Living Strictly Beneath Your Means

Whether you’ve been laid off, are getting out of debt or are just trying to save as much as possible for possible rainy days to come, we know you (like most smart businesswomen) are paying more attention than normal to your personal bottom line – and cutting as many expenses as possible.

“In the short term, cutting your cost of living can be hard as your biggest costs are fixed in the short term,” says Mary Claire Allvine, PINK’s finance editor and a financial planner with Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth, Inc.

But if you’re really serious about saving, Allvine offers some ideas. “These strategies may mean being less comfortable and sacrificing some convenience in the short-term, but they will pay off.”

1. Never buy a depreciating asset on credit (e.g., a car). Buy used or hold onto your current vehicle until you can save enough for the next one. Better yet, go to your dealer and turn in your leased car while it can still be re-sold. Dealers are much more accommodating these days, as tough times have hit everyone.

2. Put 20 percent down on any home you own. Acknowledge that a home is not an investment; it’s a lifestyle choice. Run the stream of expenses from home ownership against and potential future ‘gain,’ and you’ll see the return is not likely to keep pace with inflation.

3. It’s OK to let children share bedrooms. And no child needs his own car before she can buy and insure it herself. Build your child’s wardrobe and toy-box on hand-me-downs. Let your child pick up a summer job, save for her own college fund and take out loans to go to school. You’re not neglecting them. You’re teaching responsibility, investment (education is still the best investment available) and time urgency.

4. Learn to camp or vacation with relatives.

5. Join the library. Never buy books, CDs or anything else you can borrow.

6. Clean your own home.

7. Turn the thermostat up in the summer and down in the winter.

8. Put a timer on your showers.

9. Take public transportation.

10. Get kids out of private schools and into public schools.

By Marie Claire Allvine