Archive for August, 2008

Welcome back Franco fan! Please share your thoughts and leave some comments!

In my very first post I talked about the advantages of using a credit card with rewards for everyday purchases. Recently, a frugal fan sent me a link to a great online tool to help people chose the best cash back reward card. One need only input their annual expenditures into each category and decide whether to use multiple cards to maximize the rebate or a single card for convenience. For those that are running a budget, this exercise should be easy. For those that do not have a budget, it’s time to start! 

The fastest way to tighten the belt and fatten the wallet is to cut down on what I like to call “fringe spending.” Fringe spending encompasses all the little pleasures in life we choose to spend our money on that go beyond meeting our basic needs and instead fulfill our wants and desires. One of the biggest contributors in this arena is the cup of coffee many people purchase on a daily basis. As an inconsistent (non-daily) coffee drinker, I’m not sure how qualified I am to weigh in on this topic, but with that disclaimer, here it goes.

The most common misconception people have about being frugal is making it synonymous with being cheap. Being cheap is associated with being stingy, miserly, and generally not fun to be around. Think Scrooge McDuck meets George Castanza. Being frugal on the other hand does not necessarily (although it is a thin line) constitute these same characteristics. For further explanation, let’s take a look at the definition of each (according to dictionary.com):

Frugal
1. economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful: a frugal manager.
2. entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty: a frugal meal.