Comments on: Feeling Nickel and Dimed? Put a Cap on Monthly Expenses

By: Painless ways to cut expenses and save for retirement | Invesmint

Painless ways to cut expenses and save for retirement | Invesmint — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:55:26 +0000

[...] Feeling Nickel and Dimed? Put a Cap on Monthly Expenses [...]

By: Ari Herzog

Ari Herzog — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:05:38 +0000

Gretchen: The inflated cost of a business telephone book listing versus a residential telephone listing is just crazy.

I get it, though, as I spend $99 a month (before taxes) for a Comcast bundle that includes Internet, basic cable, and a VOIP landline phone. I don’t need the phone as I have a cell but somehow it’s more expensive to have just the Internet and Cable than all three bundled. Go figure.

By: Frugal Trenches

Frugal Trenches — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:51:25 +0000

What a great post! Those small spends add up to a large hunk of change over a year!
Thanks for your comment on my blog.

By: Gretchen_FeedTheFam

Gretchen_FeedTheFam — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:42:21 +0000

One of my biggest “nickel and dime” expenses is the phone bill. I had to get a land-line in order to get a business listing in the phone book for my consulting business (VOIP doesn’t do biz listings I guess). They quoted me $45/month but it ended up being $70/month with taxes and fees for additional services I realized that I needed to tack on. I wish I could get rid of it and just use Skype but some clients are old-school…

By: Roundup and Link Love - Grand Openings Edition | The Wisdom Journal

Roundup and Link Love - Grand Openings Edition | The Wisdom Journal — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:39:47 +0000

[...] money smart tips for new grads at My Dollar Plan. Feeling nickel and dimed? Put a cap on your monthly expenses at Frugal Dad. How I survived an F-5 tornado that destroyed my home at My Supercharged Life. Are [...]

By: SingleGuyMoney

SingleGuyMoney — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:25:48 +0000

Great post Frugal Dad. I am trying to lower my monthly expenses as well. You’re right, those little expenses add up.

By: Ari Herzog

Ari Herzog — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:11:07 +0000

Like Becky and Marci, I take advantage of renting DVDs from the local library which is part of a network with about 20 other libraries. I tend to take 3-4 videos out at a time, renew them once or twice, and then exchange them for other ones.

Libraries have music, too. I just submitted an interlibrary request for a 3-CD set that would cost $30 in a store but through the library is free. I haven’t bought a CD in about a year, and only started downloading songs off iTunes lately, a song here, a song there, thereby saving the cost of a full CD.

Monthly expenses can really be shaved down with food. Bring a list of essential items the next time you go to the grocery and stick to the list. Eat out less and cook more for a fraction of the cost.

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:17:50 +0000

You hit the nail right on the head when you mentioned America’s obsession with the “monthly payment” and our mentality when it comes to being able to afford things.

We could save SO much money if we managed to pay things in full, upfront, or paid things like car insurance or newspaper subscriptions a year at a time.

By: marci

marci — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:23:30 +0000

I have to be frugal with my time as well as my money… so I don’t have TV at all. I miss the weather reports/news, but can log on the internet when I want that info.

Our library has free DVD’s and VHS tapes for a week long check out, and most are newable for an additional 7 days if there are no holds on them.

The cool thing is that our Library belongs to a coastal network – anything within 4 coastal counties in a library can be requested and will show up at my local library with an email notifying me that it is in. How cool is that!

I also buy videos for $1 at garage sales… watch them, then share or resell at my next garage sale. Zero expense that way

My resolve for this month is to stay entirely out of the grocery store – except for the truly great coupon items that it would be wasteful to pass buy. No impulse buying – no coupon, not buying. Seems to be working so far. Paper comes out once a week…last month the coupons only enticed me in two weeks of the 4.

Best of luck with the little stuff! It all adds up!

By: Luke @ Money & Fitnes Blog

Luke @ Money & Fitnes Blog — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:24:44 +0000

Frugal Dad,
I luckily have the room for a home gym (It helps not having kids and we are running out of space) and I would definitely recommend it. You can’t make workout excuses when it is downstairs. I assume the money that my wife and I have saved on gym expenses (Say $60 per month for 24 months = $1,440) equals what we have spent on a treadmill, stairstepper, and a good deal of weights. It may not be for everyone and as mentioned, luckily we have the room.