Mr. Frugality: Dollar Tree Finds

I am known to be frugal with bad habits- but what about replacing a bad habit with a cheaper, and healthier, alternative?

I walked into Dollar Tree today and saw that they had generic brand lemonade, 1.89 liters for a dollar. Keep in mind that this is about 64 ounces [US]. I bought some to taste it and it was OK- it tasted like a power drink or a lemonade like gatorade flavor. It still contains high fructose corn syrup like soda does, but the caloric intake seemed smaller. Scientific method time.


Is Dollar Tree lemonade cheaper and healthier for you than main brand soda, such as Coke or Pepsi?

Let's take a look at the health consequence reduction first. For soda, let's take a can. For a can of Coke, you are looking at 150 calories down the old gut. A can is 0.35 liters. Thus, you are taking in 428 calories per liter of Coke drinken.

The lemonade at Dollar Tree is 1.89 ounces. There are 400 calories per bottle. Per liter, you are sucking down 212 calories. While the lemonade is not an ideal replacement for soda (water is), you are cutting calorie consumption, assuming you drink the lemonade at the same rate as the soda, by 50%. That should slow down the weight gain or knock off a few pounds. The lemonade also contains less sodium than cola, which in cola it packs on even more consequences.

We can now safely say that, at the same rate of consumption, you are downing less calories by drinking the acceptable-tasting lemonade.

What about price? That depends if you get the cola on sale, perhaps. Say you picked up three 12-packs for $11.00 USD of your favorite main brand cola. That will cost you roughly 31 cents per can. If a can is 0.35 liters, you are paying roughly 88 center per liter of cola (on sale). What about the lemonade? At $1.00 US per 1.89 litre, you are paying 53 cents per liter. Let's look at this information in a graphic:

Thus, we can conclude the following:

1) If you assume it is "healthier" to consume a less caloric drink as healthier, then the Dollar Tree Lemonade is healthier than main brand Soda.

2) Dollar Tree Lemonade, per liter, is cheaper than main brand soda.

Oh, Powerade is there for a dollar too. Should see the $/Liter for that, too.

Mr. Frugality: Why Paying to Bundle Phone and Internet is Bunk

As I flew my kite yesterday on a wonderful beach, I reminisced to a recent time where I spent time with my buddy and his girlfriend. They do not pay for "featured" land line phones or cable. In fact, there is a new "thing" out there now that I think will grow huge in five to ten years, giving major cable a run for its money.

I will work with arbitrary, but proportional, numbers. Say it costs $50 a month for 900 plus channels. Say it costs $30 a month for high speed internet at 25Mbps. Then say you are paying $30 a month to keep your landline open. My father does this, and bundles everything from $110 a month down to around $70-$80 or so. But let's look at what is actually being paid for, in addition to $50 a month for internet access and a two year cell phone contract costing $30 a month (so, $200 a month for all of this).

Internet
You can't really skimp out here. I would hook up with a major internet provider, and not a discount one, for internet usage. I know I know- some of the companies want to censor you, the content you see and throttle your downloads- but if anyone can find a better deal, let me know.

Cable
Here is where you can gut the cow and save some money. Say the cable bill is $50 a month for comcast. Internet services, such as Hulu and Netflix offer premium services, some without commercials, some with limited and relevant ads, for a combined total of $20 a month for Hulu and Netflix. Stream movies through the computer or game console. The big one being the game console- my buddy streams these services through his console- and when I saw what was available, I began seriously debating on ditching cable. House, other "good" dramas, anime, and a lot more.

Stuff should work on my schedule, and not me for the TV schedule. Being frugal, and one that does not like advertisements, especially when cable REPEATS THE SAME ONES ALL THE TIME, SOMETIMES THREE TIMES IN A ROW- I would seriously consider paying for Netflix and Hulu. As for the parents? well they are set in their ways, and in a few years they will come to talk to me about these internet services, and like GPS and smart phones, I will tell them "you are about 5-8 years late on that one".

As for sports, well, I don't know if there are any offered packages for that stuff outside of major cable networks.

Phone
It is a good idea to keep a local land line afloat. Until someone debunks me on this, then I plan on having a basic phone line for 911 emergencies. If you have a smartphone, which I don't, you may be paying for internet access on that phone as well. My needs are such that I do not need mobile internet, and being a fad, I see no reason to shell out $40-$50 a month extra for these services. As for apps to the phone, off of the internet? yeah I can see upgrading to a smart phone for those purposes. Slowly, our phones are becoming MP3 players.

The Savings
If you switch to netflix and hulu, you are paying $20 a month. Add in a cell phone contract at $30 a month in addition to high speed internet at $30 a month, you are paying a grand total of $80 a month versus the "old ways" $200 a month. Can you justify the savings, $1440 a month, for cutting "premium" TV, which shows 5-6 minutes of non-relevant commercials, has nothing on, and a data plan you don't need because roaming/smartphone internet access is a fad? then you can save some serious cash... and even smarter... invest it somehow.

Mr. Frugality: The Untold Costs of Gaming

No, this isn't an intervention.

With so many games out there to choose from, publishers are not only competing for your money, but your time as well. This is a more vague cost that should not be forgotten. You have limited time on this planet- to be exact, with an average lifespan of 78 years, you have about 684,000 hours to live and make decisions. For those that may not live to 78, you have even less time. For those lucky, you have more.

Back in the days of the early 1990s, you were lucky to get two to five hours out of a 50 USD game. If we take the fraction [hours/dollar], it will tell us how many hours we are getting of game time in respect to how much we paid for it. Why should we look at this number? well, do you want the most game for your buck nowadays?

Say we went with a three hour game at 50 USD. that comes out to a score of 0.06 hours per dollar, which is abysmal. Say you bought that same game today for 4 USD, the score would change to 0.75. With today's standard at 0.5 hours per dollar, it would be a wise decision to dust the old classic off and play it. How did you determine 0.5?

It takes roughly 30 hours to complete Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. With the standard "template" of 30 hour games, at a price of $59.99, you are getting roughly 0.5 hours per dollar. For today's gamers, this is a good benchmark to use. Anything less than a 30 hour game at the price of 60 USD will likely get a pass over from me, unless it's something like a fan favorite series of mine. If the length of the game is shorter than 30 hours, developers should lower the price of the game in proportion. Say it takes me 5 hours to beat Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers for the SNES- at a rate of 0.5 hours per dollar, I should be paying about $2.50 for the game, although it may be worth slightly more. If it takes me 20 hours to beat the original Legend of Zelda, at a rate of 0.5 it should sell for roughly 10 dollars. Being the original Zelda though, the price may go up.

So Rob, what are some of the games you have played, and seen value in? well it depends, because I still play a lot of them: so the numbers will change.

Game	Price Paid	Hours to Date	hours/dollar
Borderlands	$               -	72	100.0
Simcity 3000	$          0.99	18	18.2
World of Warcraft	$     539.64	4000	7.4
Star Wars Galaxies	$  1,079.28	7000	6.5
Skyrim	$        63.00	144	2.3
Diablo	$          0.99	1	1.0
Zelda: Skyward Sword	$        63.00	47	0.7
Diablo III	$        63.00	19.5	0.3

So why did I decide to buy Diablo 3? Other than having amazing fun in the BETA, I knew an adventure like this, with a high replayability level due to difficulties and a level 60 handicap, would exceed a 30 hour game by a longshot. In fact, my personal standard, a score of 2.0, is surpassed, as I know the game will last longer than 120 hours before I get bored with it. Skyrim sure did.

Radioshack is doomed to fail if they keep this up.

Mr. Frugality was an article series I did on my blog Plamotaku. It had some good advice on how to live frugally and how to be thrifty, but not cheap. I guess we can call him Mr. Thrifty now as I bring him over to my youtube channel, but he will still be there on the blog.

I have bent over for the last time for radioshack. To fix my cousin’s NES and get the cords I need for my dazzle setup, I need two AV cables (Red, White, Yellow) and three (2x female to male) AV splitters. Let’s start with my experience at radioshack.

I walked in and asked the guy where the av splitters were. He had no idea what an av splitter was. I asked him about coaxial cables, and he asked me what a coaxial was. I almost walked straight out the door as I hid my disgust and said “I’ll look around, thankyou.” I bought a potentiometer that I needed for a misc project and left. The potentiometer was $4.99. Radioshack wanted $8.99 each for two AV cables, and I wasn’t biting. I checked radioshack’s website and I couldn’t even find what I was looking for.

I checked out Amazon. Immediately when I typed in “AV cable” I got what I wanted, instead of scrolling through 8 pages of unrelated crap. I also immediately found the splitters I needed, and they were on a 20 cent sale! Combined, Amazon (the companies using Amazon) wanted $7.12, including shipping.

I eventually found the splitters on radioshack’s website, and they want $9.99 for one splitter. If we combine the total cost of purchasing my goods from Radioshack, they want $47.95 for the goods, plus $5 in gas to get to the store and home, plus 9% sales tax equals a total of $57.25.

Unrelated crap from radioshack's search. I just want an AV cable...

Remember what I said about amazon: They listed the same parts and components at a total of $7.12 with free shipping. Does Radioshack seriously expect me to pay about $50 more for a week’s convenience? Seriously? I oughta told the guy working the store to call his boss up and have me talk to him, because he didn’t know what a AV cable was, either the stereo jack type or the three colored ones. He should have been fired. For 50 dollars less, I can wait 4-5 business days and have the quality components shipped to my home. No gas spent, no mileage on the car, and a delivery driver who knows what he is doing.

Radioshack is doomed to fail if they keep this up. I, the consumer, am not dumb enough to fall for this. I, the educated consumer know where to spend my money wisely.

Mr. Frugality: Keeping Track of that S^#*

Model building is a fun hobby. I feel it is also important to track what is purchased and what is in my shop. There are over 137 individual items in my shop, and probably a lot more unaccounted for. It can be tough to remember "do I need more yellow paint?" or if you need more tape. That is why I created an excel spreadsheet with filters that tells me what I have, when I purchased it, and I take notes to cross things off the database if they are out, and set a reminder to go get some.

The filters let me organize by item, location (if it is in a box, which I label with a number), quantity, type of object, manufacturer, and condition. Lately I have been putting in the date of purchase in the condition to determine if something is old enough to be thrown out and/or disposed of.

For example, before going out to my hobbystore, because I knew I needed paint, I checked my current inventory to see what paints I could use in the shop so that I didn't buy something that I didn't need. For my Wing Gundam for example, I needed a white, red, blue, gunmetal, black, and a primer. Checking the database for paint, acrylic and paint, enamel, I saw my options available. The royal blue I have is a little too dark, so I made a shopping list and put down "blue". Next, I saw I didn't have a white, so I wrote that down. I found X-7 Red in the list, so I did not buy that color. I had insignia yellow in the list, and it is close to the color I want, so I didn't write that down. I have gunmetal and a black, so that left primer. Finally, I needed an X-6 Orange for Heavyarms.

I picked up those paints at the store and also bought a new pair of tweezers and a new file (needed both). I got both a discount (after you spend so much money on your points card) and a birthday discount (yay!), so the tweezers were essentially free. Signing up for the rewards card has saved me around $80 USD so far at the store.

Someone emailed me the other day asking what manufacturers I buy from. Here is the list:

3M (tape)
Arii (kit producer)
Badger (airbrush parts)
Bandai (kit producer)
Black and Decker (hardware tools)
Craftsman (hardware tools)
Dewalt (hardware tools)
Dremel (dremel parts and bits)
Elmers (glue)
Hasbro (toys, screws and parts)
Hobbico (tools, knives, files)
Italeri (kit producer)
Lindbergh (kit producer)
Model Maker (air compressor)
Pegasus (kit producer)
Plastruct (plastic stock, glue)
Minwax (wood stain and finish)
Pollyscale (out of circulation paints)
Revell (kit producer)
Rustoleum (paint)
Safeway (q-tips, alcohol)
Scotts (rags/towels)
Tamiya (paint, kits, tools, everything conglamerate)
Testors (Model Maker) (paint, kits, tools, everything conglamerate)
Trumpeter (kit producer)

You can use this excel spreadsheet to inventory anything- it doesn't have to be just a shop. I organize my games in the same way, by system, value, etc.

Mr. Frugal: What you can do with soda you can do with chips

A lot of the time, we buy groceries at the store without question for the cost- until cost becomes an issue. Applying the principles we did to soda, if you have a bad food habit- you can be smart about it and consider the options.

Chip manufacturers (and snacks) are sold by net weight, not by the volume of the bag. I think there is some science to leaving a pocket in the sealed bag, and people will call it "false advertising" because they think there are more chips in there then they actually get. I side with the manufacturer on this one- get real. Depending on the weight of the product inside, the volume will change as chips fall on each other as they go into the bag. I am confident that manufacturers put EXACTLY a certain weight into the bag that they say they do. Now with that addressed...

You can figure cost per ounce. There are more variables involved- such as taste, favorite brand, etc- but you will need to make those upgrades (or downgrades) after considering the cost per ounce.

Chip	Cost per bag	Ounces contained	$/Oz
Lays BBQ	$            4.39	11.5	$  0.38
Doritos	$            4.29	11.5	$  0.37
Andy Cap's	$            2.75	8	$  0.34
Store Generic	$            1.79	10	$  0.18

Here we can see that the Lays BBQ I like so much is 38 cents an ounce. Big deal? Look at the store generic; it is 18 cents an ounce. The store generic also carries a BBQ line- and they taste just as good as the Lays chips. In that case, I would avoid the Lays and go for the store generic. Doritos are up there too. I thought Andy Caps were cheaper, but they are also up there in terms of price. Sometimes you can get kettle cooked bags for a good price. I don't have data on one, so I won't list it and mislead people. If the kettle cooked are good, and you like them, and they are a cheaper $/Oz, go for it. On a tight budget, buying the yummy alternative can save you money.

Mr. Frugality: Passwords

A strong password is never a guarantee that your information online will not be compromised. In this wired (and wireless) age of communications, you give up your right to privacy in the public domain (the internet). Being lazy will cost you. Being dumb will cost you. Here is how to not be so dumb with your internet security:
_____________

1) Adequate virus protection. I hate Symantec and McAfee: they are memory hogs and rarely catch viruses or malware. AVG free anti-virus and Spybot Search and Destroy are my personal freeware saviors. They are free, and they work. SS&D has never "not" found a problem when I knew there was one. Windows Firewall always stays on on my machine. Scan regularly for trojans, and especially keyloggers. If you find a keylogger, contact your financial institution immediately and put a watch on your account.

2) Do not go to unsafe websites. Learn how to proxy if you must go to the shady parts of the internet.

3) Use a strong password. They tell you "letters, upper case, lower case, and a number". If you want to be fort knox about your security, keep a list of passwords (physically). NEVER use the computer to type them out. Write them down, and secure this list. Keep it away from those that have no need to see. Go to Random.Org. Go to the tab for >Lists and More then select >Passwords. Generate as many as you would like, and keep them between 8-10 characters. You can also use the String generator.

4) Here is how to really piss off hackers (well, make their day harder). Every few months, rotate your passwords. All of them. Do not use the same login name for one site on another, and never use the same password on two different sites. On your list, assign a "tier 1", "tier 2" etc to different sites. The tier number is not important.
_____________

It seems like a lot of work, but it will be more work for them than it will be for you. After a while, you will get used to your new passwords if you log in frequently.

Mr. Frugality: Taxes

Originally I wanted to write an article about how the current US tax system is unfair.

Let’s start with a look at the current income tax system. The government will tax you based on your income level. This percentage varies from 15% to 35%. Taxes are used to pay for bills that are passed into law; to maintain roads, police, military, etc. Without taxes, we cannot have the roads we have, the protections we receive, etc. That is discussing taxes in a general context- income tax is separate from state taxes.

That is about as simple as it gets. The current system is long, controversial, and incredibly complicated and is full of loopholes. When it is said the government taxes you based on your income, you are placed into a tax bracket. The tax bracket looks like the following:

2011 Tax Brackets

Yearly Income Bracket
$0 to $8,500 10%
$8500-$34,500 15%
$34,500-$83,600 25%
$83,600-$174,400 28%
$174,400-$379,150 33%
$379,150 up 35%

My problem with the system lies right here. It’s not the fact that those that make more money are paying more in taxes. My problem is that those that make more money are paying a HIGHER PERCENTAGE of their income to taxes because “they can afford it”.

If we are to have a balanced tax system, how can we call the current system “fair”?

Flat Tax Rate

A flat tax rate assumes that everyone pays the same percentage. A general flat tax advocates that everyone pay the same amount out in taxes. I am not advocating the latter; I am advocating for a flat tax rate, so that:

Yearly Income Bracket
$0 to $8,500 18%
$8500-$34,500 18%
$34,500-$83,600 18%
$83,600-$174,400 18%
$174,400-$379,150 18%
$379,150 up 18%

In this scenario, everyone is paying 18% of their income to taxes. Some will argue that this puts a burden on the poor, however I do not believe this justifies unfairly taxing a section of the bracket.


Yearly Income Average Income Tax Rate Paid
$0 to $8,500 $ 4,250.00 0.18 $ 765.00
$8500-$34,500 $ 21,500.00 0.18 $ 3,870.00
$34,500-$83,600 $ 24,550.00 0.18 $ 4,419.00
$83,600-$174,400 $ 129,000.00 0.18 $ 23,220.00
$174,400-$379,150 $ 276,775.00 0.18 $ 49,819.50
$379,150 up $ 379,150.00 0.18 $ 68,247.00

So, if the rate is at a constant 18% for everybody, we can see that the major company at the end of the bracket is paying $68,000+ in taxes, while junior out of college is paying $765 in taxes at the other end. The point? They both paid the same rate. Some republicans will disagree with a flat rate and argue that Everyone should pay a flat “$1000” for example from all tax brackets. That is too libertarian for me, and will produce very little net income for the government.


Paid (New System) Paid (Old System)
$ 765.00 $ 425.00
$ 3,870.00 $ 3,225.00
$ 4,419.00 $ 6,137.50
$ 23,220.00 $ 36,120.00
$ 49,819.50 $ 91,335.75
$ 68,247.00 $ 132,702.50

As you can see, the old system will favor the lower end of the bracket and punish the upper bracket. This inverse relationship, it is argued, spurs growth and generates revenue. Our problem now is that even though we have this flawed system in place, at current levels, it isn’t enough to pay for our debts. Even worse, the baby boomers are retiring, creating a loss in the workforce, and a loss of revenue for the government.

The flat tax encourages wealth at higher levels. At the same time, I realize that an argument against the flat tax is just as valid as the argument against the current system. The flat tax is a system, not a person, and ignores life’s moments, its quips and unexpected events.
I will always hold the opinion that even though taxes are harder on the lower end of the bracket due to their constraints, the following statements hold true to me:

*It is not fair to expect the upper tax bracket to “pay their fair share” and raise taxes on them while not raising the entire system.

*It is not fair to have a burden on the lower half, either. Perhaps programs can be created to alleviate some of the pressure?

*It is fair to say that a flat tax may not pay for as much as the current system will. Say:

New System Old System
$ 150,340.50 $ 269,945.75

I arrived at those numbers assuming that I added up each bracket from the above chart, with the old and new systems. You can see that the new flat tax will not generate as much revenue as the current system. People will argue that the new system would be bad and unsustainable. In fact, it is our spending that is unsustainable, and the new system, if implemented correctly, will put money back into the pockets of Americans who will have an easier time investing in their future. The problem is spending, not revenue. We can say that because although the old system is currently in place, it cannot pay for our debts.
Assuming state taxes work in a similar bracket fashion, those should be redone as well. States will do it their own ways, and if the federal government tries to insinuate how to complete state taxes, states will have a freaking cow about it.

I have no opinions regarding a flat sales tax. I think the sales tax, to my knowledge, is fair.

A Compromise Between Systems
There is a compromise, I believe, to the new and the old systems. Let’s look at the percent change between brackets in the old system:
 
Tax Bracket Percent Change
10% 0%
15% 5%
25% 10%
28% 3%
33% 5%
35% 2%

Once you hit the 25% tax bracket (you start making over $34,500 a year) taxes immediately shoot up a percentage change of 10%. From there on the changes are minor, until you get to the 33% bracket. If you labeled each tax bracket a tier, 1,2,3,4,5,6, according to the above chart respectively, Tier 1-2 would be the lower class, Tier 3-4 would be the middle class, and Tier 5-6 would be the upper class.

The percent change increase could be due to the amount of people in each tier. Obviously the population is disproportionate to the tax brackets: there are not 170 million Americans evenly distributed around the tax bracket. If we are going to at least make this fair on the middle class, we can cut their bracket to keep a constant percent change of 5%. The upper class, as I realize, will not like this. Such as:

Tax Bracket Percent Change
10% 0%
15% 5%
20% 5%
25% 5%
30% 5%
35% 5%

Upper bracket taxes will not change much, but the upper class would definitely have the right to complain. We all do. I am also a fan of tax cuts. HOWEVER, when you cut taxes, you need to cut them for everybody. To be fair, you need to cut them the same percentages. I fully realize, that with the amount of money involved, it is disproportionate to everybody’s life situations, but it is not discriminate against their income:


Tax Bracket Decrease to:
10% 8%
15% 13%
20% 18%
25% 23%
30% 28%
35% 33%

When you have that growth and a new tax system, if you can lower taxes and maintain the budget (REMEMBER GOVT: WE ARE HERE TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE, AND YOU ARE NOT A BUSINESS), you will keep the people happier, and spur growth, because America has more money in its pockets.

The current system may allow for an easier burden, but it is fully discriminating against everyone’s incomes. Supply and demand ladies and gentleman. It is my belief that the fair taxation of the people of this nation should not discriminate based on personal circumstances. I realize that, when you make over $100,000 a year and another person makes $10,000 a year, that a loaf of bread still costs the same. Opportunity, growth and higher wages (and a flat tax system) will result in a happier country, in my opinion.

Mr. Frugality: Handiness Saves Money

Ever hear of "do it yourself" fixes? These may have been turned into a new product to be marketed, but we can take solace in learning how to be handy. Handy fixes (that work and are effective) can save you change here and there. Today, I had the strap on my backpack break. This is a nice Targus bag I was given (for free) and I don't want to toss the pack. I took a moment to look at it.

Sometimes those straps completely snap, and that will require another solution. Here, I found that the bar the upper strap loop was connected to snapped off. I thought of possible solutions, and came up with a VERY simple one. I needed some kind of rod with a circular cross section to fit through the loop. The loop still fit through the strap, and I went looking for a straight stick. I found one about 1/4" in diameter, and slid the loop through the strap, and then slid the stick through the loop. It should last a while- this wood was dense and it will take a lot of force to snap it. I just "Macguyvered" my backpack.

Let's look at the economics of this. I need to lug a backpack around, and it would cost me $59.99 to get another targus, and at minimum, $19.99 for a cheapie. I could have harvested another strap, but I opted for a quicker and less painful solution of using a stick. When it snaps, I will fit a bolt in there that is 1/4" in diameter by roughly 1 inch length, if I can find one like that. That will take thousands of pounds to snap.

What would you do with the $59.99 you didn't spend for a new backpack? In the age of consumerism, see if you can fix it before you toss it. If someone tosses something and you can fix it, take it!

Mr. Frugality: Habits over the Long Run

Needing soda, I elected to go out tonight to Wawa. I got to thinking, what is the cheapest way to purchase pepsi? This isn't a trick question. If you thought all forms of pepsi cost the same per fluid ounce, you are dead wrong. There is an old addage that companies stick to: more is less. They can afford to do this because they are selling their product well above manufacturing cost. I went to Wawa, and analyzed the prices of pepsi in 20 oz, 12 oz, 33 oz (1 liter), 66oz (2 liter), and 144 oz sizes.

We see a winner here: at Wawa, it is cheaper to buy the 2 liters. There is a lesson to be learned here as well. Look who comes in a close second: the 12 packs. There is a difference between the words thrifty and cheap. Being cheap is going for the 2 liters over the 12 packs exclusively. In my dorm room, 2 liter bottle sizes are not practical. I can't fit the suckers in my fridge! and who likes warm soda?

For a measely seven-thousandths of a cent more, I can purchase the 12 pack, which is more ergonomic in my case. Why care, if the prices are so small anyways per fluid ounce? it adds up. If I drink, arbitrarily, 32 oz of pepsi a day, I am consuming, in dollars:

32 oz/day

0.96

1.184

1.824

2.592

2.64

respectively. Would you rather pay 0.96 a day, or 2.64 a day? Let me put it this way if I have not done any convincing:

cost per year

$         350.64

$         432.46

$         666.22

$         946.73

$         964.26

respectively. See my point? You can save hundreds of dollars per year on bad habits if you look for a good price (I acknowledge my soda kick is a bad habit). Again, you can save even more money by buying off brands of soda, but... cheapness versus thriftiness. If your grocery store or retail store offers 12 packs $2 off the normal price that I used in this example, it makes ZERO sense not to save money there.

Mr. Frugality: Working on Retirement Goals

Wait, I am about to become a former college student! Why am I even worrying about retirement? Well I am, and I'm not.

I want to nail down exactly what I want to do during retirement. I asked myself this question, and replied "uuuuuuuuuhhhh". We can fix this. In his book "The New Frugality: How to Consume Less, Save more and Live Better by Chris Farrell", Farrell describes the situation of an interesting man who was into banking for a long time.

This man worked for 40 or 50 years in the industry, and finally retired. From the day he was 10, he always wanted to open a hot dog stand. When he retired, he took some of his retirement money and opened a hot dog stand. He absolutely loves what he does.

I took this to heart. What do I want to do when I retire? do I want to retire? At first I said I would never retire; but retirement means no more work, and mostly fun. If I had my life, and money was not an object (FRUGALITY now), I would retire and model build full time. I am a model builder, and sadly due to college I have not had time to build models. As a reward for sticking out college, this summer I am going to spend some time model building while I maintain a small income, but a small expense as well. I am very fortunate to have loving parents (in their own special way, sometimes) who take care of me.

Some people become philanthropists; others choose to work with people in their retirement. I want to model build, and become a historian while I do it. I have always loved history, and it [history] is a good supplement to model building. My subject matter is mostly tanks, ships and vehicles. I think I will auction off some models as well for good causes.

I will need to calculate (roughly) the cost of supplies needed, models I want to build, etc. I realize that if I buy a butt ton of models that not all of them may be built. That will go in a final budget with other expenses, such as living and food. By retirement, actually, before retirement, I have the goal to become debt free. If it isn't a big ticket item that I need, I don't want to borrow on it. New television set? cash. Furniture? cash and savings. Even if I borrow, and I won't be a nazi against it, I will NOT borrow what I cannot pay. This is the trap credit card America fell into.

Why buy more than you need? it's a waste.

Mr. Frugality: Building a Budget (The Basics)

The dreaded B word. The B word will keep you living happily.

A budget is a plan that allots for a certain amount of money to go towards a specific goal. This word is absent in the vocabulary of the US Congress. To model an easy example, we will go over a budget that I am recently constructing, and I will go through how and why. You know me... I like systems... Start with Microsoft Excel. Basic knowledge with this program will take you far.

First, we need to budget the things we NEED. There are two ways to find out what we need, and we need to model them over time. I like to model my budgets on a monthly basis. Sometimes, you may need to budget weekly. It all depends on your life style. I think most people will want to budget on a monthly basis, because bills are due then. To find out what you need, carefully track the goods you need to buy (spending CAREFULLY without a budget), and find out how much they cost. If you can find cheaper brands that do the same thing as the name brand, excellent, that is frugality. Say my grocery bill consists of this, hypothetically (I mostly eat at Tullys):

Assume this is a monthly need of my grocery expenses. Obviously, this isn't an accurate list- you may need more than what I listed here. According to the list, I would spend $78 (before taxes) on food a week. Assuming an average of 4 weeks per month, I would spend $313 a month on food. Some might CRINGE at that number. There is a way to reduce it, and here is how:

If I am in a pinch to save money, the first place to look is where the list is costing me the most money. Holy Bajeebus, look at how much those microwaveable meals are costing me! I calculated that I would need three per week on average. How about we cut one out, and then spend the money on cheaper things that are healthier, such as, on sandwiches? Immediately, we are down to:

We just went from $313 a month spent on food to $265 a month, a savings of $48 dollars a month, and $576 savings a YEAR. This was a good example; but if you want to become anally retentive (I'm just kidding, a "super star" of frugality; you can begin dissecting your budget for cheaper brands that taste roughly as good: Say I found a brand of Peanut Butter and Jelly that was cheaper, and I found snack crackers cheaper than Cheese Nips (I am still reluctant to give up my Nips >_>), Also say that I found a cheaper brand of potato chips:

Well, look at that! I am down to $231.32 a month. Note that when you cut the cheaper things, you will be approaching a finer line. Always attack the money suckers first, but if you need to squeeze money, this is how to do it. This was a basic example of a budget: Budgets apply from everything to grocery lists, to clothes, to BILLs, and ultimately, all of these budgets coalesce into "Budget Grande", the budget where all of these budgets collide, and you can see your [net gain - net loss] for your net profit. Are your numbers black at the end of the month? Good job, grasshopper!

New Column: Mr. Frugality

Two things have contributed to the start of this article, well, three;

a) I just read the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
b) I just read a few interesting articles on Frugality
c) I am frugal.

So why not remind myself, and others of how to be frugal? Let's start with a definition of frugal. From Dictionary.com (good for general definitions)

"economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful".
 
Being economical is knowing where to shop, what to buy, and what you are paying for. it is also about knowing what you need, what you want, and what you can cut back on. Being frugal and economical also means hesitation before paying a hefty price tag. The second part of the definition deals with saving. "Prudence", or caution in one's own interest, helps with saving money by not spending it at other places, and physically saving it in the bank. The third part of the definition, waste, deals with buying things you will never use or need.

I consider myself frugal with my money. I save it up in a savings account (a certain portion of my paycheck diverts to savings), I only buy the things I need (which are usually food, clothes, soap, game subscriptions, bills, etc) and I am stone cold to impulse buying, even with 30% off stickers. Money is left over at the end of the day, and that is OK. This money can be sat on (figuratively) and let grow in a high yield savings account, or a normal one.

I think the next post will go over a budget. A budget is a cornerstone of frugality, and sometimes it isn't easy cutting back on the things you like (it takes will power), but a budget, when followed, will save you (possibly) hundreds of dollars in the long run. Why save hundreds? Those few hundred dollars can go somewhere else, again, like in a HYSA (high yield savings account).