We were first introduced to open source software in 2005 by a cousin who works in the computer industry. He told us there was a group of people who believed that computer software should be available to anyone who wanted or needed it to freely use, develop and share, and that people had developed completely free alternatives to programs like Photoshop and Microsoft Office. At first it seemed too good to be true, but we soon saw for ourselves and have now been able to save hundreds of dollars on our home office computer. Below are some of the popular programs that we use or have used in the past.

Software

• Open Office
  The Open Office Suite is similar to the Microsoft Office Suite. There is a word processor (Writer), spreadsheet (Calc), drawing (Draw), database (Base), presentation (Impress). There’s even a math program for doing math calculations, but I don’t really understand or have much need for it. You have a choice of installing all the programs or just the ones that you need – i.e. we just use Writer, Calc and Draw. While Open Office is not quite as fancy and aesthetically pleasing as the Microsoft programs, they are more than capable of most everyday and business tasks. We use the Calc program for accounting and taxes, Draw for drafting patterns for our dog clothing designs, and Writer for letters, invoices, coupons, etc.
• Thunderbird
  For email, I recommend Thunderbird, which is a great alternative to the Microsoft Outlook email program. Like Outlook, it has filtering, junk mail control, etc. You can install the calendar add-on Lightning if you need/want it. The Sunbird calendar program is also available as a separate program if you don’t use Thunderbird or prefer not to use add-ons.
• Foxit
  Foxit is a pdf reader similar to Adobe Acrobat Reader with annotation features such as highlighting, drawing graphics and typing text, and conversion to plain text.
• Filezilla
  Filezilla is a nice and easy to use FTP program. I use it for working on my Zen Cart and WordPress sites, which is much easier than uploading through my webhosting browser ftp.
• The GIMP
  The GIMP is a graphics program and a Photoshop alternative of sorts. This program isn’t as advanced as Photoshop, but is probably competent enough for the average casual user for basic photo touch-ups or graphics. (We use Adobe Photshop Elements for our business graphics and photos.)

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In modern times where the spending of money is oftentimes equated with power and status, the word “frugal” or “frugality” seems to carry an almost negative connotation and be associated with stinginess or miserliness (if you look it up in a thesaurus). However, if we go back to the actual definition and etymology (origins) of the word, we see that frugality is really a positive trait and nothing to be at all ashamed of.

“Frugal” or “frugality” is defined as “characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources”, “prudence in avoiding waste”, and “prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful”.

The word frugal descends from the Latin frugalis, which has been associated with words such as “virtue” or “virtuous,” “honest,” “worthy,” “deserving,” “useful,” “thrifty,” “simple,” “profit” or “profitable,” “value” or “valuable,” “economical,” “temperate,” “sober,” and also “fruit” from frux or fructus, the root of the word “fruitful” which is defined as “yielding,” “profitable,” “productive” or “producing abundantly.”

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These days, most companies (including banks and utility companies) have websites and online payment options. Those that don’t often accept payments by phone. If you are still using snail mail to pay your bills each month, you could be saving $60 or more, depending your number of bills, each year by switching to payments by internet or phone. Consider the following example:

Our monthly household bills look something like this: electric, gas, water & sanitation, 2 mortgages, cell phone, home insurance, auto insurance, 2 credit cards – an average of 10 bills per month. The cost of a first-class postage stamp is $0.41 ($0.42 starting May 12, 2008), and the cost of a personal check for us is about $0.07. (Since the companies usually provide the envelopes, we won’t count the cost of an envelope.) So the cost of mailing one bill is $0.48. At 10 bills a month, that amounts to $4.80 a month, and a total savings of $57.60 each year. A larger household with children and more bills could save even more than this.

If the company doesn’t have a website, it usually has a toll-free number you can call to pay by phone. Some companies allow you to set up automatic monthly charges to your credit card or withdrawals from your bank account, which could save you a lot of time.

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In every online discussion I have seen about credit cards, there are always at least a few contributors whose only comments are “Credit cards are evil” or “No credit card is best”, etc. This post is mostly for those people.

For several years, we also believed that credit cards were bad, having been thus informed by our stepfather, a compulsive spender who is constantly in debt. But over the past few years, we have learned that credit cards are actually a good thing and provide many benefits and advantages:

• Building Credit History
  If you plan on buying a car or house in future, chances are that you will need a loan, and if you have no credit history, it can be difficult to get a good interest rate on a loan. Interest rates make a huge difference in the amount you end up paying or saving. Credit cards, if used responsibly, are a good and easy way to build a good credit history, which can ultimately save you thousands of dollars.

• Tracking spending
  Credit card statements provide an good way to track and analyze your spending habits. By charging all your purchases, you will have a printed statement of where every dollar has gone, a useful too for budgeting.

• Safer than carrying cash
  If you carry a lot of cash and lose your wallet, you can usually assume that money gone forever. If you mostly use your credit card and carry very little cash though, all you have to do is call the credit card company as soon as you discover the loss and you won’t be liable for any unauthorized charges to the card.

• Backup for emergencies
  Credit cards can be a backup source of funds for emergencies when you don’t have cash on hand. Though these should be true emergencies and not things like “fashion emergencies”.

And best of all, the reason we use our credit cards whenever and wherever we can:

• Credit cards can earn you money
  Credit cards can “make” you money in 2 ways:
  • There are many cards out there that earn you cash back or rewards. Some earn you as much as 5% cash back on grocery, drugstore and gas purchases. If you get a card with no annual fee (there are many out there), use it responsibly for regular purchases (not cash advances), and pay your balance in full every month, you can earn money without paying a cent to the credit card company. We have an American Express Blue Cash Credit Card that earned us over $300 cash back last year.
  • In addition to the cash back, credit cards also earn you money by allowing you keep your money in the bank longer. Depending on your billing cycle, you can charge your purchases and bills to a credit card and your money can sit in the bank earning interest for up to 6 more weeks. For example, our propane bill was due on January 30, 2008. Our credit card billing cycle ends on the 28th of each month. If we charge our bill to our credit card on the Jan. 30, 2008, it goes on the new billing cycle which ends on February 28, 2008, and the due date for that billing cycle is in mid-March 2008. So the money for that propane bill that was due and paid on Jan. 30, 2008 won’t actually leave our bank account until 6 weeks later. That’s 6 extra weeks of interest on money that would have left your account immediately had you paid by cash or check.

These are just a few basic reasons we use and approve of credit cards. However, if you know that you won’t be able to control your spending, then perhaps it is better to not go this route. If you need advice on applying for credit cards, visit your bank or credit union and someone can usually recommend a good card for you and help you with the application.

Continue reading for tips on choosing the right card and a few tips for safe and responsible credit card use.

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Each time I have gone to the grocery store (every 2-4 weeks) in the past few months, prices have been higher than my previous visit. For two consecutive months, our propane company has raised the cost of propane – first from $2.58 per gallon, to $3.10 2 months ago, to $3.32 this month. Our cable internet subscription went from $45 a month to $55 this month. Our home insurance policy rate increased by $50 dollars at our last renewal in November 2007.

With the economy in its present state, there is a sudden surge of interest in frugality, the practice of prudent economy and avoidance of waste (of money or resources). Having been practicing the frugal lifestyle for the past 5 years, we thought this a good time to start a compilation of our tips for shaving a little expense here and there and making the most of what you have.

We will also periodically post time and cost efficient recipes, pet care tips, reviews and recommendations on books, music and films that we have found particularly noteworthy. For more information about us and this blog, please visit our About This Blog and Mores About Us pages.