Ipods, Xboxes, Mp3 players, video games, think of all the stuff we have we don’t need. We live in such a materialistic culture that teens think cell phones are Ipods are necessities just like food and clothing and air.

With the price of food soaring faster than it has ever soared before, the highest ever gas prices, along with the recession, some people will have to learn to cut back on the stuff they don’t really need. And some people will have to learn the difference in what they really do need and really don’t need. You need food. You don’t need an Ipod.

Think of all the money an average family would have if they didn’t it on certain “luxuries”. Some families would be rich if they could get back all that they’ve spent on video games. It seems every year a newer, better, must have model of some video game system comes out. How many different Nintendos are there? The latest model was the Nintendo Wii. The original Nintendo came out in the 1980’s. And I don’t even know how many different versions have come in between, but it’s a lot.

When trying to save money and cut back on your budget, look at how much you are spending on stuff you really don’t need.

Only buy those wanted, but certainly not needed things on special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas and set a reasonable limit to what you will spend on these non necessities.

Rather than playing video games or listening to your Ipod, try spending time with what’s really important in your life, the people you love. You can’t buy them at a store. Go on a walk, have a good conversation and enjoy each others company. And it’s free.

Now that Valentines Day is over, head over to the store to get some great deals on Valentines Day stuff before it’s all gone.

Got a sweet tooth? Get Valentines Day candy for 50% off at most stores. Or if you have kids at school, grab boxes of valentines day cards for their school Valentines Day party next year at a fraction of the cost.

What if I told you that you could get your girl something for Valentine’s Day that she will love and cherish and it doesn’t cost  single cent. That’s right, absolutely free.

What I’m talking about is a love letter. Straight from the heart. A handwritten love letter written by you for her that spills your heart out.

Most girls will cherish something so personal and keep it forever and would rather have something so romantic like a love letter than any material gift you buy at the store.

Then, there’s the girls who expect some gold and diamonds and won’t be happy unless big bucks are spent on them. Well, I can’t give you any advice there.

Now if you’re thinking about writing a love letter to your man, well, I don’t think like a man so I don’t know if they like this type of stuff or not.

For a guaranteed free Valentine’s Day, just boycott the holiday. I’m one of those who believe that Valentine’s Day is just a corporate holiday so that businesses can rake in the money. You can be romantic any day of the year, not just February 14th. And it feels kind of forced, like you’re expected to act all romantic that day.

I’m not doing a thing on Valentines Day besides working, so I don’t have to worry about spending a cent that day. For me, Valentine’s Day is as significant as Groundhogs Day.

But for those who want to celebrate the day of forced romance on a budget, I can just suggest writing a heartfelt love letter, ordering in your favorite food, and spending a quiet evening at home enjoying each other’s company with a massage.

In January I bought a Christmas dress for my baby girl. When I went to the store I certainly wasn’t planning on buying a Christmas dress. Christmas is 11 months away. But I saved by taking advantage of a clearance sale for leftover Christmas items the store is trying to get rid of.

You can save big by buying items leftover after any holiday. Stores want to get rid of their holiday items to make room for the next holiday so they slash the prices off of their leftover inventory 50-75%.

Their was a rack of cute Christmas dresses for little girls marked way down at only $6. These are really cute dresses and it’s certainly not everday you can find such a cute dress for only $6.

If I waited until around Christmas time when the Christmas stuff came out to by my baby girl a dress, I imagine it would cost around $20-$25. But now I already have her dress ready for when Christmas comes around and when I see the price tags on the dresses come Christmas time I will be smiling thinking of how much I saved.

I just get a thrill on huge savings!  I find it fun to see how much I can save.

Now Valentines day is coming up and the stores have all of their Valentines stuff out. I will wait until February 15th to see what I can find for 50-75% off.

I wanted to buy some toys for my kids and with my frugal mindset, the prices for the toys at Wal-Mart just seemed ridiculous. It’s mainly the name brand licensed toys like Disney and Sesame Street. I don’t want to pay five dollars for some little die cast car just because it is from the Disney movie “Cars” for example. I knew I could find much better deals online. At ebay I can find a huge variety of toys, cheaper prices, in like new condition, and stuff you can’t ever find at stores. Plus I’m mad at Wal-Mart for having a whopping 2 lanes open when I went there and two very long lines of angry customers who spent the loooong wait in line griping about how Wal-Mart is too cheap to open up a few more lanes, so I would rather spend my money where I don’t have to wait in line forever.

So I was browsing around ebay looking for toys to buy and I found some really good deals, but when I looked at the shipping price I went, “Whoa!”. There was an auction for a lot of care bear toys and the price for the toys themselves was good, but when I saw the shipping cost was $30, I kept on looking. Adding in the shipping cost, it’s no longer a bargain.

If you are a collector looking for a specific item, that’s something else, but if you are looking for a bargain to get the most bang out of your buck then you really have to pay attention to shipping costs.

I did find some good deals on toys with fair shipping costs, but I had to skip over a few auctions that had really high shipping costs. Sometimes the size and/or weight of items makes shipping expensive and then there are a few people who try to make a little profit from shipping costs but adding several dollars to the actual shipping cost.

Now is the best time to buy Christmas stuff like wrapping paper and candy, if you haven’t had your fill of sweets already.

Now Christmas is over the stores want to get rid of their Christmas inventory so they are slashing prices, 50-75% off the before Christmas price.

At Wal-Mart prices for Christmas items will be 50% off and anything left over the weekend will be 75% off.

This is the best time to grab that wrapping paper at deep discounts and store them in a closet for next Christmas. As fast as time flies, next Christmas will be here before you believe it.

If you love sweets, now is the time to grab that Christmas candy. Of course you can’t store it until next Christmas because it won’t be any good then, but if you like to eat sweets, get Christmas candy for rock bottom prices for your desserts.

When you go to stores, look at the Christmas items they are offering for 50-75% off and if there is anything you will use next Christmas, grab it up and save.

“Is it worth it?”

A lot of times, you just have to ask yourself that and decide if spending money on something is worth it. For example, does it bring happiness, will it create good memories, etc.

There is a difference in being cheap and frugal. A lot of people misunderstand and think cheap and frugal are the same when they are entirely different concepts. Living in a mansion, but not flushing the toilet to save on water is cheap or giving your best friend a really cheap and tacky gift for their birthday when they got you a nice gift is cheap. Frugal just means using money wisely and not wasting it. A frugal person doesn’t mean a cheap person.

In arcades my kids do not play those racing games. They cost 4 quarters, a dollar, just to play one time. I CAN afford for them to play one of those driving games, but IT’S NOT WORTH IT!

To me, spending a whole dollar just for a kid to turn a steering wheel for two minutes is absolutely ridiculous and a complete wasting money. I hate to waste money on ridiculous things whether it’s a nickel or a hundred dollars.

Now inviting friends to a restaurant and paying for their food IS WORTH IT. Yes, I could save a ton of money by eating ramen noodles at home, but it’s not very fun. Going out to a restaurant, eating good food, not having to cook or clean, being with friends I love, and spending time with them is worth the cost of the bill to me. We will have a good time, we will talk, we will enjoy each other’s company and it will bring good memories. It will make me happy and them happy to enjoy each other’s company over some good food.

So if the bill is $45 for example, it’s definitely worth it. Now if I stayed home and ate Ramen noodles, I would have saved $44.50, but it would have not been fun or made me happy. It would not be a warm memory and I wouldn’t enjoy the company of my loved ones. So, it’s absolutely worth it.

And I still won’t pay a dollar for two minutes turning a steering wheel in an arcade, because that’s just a ridiculous waste of a dollar to me.

To be a successfully frugal person, you have to decide, “Is it worth it?” when you make decisions about spending money. Ask yourself certain questions like how enjoyable will it be, etc and decide if it is worth the cost. If it’s worth it to you and you can afford it, go for it. You’re not cheap, you’re frugal.