It’s not having what you want, but wanting what you have. Regularly take inventory of your possessions. Clean out your closets and sell or donate anything you don’t use on a regular basis or won’t need in case of an emergency. If you registered for items you don’t need, take them back before you use them. Use the cash or store credit on something you do need.
Don’t compare yourselves to others, as the Bible wisely instructs. Expensive and new stuff does not make happy couples, no matter what your neighbors or friends look like. The ideal American couple with a newer model car, gas-guzzling SUV, three-bedroom home, two kids, and a vacation timeshare in Orlando is probably up to their ears in debt. Be content with what you have and don’t let the pressure of marketers tell you you’re living less than the abundant life God promises you.
Think before you buy. Living beneath your means simply means knowing the difference between your wants and needs and spending accordingly. Before you buy, ask yourself these questions:
Is it necessary?
Can I afford it?
What’s this new thing really costing me?
You can apply this principle all the way down to the coffee you buy each day at the gas station on the way to work. Why not invest in a nice coffeemaker and have it brewing when you wake up each morning? Pennies on coffee beat a buck and change each day over the duration of a year.
When it comes to buying bigger items, splurge on what you truly want and will use instead of the latest item featured in the Pottery Barn catalog. Remember you can often find great deals at flea markets, garage sales, discount stores, and consignment shops.
Avoiding Extremes
The Bible says to let your moderation be known (Phil. 4:5). So while you pursue a simple lifestyle, don’t go overboard. Try implementing one step at a time. Clean out your closets one month. Start trimming your grocery and eating-out costs the next. Bargain hunt for that new sofa you need. Don’t rush into a decision.
With anything, you can go nuts and create an unrealistic, legalistic set of rules to live by. You’ll crash and burn in no time. The point is to think about how you spend your money and to prioritize what’s important in your new life together as a married couple. Talk to each other regularly about your spending, your new lifestyle, and your dreams. Put away money to fund those dreams and don’t let the little daily expenses rob you of them.
I have subscribed to a number of my favorite stores or companies’ mailing lists to receive notices of sales and deals and to take advantage of mailing list coupons. This works out great most of the time. The only problem is I get weekly emails from the companies, and each seems to have a deal of the season every week. I’ve got to use my head. If I know I’m going to need some new threads, I’ll check out that newsletter. If the deal is sweet enough, I’ll think about it. If I don’t need any house ware items, I’m not even going to open it.
It’s easy to get addicted to finding deals and bargains. Anyone who’s shopped on eBay knows this. I could look at stuff on eBay for hours and not even get up to go to the bathroom. Similarly, deals found online may seem like ones you need to jump on immediately before they pass, but chances are you’ll find deals like that every day if you check. There will always be another airfare sale, end-of-the season bonanza, or limited-time combination deal.
The key is to keep a list (mental or physical) of items you need and only hunt for those. Limit the time you search for these to your lunch hour or the time you’re waiting on your spouse to come home from work. Time is money, too, so the time you waste scouring the web for stuff you don’t need is time away from setting up your new life together. It’s not worth it.
Next week: Eight Financial Tips for Newlweds
Adapted from Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot by Cara Davis. Used by permission of [RelevantBooks], copyright 2006 Cara Davis. All rights to this material are reserved.
Cara Davis, 27, is the editor of Radiant magazine and editorial director of Relevant Media Group. She planned her dream wedding in seven months for less than $5,000 in November 2003. Visit her website at cheapwaysto.com.
