Chapter 6

Reducing Your Spending

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Getting the most for your money

check Increasing your savings

check Controlling and cutting costs

Telling people how and where to spend their money is a risky undertaking, because most people like to spend money and hate to be told what to do. So, in this chapter I detail numerous strategies that I have seen work for other people. (I can personally vouch for having used many of the suggested strategies as well.) The final decision for what to cut rests solely on you. Only you can decide what’s important to you and what’s dispensable (should you cut out your weekly poker games or cut back on your growing designer shoe collection?).

With these recommendations, I assume that you value your time. Therefore, I don’t tell you to scrimp and save by doing things like cutting open a tube of toothpaste so that you can use every last bit of it. And I don’t tell you to have your spouse do your ironing to reduce your dry-cleaning bills — no point in having extra money in the bank if your significant other walks out on you!

The fact that you’re busy all the time may be part of the reason you spend money as you do. Therefore, the recommendations in this chapter ...

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