LIFE On The Cheap

I don’t know about you but I’m not wealthy. I live “On The Cheap” and in case you don’t know what I am referring to well it includes: Shopping at COSTCO, not using a landline for telephone service, not having cable [which is going to hurt once they enact ACTA (the European version of S.O.P.A a.k.a the Stop Online Piracy Act)] and finally finding inexpensive or freeware alternatives to popular software [e.g Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Page Maker, Final Draft] and hardware [not just computers but tablets, smart phones etc] Life on the CHEAP also entails visiting  consignment shops and yes even  locating a Goodwill Store in areas of financial affluence [Hopefully to find donations of high quality]. 

That way any monies left I can spend at my discretion that may include splurging on something of  high monetary value (relatively speaking of course) or saving.
Living on the cheap starts by taking inventory of what you need in your life on a daily basis. For me it is essential that I meet my basic needs [food, shelter, healthcare] and to nurture my creative outlets, have furnishings and I couldn’t live without my computer, well I could but life would be significantly different.
Today many people don’t even have bank accounts. I have never in all of my years seen such an abundance of people without such a mandatory staple in life but it’s true! So a good beginning to to get: The Approved Card This is financial guru Suze Orman’s answer for people with without bank accounts who have low to no credit to stay debt free by using a prepaid card, not a credit card. You can only spend what you load on the card. 

You can use FREE text or online tools to help keep track of your spending. They’ll even text your balance, deposit, and recent transactions to your mobile phone whenever you want—every day, after every transaction or once a week—for FREE. (Standard text messaging rates from your service provider may apply.) It also helps to build your FICO Score, which is what Banks assess when you apply fore a loan, credit card etc.

Getting rid of landline telephone service was also on my agenda I got rid of mine and reduced my spending by over 600 Dollars a year. NOT to mention NO More Telephone Solicitors!

When home I use Google voice  plug-in available through Google WITH REQUIRED GMAIL ACCOUNT and make free calls to anywhere in the United States AND Canada. I also have a separate number from Google Voice so that callers can leave me messages and when I give out my number I can choose to either give them my direct number or my Google number [Which in many instances can be programmed to redirect to your cell phone].

I also use a free online fax service such as Got Free Fax a service that allows you to fax up to 3 pages for free, or more pages for a modest fee.

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