The Frugal Accountant is always interested in saving money. Saving money is wise. Why spend more for something than you have to? How does one go about learning to save money? It depends upon what is being purchased. If you are buying a big ticket item, it is wise to shop around and compare prices. These are items that are not purchased very often and therefore do not require immediate decision. In this instance, it is always best to take your time.
Saving money means that you keep the savings. If you did not save money on a transaction, then the seller gets more of your money. It is like a game. You want to be able to come out ahead. Saving money also means that we do not have unlimited budgets. Our funds are limited and we want to stay out of debt. To accomplish this means, we want to be able to save money on each transaction that we can.
To save money on purchases, one must first have a system in place. This is not a hit or miss proposition. There is preplanning involved in saving money. Saving money also takes self discipline. When you have a system in place, it will keep you from impulse buying. Nothing can destroy your financial situation faster than buying on impulse. Impulse buying adds up quickly. Impulse buying is a clear demonstration of a lack of discipline and a system. This where a lot of people get in trouble.
People who find themselves having financial troubles will be characterized by a lack of financial discipline. They refuse to discipline themselves, so someone else must do it for themselves, whether it be their bank, credit card company, or the bankruptcy court. Because they refused to do what was necessary, they will be forced against their will to do what they should have done a long time ago. They refuse to take action until it is too late. The cows are out of the barn at this point. This is when they get going.
People in financial troubles are led by perception and not by concepts. Instead of seeking to learn how finance works, they take their credit cards and charge them up to the maximum and then pay the minimum. They are going to be forever in bondage to the credit card companies. To make matters worse, they have more than one credit card. They do not understand the concept of credit and how it works. All that they know is that they see something they want and then they charge it on a credit card.
Financial troubles are objective proof of someone who does not understand how money works. Most of the time they will eat out often, especially at lunchtime. It costs a lot of money to dine out. Most of the time, when my family and I eat out, it costs about $60. If we did this each week, it would end up costing $3,120 for the year. That is not an unsubstantial amount of money. Think how much more it is for those who eat out more often than once a week.
What could you do with an extra $3,000? By foregoing eating out except for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries etc., you can save a lot of money over a year. $60 can buy a lot of groceries. There is no comparison between what you get at the restaurant and the grocery store. Dining out is done more for emotional reasons than for any other reason. The Frugal Accountant considers eating out a luxury and not a necessity. For those in financial troubles, it just the opposite. They eat out because it is an emotional necessity for them. They do not consider it a luxury.
One thing that the Frugal Accountant generally will refrain from is having dessert. That little piece of cheese cake is extremely expensive. The Frugal Accountant avoids dessert because he is usually too full from the main course. Dessert is an extra and adds greatly to the overall bill. When eating out there are hidden costs that most people do not think about. When ordering something that costs $9.95, you have to add in tip and taxes. Most people do not think about all the costs associated with eating out. The Frugal Accountant calculates how much the overall bill will be.
When figuring a tip, the accepted amount is 15%. I usually do not give over 10%. Why should they get more than a tithe? When figuring the tip, I see what the amount is before taxes. Why should I tip on tax? You should tip on earned income (your waitress), not on unearned income (taxes). Most people would not be this conscientious because they do not have a system in place. They do not know how they will react to a situation in advance, so they pay on the whole bill. They are tipping on tax. I would rather keep the money to myself.
I know of a restaurant that recommends 15% gratuity. I have not gone there and I will not go there. I do not like someone telling me how much to tip. That privilege remains with me. It is not right to stiff someone on a tip. This type of person is a weasel. He would not want this done to him and if it was, he would be the one to scream the loudest. Knowing how much you can legitimately afford to eat out on is planning ahead of time. This keeps one within their budget.
Spending money is an emotional experience. This is why those who are in financial trouble usually will be seen eating out at lunch. If they spend $7 a day for lunch over a year’s time, he will have spent $1,820. $7 a day for lunch seems like a small amount. Small amount cumulated together eventually add up to large amounts. The Frugal Accountant will eat out lunch rarely. He will pack his lunch. This will save him a good amount of money.
By eating out only on special occasions and eating out lunch rarely, the Frugal Accountant has saved close to $5,000. For someone in financial trouble, this savings would help them out greatly. The Frugal Accountant will take this savings and invest it in something worthwhile and have more of an abundance. The financially troubled would read this and say that it is too hard. This is because they are emotionally addicted to spending money and like all junkies, they do not want to go through the withdrawal symptoms. They choose to have financial troubles. I realize that I am preaching to the choir. Likes beget likes. The disciplined appreciate discipline. The undisciplined hate discipline.
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