Why to Be Cheap I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about frugality lately. Considering the economy and increased prices in staples like food, this only makes sense. People keep telling me I should write something about how to be cheap since I’m good at it and other people aren’t. So this is my attempt [...]

General Principles 1. Plan for giving first, not what’s leftover. If you wait to give what’s left, there won’t be anything. Diversify your eternal portfolio: give to the fellowship, missions work, and poverty relief through Christian organizations. 2. Minimize spending on indulgence and convenience items. Don’t stop at the gas station frequently for snacks and [...]

Now that you want to be cheap and have some basic guidelines, let’s get down to the details of menu planning and grocery-shopping. Plan Ahead The number one way to reduce your grocery budget is to shop at Aldi (or other discount food stores). But you have to know what to buy there. They have [...]

Stocking Staples Here is a list of items to have on hand. This is Rachel’s Ray’s Essential Pantry, minus the things I think are unnecessary, plus a couple things that are probably too unsophisticated for her. Now don’t go out and buy every single item you don’t have this week. But do slowly add the [...]

I’ve told you some ideas of what to eat for lunch and dinner, but what about breakfast? I highly recommend eat oatmeal—either quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats from the big can. It’s a great value, it’s very healthy, and you won’t start your day with a lot of sugar. Most pre-packaged breakfast items have a lot [...]

Cheapness Myth Busters First, buying cheap things does not make you cheap. One of the biggest ways you’ll be tricked out of being frugal is buying items that are a good deal, but which you don’t need. For those like me who get a thrill from finding a good bargain, this cheapness fallacy is especially [...]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thanks for all the comments. I just discovered them–usually they are automatically emailed to me and I see them that way. But for some reason they weren’t showing up there. So once again I was accusing Neil of not reading my blog and he said he’d commented on [...]

Answers to your burning questions about gift-giving and receiving. I said you should be cheaper so you can be more generous. Does this mean you should have bought all your family members iPhones for Christmas, then? No, I don’t think so. Here’s my take on gift-giving: 1. Remember who you’re buying for. Generally, you’re buying [...]

Neil has a strategy for owning vehicles. Here it is: 1. Perhaps this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Never buy a brand-new car. This is one of the worst investments you could make, comparable to buying stock snap bracelets. Instead buy a fairly new car, two or three years old. There are [...]

How to Live and Travel Cheap 1. Live in a basement. Neil and I are going to take our cheapness to the next level this Saturday by moving into the Michaleks’ basement. We’re not doing it exclusively for financial reasons, but it will be nice to save some money on rent, which is infamously equivalent [...]