Cutting Costs Doesn’t Equal Cold Turkey

This is a guest post of Sarah Harris of Zen College Life.

In these tough economic times, it behooves us all to cut back on our spending, and that usually starts with extras like eating out, going to movies, and splurges at our favorite stores. But let’s face it, all work and no play makes Jane a dull girl. Nobody likes depriving themselves of all their favorite activities, and many of us can only hold out for so long before we break and go way overboard with our bad spending habits. So how can you continue to have fun when you’re forced to be frugal?

There are all sorts of ways. Suppose you’re the type that hates to hang around a hot kitchen, preferring a different brand of take-out every night. Sorry to say, curbing your tendency to eat out is the number one way to cut your budget. But you don’t have to lose the social interaction (or the getting-someone-else-to-cook-for-you part). You can compromise by having a pot-luck dinner once a week. Have all your friends come over (with a dish to feed a few) and you’ll likely have more fun than you would at a restaurant. Plus, as the host, you needn’t cook at all. You can provide the venue and appetizers (and it couldn’t hurt to throw in some vino). Ditto on movies. Wait for your favorites to come out on DVD or On Demand and then invite some friends over to watch on your flat-screen. If you’re paying for the rental, have them bring theater-like snacks. You sure won’t miss the crowded lines and crying kids.

As for shopping, being frugal is not as hard as you might think. Sure we would all like to be mega-wealthy fashionistas like the girls on Sex In The City, but remember that celebrities get those $5,000 handbags for free! The rest of us can settle for knock-offs and look just as good. Or take a lesson from Jennifer Hudson in the first film and rent a designer bag from www.bagborroworsteal.com. Furthermore, disabuse yourself of the notion that you have to go to the thrift store to find deals. Many stores now carry lower-cost designer brands that are specifically intended for their outlets, like the Vera Wang and LC Lauren Conrad collections at Kohl’s and the Zac Posen and Isaac Mizrahi lines at Target. Now even the most frugal of shoppers can still enjoy a designer label (and at a fraction of the cost).

Living a more frugal lifestyle will certainly mean making some sacrifices, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have just as much fun. In the long run, going cold turkey on the things you love will probably only backfire and leave you worse off than before. So rather than deprive yourself, invest some time and effort into finding cost-cutting alternatives that work for you.

Guest post by: Sarah Harris of Zen College Life where you can find online colleges and browse top nursing schools.