gift items, agree in advance how much each person will spend and stick to that figure.

5) Consider shopping at thrift stores for clothing. It is not unusual to find clothing items at Goodwill or Salvation Army or other thrift stores with the tags still on. If shopping at thrift stores just doesn’t appeal to you, do shop at outlet stores. And if you cannot find what you want there, then vow to only buy sale items at regular stores.

6) Use coupons for items that you will buy. But don’t be tricked into buying things you would not normally buy, just because there is a coupon available. Take advantage of two for one offers or buy one get one

Society and the media have us convinced that two incomes are totally necessary to survive in today’s world. They are only necessary if the couple is convinced that buying “things” is what makes them happy. They are only necessary if the couple buys into the notion that “everyone” needs a new car every three years and that having a huge car payment is normal. Having huge debts makes it necessary to have two incomes, just to pay those bills. But what if you decide to live more frugally?

What if you found a way to live on one income and saved and invested the other paycheck? It can be done. One couple I know did just that. In a few years, they had the money they needed for a hefty down payment on their first house.

A few years later, they had enough money saved to start thinking about starting a family. Through the years, they maintained that level of saving and investing, even when they reached executive level positions. They always tried to save and invest at least half of the lessor of their two incomes. When their children reached college age, they had enough saved to pay for their education. When their oldest child received a full scholarship, they used the money to pay for her wedding and had enough left over to give the couple a great start in life.

Even when their incomes were such that they could have afforded multiple vehicles, they chose to only have two and kept those at least six to eight years, rather than trading them in after three or four years. The woman always used coupons to grocery shop. To her, it made sense to save even a few pennies at a time.

Here are just some ways you can cut down:

1) Don’t buy a new car every three or four years. Having an older car – even if it requires as much as $2,000 a year in repair and maintenance costs – saves having that $500 a month car payment. It also cuts down on insurance costs.

2) Forget starting out in life with what your parents have after years and years of married life. Think more simply. Get a one bedroom cozy apartment to start off your married life. Decorate with hand-me-down furniture from your parents, or shop thrift stores for furniture.

3) Use credit cards for emergencies only. If you do choose to use them for purchases for the home, pay them off within 30 or 60 days. Interest rates are high. Recent TV programs have shown couples with huge credit card early on in their marriages. They were just making minimum payments, and paying those card off at that rate would have taken 15 years.

4) Agree early on that any purchase over $50 requires the consent of both parties. For gift items, agree in advance how much each person will spend and stick to that figure.

5) Consider shopping at thrift stores for clothing. It is not unusual to find clothing items at Goodwill or Salvation Army or other thrift stores with the tags still on. If shopping at thrift stores just doesn’t appeal to you, do shop at outlet stores. And if you cannot find what you want there, then vow to only buy sale items at regular stores.

6) Use coupons for items that you will buy. But don’t be tricked into buying things you would not normally buy, just because there is a coupon available. Take advantage of two for one offers or buy one get one

ad the money they needed for a hefty down payment on their first house.

A few years later, they had enough money saved to start thinking about starting a family. Through the years, they maintained that level of saving and investing, even when they reached executive level positions. They always tried to save and invest at least half of the lessor of their two incomes. When their children reached college age, they had enough saved to pay for their education. When their oldest child received a full scholarship, they used the money to pay for her wedding and had enough left over to give the couple a great start in life.

Even when their incomes were such that they could have afforded multiple vehicles, they chose to only have two and kept those at least six to eight years, rather than trading them in after three or four years. The woman always used coupons to grocery shop. To her, it made sense to save even a few pennies at a time.

Here are just some ways you can cut down:

1) Don’t buy a new car every three or four years. Having an older car – even if it requires as much as $2,000 a year in repair and maintenance costs – saves having that $500 a month car payment. It also cuts down on insurance costs.

2) Forget starting out in life with what your parents have after years and years of married life. Think more simply. Get a one bedroom cozy apartment to start off your married life. Decorate with hand-me-down furniture from your parents, or shop thrift stores for furniture.

3) Use credit cards for emergencies only. If you do choose to use them for purchases for the home, pay them off within 30 or 60 days. Interest rates are high. Recent TV programs have shown couples with huge credit card early on in their marriages. They were just making minimum payments, and paying those card off at that rate would have taken 15 years.

4) Agree early on that any purchase over $50 requires the consent of both parties. For gift items, agree in advance how much each person will spend and stick to that figure.

5) Consider shopping at thrift stores for clothing. It is not unusual to find clothing items at Goodwill or Salvation Army or other thrift stores with the tags still on. If shopping at thrift stores just doesn’t appeal to you, do shop at outlet stores. And if you cannot find what you want there, then vow to only buy sale items at regular stores.

6) Use coupons for items that you will buy. But don’t be tricked into buying things you would not normally buy, just because there is a coupon available. Take advantage of two for one offers or buy one get one

were such that they could have afforded multiple vehicles, they chose to only have two and kept those at least six to eight years, rather than trading them in after three or four years. The woman always used coupons to grocery shop. To her, it made sense to save even a few pennies at a time.

Here are just some ways you can cut down:

1) Don’t buy a new car every three or four years. Having an older car – even if it requires as much as $2,000 a year in repair and maintenance costs – saves having that $500 a month car payment. It also cuts down on insurance costs.

2) Forget starting out in life with what your parents have after years and years of married life. Think more simply. Get a one bedroom cozy apartment to start off your married life. Decorate with hand-me-down furniture from your parents, or shop thrift stores for furniture.

3) Use credit cards for emergencies only. If you do choose to use them for purchases for the home, pay them off within 30 or 60 days. Interest rates are high. Recent TV programs have shown couples with huge credit card early on in their marriages. They were just making minimum payments, and paying those card off at that rate would have taken 15 years.

4) Agree early on that any purchase over $50 requires the consent of both parties. For gift items, agree in advance how much each person will spend and stick to that figure.

5) Consider shopping at thrift stores for clothing. It is not unusual to find clothing items at Goodwill or Salvation Army or other thrift stores with the tags still on. If shopping at thrift stores just doesn’t appeal to you, do shop at outlet stores. And if you cannot find what you want there, then vow to only buy sale items at regular stores.

6) Use coupons for items that you will buy. But don’t be tricked into buying things you would not normally buy, just because there is a coupon available. Take advantage of two for one offers or buy one get one

nd years of married life. Think more simply. Get a one bedroom cozy apartment to start off your married life. Decorate with hand-me-down furniture from your parents, or shop thrift stores for furniture.

3) Use credit cards for emergencies only. If you do choose to use them for purchases for the home, pay them off within 30 or 60 days. Interest rates are high. Recent TV programs have shown couples with huge credit card early on in their marriages. They were just making minimum payments, and paying those card off at that rate would have taken 15 years.

4) Agree early on that any purchase over $50 requires the consent of both parties. For gift items, agree in advance how much each person will spend and stick to that figure.

5) Consider shopping at thrift stores for clothing. It is not unusual to find clothing items at Goodwill or Salvation Army or other thrift stores with the tags still on. If shopping at thrift stores just doesn’t appeal to you, do shop at outlet stores. And if you cannot find what you want there, then vow to only buy sale items at regular stores.

6) Use coupons for items that you will buy. But don’t be tricked into buying things you would not normally buy, just because there is a coupon available. Take advantage of two for one offers or buy one get one

gift items, agree in advance how much each person will spend and stick to that figure.

5) Consider shopping at thrift stores for clothing. It is not unusual to find clothing items at Goodwill or Salvation Army or other thrift stores with the tags still on. If shopping at thrift stores just doesn’t appeal to you, do shop at outlet stores. And if you cannot find what you want there, then vow to only buy sale items at regular stores.

6) Use coupons for items that you will buy. But don’t be tricked into buying things you would not normally buy, just because there is a coupon available. Take advantage of two for one offers or buy one get one free.

There are lots more ideas that work. Instead of buying movies, rent them. Instead of buying lots of books, frequent the local library.

You get the idea. It is possible to save money, even in this expensive world in which we live. The secret is to ignore some of the advertising that wants you to buy, buy, buy even when you don’t really need all of the “toys” being hawked.