Holly Ordway is a thirty-year-old technical writer in San Diego who lives on less than $35,000 a year. With a husband. And a cat. Collectively, they make a six-figure income (except for the cat) but choose to live beneath their means, stay debt-free, and save.

She was labeled an "extreme saver" by CNN, who profiled her story. Ordway had about $10,000 in school loans that she paid off in one year. She and her husband opt to rent instead of pay a mortgage so they can move about the country at will.

She has no tricks, gimmicks, or trendy ways of generating cash. She simply spends as little as possible and saves the rest. But theirs is not a miserly existence. She’s an avid fencer who competes on a national level. The couple’s apartment sports a home theater system with a large-screen television and surround sound to accompany their two hundred-plus DVD collection. Sound frivolous? Ordway reviews DVDs for an online website that sends her the movies for free. What she doesn’t review she picks up with her $25 worth of points she earns each month paying her expenses on an Amazon.com Visa card (which the couple pays off each month). They have only one car and choose to live near one partner’s workplace for a driveless commute.

Ordway says there’s no formula or secret method to living beneath your means. "It’s all about having the right principles and putting them into action on a day-to-day basis," she told CNN. "It’s like losing weight: there’s no real quick-fix diet that works in the long run. You might shed a few pounds with the fad diet du jour, but to keep the weight off, the only method that works reliably is no secret: a healthy, varied diet with minimal processed foods and plenty of exercise."

She admits that’s a bitter pill for many people to swallow. "We all want quick fixes, and it can be hard to face up to the fact that if we want to change for the better, it’s a long-term process." That long-term process doesn’t have to be painful. "I don’t think most people quite realize the payoff that you get from living below your means," she continues. "Because of my good spending habits, I can afford to pay for the things I really enjoy, and I don’t have to feel guilty or anxious about it. It’s not about suffering ... not at all! But that idea runs so much in counter to mainstream ideas about saving and spending (as captured in the phrase ‘scrimping and saving’) that it seems like I must have a ‘secret.’"

Ordway writes about spending, saving, investing, and living simply on her website/blog, Spending Wisely (www.spendingwisely.com). She regularly reviews books on finance and writes articles full of tips on living beneath your means. As you go from your dream wedding to setting up your household, here are some ways she purports you can change your lifestyle and actually enjoy the benefits money can bring.