Welcome to Metro Cheapo’s first pep talk. We don’t live in a van down by the river, but we are here to motivate you, just the same. This pep talk is about addressing the excuses for bad financial behavior. (Urbanites tend to be spendthrifts, so we recognize the self-trickery all too well.)
There are plenty of “reasons” why we city people, in particular, can’t save money. But if we are honest with ourselves, we realize very quickly that these so-called reasons are … well … just excuses. Metro Cheapo is perfectly designed to deal with these excuses. Why? Because, in the past, we’ve used them ourselves.
Ready for the spendthrift song and dance? The blah-blah-blah of big spenders? Here goes the tired old refrain:
“I’m too busy to cook.” Sound familiar? Personally, it does to me — that was one of my favorite cop-outs.
“I don’t want to feel deprived.” Ditto. Actually, that whiny rationale used to rank number one on my list of excuses.
“I’d like to be more frugal but my boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/spouse loves to spend money.” OK. What we love is a challenge and we’ll meet your squandering significant other, head-on, in a future post.
“There’s no way I could live without shopping.” Neither could we! What do you suppose was the first topic we created on Metro Cheapo? Duh, SHOPPING, hello. The joy of shopping need not be a high-roller’s hobby. In fact, your shopping skills will become essential weapons in your Cheapo arsenal … and we’ll show you how to use them.
“I don’t have time to look at circulars or keep track of sales.” If you have time to do a Sudoku puzzle or play a video game or poke your buddies on Facebook, you have a few minutes to compare bread prices.
If the financial meltdown of 2008 and the recession of 2009 haven’t forced you to shape up your spending habits, then maybe it will help to look into the future. In a recent post, we showed you that a single tall Starbucks coffee purchased once a day for a year costs nearly $700. Meanwhile, you could be similarly caffeinated for as little as $20 per year. It may not seem like much but $680 is a significant savings. Whether you socked that money into a retirement account or a college fund or spent it on a vacation, it would be put to much better use.
And that’s just one cup of coffee! Think about all the other little indulgences that are sapping your livelihood. How often do you spend wads of cash and simply cannot remember where it went? Too often.
When you get things for cheap, you are not cheapening yourself. But if you’re not saving money, you are cheating yourself. So, no more excuses … it’s time to embrace the Metro Cheapo lifestyle. And, remember, you can do this!
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