Welcome to the Festival of Frugality – Spend it Edition (this is number 263 for those keeping count out there)!
So why “Spend It” for a frugality festival? Well, sometimes people take frugality to extremes that I think aren’t productive. Other times people get frugality all wrong. Throughout the carnival I’m going to tell you a few instances on where it’s OK to spend and why. You let me know what you think in the comments.
Spend on what you need, not want you want.
There are times when it’s OK to spend. In fact there are times when you HAVE to spend. But it has to be on the right things. You need to distinguish between what you NEED and what you WANT. I’m talking about you Mister I-got-a-brand-new-TV-and-entertainment-center-over-the-holidays-but-I-have-to-walk-because-I have-flat-because-I-didn’t-want-to-buy-new-tires-for-the-car. Just sayin’
Paula Wethington presents Nobody gets all the good coupons in a swap and here is why posted at Monroe on a Budget.
Miss T presents 18 Ways to Eat Organic and Healthy on the Cheap posted at Prairie Eco-Thrifter.
Niki presents The Price of Tea in China posted at Debt Free by Thirty.
Dave@50plusfinance presents How To Go To Medical School For Free posted at 50 Plus Finance.
Stephan Marks presents Free Amazon Prime for 1 Year: Students posted at Promo Code Center.
MoneyNing presents 20 Frugal Family Winter Activities posted at Money Ning.
FMF presents Free Money Finance: 5 Moves That Make You Look Cheap posted at Free Money Finance.
Neal Frankle presents How I Make Cheap International Calls From My Cell Phone posted at Wealth Pilgrim.
Mike presents Keep Warm Without Burning Through Your Budget posted at Saving Money Today.
Jason presents Debt: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly posted at The Frugal Dad.
Spend on experiences not stuff.
I’ve learned a couple of things in my years. Some things took a little longer to learn like – experiences are much more valuable than things in my life. I used to be a lot more free with my money. As a result I had an apartment full of “stuff.” It felt great buying all sorts of “things” but at the end of the day, most of the things I bought were really just clutter. I can’t tell you about most of the books I bought, or CD’s, and any number of things I used my hard-earned money on. But you know what I can recall? Experiences! Things I DID, places I WENT, people I spent TIME with.
Give me an experience over another thing. Vacations can be expensive, sure. But the ones I’ve taken with my family are so full of great experiences that they were worth every penny we spent. Same goes for camping trips, day trips, great concerts, anything where we did something together and experienced something.
The point? Think about what you are spending money on. How will it add to your life? Are you going to love what you just spent money on? Just a thought.
Miranda presents 4 Tips on Getting Better Deals on Travel Web Sites posted at Coupon Shoebox Tips.
Fanny presents Totally Free Checking Accounts posted at Living Richly on a Budget.
Emma Thesenvitz presents How to Budget and Save Money posted at Creditcents.
The Saved Quarter presents How to Save Money on Electricity, Even When You?re a Renter posted at The Saved Quarter.
J. Money presents How much do you spend a week on groceries? posted at Budgets Are Sexy.
SavingMentor presents Stay In 3 or 4 Star Hotels For As Little As $50/night Every Time posted at HowToSaveMoney.ca.
Khaleef @ KNS Financial presents Employee Recognition: 6 Free or Low Cost Ways to Demonstrate It posted at Faithful With A Few.
Miss Thrifty presents Clean your shoes with a banana skin – and three other fruity tricks posted at Miss Thrifty.
Peter presents 3 Reasons A Budget Will Help You Get Out Of Debt posted at Bible Money Matters.
Save Few Bucks presents How to Save Money on School Books posted at Save Few Bucks.
Spend on quality not crap.
You want your money to be used wisely, right? I know I do. I HATE having to buy something again because it broke. Here’s another lesson that took a while to get through my thick skull – You get what you pay for! Sometimes, the item that’s the most inexpensive, well, isn’t. You find the cheapest of something, pat yourself on the back because you found a great price, and you end up spending more in the long run anyway. Buy quality, not crap! I’ve found many instances where spending a few extra bucks up front for quality saved me money down the line because the item lasted rather than falling apart and I had to buy another one.
Kay Lynn Akers presents Resolutionize Your Finances: Savings posted at Bucksome Boomer.
Ron Haynes presents A Resolution Worth Keeping: Get an Insurance Checkup posted at The Wisdom Journal.
Sun presents Hidden Hogs that Rob You of Space posted at The Sun’s Financial Diary.
Tom presents Finding Extra Money: Ways to Make Your Spare Change Add Up posted at Canadian Finance Blog.
June Tree presents With Free Television & Low Cost Internet Access, Save $100 A Month posted at The Digerati Life.
Amanda L Grossman presents Extreme Couponing: A Syndrome Developed from the Feeling of Fear posted at Frugal Confessions – Frugal Living.
PT presents Discount Brokers vs. Mutual Fund Companies posted at PT Money.
Super Saver presents Another Senior Discount – College Course Fees posted at My Wealth Builder.
debt kid presents 12 Money Lessons for Kids and Parents Alike posted at Debt Kid.
Little Miss Moneybags presents Brunch! posted at Little Miss Moneybags.
Roshawn Watson presents Do You Save Instead of Paying Debt? posted at Watson Inc.
Mama Squirrel presents Revisiting The Tightwad Gazette, 2011 posted at Dewey’s Treehouse.
RC presents $5 a Gallon Gas- Is it on the Way and How Soon? posted at Think Your Way to Wealth.
And there you go! I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading these articles as much as I did. Check out the Festival of Frugality site to read past editions or see where future editions will be hosted.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
I really enjoyed the title, “spend on experiences, not stuff.” This is exactly what I intend to do! Stuff typically breaks or becomes worthless after a while, but experience provide a lifetime of memories!
Exactly!
Looks like we got missed again this week, and I know I got my submission in early this time. Maybe in the spam box?
Check again. Just added you. For future reference though, the day before the festival is published isn’t early. If you want to make sure you get your article in on time try to submit a least a few days before to give the host time to go through your article.
What a great list of stories. Thanks for including me and hosting.
You’re welcome Dave. Glad you enjoyed.
Me too, Mama Squirrel, I had a submission in that I thought was very fitting (about watching for price increases, something I thought was very frugal related). Maybe FFB had a thing against animal named PF blogs
Oh, well, it’s always worth trying anyways.
Nothing against animal related blogs, I assure you!
While your article was frugal-themed, I thought it was more of an overview of an MSNBC article. Were it longer and more an analysis of the original article I would have gladly included it.
No hard feelings?
Great Carnival and thanks for the inclusion!
Thank you Ron and you’re welcome.
Thanks for the link! I had apparently just missed the cutoff for last week, didn’t know if my entry would roll over.
You’re welcome Monroe. Glad you got in.
Really like the theme of the carnival. Thanks for breaking down the fundamentals of spending. I agree that quality and experiences are important and we should a lot money for them.
Also, thanks for including my post.
Thanks for including me in this carnival! I read and enjoyed several of the posts that you included.
I also like how you broke up the links in between additional text relevant to the theme you had for the carnival. It was a good read.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the inclusion. Great choice of posts.
Thank you Niki. Happy to include yours.
Thank you for adding our post–I’ve linked.
Your welcome. I had some confusion as to what the cutoff was. Glad you brought it to my attention.
I remember my mother telling me that I will get what I need not what I want at a very young age. She was ahead of her time! These words certainly influences my life and my decisions.
Ahh, the Stones had a similar saying! Your mother sounds wise.
My wife tells the kids – “You get what you get and you don’t get upset!”
Thanks for including my post, great job!
You’re very welcome RC.
Great job hosting Craig, thanks for the inclusion!
Thank you Tom and glad to include you.
Great roundup. Thank you including me!
You’re welcome Fanny.