In my opinion, the best thing I find about living frugally is the way that the mindset spills over into other areas of my life.  Most notably, I have become much more organised.  I now have a filing system so that all my important papers, statements and contracts are in one place and can be easily found. Can you believe that?!

This may not sound like much, but believe me, my transformation from a hard-core poo-corner dumper* (you know, poo-corner… that secret place or drawer where you dump all your mail and stuff… hidden away under an unassuming exterior so no one can see how disorganised you are, and it just grows and grows and takes on its own personality until one day you are found by your cleaning lady under a pile of unopened bank statements, choked to death on a John Lewis exclusive shopping night invitation) into a filing and shredding ninja** is quite amazing.  One might even call it extraordinary.

Maybe it’s because a new leaf has turned and it’s now 2009, or maybe I just feel like getting a jump on some spring cleaning (because spring is so obviously in the air, it being -10ºC overnight) but lately I’ve wanted to extend my late-found organisational talents to  the rest of my life. Namely our flat. I’ve got the urge to purge.

So, my January goals, apart from trying not to wig-out in the lead up to my impending nuptials (breathe, FruGal, breathe), and apart from getting everything else done that needs to be done for impending nuptials (I have *cough* slightly less done at this late stage than I would have liked), are going to be focussed on getting our flat in order.

The two main things that need to be done, hard-core, are a closet clean out (and a ruthless one at that), and to get our photographs organised. Our photographs from the last 4 years (a few thousand or so) are currently spread around a variety of hard-drives and CDs and online accounts, and their sorry state has lately been haunting my dreams. I want to get a couple hundred printed out and put together in some albums too.  I suspect that living in a more organised environment will help me feel calmer and more relaxed overall. It will also give me some projects to stop myself getting too obsessed with wedding plans.

So, I guess my January goals are:

Don’t wig-out
Get the rest of wedding stuff done – a little more than, oh, 50% left to do..
Work my poo-corner magic on closet
Organise photographs in one place

And that’ll do it, I’d say. Good luck to you with your January goals!

* FruGuy just looked over my shoulder and was all ‘hard-core poo-corner dumper? Do you know how wrong that sentence is on, like, every level?’ To which I say: Good call, FruGuy. But the poo-corner dumping reference stays.

** I totally tried to find a picture of a filing and shredding ninja to illustrate this post but I couldn’t find one. What’s up with that? Sorry. You’ll have to make do with the plastic file thingo.

Back in September when Holly came up with the idea of doing a weekly series featuring interviews with our favourite personal finance bloggers, we had no idea how it would go.

And how did it go? Wonderfully? You betcha.

We were so pleased with the response from PF bloggers around the globe who were willing to be interviewed to share their frugal wisdoms with the rest of us.  But, it’s now 2009 and we’re on to bigger and better things! As a result, yesterday’s Five Frugal Minutes with Savings not Shoes was the final in the series. We really hope that you enjoyed reading it each Monday morning!

Here’s a look back over the series and all those who got involved. Big thanks to all of you!!

29th September: Five Frugal minutes with… FruGal
6th October: Five Frugal minutes with… Holly
13th October: Five Frugal minutes with… J Money aka Budgets are $exy
20th October: Five Frugal minutes with… Seattle Girl
27th October: Five Frugal minutes with… Notes from the Frugal Trenches
3rd November: Five Frugal minutes with… The Lean Times
10th November: Five Frugal minutes with… A Piece of Wood
17th November: Five Frugal minutes with… The Paisley Penguin
24th November: Five Frugal minutes with… Operation Night Brace
1st December: Five Frugal minutes with… Single Broke Female
8th December: Five Frugal minutes with… Holly’s Boyfriend
15th December: Five Frugal minutes with… Shtinkykat
22nd December: Five Frugal minutes with… SoCal Savvy
5th January: Five Frugal minutes with… Savings not Shoes

Stay tuned for our next endeavour… Same bat-time, same bat-channel…

The grand finale in the Five Frugal Minutes series is with the lovely Savings not Shoes. She had a big year in 2008 and many life changes, and lots of frugal wisdom to share. Enjoy!

Tell me a bit about your “lightbulb moment”
I had three months living at my Auntie D’s house after graduating law school before my job started up back in England.  I had a lot of time to think but also time to see what my life would be like if I had to move back permantly to SmallTown, New England. There was no one lightbulb moment, but three months of them as I studied personal finance books and tried to figure out how to get out of the mess.

What made you decide to start blogging?
I’d been reading about retirement plans and starting having interesting conversations via g-chat with my childhood friend (and contributing SNS blogger) “C”. She tuned me into personal finance blogs and after a few months of reading them (Escape Brooklyn, English Major’s Money and Single Ma) I started reading more. And more. And then I thought I’d give it a-go. I didn’t ever expect to have anyone read it, so it was a pleasant surpise.

A lot of personal finance bloggers talk about keeping their “eyes on the prize” - What’s your prize?
My ultimate prize is to be able to have passive income that doesn’t require me to make a steady paycheck. I want to have money work for me and not me just work for money. My worst fear is that I’ll spend my entire life working and only have stuff at the end of it. So the immediate prize is the seed money to start my own business or obtain high yield investments.

What’s your top tip for saving money?
Surrounding myself with like-minded friends and people who admire and not abhor my penny-pinching ways. I am single, but I would think this would be essential with a partner in a relationship as well. In my case, being frugal had to become part of who I am are rather than just something that I do.

Recommend a blog that you couldn’t live without?
Sallie’s Niece and FruGal, of course. Had to live without for 6 weeks [while in rehab]–it was torture!

Has organising your finances and living frugally had any other positive effect on your life, other than saving money?
Unbelievably so. Living frugally has made a huge change in my life in that I decided to seek help for my addictions.  Along with spending, I realised I needed to address the other self-damaging behaviours I use–food, alcohol and smoking being the top 3 other than overspending. I’m now free of alcohol, tobacco, sugar, and white flour along with excess spending.  Who would have thought that possible a few months ago?

It is with a certain amount of shamefacedness that I note that the last time I updated this blog was on Christmas Eve, which was – wait for it – 12 days ago!  I am the Queen of Slack Blogging! Hopefully no-one noticed - hopefully you’ve all been out celebrating yourselves silly. I hope your Christmas and New Year celebrations were wonderful, and that you didn’t completely blow the budget too much over the past few weeks.

I’d like to think that I could get through the first post of the year without mentioning that most tedious of New Year traditions: the New Year’s Resolution. But, it appears that I cannot. Did you make one? Did you keep last year’s? I can’t even remember what last year’s was, so I’ve no idea how I went on that score. I am not making one this year because after a crazy-hectic 2008, I am determined to not push myself so hard during 2009, setting myself endless tasks and goals to accomplish. I’m getting married next month! It’s time to reap a few of the rewards I earned myself during 2008, and live in the moment a little and focus on enjoying myself and FruGuy and the exciting changes that are ahead. In fact, let’s start celebrating now – who’s for champers? No? Everyone on detox?! Damn January, that evil month of self-denial!!

Anyway, I hope the year ahead is filled with much love, laughter and fabulous financials for all of you. I hope you’ll keep reading this year – I’m really looking forwards to continuing this blog, and have some big plans in the pipeline!

Well, the day before Christmas, anyway.  And I am so organised at this point even I am surprised! Christmas pressies wrapped and under the tree? Check. Groceries bought? Check. Ham done? Check. Champagne in the fridge? Check. Hair done? Check. Nails painted? Check!

Now all we need is a fat guy in a suit and we’re ready. Bring on Christmas!

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here England, so I tend to spend time around the Christmas period looking back over the year past and giving thanks for all the people and things and events in my life that bring me joy in so many ways. I hope you find the time to do this too over the next few days.  Whatever Christmas is about for you - whether it’s religion, being with family and friends or just an excuse to eat and drink so much that you have to lay on the couch with your pants open afterwards watching cheesy Christmas films, I hope you really enjoy it.

Things may be a bit quiet around here for the next week or so, due to all the aforementioned family and friends and laying about with my pants open (who, me?)  So I want to take a moment before the carnage commences to send a big thank you out into the blogosphere for all your help, support, comments, feedback and inspiration over the past seven months of this blog. I hope to see you all bright eyed and bushy tailed in the New Year, ready for another fabulous and frugal year!

I can hear FruGuy sneaking more of the Christmas ham in the next room, so I must be off to save it. We kind of need it for tomorrow!

Hope Santa spoils y’all rotten. Merry Christmas!

It’s 30 degrees in Sydney right now.

Are you happy now, FruGal??

What a weekend. Food and in-laws and food and long car trips and food and Christmas shopping and FOOD and in-law-induced wedding-related hysteria and oh, DID I MENTION FOOD??

Oh Yes. I was lucky enough to experience all of those things over the past 48 hours, and as far as I can tell in my pre-caffeinated state, I have lived to tell the tale.  Except I will spare you the tale, because chances are, you are already living through your own personal hell wonder that is dealing with families at Christmas time, and you probably have no sympathy to spare a poor lil’ FruGal who is sitting here resisting the temptation to check the price of last minute flights to Sydney with ever fibre of her being.

[£1651 per adult].

Goddamn it! I had to look. If only to convince myself that we can’t afford it this Christmas, and although my body is in a permanent state of protest at not being on the beach right now as it usually is at this time of year, I’m sorry but we will be staying in London this year. Anyway, we already bought the turkey. Just don’t look at the weather forecast.

I hope you enjoyed the Ultimate Money Saving Tips list that I published last week.  Thanks so much to everyone who got involved, and I hope you all got something out of it.

Also thanks to Naturally Frugal for including my post in the 156th Festival of Frugality last week, and to the Frugal Duchess for including my post in the 183rd edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance.  There were loads of great articles included, so be sure to check them out.

…

I’m not going to look at the Sydney weather forecast. I will not look. I will NOT look.

I received so many great tips for this series that I decided to highlight 5 of the best.  These are the tips that were recommended by more than one PF blogger and that cover the absolute essentials for saving money wisely – both in the short term and the long term.  If you’re looking to do some serious saving, you should consider tackling these first.  And thanks again to all those clever bloggers who imparted their invaluable money-saving wisdoms. I hope you have enjoyed the series and taken some useful info from it!

1.)    Plan your meals: If you don’t eat a meal before you go grocery shopping, you’ll to shop with your stomach and not with your brain – and before you know it, you’ve got a cart filled with nothing but  Jaffa cakes and crisps (mmm… jaffa cakes…)  Perhaps for this reason, Mom on a Budget, Mel, and Tracy from My Money Story all recommend planning your weekly meals before you go shopping and sticking to this list.  Not only does this ensure that you’ll stick to your budget each week, but it will hopefully limit the amount of food that goes to waste.  Tracy also suggests setting a monetary limit on each food item and not settling for less – and if a particular item is on sale one week, stock up!

2.)    Cook at home: Jack and Jill aka Skint Minted Lovers estimate that they save on average AUS$240 a week by brown bagging their lunches and resisting the temptation to dine out.  Jordan from Young Money Talks also suggests cooking all your meals at home – but advises only cooking what you need so that no food or leftovers are left to spoil.  I’ve found that it can be as simple as making extra food for dinner so that you can take leftovers to work for lunch – although it’s definitely easier said than done to make extra food with FruGuy at your dinner table.

3.)    Use cash instead of credit: Credit and debit cards certainly have their perks – quicker shopping queues and less loose change, for instance.  But sometimes I wonder if they have made shopping a little too easy; there are fewer opportunities to hesitate or second-guess a purchase if it is only a swipe away.  Sharon Rose at No Debt Diva suggests using cash or debit exclusively – this way there will be no temptations to spend more than what you currently have in your bank account.  Escape Brooklyn suggests going a step further and eliminating plastic from your life altogether – debit included.  She says that she takes out a fixed amount of cash each time she gets a pay check and restricts spending to her cash-in-hand.

4.)    Research big purchases: Money Maus suggests taking the time to make sure you are paying the best price for a given purchase – from food at the grocery store to personal loans.  Sometimes this can be as simple as coupon clipping and at other times this may involve internet research or consulting an independent financial advisor.  Michael Rubin from Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck especially encourages consumers to take time evaluating big purchases such as a car or a place to live.  Though this can involve comparing prices, it also entails deciding whether or not you can actually afford an item to begin with (Subprime lending, anyone?).

5.)    Find what works for you: The final tip I thought I’d leave you with was submitted by BeachGirl and is a good way of tying all these tips together.  She writes that each budding saver ultimately has to get in touch with their inner frugal being in order to find out what advice is worth adopting and what tips simply won’t stick – in other words, find what works for you!  No one plan or regime of saving tips will work for everyone, and you’ll have a fair share of tumbles and missteps along the way.  The key is to pick yourself up and make the right changes as needed.

Remember, the holiday season is about giving – if your ultimate saving tip hasn’t been included in the series, share it with me in the comments!

Sometimes big savings require big changes.  If you are serious about achieving a long term financial goal, you might have to work towards changing your overall attitude and not just your latte spending habits.   In most cases, you’ll have to begin by admitting that your poor spending habits have resulted in where you are today. Repeat after me: my name is__________  and I am addicted to cute cocktail dresses, dining out, and other money-spending activities…

1.    Samantha at Cash in the City says it’s essential to face reality and know what your money is doing – ‘whether it is gaining interest or haemorrhaging in credit card debt’.  This truly is your first step towards making long term changes to your spending habits.

2.    John from Young Money Talks suggests forcing yourself to stay abreast of your current account balance.  I know so many people who crumple up their cash point receipts so that they don’t have to look at their balances.  But apart from making sure that your account is secure, checking your balance regularly might make you more hesitant to spend haphazardly.  Seeing your balance shrink is definitely painful!

3.    If you are in a relationship and you share a joint bank account, Mr. Not the Jet Set advises ensuring a strong line of communication between yourself and your partner.  Sometimes this might mean having to fess up to bad spending choices, but the honesty will be worth it when it comes time to make a big purchase, such as buying a house.

4.    After you’ve owned up to your personal finances, you will find it easier to slowly but surely come out of your comfort zone.  Cara from Young Money Talks suggests adopting spending habits that run contrary to what you’ve grown accustomed to: if you spend more using cash, use debit; if you spend more use debit/credit, use cash.  Either way, you’re bound to assess your spending habits if you adopt new spending tactics.

5.     Frugal Dreamer says it can also be worthwhile to sit down and think about the difference between what you need and what you want – this can help you avoid falling prey to advertisers and spontaneous spending.  Once you have assessed your needs, put up mental roadblocks that prevent you from spending excessively on the things you simply want but don’t necessarily need.

6.    No matter what, if you are saving towards a specific goal, you should always keep your eye on the prize.  Frugal Zeitgeist warns against squandering your savings on ‘some momentary flash of desire’.  In other words: Lead us not into Temptation, Top Shop.    A good way to start might be to put little reminders of what you are saving towards in your wallet or purse.

7.    Though financial security might be far away, it could be worthwhile to set up goals or checkpoints along the way.  Doing so will help remind you of the progress you have made and are continuing to make.  If you set a goal, make sure to follow through by assessing whether or not you met the goal.  Having a checkpoint always on the horizon could make a long term goal seem much more attainable.

8.    That being said, the hardest part about starting a new goal is maintaining momentum.  It’s probably best to start small and be realistic.  You won’t achieve financial success overnight, and in all likelihood, you have some habits that you’ll need to break along the way.  If your goal is to save towards a £10,000 emergency fund, make your initial payments relatively small in relation to your earnings.  With each month, increase the percentage of your pay cheque that goes towards your savings goal.

9.    If you have a large amount of money in your checking account, you might consider investing a part of it into a savings account.  Doing so is a great way to make use of money that you won’t realistically need to spend in the near future – money sitting in savings accounts earns interest.  Knowing your spending limits can also sometimes mean knowing your savings limits, and there is such a thing as having too much money festering in your current account.

10.    Like bike riding or learning how to knit, saving gets easier with practice.  Though it can be easy to get down on yourself if you don’t meet a goal or indulge in a spending blitz, make sure to also acknowledge the progress you’ve made – it’s OK to give yourself a pat on the back every now and then.  If you’ve saved extraordinarily well or paid all your bills on time one month, reward yourself in a way that doesn’t hamper or counteract your long term goal.  Take a bubble bath or make it a lazy Sunday.  Just be careful not to reward saving with excessive spending!

This week’s Five Frugal Minutes is with the lovely Shtinkykat - a thirty-something gal who took up PF blogging to atone for her ‘past financial sins’.  Enjoy!

Tell me a bit about your “lightbulb moment”.
My “lightbulb moment” was in March of 2007 when I applied for an American Express Clear Card.  I was desperate to transfer some of my high-interest credit card balance to a 0% interest card.  American Express instantly rejected me for:  1) serious delinquent payment history and 2.) Excessive debt-to-credit ratio.  I’d never been rejected for a credit card so this was a horrible slap in the face.

After the rejection, I tallied up my debt payments and I discovered, to my horror, that my monthly expenses were $500 over my monthly income.  I had no choice but to: (a) increase my income by taking a second job and/or (b) reduce my debt.   My second job as a telemarketer for a cheesy timeshare didn’t last for a month.  So I chose option (b).

I liquidated most of my employee stock option account, my savings and my Roth IRA to pay down $17,000 of my credit card debt immediately.   I also stopped contributing to my 401k (i.e., tax-deferred, employer sponsored retirement account) for 7 months to increase my cash flow.  At the time, liquidating my assets was the hardest and scariest thing I’d ever done.  But in hindsight, I wonder why didn’t I do this sooner?  I’m still heavily in debt, but I’ve since been able to live within my budget and not incur new debts; I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Hurray!

What made you decide to start blogging?
I never knew people blogged about their personal finance until I read a MSN article about Sallie’s Niece’s blog.  I left comments on her blog regarding my struggles with student loan repayment and she suggested that I create my own blog.  I initially resisted the idea but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  I’m too embarrassed and ashamed to talk to my friends and family about the financial hole I’m in.  In contrast, my blog allows me to discuss my financial situation openly and honestly, which makes me accountable for every financial decision I make now.  The best part of blogging, though, is the feedback and encouragement I get from my readers.   I am grateful that the PF blogging community has been very supportive of my ongoing battle with my debt.

A lot of personal finance bloggers talk about keeping their “eyes on the prize” - What’s your prize?
Being debt-free with a completely paid-for home by age 60.  I’m not sure how much I’ll have in my retirement account(s) by then, but I figure if I’m debt free, I won’t need as much.  My parents were irresponsible with money and it’s really sad to watch them struggle in their old-age.  I want to spend my retirement doing stuff that makes life worth living – travelling, taking adult classes at the local community college (to keep my mind sharp), playing poker with my friends, and eating & drinking well.  Beyond that, though, I want to be financially secure enough that I can contribute to charity in a meaningful way.

What’s your top tip for saving money?
Ummm… it’s difficult to just pin-point one top tip, but here are my basics:
1.)    Having a budget and checking every week (if not daily) to make sure you’re on track;
2.)    Always budget some money for unexpected expenses (in addition to your emergency fund) and keep it separate from your savings.  You’ll be glad you have some “mad money” to spend when Mr. Murphy comes a-knockin’.
3.)    Automatic deposit into savings and retirement accounts – If your employer gives you the option to automatically deposit a portion of your paycheck into your savings, do it!  You won’t miss what you don’t see in your paycheck.
4.)    Pre-tax health spending account – If your employer allows you to put some of your pre-tax money into a flexible health spending account, you should do it.  You not only20reap the tax benefits, but you’ll have the comfort of knowing you won’t have to search for money to pay for doctor’s visits, prescription meds, contact lens replacements, etc.  Again, what you don’t see in your paycheck, you won’t miss.

Recommend a blog that you couldn’t live without?
I read everything on my blogroll everyday.  FruGal, Sallie’s Niece and MoneyBeagle are on my “do-not-miss” list.  But the one blog that often refer to is Jonathan’s My Money Blog.  It’s been up since 2005 and it is a repository of information.  He clearly does his homework and he is very generous about sharing his experiences and his opinions.

Has organizing your finances and living frugally had any other positive effect on your life, other than saving money?
Yes!  I used to complain that “fun stuff” always cost money but I discovered that what I used to consider “fun stuff” was just mindless, fleeting consumerism.  For example, I’ve discovered that I enjoy hiking nature trails much more than jogging on the human hamster-wheel (aka treadmill) at the gym.  I’ve picked up watercolor painting as a new hobby and I’ve started playing the piano again.  I read more now than before since the library is free.  I definitely feel like a more productive human being.  Now, if I can only get motivated to de-clutter my physical living space…