A New Year’s Resolution that You Can Actually Follow Through With: Be More Frugal!

Tomorrow is already New Year’s Eve, can you believe that because I know I can’t! Weren’t we watching horror movies and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters last week? While a great deal of people are planning their annual New Year’s Eve bashes or making plans to celebrate with their friends and family, it is also the time when a great deal of people are making New Year’s Resolutions and frankly, most resolutions are not kept for very long despite the intentions behind them. I have never been one for resolutions but looking back on the past few years and particularly our finances, 2010 has to be a prosperous year and there needs to be a little more management there and so this year, I have made a resolution. 2010 is going to be a more frugal year for this family!

Saving money may seem like a very simple task to some. However, when you get in the midst of a busy week and you’re scrambling to get chores around the house done after working all day, the convenience of ordering out instead of bringing yourself to cook a meal really overcomes you. Saving money has become increasingly hard for many families out there because of the financial crisis and it’s subsequent job loss, when you have debt piling up on top of debt and you’re struggling to pay your rent or mortgage, monthly bills and car insurance, the act of trying to save money becomes extremely difficult.

Luckily, when it comes to the topic of trying to save money, there are a great deal of people out there who feel your pain and who are in the same boat and are sharing their experiences and pointers during the process. This article, 30 Ways to Save Money is one of the best list of pointers I have come across because it not only includes the average tips such as cooking more at home and avoiding impulse buying, although they do make the list, but also advising you to stay away from lavish friends who seem to have it all which will make you want it all by extension and also to go to the movie theaters before 6PM if you enjoy that sort of thing or want to have a date night with your partner because most theaters have early bird matinee showings for the first showing of the day. There are also a great deal of coupon codes you can find from several stores, companies and businesses so when you need to purchase something, a lot of the times you can find some promotional offers and when you do, you can then buy in bulk!

Living frugally can be a bit difficult to get used to, especially when you live in a country that celebrates rapid consumerism and when you are not used to having the mindset that you need to cut back on spending or telling yourself not to buy something if you do not really need it. I’m determined to eliminate the buy buy buy mindset for 2010!