Frugaling

Save more, live well, give generously

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Popular
    • Archives
  • Recommended
  • Contact
  • Save Money
    • Lifestyle Downgrade
    • Save Money with Mindfulness
    • Save at Starbucks
    • Psychological Trick To Reduce Your Online Shopping
    • Best Freebies
  • Minimalism
    • 8 TED Talks To Become A Minimalist
    • We Rent This Life
    • Everything Must Go
    • Lifestyle Downgrade
    • The Purchase Paradox: Wanting, Until You Own It
    • Nothing In My Pockets
  • Social Justice
    • Destroy The 40-Hour Workweek
    • Too Poor To Protest: Income Inequality
    • The New Rich: How $250k A Year Became Middle Class
    • Hunter Gatherers vs. 21st Century Desk-sitters
  • Make Money
    • Make $10k in 10 Months
    • Monetize Your Blog
    • Side Hustle for Serious Cash
  • Loans
    • 5 Rules To Follow Before Accepting Student Loans
    • Would You Marry Me?
    • Should I Have a Credit Card If I’m In Debt?
    • $50k in Scholarships in 70 Minutes

It’s Time! Frugaling Goes Ad Free!

By Frugaling 29 Comments

Share This:

Welcome to the new, ad-free Frugaling!

I woke up early this morning from a dream. In it, my brother and I were playing basketball. For some reason, he was dressed head to toe in a cheap Power Rangers outfit. As he helplessly tried to shoot the ball in the basket, his superhero mask would flop and fall in his face. It completely distracted him. At one point he tripped over himself when trying to make a shot. Frustrated, he continued to do the same thing without taking off the mask.

Then, my eyes opened. It was 5 AM and I couldn’t get back to bed. Something was restless inside me. With this newfound time, I decided to check the comments on Frugaling.

I saw a new one and eagerly read through it. The commenter said she had just read my book. She called it “interesting” and “inspirational.” I was flattered and humbled that she took the time to read my book, visit the site, and write a comment. But as I continued reading, I realized she was also writing a critique.

She was disappointed to see advertising on this site.

At first, like so many times in my life, I got defensive. Here’s what it sounded like in my head: “Who are you to tell me what I can and can’t put on my site? What would you do if you had five figures in debt and never wanted to live that way again? Google ads don’t even pay that well! It’s not liking I’m rolling in money because those little things.”

After my head exploded, I calmed down and read the comment again. She had a point. On one hand I was advocating for anti-consumption, critical personal finance, minimalism, and frugality. On the other, I was hawking advertisements (and have been since the beginning).

Was I being a hypocrite?
Was I not being true to my own values?
Was I living a lie?
Was I contributing to other people’s consumption by hosting ads?

The answers weren’t pretty: yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Sometimes commenters are dead wrong, confused, and/or seemingly typing while tripping on LSD. Those are easy to ignore. But challenging messages are usually my favorite. They force me to think and react – to qualify and justify my reasoning in life.

While not always right, I aim to do better. I look for these moments and embrace them.

This commenter had struck a chord with me. She highlighted something I’ve long wanted but waited to do: remove the advertisements. I’ve hesitated because income on Google ads has been enough to pay web hosting and domain name fees – basics for any website. Additionally, they’ve helped me pay for ancillary costs associated with running a business (i.e., extra tax help, software, etc.).

Those fees and costs remain. Until another company releases a completely free (of hidden costs and ads) domain names and hosting, it’s going to cost hundreds of dollars each year to run. But the advertisements cannot remain.

Today, I’m taking a risk and officially announcing that Frugaling is now free from ads! That means no pesky advertising trackers or Google boxes anywhere. Nothing will be adapting and changing to your buying/surfing habits. That’s the way it should be – void of third-party distractions that encourage people to spend more.

The Internet is chock full of advertisements predicting your next move, purchase, and trip. Rather than add to the noise, I want Frugaling to be an oasis. And my writings and website should host congruent values.

There are more ways to make an income than ads, and I’m hoping you agree. I no longer want to contribute to that system. I’m hoping you’ll help me in this ad-free endeavor. There are various ways to support me: share and spread your favorite articles, buy the new book, or make a donation.

It’s time to take off the distractions.

How do you feel when websites have ads?
What do you think of authors who accept money to write stories?
How should writers make money?

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: ads, advertisements, advertising, anti-consumption, book, Consumerism, donate, Google, Income, Marketing

Be Your Own Brand Ambassador, Not Someone Else’s

By Frugaling 13 Comments

Share This:

Buy things you don't need with money you don't have to impress

Please don’t make me wear the banana costume

My first job was for a smoothie company. I worked that summer selling overpriced juices of all sorts. One day they asked me to put on the infamous banana costume. I could immediately feel my face redden with embarrassment. I dreaded the outfit, and couldn’t understand why the company dressed employees like this and traipsed them out into the blazing summer heat to give away samples.

I was a lowly employee and only 16-years-old. I pretended to embrace the outfit and marched out the doors. I walked along the sidewalk, as passersby laughed and mocked me. It was the height of my acne days, too. My was face reddened and cracked from medications. The banana outfit framed my puberty perfectly. Then, a friend from high school strolled on by and took a picture of me. I was mortified.

A logo was emblazoned onto the banana costume, along with the polo shirt I wore underneath. The smoothie company owned space on my body, and I hated it.

Brand ambassador programs pay you to promote

When I entered college, I noticed numerous job opportunities to become a “brand ambassador.” These positions afforded students a little spending money to promote companies on campus. Marketing realized a simple idea: peers sell product better than television and Internet ads. If you can buy the peers, you have explosive earnings potential.

Both Amazon and Apple, for example, have brand ambassador programs. Oftentimes, their students are required to hold campus events, meet with administrators, and directly appeal to students on campus. They’re are expected to wear merchandise to represent the brand, use the hardware, and promote the products every chance they get.

These people get paid to use and advertise products they would already love! Then, companies benefit from greater revenue and influence on campus. It’s a win-win for companies and ambassadors.

Many of us market for free

Most of us are brand ambassadors for free; in fact, we pay companies to advertise for them. The bitten Apple logo beams brightly throughout many classrooms these days. It cost me thousands of dollars for the pleasure to share that brand.

People casually display their affinity, and few notice what they’re doing. Sperry Topsiders are paired with Ralph Lauren shorts and a Lacoste polo shirt. It’s easily a $300 look that feels like a walking billboard for spendthrift teens and college students.

iPhones are close at hand, and the iconic white headphones are jammed into ear canals. The world is dampened, but our senses are constantly exposed to others’ purchases. Ugg boots used to be everywhere — they’ve been replaced by Hunter rain boots. Both have well-positioned logos at the heel. Anybody walking behind them could see what they should buy next.

In wealthier places — whether college campuses or metropolitan areas — products are meant to be aspirational. Companies work tirelessly to frame their wares as synonymous with success. To wear and promote a brand is meant to be special — only afforded to the few.

Diesel, Armani Exchange, Coach, Gucci, and countless others are made “cool” by a society that accepts and loves brand ambassadorship. We just can’t help it! We’ve been socialized to appreciate the “unique” — logos just help us buy them faster.

Shed the logos and brands

I don’t want to be a walking billboard anymore. I don’t want people to ask me what brand I’m wearing. I don’t want people to be inspired by what I wear, and buy similar. Strangely enough, I’m also wired to feel flattered by their interest. Quite a conundrum.

Over the last couple years, I cleared out my closet of many aspirational and brand name clothing with gigantic logos. I don’t want to be someone else’s brand ambassador — especially without a regular paycheck. I want to be my own brand ambassador.

I want you to get to know me — the person within the clothes. I want you to meet me, not a terrifyingly large logo of a horse carrying a polo stick. More importantly, I want to see who you are. So, cover up the logos, rid your closet of excess brand stamps, and find your own look.

Filed Under: Minimalism, Save Money Tagged With: Amazon, ambassador, Apple, brands, buying, Consumerism, iPhones, logos, Wealth

The Hilarity Of Rarity

By Frugaling 5 Comments

Share This:

Diamonds. Photo by Kim Alaniz/Flickr

“Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”
–Friedrich Nietzsche

Expensive things are expensive, not rare

Blast your headphones. Blare the bass. Feel the vibrations reverberate through your skull. There’s no limit with Beats by Dre. You’ll pull them off before you reach their volume limit. Plus, they come with a classy little “b” on the side. You can walk, sit, run, fly, drive, and stand while advertising your brand awareness. Flaunt your auditory know-how right on your head. Just don’t look at the price tag for these headphones. They’ll cost you about $200-300 for a pair, but only cost $14 to manufacture.

Feel that torque pulverizing your spinal cord like a belly flop gone amuck? Yeah, that’s the benefit of an expensive car. See the smoking tires as you peel away from that red light? Yeah, you’re burning precious fossil fuels and aiding the world on its campaign to melt the poles. How fast is your 0-60? Yeah, you’ll be the fastest around in the Ferrari LaFerrari. You get all this for the low price of $1.3 million. Get yours today — they’re rare!

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend; at least, that’s what the movies/commercials say! Save room on that ring finger for the biggest rock affordable. Whether questionably procured or straight-up from conflict zones, diamonds can be yours. Despite being hugely manipulated and controlled by oligopolies, you can find these at your local stone store. Supply is limited (by design)!

What makes something rare?

The definition of “rare” includes words like uncommon, unusual, and unusually great. Unfortunately, the word has been perverted into a capitalistic, pro-consumer line. The word’s true value has been emptied, cashed in, and abused by corporate giants. They’ve stolen the word – appropriating it for their own profits.

From art that puts a clever 1 of 100 (1/100) number on the bottom to limited-edition, gold-plated Apple Watches to limited-production Ferraris, we live in a world that finds rarity in everything. What an oxymoron – rarity in everything!

Perceptions are essential. Items of greater perceived rarity are lusted after and purchased for tremendous margins. We crave that which another cannot have.

The diamond industry artificially manipulates supply to affect perceived rarity. They buy up everything can they find, squash competition, and throttle a market. It’s entirely artificial.

We must re-evaluate rarity

We are struggling under a curling wave. The light is blotted out. Oxygen is low. And when we look up, we can’t tell if it’s the seabed or sky. Our senses have been manipulated for too long.

This is the hilarity of rarity: we experience vertigo to this perversion of rarity. Capitalism teaches a fundamental lesson: more expensive goods are “rare.” But we need to stop letting companies set the bar, agenda, and price of rarity. We need to empower ourselves, and destroy these twisted messages.

1. Rarity won’t be found in a material good

Take the aforementioned examples. Companies know how to frame a photo, pose a model, and sell you whatever they want. Material goods are not rare; in fact, they’re everywhere. The “rare” Ferraris are only a carefully constructed marketing ploy to make us buy more.

Let’s get fed up with this trickery. These companies are manipulating us. How long will we let them purposely confuse our natural understanding of rarity for their own gains? I say we end today.

2. Rarity won’t cost you a thing

It’s rare to see someone pull over in their car and stop for a lost dog. It’s rare to see someone sit next to a homeless person and hear his or her story. It’s rare for people to reflect on their privilege and be humbled. It’s rare to feel truly content with a career.

Unlike something with a price tag, these rarities are worth your time. By choosing to pursue life’s rarities rather than Apple Inc’s, you’ll suddenly realize what you were missing. It’s time we say goodbye to petty price tags and open our hearts to the people around us. Let’s make some rare moments, together.

3. Rarity won’t be advertised

Walk out your door, and you’re sure to encounter the walls and screens painted with advertisements. It’s sanitized and approved. It’s primped and primed. It’s made to make us buy.

Nothing advertised is needed. Think about it briefly, and you’ll realize you never see marketing campaigns for air and tap water (aside from clean air and water). Companies know that there aren’t profits in these basic resources – true needs. They’ve moved on to the unnecessary.

In the movement to re-evaluate rarity, we must carry this message with us every day: rarity won’t be advertised. Rarity is out in the world, away from this screen. Go make it happen.

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: Advertise, advertisements, Beats, Cars, Companies, Consumerism, diamonds, Ferrari, Marketing, rare, rarity

Ownership Isn’t Real, We Rent This Life

By Frugaling 41 Comments

Share This:

Manhattan Beach Ocean Photo

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
–Lao Tzu

There was a time when I could describe exactly what my life would look like in 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. It felt so grown up and reassuring. I was the man with the plan.

There was a time when I envisioned a beautiful home with a yard. It had windows overlooking an ocean. It’d be mine. I could wake up to it every day.

There was a time when I owned a car and wanted to buy an even nicer one. I held my smartphone, but wanted a newer one. I was obsessed with latest upgrades and features.

There was a time when I looked at my ratty spiral notebook and needed a chic Moleskine. Imagine what it would be like to write in those acid-free pages and flip open that iconic cover.

Largely, those days of desire without logical reason are dying out. I’m no longer urgently pursuing or planning for material possessions. Nowadays, the white picket fence isn’t for me, and I’ve finally realized why.

Life is exceptionally fragile and short. Think about it, our 70, 80, or 90 years represent but a fraction of the Earth’s existence. We are little blips on this planet, and unrecognizably small objects within this solar system, galaxy, and universe.

From the time we exit the womb, we are bombarded with messages that demand our attention. They don’t stop until we do. All five of our senses are put into warp drive, as they begin to process everything around us. Despite our relative insignificance, we cling to material goods and messages — buying whatever we can afford and socking away the rest for rainy days.

These messages beg us to consume, own, and carve out space. They tell us that, with maturity and income, you should own a residence. We are expected — from employers to families to spouses — to buy a car to get to work. But ownership is a figment of our capitalistic imaginations. In this economy, it’s easy to be pulled into a mental trap of expectations and hopes for a possessive future.

Each step countering the current culture of consumption is like running into a 50-mph headwind — you’re not moving fast. Bucking the status quo means isolating yourself from society’s expectations of amassing wealth. But the reality is we don’t own anything — ever. I mean it!

We are simply temporary custodians — holders — of physical objects that we lug around. We fill containers, storage warehouses, and entire homes with stuff. We bear witness to various forms of mass, but all fade — like us. Even the most prized possessions will transfer to someone else or perish. No matter how much home and life insurance we take out, we will eventually pass away.

Truthfully, we rent this life. It’s not solely ours to destroy, abuse, love, and cherish. We share this rental with everyone. Any rental necessitates respect. Destroy another’s property or object, and you’ll be on the hook to replace and/or fix it.

There’s more to life than amassing more than thy neighbor. Forego the mortgages, down payments, and constant maintenance. Choose a life that honors and recognizes everyone. When we rent this life, we recognize that we are just maintaining it for future generations.

Filed Under: Minimalism Tagged With: apartment, Capitalism, Consumerism, house, Life, minimal, Minimalism, ocean, rent, view

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe

Best Of

  • The New Rich: How $250k A Year Became Middle Class
    The New Rich: How $250k A Year Became Middle Class
  • My Low-Income Lifestyle
    My Low-Income Lifestyle
  • Who Are Your Financial Role Models?
    Who Are Your Financial Role Models?
  • What Are The Best Sites For Freebies?
    What Are The Best Sites For Freebies?
  • The Real Reason Poor People Can’t Save
    The Real Reason Poor People Can’t Save
  • The Frugal Guide To Buying A Used Car
    The Frugal Guide To Buying A Used Car

Recent Posts

  • How to Pay Off Medical Debt
  • 5 Ways to Save Money Before a New Baby
  • 4 Ways to Save Money on Streaming Services
  • 5 Ways to Save Thousands in Mortgage Interest
  • Why Professional Maintenance on Your Vehicle Saves You Money in the Long Run

Search

Archives

  • January 2023 (1)
  • March 2022 (3)
  • February 2022 (2)
  • November 2021 (1)
  • October 2021 (2)
  • August 2021 (4)
  • July 2021 (5)
  • June 2021 (3)
  • May 2021 (2)
  • January 2021 (2)
  • December 2020 (2)
  • October 2020 (2)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (3)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • May 2020 (2)
  • April 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (2)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • November 2019 (5)
  • September 2019 (4)
  • August 2019 (1)
  • June 2019 (1)
  • May 2019 (1)
  • April 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (3)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • January 2019 (3)
  • December 2018 (1)
  • September 2018 (2)
  • July 2018 (1)
  • June 2018 (2)
  • May 2018 (1)
  • April 2018 (5)
  • March 2018 (6)
  • February 2018 (4)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (10)
  • November 2017 (3)
  • July 2017 (2)
  • June 2017 (5)
  • May 2017 (2)
  • April 2017 (8)
  • March 2017 (4)
  • February 2017 (3)
  • January 2017 (2)
  • December 2016 (2)
  • November 2016 (4)
  • October 2016 (2)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (4)
  • July 2016 (1)
  • June 2016 (3)
  • May 2016 (3)
  • April 2016 (4)
  • March 2016 (5)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (2)
  • December 2015 (3)
  • November 2015 (5)
  • October 2015 (5)
  • September 2015 (4)
  • August 2015 (6)
  • July 2015 (8)
  • June 2015 (6)
  • May 2015 (14)
  • April 2015 (14)
  • March 2015 (13)
  • February 2015 (12)
  • January 2015 (15)
  • December 2014 (10)
  • November 2014 (5)
  • October 2014 (6)
  • September 2014 (7)
  • August 2014 (12)
  • July 2014 (11)
  • June 2014 (12)
  • May 2014 (16)
  • April 2014 (13)
  • March 2014 (13)
  • February 2014 (9)
  • January 2014 (20)
  • December 2013 (9)
  • November 2013 (18)
  • October 2013 (15)
  • September 2013 (11)
  • August 2013 (11)
  • July 2013 (27)
  • June 2013 (18)
  • May 2013 (16)

Best Of

  • The New Rich: How $250k A Year Became Middle Class
  • My Low-Income Lifestyle
  • Who Are Your Financial Role Models?

Recent Posts

  • How to Pay Off Medical Debt
  • 5 Ways to Save Money Before a New Baby
  • 4 Ways to Save Money on Streaming Services

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in