by Elizabeth Rowe

Created on: October 31, 2008

The number one rule of frugal living? Don't get ripped off.

Example: I bought a ten year old Dodge for less than four figures, and thought I'd done well-it ran well, didn't leak and the air conditioning and the radio worked. Then I turned up a steep hill toward a red light to visit a fast-food restaurant at the top. If you're familiar with Dodges, you can probably guess what happened-the transmission went out, in rush hour traffic, with nowhere to pull over. It cost me three times the cost of the car to get a new transmission put in. Frugal acquisition? Not so much.

Frugal living means getting the most from the least. In most cases, it means trading time and labor that you have for money you don't have, or for which you have another use. What it doesn't mean is buying the absolutely cheapest item on offer and accepting the lowest quality as inevitable.

With that in mind, here are five things to ask yourself when making a frugal purchase:

1) Does it do what I want it to do? A winter coat that's too heavy or too light for your climate is a bad buy, no matter how little you pay.

2) Am I paying for a brand name? The number one offender here is personal computers. The operating system that "comes with" your computer is not free. The manufacturer paid to be allowed to install that software, and no frugal shopper believes that cost is not passed on to the consumer. The best buy is a refurbished system with no operating system installed, and a free download of Linux. If you're not up to installing it yourself, contact a local user group.

3) What hidden costs are involved? Will the car require a new transmission? Does the house have termites, nonfunctional plumbing and wiring from World War II? Does the weight loss program require you to purchase proprietary food in addition to the "program?"

4) Am I buying more than I need? If you get four peaches for a dollar and only eat one before the rest go bad, you just paid a dollar for one peach. The cost is what you pay per item used, not per item obtained.

5) Do I have to buy it at all? There may be better options-if you only use a car to go to work, look into car pool arrangements. If you only need a sound system for one event, by all means rent it. If you're looking for a book, check your public library before the bookstores, and if it's information you need, make sure it's not freely available on the internet before you spend money on it.

Frugal living is very doable, but like anything else, it's a lot easier if you use your brain.

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