The following is a guest post by Pinyo, the owner of Moolanomy, a personal finance blog about money, wealth, investing, and more. If you have not seen it, please give him a visit and subscribe to his blog.
In my post The true earning power and the real cost of luxuries, I discussed the concept of true earning power. If the thought of making only $3.85 from a $30 per hour wage does not motivate you to be more frugal, here are 10 questions that you can use to enhance your frugality:
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- Do I really need this, or do I just want this?
- Is there a cheaper alternative that works just as well?
- Can I buy this used from somewhere else instead?
- Is the one I already have still working? If not, can it be fixed?
- Is this going to add to the clutter?
- How much use or enjoyment will I get out of this?
- Will I use this only once and not need it again? May be borrowing or renting is a better alternative.
- Will I be using this a few months from now when the thrill wears off?
- Is there something else better I can do with this money?
- Can I wait another week (or longer) to buy this?
Whenever I am about to buy something, or even thinking about buying, I ask myself these questions. Occasionally, I will ask my wife these questions, but I have to be careful and diplomatic.
Give them a try, they might save you some money.
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September 20th, 2007 at 6:19 am
I need to focus on asking myself if I can buy this used somewhere else. I am actually pretty good at enforcing all of those suggestions, however, I always forget about the Salvation Army and the Dollar Store. Thanks for the tips!
September 20th, 2007 at 6:35 am
Thank you for hosting my guest post. I hope your readers will enjoy it.
September 20th, 2007 at 6:49 am
I have to say that #10 works well, if you can wait a week before buying often the thrill will wear off and you will be able to clearly see that you don’t need a 50″ plasma TV, or whatever it was!
September 20th, 2007 at 10:29 am
This is a great post! Thanks Pinyo. I agree with Kyle, #10 works for me too, my mom calls it “Sleep on it for a night or two”..
) taught me was to figure out what my time and money is worth and how a purchase might fit into that equation vs the amount of enjoyment pleasure that it will give me back. For example, if I make $15/hour is it really worth my time/money/effort in returns to buy that “must-have-item”? or is my TIME more valuable.
Another thing that my mom (sorry, I am obviously a mama’s boy
Lance
September 20th, 2007 at 11:52 am
@Cardiogirl - You’re welcome.
@Kyle - That one is my favorite as well. My wife and I have been looking at plasma TV for our bedroom. But I told here I will not buy one until to old TV is dead.
@Lance - You’re welcome and thank you! About your time and money, be sure to read my post “The true earning power and the real cost of luxuries.” The link is in the first paragraph. You will cringe once you find out what $15 per hour wage translate to, in term of true earning power.
September 20th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Aaaaaaah. Thanks for posting this today, Pinyo! Our TV just died a few minutes ago, and I’m making myself read this list over and over.
My credit cards are safely frozen in the freezer, so I won’t be whipping one out to buy a nice big Plasma TV, and I’m just going to sit here and read this list until the urge to run right out and get a new one passes.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Great list!!
I think I’d add to ask if the item is too cheap and will likely break and need to be replaced soon (aka, should i spend more money on the item one time, instead of buying more than one of a cheaper item)?
September 20th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
“Occasionally, I will ask my wife these questions, but I have to be careful and diplomatic.”
Great tips Pinyo. This is a good list for me to print out and keep in my wallet and next to my computer monitor.
September 20th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Wow…I think I made a lot of new friends today. I should thank you [Lynnae] for giving a chance to post on your blog.
@Heidi - that’s a great add. I have a friend who buy stuff that I think are too cheap and invariably they break before he gets the full value out of it.
@Erin - thank you!
April 24th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Just may print this out and put it on the fridge….and the computer…um…the wallet….front door…steering wheel of the car (fast food, ya know)…bathroom mirror - across from the toilet perhaps… Hmmm….the possibilities are endless. Thank you so much for putting pen to paper on this issue.