Saving money quotes

These are quotes to live by..

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.
-Yogi Berra


Never spend your money before you have it.
-Thomas Jefferson


The easiest way for your children to learn about money is for you not to have any.
-Katherine Whitehorn


A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.
-Jonathon Swift


Make money your god and it will plague you like the devil.
-Henry Fielding


It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy.
-George Horace Lorimer


Lack of money is the root of all evil.
-George Bernard Shaw


My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.
-Errol Flynn


A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it.
-Bob Hope


If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.
-Benjamin Franklin

Creditors have better memories than debtors.
-Benjamin Franklin

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.
-Benjamin Franklin

Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.
-Benjamin Franklin

What does frugal mean?

It's weird how you can view a word or phrase one way and somebody else can have see it in a totally different way. Lets take the word Frugal for example.  What kind of thoughts do you have when you think of the word frugal?

Do you think of someone in poverty cutting out coupons just they can afford groceries?

Or do you see a total cheapskate who lives like a caveman refusing to open his wallet.  A type of person who wears three sweaters in order to avoid using a heater or one who sits in the dark to avoid using electricity.

Either of those people could be called frugal (though the second example was kinda pushing it).  But to me, being frugal means something a little bit differently.

I think being frugal is about making smarter choices and having priorities.  You really need to think about what is important to you.  This could mean cooking a luxurious meal at home instead of going out or traveling to different places.

Once you set your priorities and decide what is most important to you (assuming all your needs are already met) then frugal living becomes all about making smarter choices.  If you live below your means and spend less then your earn you will have money left over to do what is important to you.

Obviously if you want to spend more time on things that are important to you then you need to spend less time on things you find less important (duh).  That’s where those smart choices come in!

For example, lets say your goal in life is to be a chef.  You need to have good cooking utensils, pots, pans, and so on.  You also need quality ingredients including specialty items that your nearby supermarket doesn't carry.  If you want to cook high quality food at home then you need to plan for more food purchases then someone who is satisfied with just Ramen noodles.

But that’s ok.  If cooking is very important to you then it makes sense that most of your money is spent on it.  You can still be frugal.  You just need to make sure that you spend less money in other categories to make up for the large amount you are spending on groceries.  For example, since you spend most of your time in the kitchen you might not watch that much TV.  If that is the case then you should just switch to basic TV instead of having expensive channel packages.  Take the money you save on television and put it toward buying more delicious ingredients.

Do you see what I mean about priorities and smart decisions?  You don't have to deprive yourself in order to be frugal.  Just choose what is most important and cut out the rest.