DC and I have been working together for soooo long, and it’s amazing that he’s allowed me to contribute 65 posts to his incredible site. However, it’s time for me to move on to other staff writing positions that I recently secured and also work on my freelancing coaching service. So, enjoy my last hoorah here today, where I’m talking about resisting spending, one of my specialties!

Every time someone asks me for my #1 piece of financial advice, it’s always the same: “Tell yourself ‘no’ as often as possible.” You can see me say this quote all over the Internet and news articles. I really live by it and believe in it.

Spending temptation can come from a variety of places, and most of us are susceptible to it. We could just be watching a TV show and see one of our favorite actors wearing something amazing and want it.

We could just be window shopping and all of a sudden have the urge to buy something. We see our friends and neighbors with new things. Trends come and go. TV advertisements, Google ads on your computer that store your search preferences, and other forms of Internet marketing seem to follow us around wherever we go, encouraging us, pushing us to part with our hard earned dollars.

Spending temptation, though, is pointless. Most of the time, the high we get from buying something only lasts a little while. It’s fun for a second or two until the next fad comes along and we feel the need to upgrade yet again to keep up with the times and not be left out.

I know it’s not easy, but nothing worthwhile is. If you need help resisting spending temptation, here are my top tips:

1) Get Rid of Your TV

I know not everyone agrees with me on this. In fact, I always get comments about how crazy I am when I write this! As many of you know, I don’t advocate just cutting cable. I am all for getting rid of your TV altogether. I haven’t had a TV in my home in almost four years, and I haven’t missed it one bit.

I like to watch shows on Netflix without the annoying commercials. I show my kids their Baby Einstein on YouTube, where I can skip an ad after only 5 seconds. If my husband wants to catch the game, he goes to a friend’s house or meets up with the guys at a sports bar. TVs zap your productivity. You’d be amazed what you can accomplish and how much you can get done without one.

2) Unsubscribe, Unsubscribe, Unsubscribe

In the last few months, I’ve unsubscribed from almost every single promotional e-mail from companies I use.  I know if I want to buy something, I’ll go to those companies and buy it. I don’t need the pressure of them having a sale or some “never happening again” promotion to make me want to buy something. There are very few things I need right now, and I definitely don’t want to add clutter to my closet or home. I have plenty of that going on already!

If you want to do this quickly, you can get a product like Unroll me, which will combine all of your promotional e-mails into one so you don’t get bombarded constantly. It will also unsubscribe to some companies for you if you ask it to.

3) Remember What’s Important

What’s the point of buying all that stuff anyway? I mean, I like a nice bag or shoes just as much as the next person over, but in the last few years I’ve really pared down my closet and my possessions. I think living in a developing country for three years really affected the way I look at “stuff.” Plus, now that I have children, I would rather spend my money on experiences for them.

I think we all could benefit from a daily reminder of what’s important in our lives. It’s not about how much we make or how much we are able to spend. Instead, it’s about the people and experiences that make up the fibers of our life and push us to be better people, not better spenders.

How do you cut down on spending temptation?

I always find it interesting to talk to couples to see who wears the (budgeting) pants in the relationship.

I actually have a lot of friends who really see eye to eye with finances. They are usually frugal couples who fight the good fight together to set themselves up for a lifetime of financial freedom.

I have one set of friends in particular who both went to grad school but amassed a huge savings living in one of the most expensive areas of the country. They are finally finished with school, working, and own their first home. I always love seeing couples who work together like that!

In my own little family, somehow along the way, I came to wear the budgeting pants. When we first got married, I remember my husband giving me a budget and us trying to save for those early years of married life. He drew it all up himself and figured it all out, and I stuck to it.

Then, when he got so much busier with medical school and studying, and I got more involved in the personal finance world through my blog, the budget became my job. Then, paying the bills, calling credit card companies, checking receipts, etc. etc. etc. became my job too. Like I said, somewhere along the way, I took control of all of our day to day finances. While he still makes the best suggestions for long term finances, I’m slowly learning more about investing and can take part in those discussions better too.

My husband and I have gone through so many phases when it comes to money and our relationship. We don’t necessarily argue about the budget, at least not with any yelling or intensity, but there are times when I feel like I’m the “bad guy” or the only person responsible for bringing up the budget and checking in on our status. I guess what I’m saying is that when you wear the pants when it comes to the budget, you’re also sort of the unintentional police officer of the money, which isn’t always the most fun job.

Overall, I find that couples who feel exactly the same about money are pretty rare. I know there are a few here in the pf space, but most of the time you’re going to have slightly different views of how money should be spent and/or saved.

Oh and it’s important to note that just because I wear the budgeting pants doesn’t mean I’m the boss lady of anything and everything around here. Mostly we work as a team but my husband has his own areas – like cooking, navigating, and in general planning – that he’s especially good at.

I’m interested to see in the comments who is in charge of the budget at your house. Is it you, your spouse, or do you really feel like you both have an equal say?

Also, what about your friends? Do you have friends where one person is definitely the pants-wearer when it comes to money?

P.S. I didn’t count how many times I wrote the word pants in this post, but I’m guessing it’s a lot. Pants. (Editors note: 8)

Today’s post is from our regular Wednesday contributor, Cat.

Don’t be fooled; spending can easily turn into an addiction. It seems like it’s harmless since everyone spends money at some point on something, but for some extreme spenders, it can be a compulsion that can be hard to stop.

Many spenders feel a need to spend money as a pick me up, to make themselves feel better. Some people just love shopping, even if they are consistently finding deals.

It’s important to remember that spending excessively in any form, even if it’s at the thrift store, really does add up over time. It’s far better to put your money into investments instead of buying an outfit that doesn’t fit quite right just because it was on sale.

If you are a spender who wants to be frugal, here are some steps to take:

1) Stop Hanging Around at the Mall!

Before I moved to Grenada, my husband and I would always walk around the mall on a Saturday. It was just something to do when we were bored. Looking back, we should have walked around at a park or on a nature trail. Instead, we chose to window shop and sometimes actually shop.

Even if we didn’t buy anything, we still saw things we wanted which made us feel badly about our money situation or tempted us to use our credit cards. It’s no wonder we flew to Grenada with $6,000 of credit card debt, which took me 18 months to pay off.

2) Track Your Spending

It’s a method that has worked for countless people. It’s just tedious and so a lot of people start doing it but then give up. If you write down everything you spend, then you’re so much less likely to swipe your card or get cash out of your wallet. Heavy spenders typically have no idea how much money they spend. They just go from store to store buying up what they want. At the end of the day, they’re typically surprised by their credit card bills.

If you’ve ever seen the Shopaholic movie, this is the perfect example. She constantly thinks someone stole her credit card because she doesn’t even remember using it to buy certain things!

3) Surround Yourself With Like Minded People

Support is everything, whether you’re trying to get out of debt or save money. If you’re constantly spending time with your friends who have Daddy’s plastic, then you’re going to feel like you want to keep up. Instead, seek out the company of others like you who are in your stage of life. The more time you spend with level headed people who are also frugal and don’t overshop, the more you’ll emulate their habits.

I know the above might sound a little harsh, but the truth is breaking any habit isn’t easy whether it’s something like biting your nails or a spending habit. The good news is, though, that if you break your shopping habit and come over to the frugal side, you have a life of financial stability and happiness waiting for you!

Do you have a shopping habit? Or, do you know someone who does? Any tips to help spenders to become frugal?
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Photo Credit: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.ne

I was recently thinking about how some people go to extremes with weight loss. They go on 60 day juice fasts and count calories and try all sorts of other things in order to lose weight fast.

So, I was thinking, how far would people go to pay off debt?

What would you do to quickly shed the debt and pay off everything right away?

Well, here are some ideas:

1) Would You Sell Tons of Your Furniture?

If you were really struggling and unable to pay your mortgage/rent, why not get rid of all of your furniture? In reality, all you need is a mattress (maybe). Why have the expensive tv, sofa, coffee table, lamps, etc.?

I’m confident an average size home full of furniture could fetch $1,000-$5,000 on Craigslist or in a massive garage sale. This could pay for a month or two of your mortgage or rent. Once you get back on track, replace your furniture with thrift store or free stuff on Craigslist. I also explained in the past how to get high-end furniture for cheap. After all, what good is having a nice looking home if you’re buried in debt?

2) Would You Donate for Medical Reasons?

I think it’s amazing when women donate their eggs to help those dealing with infertility. I, however, could never do it myself. I’m just the type of person who would always wonder if my DNA is running around somewhere. Women who do this, though, get paid $6,000-$10,000 per donation cycle which would put a significant dent in someone’s debt.

As you know, men can donate sperm and everyone can donate plasma. A friend of mine I used to work with donated plasma all the time throughout college. They paid her $50 every time and she just had to hang out for 2-3 hours in a clinic. That’s more money than I was making per hour teaching dance in college!

3) Would You Do Something Illegal?

I was recently watching Suits. I’m a little obsessed with the show (anyone else?) In the show one of the main characters helps his friend pay off a debt by selling a college exam for $1,000. It doesn’t turn out well for the guys, and it bothered me that despite being young, vivacious college students, they couldn’t think up a non-illegal way to pay off debt.

There are even harsher examples of this around the world – people selling organs to pay off debt and people committing crimes for others when they need money. It’s sad to think that some people’s situations get so bad, they have to resort to extreme measures to clear up their financial situations.

Here are some things I personally would do to pay off debt: work really, really hard to make extra income, dress up like a chicken and dance around, do a hand stand for as long as possible, cut off all my hair, get a tattoo in a place that isn’t super obvious, etc. If anyone is willing to wipe out all my debt for one of those things, call me. ;)

What would you do or wouldn’t do to pay off debt?

Today’s post is from our regular Wednesday contributor, Cat.

Money mistakes: they happen. I’ve written about many of mine right here over the past year or so. Remember that time I paid three rents at once? Yeah, that was one for the books.

The thing is, although I wish I hadn’t made some money mistakes ($39,00 in student loan debt anyone?) I do think I’m a better, more knowledgable personal finance writer because of them.

Yeah it might be nice to go through life without making money mistakes, but what’s the fun in that? There’s no risk, no opportunity to learn, and no way to look back and see how far you’ve come.

Here’s why I’m glad I made my money mistakes, and why you should be too:

1) We won’t make them again

Not only will I never make the same money mistakes twice, but I definitely won’t let my kids make them. Every time they go to rent an apartment, you better believe I’m going to make them comb through every last detail of that contract.

If they want to take out a loan, whether it’s a student loan or a small business loan for whatever reason, we’re definitely going to talk at length about it. They’re going to know every last grueling detail of each money decision they make, and hopefully we can lead by example too.

2) They let me know I’m human

Mistakes keep us humble. The last thing I want to do is write about finance day in and day out acting like I’m some sort of money wiz. Yes, I have learned a lot in 4+ years of blogging about these things, but there’s so much I don’t know. There’s so much I want to learn, and I’m constantly impressed by others who live their lives in ways I admire.

3) They’ll haunt me

Yes, I’m glad my money mistakes haunt me, sometimes every day. And you know why? Because when I think about my student loan debt, when I think about the stupid things I’ve done, I remember not to go down that slippery slope. There are times even now when my credit card balance gets too high, and I have to move things around a bit in order to pay it off.

Ever since I paid off all my credit card debt two years ago, I’ve paid off my balance in full every month. There have been a time or two I came close to not being able to do that, but I found a way to make it happen because I remember what it was like to be in credit card debt, and I don’t want to go back.

Chances are, if you’ve come to terms with your money mistakes, you’ve gone through a period of mourning and wondering why on Earth you made the decisions you did. I’ve been there. However, instead of beating yourself up, let’s turn over a new leaf. Be glad for your mistakes because they made you wise. Be glad for them because they made you more aware, and be glad for them because after all, you’re only human.

What was your worst money mistake?
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Photo Credit: Peter Lindberg

Back when I was living in Grenada, I paid cash for my rent and car rental and everything else in between.

Using cash is great, and I recommend it to anyone who is really trying hard to get out of debt and stick to a budget. It’s that first difficult step to take and really shows you how much money you spend.

However, these days, I use credit cards for everything.

I’m saving up thousands of airline miles so my husband can go to as many residency interviews as he wants. Many people don’t realize that when medical students apply to residency programs, they can spend $5,000-$10,000 on the process between applications, flights, hotels, etc. I don’t want him to choose not to interview somewhere because we can’t afford it, so with that in mind one year from now, I’m saving as much as possible for him.

Everyone’s situation is different, though, so if you are considering sticking to just cash or just credit cards, here are some pros and cons to both:

CASH

• Cash makes it very easy to see exactly where your money is going.
• However, it might feel unsafe to carry several envelopes of cash with you wherever you go.
• You can sort your cash into categories and see what takes up most of your income.
• It’s easy to pay back friends, split bills at restaurants, and in general, do business quickly when you’re shopping.
• When it’s gone, it’s gone. If you put your credit cards away, you will learn how to budget really fast!

CREDIT CARDS

• If you don’t check your statements every week, it can be easy to fall into the trap of using them too much.
• You get penalized if you forget to pay your bill (I recommend at least automating a minimum payment.)
• You can collect points and miles so that you can travel for cheap or even free.
• However, points and miles incentives can sometimes trick us into paying for things we normally wouldn’t buy.
• It’s easy to track what you spent because it’s all listed right there on the bill.

Ultimately, credit cards are working great for my family right now. I can log in every week, check to make sure we haven’t overpaid or double paid for something, and adjust our budget and needs for the subsequent weeks in the month.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think budgeting is an easy thing to do even for finance bloggers. Sometimes it’s hard to track expenses, and it does get tedious. However, it’s the very best thing you can do for yourself and your family regardless of your method for making your everyday purchases.

So, we want to know: Do you use cash or credit cards when making purchases? Do you find there are pros and cons to each method?

Even though everyone’s been squeezing in last minute summer vacations, I’m already looking ahead to fall.

Ever since I spent several years living in Virginia, I’ve always loved the fall. There’s just something so nice about the weather getting cooler without the onslaught of snow just yet. I’m hoping beyond hope that we have a mild fall and winter this year since this southern gal might not back able to hack it in frigid New Jersey!

Okay, okay, enough about me and my aversion to snow. Let’s look at some awesome fall getaways that are easy and inexpensive, because after all, there are tons of creative ways to go on vacation without spending too much of your hard earned cash. Here are my top affordable destination ideas:

1) Charlottesville, VA

Like I said, living in Virginia is what made me love fall more than any other season. The leaves are absolutely stunning in Virginia during that time of year. You can save money by driving there yourself if you’re not too far away and driving through Skyline Drive, an incredibly gorgeous stretch of Virginia that will take you through a national park with views of the mountains and foliage. It’s amazing.

2) New Orleans, LA

Many personal finance bloggers are going to New Orleans this Fall, and it’s actually a great time to go because it’s hurricane season. I know that sounds like a pretty bad idea to travel to New Orleans during hurricane season, but the risk you take means the flights are affordable as are the accommodations!

3) Vegas

When you think of Vegas, you might think of spending a lot of money, but there are many ways to go to Vegas for cheap – or even free! Mostly, people get great deals on Vegas vacations because they use credit card churning techniques, but with enough research you can find affordable hotels even without using your credit card points.

4) A Caribbean Cruise

Again, because summer is ending, cruise prices will start to drop and then go up again around the holiday season. This is a great time to book a cruise, especially a short 3 or 4 day one that will only run you a few hundred dollars a person.

Choose a port you can drive to – if you can – so you don’t have to spend money on plane tickets or rental cars. DC wrote a great post that gives 15 tips for people going on a cruise.

5) Austin, TX

Usually big cities are expensive when it comes to hotels but you can actually find a lot of great deals in Texas. The reason I like Austin is because it’s young, hip, and progressive. They have many great restaurants downtown, and it’s about 20 minutes away from a massive outlet mall where you can find just about anything your heart desires.

Remember, all of the places above are affordable during the fall, and if you are still tight on cash, there are a lot of ways to get free money for traveling so make sure to do you research so you get the most bang for your buck!

Will you be going anywhere fun this fall?