12 new 'necessities' that drain your cash |
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You can save $40 to $60 per month on average, or $480 to $720 per year, for every cell phone you eliminate. A
prepaid plan used sparingly will save you money over a contract plan.
Lawn service
Here's the rationalization for a lawn service: My time is worth more than I'm paying them to cut my grass. Heck, it's actually
a savings!
Well, yes -- if you were mowing your lawn during business hours instead of at night or on the weekend with the
rest of us.
The average cost for weekly mowing, hedge trimming and leaf blowing is $65 to $90. It's hardly a savings to shell
out $260 to $360 a month, is it? Mow your own and save the dough.
If you do enough lawn and garden work, you may even save the $35 to $40 you shell out each month for your fitness
club membership.
Clothes
Where would retailers be if we only bought clothes we need?
"I'm not a fashion-conscious guy, but I've observed that clothes, even the cheapest clothes, last forever," Yeager
says. "When was the last time you truly wore something out?"
While we're not suggesting you dress in rags -- or
worse, go without clothes altogether -- satisfying your wardrobe
jones with a measure of frugality can save a bundle.
"I think most Americans could easily go for one year without buying any new clothes," Yeager says.
Private school
Give up private school? Are you crazy?!
"A lot of parents almost feel that they are abusing their children if they don't send them to private school," Hunt
says. "I don't agree with that."
Instead, Hunt believes parents can save a bundle -- and provide their children with a top-notch education -- by
sticking with public schools.
"I'm a huge proponent of public school," she says. "I think some private schools are actually inferior because
sometimes their instructors don't have to be credentialed."
Oh, did we mention that you're already paying for
public school anyway? Go public and save anywhere from $8,000 to
$35,000 per year, according to the Boarding School Review Web site.
Childhood parties
If you don't have kids, you probably can't appreciate how out-of-control children's birthday parties have become.
"Every kid has to have a bouncy house for their birthday," says Hunt, who lives in Southern California. "It's not
enough to have just a cake; you have to have a meal. And now you have to invite the parents."
Hunt adds that such celebrations no longer are restricted to "big" birthdays, but occur every year.
"And they celebrate graduations, from preschool, for kindergarten, for elementary, junior high," she says. "When
they get to be teens, the whole group has to go somewhere. By the time you graduate high school, now you go to Aruba."
Young parents, you've been warned.
Pet grooming/walking
The cost of grooming your dog averages $30 to $50 for small breeds, $50 to $70 for midsize breeds and $70 to $90 for large breeds.
A pet walker on average runs $15 to $27 per walk.
To save money, invest in a $25 set of electric clippers and learn online about how to groom your pet. You'll pay
for the razor with the first haircut.
And wouldn't a daily walk do you both some good?
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