Frugal is in vogue

As promised, I’ve compiled a list of all of these actions. Here are the top twenty five - basically, these are the ones that were repeated more than twice. These aren’t in any particular order. If you want some direct personal finance actions that have actually worked for people, here’s your list.

• Use the library
• Online Bill Pay
• Get direct deposit
• Take your lunch to work
• Drink more tap water
• Don't worry about what other people think

The Simple Dollar » The Readers Speak Out: Their 25 Best Actions for Saving Money I've been a long time reader of The Simple Dollar and wish I'd found it twenty years ago. I'd be further ahead than I am now. This article he runs gives twenty-five reader suggested ways to easily save money. The thing is so much of what he talks about on his blog is 'common sense' and "Common sense is not so common," according to Voltaire at least.

I'm doing well financially so far. My work is doing not terrible, in spite of cutbacks and the tanking economy (with a hat tip to fundamentally sound-bites - see what I did there?) I'm doing well income-wise. I'm doing well enough where I don't have to be careful with money to get by. That's a dangerous time because the habits that help when money is tight are easy to let go of when you don't need to be tight. It's like having a house that's too big. When there's lots of room to spread out it's harder for me to find things than when I'm in a smaller space. I get careless. I don't pay attention.

What I like about The Simple Dollar is that it helps keep me focused on doing the right thing, on paying attention to my finances, and on making sure I not only save my money wisely, but that I spend it wisely as well. There's more to being frugal than just being cheap. I'm a fan of The Simple Dollar and recommend it.

I'd like to meet the author some time. I live in Iowa and he lives in the Des Moines area... the thing is... if we met I have no idea what we'd talk about other than me saying "Hey! Love your blog!" He'd follow up with a "Thanks." Then we'd wander off in different directions wondering why we both spent four bucks on a latte to meet in a public place where internet meetups are supposed to happen. It just doesn't seem very likely.

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