How to Be a Penny Pincher

Never buy new! With thrift stores and consignment stores in almost every city, E-bay, Craig's List, and garage sales on every corner most Friday and Saturday mornings who needs to buy new? You can find bargains for large things at estate sales and auctions. I wouldn't even recommend buying a new car. Why should you pay for the depreciation? Buy one that is a year or two old and you still get the manufacturer's warranty but you don't have to pay to drive it off the lot.

If you HAVE to buy new, get it on sale or out of season. Everyone knows that the time to buy a heater is in the summer. Brave that after Thanksgiving crowd and find an awesome bargain. If you go super early, it isn't even that crowded. Lots of stores open at 5am and 6am that Friday morning and only the serious savers are up that early. After Christmas is also an excellent time to shop for bargains because the stores are tying to unload all of the stuff that they couldn't get rid of at Christmas.

Borrow from family and friends! Why buy a book when you can borrow one from the Library? Why buy a chain saw when you can borrow your neighbors? We have a couple that we swap movies with instead of renting them. You can do the same thing with video games. Just make sure you take care of what you borrow so that you don't end up buying it anyway and don't forget to return what you borrow or you may never get to borrow again.

Make or grow your own! Start a veggie garden and then can the veggies or freeze them for use in the winter. Need a new sweater? Crochet or knit it yourself. This can go for Christmas presents and other gifts as well. There are so many things you can make for yourself and others. Why buy them?

Cook from scratch! Say goodbye to eating out. Try some rice and beans for dinner. I know, it sounds cheap and not THAT appetizing but once a week can't hurt. It cost so much to eat out and what a waste of money! You don't have to stick with rice and beans to eat cheap. You can eat on a Turkey for almost a whole week. If time is an issue you can cook 2-3 meals on Saturday and freeze them for later in the week. Or, you can use your crock pot. There really is no need to go out to eat when there are so many good recipes that can be found right here on E-how.

Pay Cash for EVERYTHING. Cash your check and leave just enough money in the bank to pay your bills. Then pay cash for everything else. When you are actually spending your cash you might think twice about what you are buying. Plus, you can bargain more with cash in hand and get a better deal.

Go without! Finally, do you REALLY NEED those fake fingernails every week? Can you wash your walls instead of buying new paint? Is it really necessary to buy ANOTHER pair of shoes? When you see something that you want at a store, go home and think about it. When you've saved up enough cash to buy it, you can get it then, if you still want it.