Months before writing this, I chanced upon the blog of Daniel Suelo (read his blogs http://zerocurrency.blogspot.c om/ ) whose personal advocacy is to limit to zero the use of money in the world. He's started doing this by becoming a positive role model of his own advocacy, and the image I see on him is startlingly interesting.
Imagine living in a cave with so few possessions somewhere in Moab, Utah, for nine years now, and making do with whatever comes his way by deliberately spending "zero" dollars. He even has a blog, which he writes in public libraries, and has been interviewed about his peculiar (but becoming very relevant) lifestyle.
Being frugal myself, I've pondered if I can even do something like that. But I've certainly learned a thing or two about living with very little money, ever since I came here in the USA (which is ironic, considering that this country remains to be among the most wealthiest countries on earth, even during these economic downturn times,) and have since then lived here in New York City (NYC). Consider these tips, and work out something according to your personal circumstances.
These tips include:
1) "Budget, budget, budget." Come up with your monthly budget. Tally down the items in your daily spending versus the money that you earn. As our mothers have been telling us, "live within your budget," which, of course, is easier said than done. Just come up with something that works for you, so that you will know how much money you spend monthly, and how much money you earn to afford yourself your expenses.
2) Join support groups (it's difficult to do it by yourself; it's pretty stressful.) Befriend and go out with people who are known for their thrifty habits. You can always learn a thing or two from their habits, and subsequently design something that can work for you.
3) With the little money that you have now, you better start doing only those things that you personally want to do. Spend your time only on activities that answer the deep desires of your heart. Time is the biggest measure of money, and to misspend your own time on activities that you don't really deeply care about, is just like throwing away your money (or whatever little money you got in your pocket.)
4) If you will have to buy something for your own personal use, or your family's use, buy "quality" and not quantity. For example, if you will buy a pair of shoes, buy the pair known to be of best quality. Or if you still don't have the budget, wait for the
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