Your Money or Your Life
By Bruce Shawkey
1. Stop trying to impress other people. Other people are probably so busy trying to impress you that they will, at best, not notice your efforts. At worst, they will resent you for one-upping them.
2. Don't go shopping. If you don't go shopping, you won't spend money. Of course, if you really need something from the store, go and buy it. But don't just go shopping. According to Carolyn Wesson, author of Women Who Shop Too Much, "59 million persons in the U.S. are addicted to shopping or to spending." About 53 percent of groceries and 47 percent of hardware-store purchases are "spur of the moment." When 34,300 mall shoppers across the country were asked the primary reason for their visit, only 25 percent said they had come in pursuit of a specific item. About 70 percent of all adults visit a regional mall weekly. The number of U.S. shopping centers has grown from 2,000 In 1957 to more than 30,000 today, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. The number of shopping malls recently surpassed the number of high schools in the United States.
Live within your means This notion is so outmoded that some readers might not even know what it signifies. To live within your means is to buy only what you can prudently afford, to avoid debt unless you have an assurance that you will be able to pay it promptly and always to have something put away for a rainy day. It was quite a fashionable way to live one short generation ago, before we started living beyond our means. There arc two sides to the coin of living beyond your means. The shiny side is that you can have everything you want right now. The tarnished side is that you will pay for it with your life. Buying on time, from cars to houses to vacations, often results in paying three times the purchase price. Is going to Hawaii for two weeks this year worth working perhaps four additional months next year to pay it off? This doesn't mean you have to cut up all your credit cards; you just have to avoid using them. Living within your means suggests that you wait until you have the money before you buy some
Take care of what you have. There is one thing we all have that we want to last a long time — our bodies. Simple attention to the proven preventive practices will save you lots of money. Brushing your teeth, for example, could save thousands in dental bills. And eating what you know agrees with your body (judging by your energy, not by your taste buds) may save you thousands in expensive procedures, not to speak of your life. Extend this principle to all your possessions. Regular oil changes are known to extend the life of your car. Cleaning your tools extends their life. (How many hair dryers and vacuum cleaners have choked on hair halls?) Dusting your refrigerator coils saves energy and could save your refrigerator. One big difference between living beings and machines is that machines are not self-healing. If you ignore a headache it will probably go away. If you ignore a funny noise in your engine you could throw a rod, burn out a water pump or otherwise incur major (and costly) damage.
Wear it out. What's the last item you actually wore out? Americans discard 1,455 pounds of garbage every year (here is one area where we're still the world's leader), and much of that was probably still perfectly usable. Synthetic fibers are extremely durable. It's hard to actually wear out clothing these days. If it weren't for the fashion industry (and boredom) we could all enjoy the same basic wardrobe for many years. Survey your possessions. Are you simply upgrading or duplicating last year's electronic equipment, furniture, kitchenware, carpeting and linens, and are you truly wearing them out? Think how much money you would save if you simply decided to use things even 20 percent longer. If you usually replace your towels every two years, try replacing them every two and a half years. If you trade in your car every three years, try extending that to four. If you buy a new coat every other winter, see whether every third winter would do just as well.
Do it yourself. Can you tune your car? Fix a plumbing leak? Do your taxes? Make your own gifts? Rewire a toaster? Change the tire on your bicycle? Bake a cake from scratch? Build a bookshelf? Repair your roof? Clean your chimney? Sew a dress? Cut your family's hair? Form your own nonprofit corporation? It used to be that we learned basic life skills from our parents in the process of growing up. Then the Industrial Revolution put our parents in factories and, after the passing of child Labor and mandatory public education laws, put us in schools. Next our grandparents were put in rest homes, removing the people who traditionally taught life skills to the children while the parents worked. Eventually home economics and shop classes had to be incorporated in the curriculum as supplements to the ever-decreasing skill-nourishment we got at home. By the 1970s it was no longer fashionable for mothers to stay at home with their children. By the 1980s many couples assumed it wasn't even possible, economically, for
Anticipate your needs. Forethought in purchasing can bring tremendous savings. With enough lead time you will inevitably see the items you need go on by the time you need them -— at 20 to 50 percent under the usual price. Keep current on catalogs and sale flyers of national and local catalog merchandisers. Read the sale ads in the Sunday paper. Be aware of seasonal bargains such as January and August "white sales," holiday sales (such as Memorial Day and Labor Day) and year-end clearance sales.
By simply observing the poor condition of your car's left rear tire while it still has some life left, you can anticipate a need. By simply being aware of this need you will naturally notice the phenomenal sale that will appear in the sports section of your Sunday newspaper -- three weeks from now -— and you'll know it's a phenomenal sale because you have been watching prices.
In the shorter term, shopping at the corner convenience store cane be expensive. Anticipating your needs -- that you'll be wanting evening snacks, that you'll run out of milk midweek can eliminate running out to the corner store to pick up these items. Instead you can all purchase them during your supermarket shopping or on a run to the discount store. This can result in significant savings.
Anticipating your needs also eliminates one of the biggest threat to your frugality: impulse buying. If you haven't anticipated needing something when you leave your house at 3:05, chances are you don't need it at 3:10 when you're standing at the check-out register at the corner store. We're not saying you should only buy things that ail on your premeditated shopping list (although that isn't such a bad idea for compulsive shoppers); we are saying that you must be scrupulously honest when you're out and about.
Research value, quality, durability and multiple use search your purchases. Consumer Reports and other publications give excellent evaluations and comparisons of almost everything you might buy -- and they can be fun just to read. Decide what features are most important to you. Don't just be a bargain junkie and automatically buy the cheapest item available. Durability might be critical for some -- you plan to use daily for twenty years. One obvious way of saving money is to spend less on each item you buy, but it's equally true that spending $40 on a tool that lasts ten years instead of buying a $30 one that will need to be replaced in five years will save you $20 in the long run. Multiple use is also a factor. Buying one item for $10 that will serve the purpose of four different $5 items will net you a savings of $10. One heavy-duty kitchen pot can (and perhaps should) replace half a dozen specialty appliances like a rice cooker, a popcorn popper, a Crockpot, and a deep-fat fryer.
Besides reading consumer magazines, you can evaluate quality by developing a sharp eye and carefully examining what you are buying. Are the seams in a piece of clothing ample? Are the edges finished? Is the fabric durable? Is it washable or will you be paying dry-cleaning to keep it clean? Are the screws holding the appliance together tidy enough for the job? Is the material strong or flimsy? Is the furniture nailed, stapled or screwed? Here is where you will become an expert materialist -- knowing materials so well that you can read the imitable longevity of an item.
Get it for less. There are numerous ways to bargain-hunt. Here are few: 1. Mail-order discounters: When you know exactly what you want, including make and model, you can cut out the middleman and order through discount catalogs. Discounts in and photographic equipment, in computers and associated paraphernalia, in stereo and video equipment are huge; see ads in photography, computer and stereo magazines. Get specialized discounters' catalogs; these are available not only for photography, computer, audio and video supplies but also for tools, automobile parts and equipment, sporting goods and much more. Besides being money-savers, catalogs are a great education in conscious consuming. We are catalog-reading addicts -- everything from J. C. Penney to J. C. Whitney -- and we would have to say that we have acquired more of a general education from this activity than from our years in college.
Just because you buy something at "the best store in town" doesn't mean it's of any better quality than the same item bought at a discount chain store. The discounters and warehouse stores carry many high-quality, name-brand products at a discount, but you have to know your prices. So even if you prefer to browse at a high-priced emporium because you trust their buyers to select only the best equipment, do your buying at a discount chain store. One word of warning, however: just because the stereo you want is available at a discounter doesn't mean it's a bargain. Know your prices. Once we know what we want, we phone around for the best price. The more educated you are about the product and the more specific you can be about the exact make or model you want, the more successful your bargain-hunting will be. You will be amazed at the range of prices quoted for the same item.
You can ask for discounts for paying cash. You can ask for discounts for less-than-perfect items. You can ask for the sale price even if the sale begins tomorrow or ended yesterday. You can ask for further discounts on items already marked down. You can ask for discounts if you buy a number of items at the same time. You can ask for discounts anywhere, anytime. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Haggling is a time-honored tradition. The list price of any consumer item is usually inflated. As soon as you hear the words, "The list price is . . ." you should say, "Yes, but what is your price?" You have nothing to lose by asking for a discount at any store -- from your local hardware store to a clothing emporium.
Buy it used. Reexamine your attitudes about buying used items. If you are a thrift-store or garage-sale addict, look at whether you are really saving money or whether you are buying items that you don't need just because they're "such a bargain." But if you wouldn't be caught dead in a musty Salvation Army thrift store, look around your town: thrift stores have become fashionable emporiums. Clothing, kitchenware, furniture, drapes -- all can be found in thrift stores. If you just can't bring yourself to shop at thrift stores, consider consignment shops. The prices are higher, but the quality is consistently higher as well. In our experience, thrift stores are best for clothing but garage sales are cheaper (and more reliable) for appliances, furniture and household items.
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