Will Living Life Frugally make you get Richer?

Too often when you read about living frugally it feels like you are depriving yourself of something… I don’t buy this, I don’t buy that. I find it easier to save when I focus on the benefits of the action, in addition to saving money.

Everyone has their own way of living below their means (I absolutely refuse to give up my TiVo), but here’s a sample of things I do which don’t constantly remind me that I’m being frugal:

Buy dependable, quality, used cars:

Try to buy a car which is 3-5 years old, after most of the deprecation had kicked in, but while there was plenty of life left in them. Both have plenty of horsepower, run reliably and have never broken down, and have all the common features like keyless entry, air conditioning, and power everything. Accordingly, our cars depreciate in value by $1,000 a year or less, which keeps our total cost of ownership very low. Since the values are only about $3,000-$6,000, the insurance payments are only about $75 a month for a year.

Take advantage of public parks and amenities:

You’re already paying for them through your tax dollars, so why not also try to take advantage of all the public recreation opportunities available to us. As i am a Graduate Student, and as my School has an excellent library, i spend most of my time there. School also has cool recreation facilities and a great pool. If you guys are not in school, yoi could still find free recreation For example, you could take a hike in a nearby trail pack a bag lunch and take a picnic by a nearby lake/river/ocean, play some tennis at the park courts, or jog on the local high school track. Drive to the beach! Recently, we have also discovered the local public pool. I stopped looking for a local gym when I found that I could get a great workout by swimming laps for 30 minutes a day.

Along that same vein, I remain a huge fan of the public library and all it’s online perks.

Making cooking at home fun: This is my own brunch on 7/29/07 930hrs

Everyone knows that cooking at home is cheaper than eating out. But you can actually eat better tasting, customized food too if you’re willing to try. I daily go in with hash browns and juice for the breakfast, with some lettuce-ranch salad and sandwiches for lunch and as i am an Indian with some or little rice with curry in the night(but want to kick this dinner habit to something light).. As i live in an arid place--- Las Vegas, I take in lots of juice like the Tropicana lemonade and orange. All put together should not cost me more than $5 a day! Would also take care of my body shape....!!!

High Yeild Savings

Online Savings Accounts, the best way to save

Does this not sound a great deal " Get Paid to PArk your Extra Money"!

Opening an online savings account is a great way to earn some extra money on your cash balances. Most of these account are designed to “piggy-back” onto your existing checking accounts. If you don’t need the money immediately, you can transfer the money into the savings account, and when you do need it, you can transfer it right back. Sometimes you can even pay bills directly from the account.
While the following list isn’t exhaustive, it does hit most of the major ones

Brick and Mortar Banks
If you already have your checking at one of these banks with a significant number of physical branches, then it’s almost a no-brainer to open one of these up since you’ll be able to keep all your money at the same place and earn more interest at the same time.

Washington Mutual Special Savings Account

Summary: 5.00% APY, only $1 to open, no monthly minimum balance, links to WaMu Checking account, must open online to get high rate.


Citibank e-Savings Account

Summary: 4.50% APY, only $1 to open, no monthly minimum balance, links to existing Citi checking account or external accounts


Better RatesIf you don’t use one of the banks above or just want a higher rate, check out one of these banks:

FNBO Direct Savings

Summary: Intro 6% APY until 9/28, $1 to open, no monthly minimum balance, links to up to 3 external bank accounts

HSBC Direct Savings
Summary: 5.05% APY, $1 to open, no monthly minimum balance, links to up to unlimited external bank accounts

E-Loan Savings
Summary: 5.25% APY, $5,000 to open, $500 minimum balance to stay open, links to one external bank account

Emigrant Direct Savings
Summary: 5.05% APY, $1 to open, no monthly minimum balance, links to up to 4 external bank accounts

Old Faithfuls ING Direct was the one of the very first high-yield online savings accounts. Although their rates aren’t the highest anymore, lots of people still like them due to their good customer service, easy application, and being around successfully for so long (for an internet bank).
Summary: 4.50% APY, $1 to open, no monthly minimum balance, links to up to 3 external bank accounts

So hows the deal?