Frugaling

Save more, live well, give generously

This Psychological Trick Will Reduce Your Online Shopping

By 12 Comments

Share This:

Cash Register Picture Online Shopping

The rise of online shopping

Amazon.com went live in 1995. The site quickly became the largest online retailer in the world. Bookstores have been decimated by shopping online and ebooks. The war has largely been fought, and the brick and mortar stores are disappearing. Aside from making it difficult to find a book at your local retailer, shopping online can be a tremendous convenience.

The gateway to online shopping starts with your 16-digit credit card (debit, gift card, etc.). After every order, you’ll be required to enter your shipping and billing addresses, contact information, and your payment method. Credit cards are wonderful tools for these online shops, and they’re safer due to complete fraud protection.

There’s just one problem: convenience can wreak havoc on a healthy budget.

Credit card numbers are easy to memorize

They do it. This is aided by websites that save your billing information for later purchases. For instance, Amazon.com — by default — tries to save your credit card details. Then, when you go shopping again, you’ll just be able to select the card. In seconds, you can have your new products. It’s so easy on Amazon.com that they even have a one-click buy button.

You do it. I’ve been shopping online for years, and noticed only quite recently that I memorized a couple of my 16-digit credit card numbers. How? Excessive purchases over the years, but also a training process. Unless you’ve lost your card, had it stolen, and/or suspect fraud, your number generally doesn’t change. If you’ve had a credit card for years, you have more exposure to the same digits. Memorization is made easy and purposeful.

Delay the purchase, reduce the urge

Research shows (and trust me, Amazon is listening to it) that aiding consumers in making impulse buys equals more money. If I can reduce the time and effort to make you spend, you’ll come back and spend more over time and in single sittings. Pretty awesome if you’re a Fortune 500 company with a near-$400 stock price! If you’re an average Joe or frugal Jane, this can mean trouble. Here’s a two-step solution to this problem:

“Lose” your credit card. The first step is to call the credit card company and tell them you can’t find your credit card — you’re worried you lost it. Once you do this, they will issue you a credit card with new numbers. This will restart the number learning process and delay new purchases online, as you’ll be able to think more critically. After all, critical thinking takes time — you owe it to yourself. Note: you won’t be able to use the card anymore — you’ll need a backup card for a week.

Delete your details. If you’re an Amazon.com shopper, delete your billing details off the website. You’ll have to add them again at a future purchase, but having the inconvenience may actually mean less money spent. Give yourself time to think, “Do I really need this?”

Memorizing a credit card number — as the retailer or consumer — is trouble for a delicate budget. This simple psychological trick of slowing your purchase down can significantly reduce your spending and keep you on track for a frugal future.

Minimalism: Nothing In My Pockets

By 9 Comments

Share This:

I quite fondly remember the days when I didn’t carry anything but a house key (on occasion). As a child, I didn’t have savings, cash to carry, pens, credit cards, IDs, etc. The world was no more dangerous than today, and my pockets were empty. I remember childhood adventures in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, finding trails and paths less wandered. Friends would tag along and we’d discover and explore, all without a single thing in our pockets. As I age, I can’t help but wonder why my pockets have grown heavier with stuff.

Nowadays, I feel like I’m unfurling and unloading a mass of “necessities.” My brain tells me that all of these things I carry will come in handy throughout the day. Like a good boy scout, always “be prepared.” I regularly carry headphones, a cell phone, multiple cards and ID’s, chapstick, keys, pens, and notes. My pockets are frequently burgeoning with stuff — strange shapes created.

I know I’m not the only one. My grandmother always said, “You should carry a little cash, just in case something happens.” Even in elementary school, she imparted this standard of living. She’d suggest, “What if you need a taxi because you got lost? Or, what if you needed food and hadn’t eaten?” Cash was an out — just in case an emergency occurred.

My professors will reach into their pockets to grab larger key chains, wallets, and cash sums. The jingle is louder and they seem to have amassed more. My peers carry their clutches, purses, wallets, and bags, too. Men and women of the working world carry their packs, bags, and briefcases for a long day’s work. I’m struck by how little we had to carry as children. We could instantly step out of the house; being “prepared” was a mental state, not physical.

Frequently, I fancy the minimalist life, and try to carry less, but I can’t help but notice a discrepancy. Here I am trying to become more frugal and minimalist, but I’m carrying more than ever before. Where does need become want? What do I really need with me every day? Should I follow my grandmother’s words and carry money everywhere I go, as if I’m waiting to be attacked?! Why could I get away with nothing more than a house key as a child?

It’s easy to justify the mass grab: I have more responsibilities as an adult. The decider and chief within me argues for the stuff. It says, “You’ll need your credit card in case you get hungry, need to pay for something randomly, or anything strange happens.” Even if I take the free bus into school, I’m invariably carrying my driver’s licence, school ID, and more. Will I need to hand over my ID? Probably not. What is it about becoming an adult that becomes the justification for my outsize growth in pocket dimensions?

There’s only one conclusion in my mind: We grasp for these crutches as adults, as the fear of death seems to grow. The world is no less safe, and yet I hold onto these safety measures (especially my phone). If I leave the house without this stuff, I feel more than naked — heck, I’d rather be naked!

But every now and then, there’s an intense pleasure, joy in leaving the house with nothing but a house key (sometimes without that, even). All the “adult” responsibilities that I carry seem to be left behind — just me and the world. It’s then that I realize how splendidly simple life can be, and that those childhood adventures are always waiting. After all, feeling prepared is an internal state, not a physical one.

I Am John Schmoll, Founder Of Frugal Rules, And This Is How I Work

By 12 Comments

Share This:

John Schmoll
John Schmoll

My grandparents were storytellers. I could sit down with any of them and become engrossed in their words. I loved their insight, experience, and thoughtfulness. That love of learning about others continues, and now I’ve been spending some time interviewing the best of the personal finance community (like the founders of Budgets Are Sexy, The Broke And Beautiful Life, and Modest Money).

Surprisingly, it’s a tight-knit group of writers and financial experts. Some are certified financial planners, while others (like me) are experts in another field. Today, I have the privilege of interviewing one of the top financial bloggers, John Schmoll from Frugal Rules. John graduated with upwards of $20,000 in credit card debt after college. That’s when he turned it all around, got an MBA, and worked in the financial services industry. I’m lucky to be able to share his thoughts and insights with you today!

What inspired you to begin FrugalRules.com?

That’s a good question Sam. It really all started as I was looking for a way to be able to talk with others about money. I had just left my job to help my wife run our business and was missing talking about money all day with others. I had been in the financial services industry for roughly 15 years, in various capacities. That’s how it was born. From there, I just started looking for a good domain name and shortly after Frugal Rules was born.

How did people (friends, family, etc.) react when you first started?

Honestly, most of my family thought it was somewhat comical. I have absolutely no technical experience to speak of and have never done anything online in terms of business. They thought I’d either give up due to lack of time or get frustrated with it and throw in the towel. I just took it as a challenge to show that I could do it. 🙂

What was your experience with design, code, web work prior to starting your site?

Frugal Rule Website Screenshot
A screenshot of FrugalRules.com

Lol, absolutely zilch. My wife had a bit of design knowledge and that’s stretching it quite a bit. Because of that it was a bit of a challenge designing the site, but I was happy to just get something that worked. This is something I want and need to change going forward though…I just need to get started on it. 😉

What advice would you give to those thinking about starting their own site?

Find what you’re passionate about and go after that so you can establish your “voice.” You could write about many a number of things, but you want it to be something you care about otherwise it’s going to be a challenge. Beyond that, be prepared for some serious time and effort to make a go of it. The writing is the easy part, it’s the technical things, networking, and building relationships that take time. There are many bloggers out there and in order to make some decent headway you need to be able to make connections and get your name out there. The great thing is that many other PF bloggers out there are nice people and more than willing to help. Just remember that it’s a give and take kind of relationship though and really you should be more on the giving end of things than anything else.

Other than that, I say be yourself. Readers can tell when you’re being genuine and if you’re being yourself it’ll likely come out in your writing. Lastly, don’t get into blogging because of the money. Yes, you can make money blogging, but it takes a lot of time to get to that level and many that start out simply to make money most often give up out of frustration.

How do you make money from your site?

I make money from the site in a number of ways: affiliate advertising, freelance writing, and blog writing through our business. Now that I have a blog, we’re able to pitch blog writing to a number of our clients and we get to sign them on for that all because of Frugal Rules.

I also just started a new site recently with my friend Grayson (Debt Roundup), Sprout Wealth, where we plan to do some of the same things. Other than that, I’m looking to buy other websites to add to what I’m already doing.

What do you think you’ve learned from your readers and fans?

I’ve learned a ton from the community over at Frugal Rules, but it essentially comes down to seeing that we all come from different walks of life and that will color our view of money. I had seen that on one level in my last corporate job, but that was strictly with investments. I know it may sound cheesy, but I’ve seen first hand how there are many shades of gray when it comes to finances. There are a few things that can go across the board, but beyond that there are many things which can be done differently.

How can somebody in lower incomes best overcome financial hurdles and prosper?

Start tracking everything you spend. It sucks and is contrary to what we hear preached to us in our culture, but watch how you’re spending your money. Do that for a few months and see what mistakes you’re making and commit to changing. That could also mean starting to budget and, if so, find something that works for you and run with it. Beyond that, look for ways to can create additional sources of income through things like side gigs. Pair that cash with your lower expenses and you’ll greatly increase your chances of climbing out of that.

Who are your financial role models?

That’s a tough one. I don’t know that there is really one or two people out there that stick out to me. What really inspires me is seeing people who make a modest income that are able to really put themselves ahead financially. I got to see that a number of times in my past and was always challenged to see people who made very little, relatively speaking, that were rocking it with their saving and investing. That is what I aspire to do no matter how much we’re bringing in each year.

What personal finance sites do you read?

There are so many good sites out there that it’s really difficult to narrow it down to a small selection of blogs that I visit. My taste is pretty eclectic, but here are a few of the ones I go to on a regular basis:

Club Thrifty
Budgets Are Sexy
The Heavy Purse

And a few others that I’ve really been digging lately are:

Living Rich Cheaply
Broke Millennial

What else would you care to share with the readers of Frugaling?

First off, I’d like to thank you Sam for asking me to do this interview! In terms of your readers, my encouragement is to remember that finances are personal. We all have different goals in life and that is going to mean different things for different people. Just remember to make sure you’re doing all you can to make your money work for you as opposed to being enslaved to it.

Want to read more interviews like this one? Read the entire interview series here!

My Costly Battle With Indigestion

By 7 Comments

Share This:

legumes beans indigestion dyspeptic

Disclaimer: This is about physical wellness and health. Words like diarrhea, dyspepsia, and bloating are frequently used. Leave now or forever hold your peace. Enjoy!

The other day I was sitting in class as my stomach erupted with a sound straight out of Alien vs. Predator. It reminded me of just how long I’ve struggled to reduce and take control of my body. The journey began years ago.

It was 8th grade when I realized that I was regularly suffering from severe gas, bloating, and indigestion. Middle school was hard enough — what with all that acne, puberty, and transition to adulthood stuff. During that hormonal time, I also concluded something was very wrong with my stomach. I felt like an internal chemistry experiment.

Where’s the nearest bathroom?

This began a 12-year adventure to figure out what was wrong with me. My peers seemed to be fine, and didn’t struggle like I did (or at least, didn’t let me know). My search for the trouble began with a routine look at possible allergies. Milk, nuts, wheat?

That investigation was easy. One day I decided to pour a full glass of milk and drink that on an empty stomach. The results were uncomfortable, and conclusive. As someone with European heritage and a Jewish background, it was a quick conclusion of lactose intolerance. My, how mildly I’ve described the effects! If I had ice cream, milk products, or something suspiciously milky, I’d pop a Lactase pill — delivering the necessary enzyme to tackle this issue. The solution was an inexpensive box for about $15 a month.

Everyone poops classic books
One of my favorite classics: Everyone Poops

It’s only milk, right?

My indigestion had long ruled me. I would escape to the bathroom whenever I could, and big groups became difficult when I was hurting from cramps. Having this fix felt right, and I felt freed. My troubles appeared to be over, and I was ready to move on to a less dyspeptic life of bliss.

Unfortunately, the solution didn’t stick. Over time, my stomach continued to decline. That’s when I tried a new product: Beano. The popular, over-the-counter medicine targets highly fibrous vegetables and legumes. Another experiment: I ate a bunch of broccoli and then took a pill. No dice. I was a bubbling, effervescent, gas-filled container waiting to explode. I kept buying Beano for a few months, just in case it might take some time to improve my digestive abilities. Between the Beano and Lactase, I was spending about $30 per month on dietary help.

Talk to me Google, what should I do?

Despite proactive dieting and medicines, I found no panacea and continued to struggle. If you visit Google and search for “indigestion” or “diarrhea” or “upset stomach,” you’ll get billions of results. Websites will provide conclusions such as bowel cancer, gastrointestinal blockage, allergies, gluten intolerance, and many more. Medical tip: If you’ve ever been prone to paranoia, avoid searching for medical illnesses on the Internet.

Numerous articles recommended probiotics. They seemed fairly harmless, and I decided to pick up some pills. Over the period of a month, I took acidophilus pearls. The probiotics began to help and I grew confident in my ability to digest normal foods. I wasn’t worried about my timing of foods versus group work.

Like many of my previous attempts, the positives began to disappear over time and the money seemed like a waste. I decided to stop buying them after a while, but I had probably spent a couple hundred dollars over the years. Every attempt seemed to have another financial burden.

giphy

I’m like the Goodyear blimp, without the view

That’s when I took my bloated self to a doctor for the first time. I described the symptoms, and he cautiously concluded that I may have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Like a dagger to the stomach, I was well aware of what this meant.

Studies estimate IBS affects 3 to 20 percent of the adult population, with most studies ranging from 10 to 15 percent. –NIH

IBS is a fairly common health concern. It’s essentially a catchall that includes bloating, gas, pain, discomfort, and inconsistent stools (aka, poops). Unfortunately, there’s no clear etiology or solution. While there are plenty of potential management options, consistency can be hard to find. Watch out for high fiber… Watch out for high fat… Watch out for simple sugars. Many “answers,” with few clear remedies, solutions, or permanent fixes.

The final remedy was in my attitude, head

After hundreds — possibly thousands — of dollars spent on remedies and doctors’ offices, I realized a very simple fact: my stomach sucks and the indigestion is often stress-induced. Unfortunately, I only learned this after a journey that cost me plenty.

Medical complications can add up quickly. My measly tummy trouble is no different. While I continue to struggle during particularly stressful periods and/or eating gluttonously, I know that the remedy is not a pill away. Rather, the fix is in my head, working with the stress and anxiety associated with my schedule. Also, see how mindfulness can help.

Best Of

Recent Posts

Follow