to keep the check register above zero. Then I got a job teaching and made $34,000/yr by myself and STILL had to keep the check register above zero. When I noted that after a few months I knew something was wrong.

I first used Larry Burkett's Crown Financial Envelope system and photocopied pages, but that got cumbersome and complicated when I was trying to keep track of small temporary things I was saving for. And just last year, I did Dave Ramsey--good information--but the budget system was similar to Burkett's and I'd never change from my budget software (YNAB or You Need A Budget) which I've been using for over 5 years.

It practices one tenet that neither Larry Burkett or Dave Ramsey seem to advocate--living on last month's money. If you don't make a set amount of money, I believe it is a must! And even though my income doesn't change much anymore, I still wouldn't change back to living on the money I'm making today.

Here's a video on the 4 rules YNAB teaches, including living on last month's income:


This software does cost $60 but it is very worth it. If you do a paper copied budget, it will save you paper and ink cost, and that alone becomes worth it after a year or two, but it makes working with your budget so much easier and takes less time and time is money, right? When I've counseled people about their finances and realize they have no money, I still recommend that they find the $60, because if they use this system, they'll save that money easily.

If your budget is frustrating or not working well or you don't have one--You Need A Budget!

The only con I have with this software is its reports. I hardly have a need for the reports, but the few times I've wanted to use it, it's not that great, it has set reports for you to look at and isn't very customizable. Also, I'd like to print my transactions for an entire year, but you have to print them all which when you've used this for several years, that's annoying. But, that said, the reports being as they are, I still recommend it highly, plus the guy behind it always takes suggestions and one of these days he'll take mine, right?

So, how has the budget software helped me? Staying home, we now make less than when I was a teacher, but we adjusted easily with the help of this software. Instead of having to be careful to keep my check register above zero, I normally have heart flutters if it's below one month's budget which is a little over a couple thousand dollars, however with the third rule, the heart flutters are minimal because I know even if I messed up, I can easily recover without worrying about incurring fees or bouncing checks or anything of that sort. But I rarely have those heart flutters because I normally have much more money than that since I now save for my auto tags instead of letting those "surprise" and bankrupt me, and I know exactly how much money I can spend on clothing if I go shopping on a whim without hurting my ability to pay the bills.

Seriously, you should get it unless you have a good, easy-to-track budget system in place that is helping you meet your money goals.

(You can watch more than one account with the software, so I run my business budget and home budget with the same software.)

Some Simple Computer Maintenence You Ought to be Doing

I'm not an IT person, but I'm often asked computer questions. (Behind every good amateur computer tech is google.com :) Often the problem is relayed to me like this: "My computer is doing something funky."

Here are some things you ought to be doing to keep your computer from bogging down and doing something funky. (This is mainly for for Windows PC users). If doing these things doesn't fix it, you can google your specific problem and read computer discussion boards if you want to figure it out yourself, or then call the IT guy, but don't pay him to do these things that you can do yourself!

Computer Maintenance

• Turn off your computer-A tech guy told me that a lot of times he makes a house call to fix a computer and basically gets paid to restart the computer.When your computer reboots, it's fixing its little brains. Shut off your computer daily, don't keep it on all the time. And if something weird happens, sometimes restarting is all that you need to do.

• Clean out files periodically--Get rid of stuff clogging up your computer space.

Go to Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup
Run this and get rid of everything, then...

• Defragment your computer--Have the computer put  the pieces together instead of haphazardly for quicker running, don't do this until you cleaned out your files.

Go to Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragment

• Update your Computer - Updates make things run more smoothly and catch more bugs.

If Windows or Adobe or your Browser or other legitimate software ask you to install and update, do so, it's good for your computer.

Make sure you have your automatic updates turned on.
Go to Start>Control Panel>Windows Update>Change Settings (Turn on automatic updates here if it isn't already on)


Internet Browsing Maintenance

• Use a Firewall - Helps block things you can't see

If you do not have a purchased firewall, use Windows Firewall
Start>Control Panel>Windows Firewall

After researching, I chose to purchase Vipre's firewall system. (Just FYI) I've had it for 2 years and am happy with it.

• Avoid and Destroy Malware -- Malicious software hidden on your computer slows it down.

First, DON'T visit crazy sites--if sites look iffy and not professional, avoid them and don't download anything from this kind of site, download from legitimate sites that lots of people trust. Here's a good article on how to keep YOU from causing problems.

McAfee Site Advisor If downloaded, it will tell you if the site you are about to go on is iffy.

Periodically run a Malware destroying software (These are free downloads):

Malware Bytes
and
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

Ad-Aware gets rid of adware that causes similar problems

• Close Down or Try a New Browser - Just like needing to reboot your computer brains, sometimes restarting your browser is helpful, and sometimes a problem with a website is actually a problem with how the browser is viewing the web site. Also, if you are creating a website/blog, look in each browser to see if it looks right in all of them.

If you are using Internet Explorer, I'd advise switching

Firefox
Chrome
Opera

Macs:
Safari
Camino

• Clear you Browser's Cache and Cookies - These tidbits hold private information on you and collect like trash and bog down your browser's capabilities. This will, however, erase your automatic sign ins, passwords and fill-in forms, but if you only do it once a month, you won't have to reenter things too often on sites you visit most.

Each browser will be different but basically look here to clear cache and cookies:
Open Browser>Tools>Options>Privacy

You will work faster and more efficiently if your computer has been maintained in order for it to work fast and efficiently as well.

What Home Based Business Should You Start--Consider your Strengths

Both my husband and I are starting home-based businesses. But if we're committing to these things for the long haul, how will we know if this is the right businesses for us?

If you're in the deciding and planning stage of starting your own business, I'd suggest you take your strengths into consideration before deciding on the best business to pursue.

1. Your Intellegences
2. Your Birth Order
3. Your Obsessions
4. Your Skill Sets
5. Your Spouse

1. Your Intelligences. If you are/have been an educator, you would know this terminology as Mulitiple Intellegences or Differentiated Learning.

If you don't know what your intelligences are (or even if you do) the book, The Gift in You, not only contains an extensive quiz to figure out what your dominant intelligences are, but also how your brain uses them to solve problems, and what is blocking you from using your intelligences to their highest capacity. The book is written from a Christian viewpoint, but the information is all presented using scientific material. This book is also for anybody whereas most material on Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory is written for the educational professional.

The 7 Intelligences are: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Kinesthetic, Musical, and Visual/Spatial

But don't let the names fool you. You may test as a musical person, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should be an opera singer, it may mean being a public speaker would be something to look into. (The book explains the nuances of the gifts.) If you know what your areas of dominance and weakness are, you can think through your proposed business idea considering your strengths.

For Example: If your dominant intellegence is Kinesthetic (a tactile mover) freelance editing probably won't be something you ought to choose.If you're an Intrapersonal Linguist, mowing lawns shouldn't be your choice. It doesn't mean you can't do these jobs or even do them well, but you're better suited for others, and most likely will enjoy and stick with a business more suited to your talents.

Though I highly recommend the book, this site might give you some idea as to what your intelligence is. (Though they add an 8th category that doesn't match up with the brain science presented by Dr. Leaf.)

2. Birth Order 

Though there are always exceptions, what is typical of your birth order should be contemplated before going into business. I'm firstborn (bossy, organized) and my husband is lastborn (fearless, creative). This definitely shows up in what businesses we are each pursuing.

Also my intelligences coupled with my birth order changes me a bit, too. If I were a last born with my intelligences I'd be different, and I'd have to structure my business accordingly.

(Here's a site to look at on Birth Order to get an idea)

3. Obsessions

Look at what you collect already, what obsession have you kept up with over many years? What do you always gravitate back to? What manuals, television programs, and books do you always make time for?

My husband has a million and a half projects/jobs he wants to do, and he's always collecting stuff in order to do these projects . . . one day--but only one of these obsessions does he keep purchasing for, keeps collecting books for, keeps spending his tiny spare moments of time to work on. This is the obsession he needs to look at making into a business.

4. Skill Sets

What training and schooling have you already had? What jobs have you already held? What life experiences have you had?

Consider both the ones you loved and the ones you hated. What did you like and dislike about each job, what did you excel and fail at in each job. Then try to match yourself with a job that uses the most of your enjoyable, proficient skills, and avoid (or possibly outsource) jobs using your hated, underdeveloped skills.

5. Your spouse's abilities and desires

Consider your spouses intelligences, birth order, dislikes, and skills--but don't volunteer them! If you are married, consider if your spouse could possibly take care of parts of the business that you don't like...BUT make sure they want to!

I'm much more organized and detail oriented, but my husband's initial thought that I could do the books for his company of machine parts that I don't understand did not sound like anything I ever wanted to do. I don't understand mechanics, and I don't ever want to. I am not the person he should rely on for getting the right parts and oils for his mechanic business.If you want to make it a couple's business, don't expect one spouse who seems gifted for the work to help unless they are willing. Otherwise, your business might just cause big problems in your marriage over the years.

If your spouse is unwilling or unable to help, can you do this alone? Might you have to hire or outsource parts of your business to someone more capable than yourself? Maybe you could tweak your business idea to avoid areas that you may not want to or can't deal with expertly.

Finally, don't look at just one area or you could be in trouble. As for me, many people think I take really good photographs, people even ask me to take their photos, but because of my weak visual/spacial intelligence, my lack of obsession/drive, my birth order, and type of interpersonal intelligence I possess, I know that despite having a good eye, a photography business wouldn't be the wisest choice of business for me despite believing I could make money with it if I wanted to. My photography will remain a hobby that simply saves me from having to hire a photographer for my family--unless, of course, I ever want to be in any photos. :)

Are you considering starting a business? Have you considered the 5 things above and found the unique business suited for your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses? Have you tried a business and failed at it because you hadn't taken one of the above into consideration?

What Should I Put on a Business Card?

The annual conference of one of my professional organizations is less than two months away and everyone is scrambling for all the material they need to bring. One of the most handy items is a business card. Whether you design them yourself or have someone else do so, I thought I'd share my thoughts on business cards.

1. What are you selling? Yourself? Products? Services? Make it evident at first glance with a picture/icon. (Don't make someone wonder why they have your card)

•  If you are selling you, have a good headshot. 
• The one on my card is of myself in my woods clicking my self-timer--granted it took 60 pictures to get something good since I couldn't see myself in the viewfinder, but you can get something without a professional--look around facebook and find people just starting out with photography and see if you can strike up a deal if you can't afford professional headshots or get a friend to help.
• Your photo should look like you. No glamour shots, unusual hairdos, makeup you don't usually wear, extreme photoshopping, costumes, etc. As much as you wish you looked like something else, you want the person you handed the card to recognize you the next time he sees you in your normal get-up.
• If you are using these for networking and want people to recognize you, then make your picture as large as possible.
• If you are selling a product or service make sure the picture makes that very evident. I've seen business cards selling cloth diapers, and they've got a teddy bear as a picture. I get that it's babyish, but you don't want someone to have to read your card to know that you're selling organic cotton diapers and not stuffed animals.There really is no excuse for not being able to procure a picture of cloth diapers to use. If you are going to pay for cards, then pay for a picture if necessary, or take a picture yourself and see if you can make it look nice on picnik.com
• If you have an icon for your business, make sure you use it on everything to tie it all together so it is recognizable no matter what marketing material your customer is looking at.

 2. Do not make your card busy. Do you ever land on those web sites with a hundred flashing animations, ads that come in from the side, tons of different boxes and font etc? Same thing with a crammed card, the person is going to flick it away before paying attention. No more than two pictures or a picture and a decorative background please.

3. It needs to be readable. As much as you want to cram every bit of information on it as possible, clip it down to the most necessary. Can all your websites be accessed from one? Then just put one. Do you have two businesses that do not dovetail well together? Make separate business cards and hand out two if someone just happens to be interested in both. (Have small links to your other non-related sites on each website if you want to make sure someone can find everything you do.)

4. Extra information can be printed onto labels and stuck to the back. If what you are selling changes (like an author has a different book to sell at different times), you can buy envelope labels and print off the title and short blurb onto these labels and stick it onto the back. Then you can buy a larger run of cards, and use them even when information changes. Or you can keep your physical address/phone number on labels and only stick that on cards you give to people you trust need it instead of allowing anyone to get that information from discarded cards.

I used PrintsMadeEasy to make my own cards last year. I like that they allowed me to upload my own pictures, not tie me into a template and I could print my design off on paper immediately to see if I liked what I'd made before I paid for it.

Any other tips you have for business cards? What has made you go "wow" or "sheesh" when you've looked at someone's business card?