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Becoming An Outstanding Person | Frugality – Week 5 of 12 |

Posted By Alex Shalman On March 27, 2007 @ 6:00 am In Money, Personal Development | 14 Comments

This article is part of the How To Become An Outstanding Person In Twelve Weeks [1] series. I strongly urge that you read the first article in order to get a sense of what is going on here.

Frugality (Week 5 of 12)

Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. Benjamin Franklin was good at managing money [2]. In fact, he was so good at it, he was trusted by all the people of Philadelphia (ok, not all , but many!).

The technique that I have been using in order to remain frugal this past week has been asking myself a series of simple question.

  1. Can I live without this purchase?
  2. Can I get a cheaper alternative without sacrificing quality?
  3. Can I use it and return it? (just kidding!)

Another thing that I factored into the equation was the cost of my purchase, if it became a habit. For example, buying a cup of coffee ($1), could turn into a daily habit, and in one year I would spend a considerable amount ($365).

You can also add the incentive of what kind of toll that cup of sugary, caffeinated beverage would reap on your body after a years worth of daily use (extra calories, high cholesterol, and yellow teeth). Need I say more?

I was not able to apply health risks to all of my purchases. I couldn’t justify how getting premium gasoline, versus regular would be more detrimental to my health. I went for the cheap stuff regardless.

I did manage to eat at home and cook myself healthy and simple meals throughout the week, with only one, less frugal dinner on the weekend. This certainly saved me a lot of money. Plus, I was able to cook enough to have left overs, thus saving cooking time and trips to the store.

I would insert a quote here about “a penny saved is a penny earned“, but than I would have to close the comments section in order to not be bomb barded for such a tacky cliché. Even though it’s true!

Becoming Outstanding Series

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URL to article: http://www.alexshalman.com/2007/03/27/becoming-an-outstanding-person-frugality-week-5-of-12/

URLs in this post:

[1] How To Become An Outstanding Person In Twelve Weeks: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/02/08/how-to-become-an-outstanding-person-in-twelve-weeks/

[2] managing money: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/02/05/money-management-for-beginners/

[3] Temperance: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/02/27/becoming-an-outstanding-person-temperance-week-1-of-12/

[4] Silence: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/03/06/becoming-an-outstanding-person-silence-week-2-of-12/

[5] Order: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/03/13/becoming-an-outstanding-person-order-week-3-of-12/

[6] Resolution: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/03/20/becoming-an-outstanding-person-resolution-week-4-of-12/

[7] Frugality: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/03/27/becoming-an-outstanding-person-frugality-week-5-of-12/

[8] Industry: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/04/03/becoming-an-outstanding-person-industry-week-6-of-12/

[9] Sincerity: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/04/10/becoming-an-outstanding-person-sincerity-week-7-of-12/

[10] Justice: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/04/17/becoming-an-outstanding-person-justice-week-8-of-12/

[11] Moderation: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/04/26/becoming-an-outstanding-person-moderation-week-9-of-12/

[12] Cleanliness: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/05/03/becoming-an-outstanding-person-cleanliness-week-10-of-12/

[13] Tranquility: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/05/08/becoming-an-outstanding-person-tranquility-week-11-of-12/

[14] Chastity: http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2007/05/17/becoming-an-outstanding-person-chastity-week-12-of-12/

[15] Image: http://twitter.com/home/?status=Reading @AlexShalman Becoming+An+Outstanding+Person+%7C+Frugality+--+Week+5+of+12+%7C+http://9y6by.th8.us