The 405 Club

(Ed. Note) It’s no secret that the unemployed like to or have to save money where they can.  As such an important component of our lifestyle it was only right to team up with FrugalNYC, a premier resource for frugal city living, as we present Frugal Fridays! Enjoy.

The savings rate for US households has steadily gone up in the last couple of years.  One benefit to the Great Recession is that it makes people think about what is necessary and putting everything else in the nice to have category.  Ask any personal finance blogger, and you will get a list of ways to save and boost your savings rate.  Here is my take on some habits that can help you boost your savings, so you can get what you really want in the near future.

Seven Habits Of Saving:

1. Use your neighborhood library for books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, video games and all sorts of entertainment.  I bet you didn’t know half that list was offered by the NYC library system.
2. Eat home cooked meals.  Bring food from home.  Doing this can save you an average of $50 to $70 a week, assuming your lunch costs around $10 to $15 each.  Yes, you can find cheaper fare, such as the $1 pizza slice I tweeted about several months ago, but how much pizza can you really eat?  Home cooked / prepared is usually much healthier to boot!

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(Ed. Note) It’s no secret that the unemployed like to or have to save money where they can.  As such an important component of our lifestyle it was only right to team up with FrugalNYC, a premier resource for frugal city living, as we present Frugal Fridays! Enjoy.

If you didn’t get a chance to grab the great deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, there are some other strategies that you can use to save this holiday gift season.  A recent twitter personal finance chat inspired some of the below ideas.  Some ideas are just common sense.

1. Focus on those who matter most in your life and get them great gifts they will like.  You know who they are because you actually know what to get them.
2. Do Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchanges instead of getting everyone a gift.  These events may end up being more fun than the gifts themselves.
3. Use Groupon to find gift ideas and great deals.  Each day, Groupon emails you one exclusive, unbeatable deal on the best things to do, see, eat, and buy in New York.  Some past deals are: $18 for Three Games of Bowling and Shoes at Chelsea Piers & $15 Historic NYC Pizza Walk (Half Off $30 Value).  Check out other past Groupon deals.
4. Don’t buy last minute.  Plan ahead and use sales and discounts to your advantage.  This is one of those common sense things I mentioned.  When you wait till the last minute, you end up with a bad gift or paying too much for a decent gift.  Always plan ahead.  Write your list and check it twice - for sales and deals!
5. Purchase Gift cards at a discount.  This was a suggestion from the #bp twitter chat.  Some sites you can check are Citydeals and Gift Card Rescue.
6. Use coupons or online coupon codes.  There are numerous online coupon codes sites.  Just search google for them and you’ll never pay full price again!  I recently bought an online gift and save $10 on the shipping, which I would have paid if I didn’t do a quick search for a coupon code!

What strategies do you use to save on your holiday shopping?  Please share your ideas and let everyone benefit!

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

(Ed. Note) It’s no secret that the unemployed like to or have to save money where they can.  As such an important component of our lifestyle it was only right to team up with FrugalNYC, a premier resource for frugal city living, as we present Frugal Fridays! Enjoy.

Living frugally can do a lot for your financial goals, and most millionaires live a little on the frugal side.  However, these millionaires also find ways to generate additional income.  If your lifestyle fits your income then you are fine.  If your lifestyle is changing but your income is not, then you need to figure out ways to generate additional income.

There are no sure fire ways to make extra money, but here are some ideas on generating extra income to get you thinking.

1. Go Franchise - Find a franchise you are passionate about, this could lead to success faster than starting on your own.
2. Find a Roomate - Cut your rent in half by renting out an extra room
3. Generate passive income - books, real estate, inventions, etc.. Find something that suites your skills and generates income for you indefinitely.
4. Get Educated - Learn, learn and learn some more.  The more you know the more options you have.  Whether this means attending seminars or getting an MBA, do what you are passionate about.
5. Learn To Speak - I admire people who can speak well in public.  Public speaking is a skill that few people can really master.  If you have the skills and the drive, you may have just found a great calling.
6. Change Careers - Anyone who has been laid off in this downturn may have started thinking about changing careers.  Figure out skills that you are passionate about, perhaps one of them will lead to a higher paying career.

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(Ed. Note) It’s no secret that the unemployed like to or have to save money where they can.  As such an important component of our lifestyle it was only right to team up with FrugalNYC, a premier resource for frugal city living, as we present Frugal Fridays! Enjoy.

I hope you have had a great Thanksgiving holiday and feast!  Always think about the things you are thankful for.  For me, the top two are health and family.  Thanksgiving, and especially “Black Friday” starts the holiday shopping season.  Ads have been distributed and promotions have been sent to every one of you to pull you into stores.

If you are still unemployed, no doubt you will cut back on your holiday spending this year.  Here are some tips on how to manage your holiday spending that I hope you find useful.

Buy what you can afford

This is very basic and should be common sense.  Though with credit cards things tend to get out of hand.  The best way to manage your holiday spending is to write down the amount that you plan on spending and stick to it.  Writing down the amount helps to reinforce this limit in your mind.  So go ahead and write down the total spending money you plan on right now.

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