Let's pick up where we left off last week. I was discussing the second of the 7 Commandments of career and financial success: Control Thy Expenditures. I had just provided tips on saving money on credit cards, banking, entertainment and eating out.

Remember the Seven Commandments

In case you missed - or forgot about - Part 1, here are the 7 Commandments:

Commandment 1: Start thy purse to fattening.
Commandment 2: Control thy expenditures
Commandment 3: Make thy gold multiply
Commandment 4: Guard thy treasures from loss.
Commandment 5: Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment.
Commandment 6: Insure a future income.
Commandment 7: Increase thy ability to earn.

Commandment 2: Control Thy Expenditures

As we noted last week, the key to remaining faithful to this Commandment is to live within one's means and to eliminate unnecessary expenses. I was suggesting ways to achieve these ends. Here are the ones I didn't have time to list:

Grocery Shopping

• Don't go shopping before determining what's in your cupboard. Otherwise, you'll make the mistake that always trips me up: buying items that you already have and don't really need.
• "Store" brands are awesome, at least most of the time. Trying them will save you lots of money.
• Don't buy an item just because you have a coupon for it. A discount won't save you any money if you wouldn't have bought the darned thing in the first place!
• Ground beef is cheap. So are chicken parts. Find new ways to dress it up! You can find great recipes on line.
• "Recycle" food, especially meat. For example, I made a not-so-tasty chicken dish that no one wanted to eat. Turned that chicken into a pot pie that the entire family couldn't get enough of! Another of my favorite tricks is to turn brisket into burritos!
• Don't buy convenience foods. They're very expensive and unhealthy.
  • Make your own applesauce cups for lunches with cream cheese containers that you would have otherwise thrown away.
  • Make your own bag of chips for lunches with ziplocks!
  • Rubbermaid has these handy sippy cups that mimic juice boxes. No more buying juice boxes for me! Now I just make my own!
• Save those plastic containers - they make excellent Tupperware for leftovers and lunches - cream cheese, margarine, ice cream and sour cream containers.
• Invest in a crock-pot. You can make amazingly inexpensive, delicious and healthy meals while at work! One of my son's favorites - chicken leg quarters with a bottle of store brand BBQ sauce. Cook on low for about 5 to 6 hours and the chicken falls off the bone!
• Plan a weekly menu around what's on sale. Having a menu also helps you avoid buying what you don't need thus cutting down on waste.
• Make big batches and freeze them. This works especially well when you use that week's sale items.
• Remember Ronco. Make your own bread in that bread machine you forgot you had!
• Make homemade pizzas and freeze them. I use my bread maker to make the dough for just pennies!
• Share a COSTCO or Sam's membership with another family. Buy in bulk and share with your neighbor.

Clothes Shopping

• Go as seldom as possible. You can't spend anything if you're not in the store!
• Buy only off-season items or items on sale at 30% or more off. Think ahead and buy gift items when you find amazing sales. I keep a "gift box" that I stock with cool sale items for my son's classmates' birthday parties.
  • Seasonal sales
    • Winter clothes - January
    • Spring clothes - April/May
    • Summer clothes - July/August
    • Fall clothes - September/October
• Buddy up with several families to trade hand-me downs.
• Shop at garage sales. It's amazing what you can find, especially children's clothes. You can get some especially good values on quality items at garage sales in the "ritzy" neighborhoods - like items that were worn only once or twice.
• Check consignment and second-hand shops.

Bills in General

• Call the company and explain your situation. Be forthright and proactive. You'd be surprised how willing they are to work with you if you call ahead of the late payment and show initiative and desire to pay your debt.
• Have bills automatically EFT'd (electronic funds transfer) from your checking account for payment. For example, paying your auto or home insurance via monthly EFT spreads out the "hit," prevents accrual of a late payment, keeps your money in your account until the last possible minute (an advantage if your checking account draws any interest) and avoids fees usually charged by insurance companies when you pay monthly via check in the mail. Check with your insurance company, your cable company, etc. to see if they offer this type of payment.

Insurance

• Reduce premiums by raising deductibles. (Some loans restrict how high the deductible can be. But, if you have good credit, you can negotiate this. I have.)
• If your car is paid for, consider reducing the premium by dropping collision and comprehensive coverage. If the cost to repair your vehicle is close to the worth of the vehicle, the insurance company will likely "total" it anyway. As your car gets older, the chances of having it deemed "totaled" increases. Keep in mind replacement costs for the car also when choosing this option. Depending on your situation, you may want to carry minimal collision and comprehensive to assist in replacing the car.
• Think "self-insured." Make sure you have money stashed away to cover the deductibles and cover the cost of replacing a car (not necessarily the same status of car though, just transportation) if you need to.
• Insure only those things you can't self-insure.
• Don't buy extended warranties - self-insure!

Mortgage

• Single? Get a roommate.
• Married? Rent out a room in your home.
• Call the mortgage company for some relief.
• If financing less than 80% of value of home, switch to doing your own escrow. If "lean times" are temporary, catch up on your escrow later.
• If financing less than 80% of the value of your home, drop the mortgage insurance - you don't really need it.
• Look into refinancing your home if current interest rates are at least 1 point less than your loan interest rate. Closing costs may be equivalent to a regular monthly payment; and at closing, you get to "skip" that first month's payment - thus you feel no pain and the savings show up the following month.
• Mortgage Loan trap? Many times you can qualify for home loans that are 2.5 times your annual salary. This does not mean you need to buy a home that is 2.5 times your salary. Pray about your budget and determine how much to spend on housing. Clarify needs vs. wants for a home. When house hunting, make it clear to your agent that you don't want to see any homes priced at more than $X amount. This will help you to avoid the temptation of buying too much house.

Utilities

• If you're having problems, call the utility company, explain your situation and request relief.
• Insulate your hot water heater and turn it down some - usually don't need it set as hot as you have it. This is safer for small children too - remember the movie, Rainman?
• Use ceiling fans year-round - to blow air in hot months and to suck up the air in cold months - this will help you save on heating and air conditioning.
• Use a programmable thermostat. There's no need to heat/cool the house when no one is at home.
• When you are home, dress cooler or warmer, depending on the season. Acclimate yourself to a cooler or warmer house. In summer, I set the AC to 78-80 degrees. In the winter, I set the heat to 68-70.

Phones & Cell Phone

• Drop all unnecessary features such as call waiting and caller ID.
• If you have a cell phone that has a good plan, i.e., lots of minutes available at usable times for a small price - get rid of your home phone! It's redundant!
• Make fewer long distance calls. Sit down and write an old fashioned letter! Or use email to keep in touch and reduce the number of long distance calls you make. Use your cell phone to call evenings/weekends when you have more minutes. Don't eat up your daytime minutes.
• Unless you've got an awesome family plan, drop down to one phone. Let whoever is at the most "risk" use the phone for the day. Friends and family can reach you at home if needed or use that company-supplied pager. (Whatever did we do without pagers and cell phones anyway?!)
• If your phone is for convenience and emergencies, drop down to the lowest plan you can find and restrict yourself from using it unless it's absolutely necessary.

Cable & Internet Access

• Cancel your cable and get a set of rabbit ears. I used rabbit ears for 5 years - worked fine and I only got the stations I really cared about anyway. This also became a good way to make sure I was being a good steward of my time as well.
• At a minimum, reduce down to basic cable - runs ~$10/month.
• Internet access is harder to do without, especially when you're job hunting. However, many libraries allow public use of computers with Internet access. You can still keep your email account; just go to the library to check it daily and to job hunt too. This can save you up to $100 a month (depending on the type of access you have now and how many drops you have).

Pets

• If you don't have one, now's not the time to get one. Pets can be very expensive.
• If you just must have a pet, cats are relatively cheap.

Direct Deposit

• Have savings, escrow, IRA contributions, etc. direct deposited from your paycheck.

Gifts

• Make a gift! This is especially good for kids.
• Give the gift of a service that you can provide, such as babysitting, making a home-cooked meal, cleaning someone's home, etc.
• Keep an eye out for toys and gifts on clearance sales, like after Christmas. Keep these in a "gift box" for future use - children's birthday parties, etc.
• Limit the number of gifts you give your children at Christmas. I limit my son to three gifts - just as Jesus received three gifts from the wise men. My son gets enough gifts from other family members and friends to fill in the rest.
• Make your child's birthday party their birthday gift. For the last four years, I have buddied up with a good friend whose two oldest children's birthdays fall within a month of my son's. We throw a joint, 3-kid birthday party bash. Grandparents chip in on the cost of the party. Kids that come to the party bring party favors in lieu of gifts. One year we did a petting zoo and pony rides. This last year we had a Spy Kids birthday party where my friend and I got "kidnapped" and the kids had to follow a detailed scavenger hunt to "rescue" us.

Vehicle Maintenance

• Do your own oil changes, brakes, etc. How-to information can be found on the web or at the library.
• Barter for vehicle maintenance. A home-cooked meal to bachelor in exchange for a car tune up is a win-win solution!

Cool Web Sites

• www.frugalfamily.com - This site has links to MANY other cool sites!
• www.on-linecoupons.com
• www.allrecipes.com
• www.crown.org
• www.kidseatfree.com

Conclusion

Okay, enough on the money-saving. Next week, I'll wrap up this series with a whirlwind tour of the remaining five Commandments. I wish you all a safe - and inexpensive - Columbus Day weekend.

SAFETYXCHANGE CONTEST

Best Ideas for $aving Money

Do you folks have any good ideas for saving money - at home or on the job? Send them to glennd@bongarde.com. We'll announce what we judge to be the three best suggestions in next week's issue.

Contest Restrictions: Must be 18 months or older to enter. Not open to SafetyXChange employees, members of their immediate families or pets. Void where prohibited by law, on the high seas and in the town of Penticton, British Columbia. The use of the pictures, descriptions  and accounts of this contest  may not be used without the express written consent of Bongarde Media - except on Saturdays. Lawyers are great.

TOP 10 LIST

U.S. Metropolitan Areas with the Highest Foreclosure Rates

By Glenn Demby

Source: Realty Trac, U.S. Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report, May 23, 2006, http://www.realtytrac.com/news/press/pressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=112

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