Frugal People Don't Buy On Credit

So, how are you at Monopoly? Ever played? Any good at it?

Imagine we change the rules a little bit. Imagine if, when you played Monopoly, every time you passed go, you gave the bank the $200. Not the other players. Just you.

How long do you think you would last in the game playing like that?

Well, using credit cards and other forms of interest is like playing monopoly that way.

Not only are you paying the price for whatever you're buying, but the interest that you're paying on top of the purchase prices is like tossing money away, jacking up the prices of everything you've bought.

Just like in the crazy Monopoly game I described above, people who regularly use credit to make purchases are unnecessarily inflating the prices of everything they buy, tossing a little bit extra away every month that could have gone to other things or been saved.

Saved money earns interest instead of costing it. It's better to know about savings products like CDs, money market accounts, and other savings products than it is to learn about great credit card deals or how to float a balance between cards to keep an interest rate low.

That's like getting the bank to pay you the $200 plus some every time around the board.

Now that would be how to get ahead in Monopoly.

And it's the secret to getting ahead financially in real life.

Get Money And Save Money With Inbox Dollars

There are a ton of rewards programs out there on the internet that give you "points" for buying products or participating in offers.

Inbox Dollars cuts straight to the quick and gives you cash. Long story short, they share some of the incentive bonus they get when you buy products from one of their sponsors, so for you it works out like getting discounts or rebates of up to 15% off the products and services you would buy off the internet anyway.

For example, if you're a regular iTunes purchaser, you can get 5% of every iTunes purchase back as cash through Inbox Dollars. If you were to get the NetNanny internet filter, you'd get 15% of your purchase price back.

They also offer specials where you can combine discounts with cash back to get even bigger discounts. For instance, at 411 Inkjets, they offer 12% cash back. Plus, they have a deal going for 5% off your order. So that works out to even bigger savings!

They also give you a few cents for every email you click on, whether you purchase the product or not, and you can get a dollar for completing surveys as well. So there are ways to make money even if you don't buy anything.

Plus, they'll put $5 in your account just for signing up.

They've also got a "Get Paid For Playing Games" feature, but I don't recommend it. It's one of those pay-to-play deals where you can win money for playing games, but they pay you based on how much money you put in, not how long you play. It's something like 5 cents for every dollar, so I don't recommend it, since losing a dollar because somebody's better than you at Bejewelled isn't any way to make 5 cents.

But the paid emails, paid surveys, and cash back for shopping programs all work fine.

Save Money With Half.com

Okay, this is a serious one. This has been one of the biggest ways we've saved money in our family over the last couple of years. We never, ever pay full price for books or DVDs. We get deep discounts on both of them. We get them from half.com.

Half.com is owned by Ebay, and it's sort of the same principle. People who have stuff log on to half.com and register it. Rather than having an auction, like on Ebay, they just list the condition of the book and the price. Then, you log on looking for whatever you want to buy. When you find a combination of price and condition that suits your fancy, you buy it.

The good news is, the more popular the book or the DVD, the more of them there are out there, so the cheaper the price is.

And it's not just DVDs, CDs, and books--they've also got video games and electronics.

This is the used book place I swear by. The other advantage they have is that you can combine shipping if you buy more than one thing from the same seller, and they make it easy to browse the seller's store for other products you want. Keep that in mind as you're looking at products--one store's products might look a little more expensive, but if you can combine shipping it can sometimes bring the total cost down.

Have fun looking for deals!

Check out eBay's Half.com for great deals on books, CDs, DVDs, electronics, computers, PDAs and more. Save Big!!

Save Money On Discount Laptops And Laptop Accessories

Not only is Laptops For Less already a great place to get great prices, but right now, they're offering a 10% off holiday special if you enter the code HS10 at checkout.

And it's not just laptops you can save on. They've also got laptop batteries, AC adapters, iPod batteries, CD Roms, battery chargers for Compaq, Toshiba, IBM, Dell, Sony, Apple, and HP laptops, PDA, iPod, & digital camera accessories.

Instant Discounts and Specials on thousands of mobile replacement batteries, ac adapters, dc adapters, and more!

Secret HD-DVD Deal On Amazon

They're not advertising it on the front page, but if you nose around a little, you can find this HD-DVD deal.

Just in time for Christmas.

Basically, Amazon's trying to push the HD-DVD market, so as an incentive, they've got a way you can get 10 free DVDs with the purchase of certain HD-DVD players, and they're also giving $100 off certain HD-DVD players.

It works like this:

1. Purchase one of the HD DVD players shown on the page in the link above.

2. Select three HD DVDs from the list on the same page. You will see a credit in your Shopping Cart (personally, I'd go with Serenity).

3. The movies 300 and The Bourne Identity will be packaged with your player.

4. Then, you can download a mail-in rebate form and print it out to get five more HD-DVD movies free. When you receive your player, fill out the form with your choice of movies--you'll need the UPC code located on the player's package--and send it in to the address indicated on the form by March 31, 2008.

Honestly, I don't know how "secret" this is, but they're calling it that in the customer forums on Amazon, so I thought I'd come here and spill the beans.

Our Philosophy

I thought I'd take a moment today to share with you a little bit about what we believe, and what we're going for with this blog.

First, we believe that frugality is better for your heart and mind than frivolity. That by living within your means, you gain peace of mind and heart. Not only that, but it's easier to sleep at night.

Second, we believe that the only way to truly save money is to not spend it. Saving is not where you spend less, but saving is where you actually put some money away for later.

Third, we believe that if you can postpone your wants, the time will always come that you can get them cheaper than if you buy them now.

To that end, we have created this blog.

It is our goal here to do two things.

First, we want to post useful articles and tips about ways to save money. This includes budgeting, shopping sales, using coupons, and finding other deals.

Second, it is our intention to notify our readers of sales that are going on around the internet and at their local stores that may give them the chance to get the deals they're looking for on things they're putting of buying until the right price comes along. We also notify them of rebate and discount programs that might save them money.

Many of these businesses and rebate programs are affiliates of our website, meaning that we make a little money when you shop there or join their program.

However, we know that we can't build trust with you if we arbitrarily post "Spammish" links to anyone who will pay us. We will try our best to make sure:

1. We post links to genuine sales and deals, not just discounts off already over-inflated prices, or "free shipping" offers on full priced items.
2. We post links to reputable programs and offers.

If something we talk about fails to meet either of those criteria, please comment on the post and leave your feedback so that other users can benefit from your experience, and we can learn from it as well.

We sincerely hope we can help you live within your means, but still afford a few of life's nicer things once in a while.

Thanks for reading!

Big 25% off sale at BareNecessities.com

Not only does BareNecessities.com have a big 25% off sale going on in various sections around the store, but one of those sections is their "warmwear" section, full of the undergarments that will keep you nice and toasty through the winter months.

Don't freeze for fashion! Stay warm in long underwear from BareNecessities.com

50% off Toys and Holiday Decor at Fingerhut.com

Starting today, December 12, Fingerhut.com is featuring 50% off Select Toys and Holiday Décor items.

If you're looking for Christmas presents (and who isn't?), the last ship date for Christmas is December 18th for standard delivery and December 20th for express delivery.

50% off select toys and holiday décor at Fingerhut.com!

Save Money On Sporting Goods Gifts

Got a few sports and outdoors fanatics on your gift list? Right now, DunhamsSports.com is offering 15% off on all orders. There are some exclusions, and it's only for online orders, but they've got everything from jerseys to fitness equipment to paintball supplies.

Just look for the products with the "15% Off Entire Order" label.

Plus, for the holidays, they've got free shipping offers in departments all across the store, from electronics to clothing to paintball.

And you know I always keep an eye out for a clearance section, and this store's got one.

Personally, I was nosing around in their Bowflex shop for deals, but whatever your game, Dunham's got it.

Save up to 75% at Destination Maternity

Yeah, it's an awkward time of year to find yourself expecting. Not only is the budget already tight, but it's that time for holiday parties, meaning that sometimes you've got to find something nice.

Destination Maternity has what you're looking for, whether it's casual clothes, business clothes, or that formal outfit you need for that special occasion. And right now, they're offering up to 75% off the whole product.

They offer flat $6 shipping on every order, so pile up the deals and save on shipping.