Originally Posted By: bws48
1) try to pay off all new credit card charges in full when the bill comes in (don't add to the debt). Or, use cash.

I am using cash for the things I buy every month such as gas and food but use a credit card for non regular expenditures such as the safety and emissions testing. The anniversary of Dad's death is next week so I will be putting the rose on plastic.

By sticking to cash as much as possible, I have noticed a change in habits but that is the only conventional approach that works for me. Past conventional budgets did not work so I had to get creative.

Originally Posted By: bws48
4)Also, find alternatives to just following the crowd.

I'm doing that too. I am getting everything ready to switch from Windows to Linux, Linux now supports my laser printer, so I don't have to spend $60 a year on security. The laser printer is also a money saver. I bought it on sale four years ago for $60 and I am still on the original toner cartridge.

Jeanette Isabelle
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I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday