http://www.budgex.net/blog A guide to financial discipline and saving money during tough times Thu, 07 May 2009 05:35:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I had to sum up a lot of courage to come to terms with writing this post, and I am still fighting an internal battle to accept it.  If you recall from a previous post of mine, cars are one of my top 3 most cherished material items, and you'll ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/05/the-price-to-car-ratio/ Whether we like it or not, we all need to make sacrifices in times of crises. However, we usually don't think about the priorities of our material goods until these extreme situations hit us. During the San Diego Fires of 2007, I remember waking up to a phone call at ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/04/what-would-you-be-willing-to-give-up/ Those of you who know where the slogan in the title of this post comes from will better understand the message it attempts to convey.  Simply put, you don't have to shop at designer stores and pay designer prices just to get designer outfits.  There are entire department stores dedicated ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/04/dress-for-less-finding-premier-clothing-brands-for-discounted-prices/ We all want to save money on food.  The most obvious solution to this problem is to not eat out all the time, but the thought of making our own food and staying home isn't always the most appealing option.  So how, then, can we get the best of both ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/04/turn-your-kitchen-into-an-iron-chef-episode/ The age-old battle between the computer software giant Microsoft and the reborn innovator Apple has been bubbling for years now, and in the past few years it has spread to more than just personal computers.  Each side has their arguments about what makes them better than the other, and chances ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/04/pc-or-mac-the-timeless-question/ As a child, were you the one who used to keep an empty water cooler jug in your room and fill it with spare change all the time?  What about the kid who always searched underneath the couch seats for Dad's lost coins?  If you came across a coin on ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/04/finding-money-in-strange-places/ Did you ever notice that when times are tough, people tend to come together and enjoy the little things in life? Things like books, friendly company, and one of my favorites: pranks. The good thing about jokes and pranks is that they cost little to nothing in order to prepare. ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/04/april-fools-day-pranks/ If you have a backyard where you live, it's never too late to start producing your own fresh produce there.  Even the Presidential family has started creating their own "Kitchen Garden".  By growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs, not only are you decreasing your dependency on grocery produce, but ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/03/grow-your-own-produce-from-home/ You're not alone if you've been laid off recently.  At the time of this writing, the national unemployment rate is 8.1% according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.  It's nothing to be ashamed about, just be sure that you spend your newly-acquired time wisely.  Here are a few tips ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/03/coping-with-being-laid-off/ Here's another simple practice to getting closer to achieving complete financial discipline: eat out as little as possible.  The first sentence of this article on how to save money eating out explains this strategy pretty clearly, stating, "First the obvious, don't do it."  You may be tempted to go and ... http://www.budgex.net/blog/2009/03/make-me-a-sandwich-eating-home-cooked-meals/