Tip #1: Don't go shopping as an activity
Come on, how many of you every once in awhile think: waht am I going to do today with the kids? I know, I'll take them to the mall! We won't buy anything, of course. Just window shop. Right... Here's what really happens: you go to the mall to get a slice of pizza. Along the way you see a pair of shoes that really speak to you. NIS 150 on sale. Wow! Then your five-year-old demands to be taken on his favorite bouncing helicopter ride. Only a few shekels, you think. But then he demands another. And how can you say no? Pizza was a good idea, but what about drinks? And as it's coming up on Hanukah time, how can you refuse a couple of sufganiot? You get the picture. Before you know it, you've spent a few hundred shekels you never would have spent in a less "tempting" activity.
Tip #2: Live within your means - buy only what you can afford rather than on payment plans
This is the credo of everything we teach at minusPLUS. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Payment plans are as tempting as the aforementioned sufganiot. Ten payments of only 50 shekels - that doesn't seem like too much. But it's still 500 shekels...500 shekels you didn't have budgeted. Here's an extreme example, but it's one we've had to live with ourselves. Our dishwasher broke two months ago. We didn't have the repair costs budgeted. We could have gone further into overdraft. But instead we put off the repairs until the money was there. My husband Brian has to do more dishes. He grumbles, but he knows it's the right thing to do.
Tip #3: Take care of what you have
We have a decent collection of CDs. Both music and CD-ROM games for the kids' computer. But the kids sometimes leave their CDs out of their cases. More than once, something has spilled on the CD - food or drink. Another time, Brian accidentally dropped a CD and ran over it with the rolling chair in our office. Guess what? We had to replace those CDs. What a waste! If only we'd taken care of what we had, that expense would be saved, our things would last longer and we'd spend less. You know, my grandmother always told me "you've got to take care of your teeth. If you do, they'll last you a lifetime." I listened. And to this day, I actually love going to the dentist because I get such positive reinforcement.
Tip #4: Wear it out
In keeping with the previous tip, let me ask you this: how often do you replace your car? Once every few years? Of do you keep it up, keept it in really good shape, get all the check-ups it needs, and then drive it until it wears out? OK, maybe the jury is out on the economies of replacing cars. But what about your clothes? Are you compelled to buy an entirely new wardrope every year? Or do you wear things until they're done and dead? I know that doesn't make you the most fashion savvy in town. But when you're trying to save, keeping up with the Cohens is not always the smartest strategy. If all else fails, think about your kids. You got it: hand-me-downs. Most kids don't mind. And it makes great financial sense. Bottom line: take care of your things and then pass them down until they wear out.
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