Things You Don't Need to Spend Money On

In our society we have businesses vying for our dollars every day. It is perfectly okay, people need to make money somehow. However, I am here to help teach you how to save money on things, more specifically, how to save money by not spending it on things you don't need. Unfortunately some of my techniques seem to be attacking some of the sacred shibboleths of our culture, so it might not be taken seriously. Yes, that's right folks, I am going to be attacking the sacred starting out, or more likely attacking things which serve a purely ceremonial purpose but leave you broke that you don't actually need but somebody is profiting off of.

Weddings. Now you might be asking; how dare I? The Rev. Pat Robertson would no doubt at this point accuse me of being a radical liberal seeking to undermine the institution of marriage and destroy family values by imposing loose morality on the good citizens of middle America. Fear not Pat, I am doing no such thing. I am not saying it is bad to have a wedding, I am just pointing out a few things, and I am by no means attacking the institution of marriage, let alone the nuclear family. A wedding has nothing to do with marriage. A marriage is a binding agreement between a couple, a wedding is a ceremony designed to seal that agreement; and that's what it is, a ceremony. It may give you some good memories, but it will kill your wallet. The average wedding in this country cost $20,000! "Wedding budgets" were found to be about 50% of that. $20,000 is one thing, but even $10,000! You don't need a "wedding budget," because you don't need to spend all that money for ceremony sake. If you really want to save money just get legally married and leave it at that, because all that money is not worth it, particularly for those at the age of getting married for the first time.

Now what about funerals? Now they don't affect you in your lifetime, but folks, isn't it a little bit jerky to leave your loved ones with all that expense. The average funeral costs $7000!!! As for burial plots, they start at around $1000 and even cremation is not free. The bottom line is that you're dead and you are just passing this onto your family, but the cost of a burial plot comes in your life. Even if you are paying for your funeral ahead of time to avoid passing on the cost, it still costs YOU money! I don't see why the heck it is worth it to spend all that money, which is why I am donating my body to science when I die. At least then I can increase the utility of it. If people want to have a wake or something like that they can, just not with my money. You can sit around and cry without spending money.

Now, weddings and funerals are some of the sacred shibboleths of our culture, so I decided to attack those first. But what about other things? What other things can you save money on without spending it unnecessarily. First of all, entertainment. Movies, video games, and CDs cost more right when they come out. If I want a video game I expect it to cost $50 new. I also expect to be alive in six months to a year when it will cost $30, maybe even $20. That is for a longer game. A shorter one you can just rent. You can also rent movies rather than seeing them in the theater. Renting costs less, it just takes longer and is on a smaller screen. However, on the flip side going to a movie and eating popcorn and drinking soda is a great way to go out to eat without dropping a fortune, so it has its benefits either way.

Speaking of eating out, if you want to save even more you can cut it out or do it smart. I can get a Big Mac meal at McDonalds for something like four or five dollars and that comes with a Big Mac, large fry, and a large drink. There is a Chinese buffet in my town with excellent food including a free open grill that has the best steak in town for $6.50. It's cheap. My philosophy of going to buffets is to go at noon, eat as much as you can, and then not eat dinner at night. That's what I did when I went there yesterday. I went, I ate, and I didn't eat again. I estimate I got two full meals worth of excellent food adding up to $3.25 each! You don't beat that with a Big Mac meal. Oh at btw, I also found that the buffet had the same menu at lunch during weekdays as it does on Sunday, it just costs more then. It is probably that way elsewhere. So the best time to go to restaurants is at noon. Or if you want to go extremely cheap you can just eat Ramen noodles, which cost about 50 cents. You can find that on the ground.

What about power? You can save power by turning off all the lights in the house during the day and only watching TV at night. You can also save a small amount of power if you leave things unplugged even if they're off. They do use a tiny amount of power when plugged in, but this may seem like a bit too much. If you really want to go radical on neccessities to squeeze every penny you can, then try this trick. Don't even use tap water. I prefer to buy a one liter bottle of water or a two liter of soda and use it over. You can then go to work or some public place with a drinking fountain and fill one or two of these up and then store them in your fridge! You can get water without having to spend a penny!

Now, what about houses and cars? It makes sense to go cheap. You don't need to have a brand new house or a brand new car, or the biggest house or the best car. My philosophy is that the house has to have room to live in and the car has to work. If it works, its good enough. This is how you can do it with anything. Used furniture, used dishware, used everything. Garage sales are great places to pick these things up. Unless you are a fanatic about things matching, this is a great approach to go on.

Also, kids and animals. They cost money. If you are in debt you should try not to have kids and if you want to save money pets are just an added expense. They add up over time, and when was the last time your cat actually did chores around the house? I wouldn't recommend kids or pets unless you can actually afford them. One more thing, books (and I say this as an avid reader). Library cards are generally free. I used to buy all my books until I found out the library costs less money. I also always bike there. It is actually smart when purchasing a house to look at the walking distance to various things, then you can save money. I think a town that isn't pedestrian-friendly is a town that is harsh on your wallet.

Now folks, you might be asking what the purpose of all this frugality is. Well, you have to ask yourself, what are your priorities? Are your priorities these things or is there something else you really wanted? If you save money on these things you might not have them but you can have what you want in the long run. You can also avoid debt, which is the most important thing of all. It all boils down to time preference, a concept in economics. Time preference refers to how much of a long-term thinker you are. People with a high time preference are focused mainly on the present and seek gratification now, people with a low time preference are willing to sacrifice for happiness in the future. Which one will you be?