Bachelor on the Cheap

Saving money + finding the best deals = more money in your pocket

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$pend Wisely My Friends...

~ Mike

Eagles vs. Chiefs, Super Bowl LVII

Bachelor on the Cheap

According to the so-called experts, the average spend a host shells out for a Super Bowl Watch Party is just over $200.  That's over and above what you've asked party guests to contribute to Game Day.  This isn't an inexpensive party to throw, we're talking A LOT of food and not just the snacking kind, you'll need non-alcoholic beverages, decorations, alcohol of course, the all important fan gear and then there's all the misc. stuff (paper plates, cups, napkins, plasticware, etc.).    But does it all have to cost over $200?

I say no.

The typical Super Bowl menu consists of starters:  Nachos;  salsas; guacamole; queso dip; tortilla chips galore as well as a variety of other chips and dips.    Main dishes could be chili, pigs in a blanket, sliders, pizza, pulled pork sandwiches and/or the #1 favorite - wings.  For dessert on game day, it's typically brownies or football themed cakes/cupcakes.

The easiest way to cut down on party expenses is to tag your guests for menu help, that's stating the obvious I know, but food and non-alcoholic beverages will probably be more than 1/3 of your out-of-pocket party expense at around 35% of a $200 budget (That's $70 for those of you who live in Valley Center).  Don't be too casual with what people bring to the party.  You don't want 12 bags of chips and just two jars of salsa, which would result in either a very limited and unsatisfying menu or leaving you to shell out even more $ to provide food items your guests didn't.  Pin people down to specific items and don't forget the non-alcoholic beverages and ice.  Yes, ask somebody to bring ice.  If you haven't done so already, provide guests menu suggestions and have them commit to an item or two to bring.  Keep everybody in the loop as to what's already being brought and what still needs to happen.  One of your guests undoubtedly will boast to having THE BEST recipe for guacamole, thank you, bring it!  For guests that don't cook, instead of the default to bringing a bag or two of chips (and provided it's already taken care either by you or other guests), break things down to the fundamentals...  have them provide a can of black olives, a tub of sour cream, some tomatoes, taco shells, a bag of shredded cheese....  This is perhaps the quickest way to reduce the food/non-alcoholic beverage budget and the number of items you need to shop for.  For my parties, I usually commit to providing two main dishes and a side, the rest of the menu can by divvied up, depending on the number of guests.  Buying a pork shoulder for pulled pork, some buns, cabbage and bbq sauce will run you about $23.   A batch of chili can be put together for about $20.  Bake up some corn bread for a side for under $5.  Provide a couple 2 liter bottles of soda and you've spent about $53 for some really good eats, rather than $70.

With a party budget of $200, alcohol is the second largest expenditure on Super Bowl Sunday, typically 28% of a $200 budget, or around $56 and it can easily go higher, A LOT higher.  So while a good host will always have some variety of adult beverages on hand, going BYOB here is highly recommended, especially if you have any freeloaders on your guest list and they'll do exactly that if you don't commit them to bringing something they prefer.  A drink menu can help with this and making suggestions such as, "Joe, are you up for bringing some Jello Shots?" or, "Cindy, can you bring a bottle of peanut butter flavored whiskey?  Lori is bringing a chocolate liqueur, we can do Reeces Peanut Butter Cup shots."   Depending on your home bar supply and how festive your friends are, you can probably get away with buying a 12 pack of beer and a few bottles of wine, spending $35 rather than the average $56.

Misc. items, the napkins, plastic cutlery, plates, serving spoons, ice and such...  This could be up to 14% of your out-of-pocket party budget, which breaks down to about $28.  These aren't items you typically ask guests to provide and that $28 is a figure you could easily spend at the mainstream grocery store, Walmart or Target.   Don't shop at those places.  Shop at Dollar Tree instead.    While they may not have any football themed items, they've got just about every party item you can imagine and in all colors, napkins, plates, plastic cutlery.  They have shot glasses, serving spoons, basically everything you need and you won't have to spend $28.

Decorations typically accounts for 13% of Super Bowl Watch Party expense, or $26 of your $200 budget.  You could easily spend more, but why, when the TV, buffet table and the jerseys the ladies are wearing provide all the decoration that really matters.  Again, I recommend Dollar Tree rather than the mainstream grocery store or a party shop.  And to repeat, Dollar Tree probably won't have football themed items let alone team logo stuff, but they have all the colors. You'll find all the basics necessary to provide a decent backdrop to the festivities, table cloths, runners, streamers, balloons and more, spending about half of that suggested $26 to do so.

Fan gear.  This one is just an excuse to buy something new for the team...  Accounting for 10% of your party budget (do I really have to break that down Valley Center?  It's $20.), the amount in the budget  isn't enough to buy a jersey, but could buy the team logo drinking cups and/or paper plates if you really want those, perhaps some Kansas City Chief pennant banner flags or wall posters, a stuffed KC Wolf Mascot or a Kansas City Chiefs fleece throw blanket or pillow.  In the name of fandom, spend the $20. Notice I did NOT provide any suggestions for Philadelphia Eagles gear. 

You really don't have to spend the average $200 to put on a good Super Bowl Watch Party.  The above recommendations can reduce your party expense by up to $60.  With smart menu planning, a community bar and not going overboard on the decorations or fan gear, you'll have a great party!  Game + family/friends + good food = A GOOD TIME!

GO CHIEFS!

$pend Wisely My Friends...

~ Mike

Related:  Super Bowl Watch Party Menu Ideas

Related: Planning that Super Bowl Menu

Related: Super Bowl Watch Party Prepping on the Cheap

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Bachelor on the Cheap

Sunday, it's a day of rest for many, a day filled with activity for others.  Sundays may entail going to church, working on a hobby or project, spending time with family, dining out, perhaps going to the beach or a park.

It's a keep it simple day for me.  I like to unplug from the work week, perhaps wind down a bit from an active social Saturday.  Sunday is a focus on my immediate surroundings - my home, my castle and yes, me.  Helping to keep things simple means Sunday is a No Spending Day for me.  Whatever it is I have planned for the day, be it working on a project, watching football, firing up the grill, or the simple pleasure of reading, I make it a goal to be a day where I don't spend any money.

When working on a project for example, such as building a raised bed garden planter, if I run out of some screws, nuts, bolts or whatever, I don't run to the hardware store to get some (it pays to plan ahead).  If I'm putting together a meal for the grill and I'm out of an ingredient, I don't go the grocery store to buy it, I find an alternative (it pays to have a well stocked pantry, freezer and fridge).  If I'm washing and vacuuming my truck and I run out of Armor All, I don't make a Walmart run, I'm content with a clean truck, I'll worry about dressing up the tires next wash.

A no spend Sunday (pick any day that works for you) helps with the budget.  It's amazing how much money can be spent in impromptu fashion and for things that weren't budgeted for, those screws, that pound of sausage or carton of eggs, that bottle of Armor All.  Those Walmart, Lowe's, Ace Hardware and grocery store spending trips can tally up quickly.  How often do you go to the grocery store for one or two items and walk out with just those one or two items?  Unplanned for spending can create spending shortfalls when it comes to paying bills later in the month or putting money in savings, especially if you're living paycheck to paycheck.

A No Spend Day simplifies the accounting process and forces you to take on a playing chess mindset if you will, thinking a move ahead. I don't have to make that "Ooops!" grocery store run because I ran out of ketchup.  I pull out a new bottle from the pantry instead.  I don't have to head to Walmart or Dillons to pick up a bag of charcoal for grilling because I forgot to pick up a bag my last trip.  I add more pecan wood to what charcoal I have left instead.  Thinking a move ahead leads to surplus and having a surplus means less stress, both in-the-moment and looking at the bills coming due vs. balance remaining in the checking account stress. 

The biggest benefit to a No Spend Sunday is time management.  Making those impromptu, off-budget spending runs takes time, time away from what you would rather be doing.

Try creating a No Spend Day for yourself, it will help you save money, time and reduce stress!

$pend Wisely My Friends...

~ Mike

Related: Raised bed garden planter with a self watering feature

Related: Essential must haves for stocking your pantry and fridge - Bachelor on the Cheap

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If you appreciate this budgeting tip and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or a monthly donation.  Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike

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A free slice of pizza and a free QT Big Q drink

Editor's Note:  Originally posted on October 8, I've since enjoyed $53.80 worth of QT Kitchens food & beverage, with a lot remaining on that coupon card.  That coupon card cost me $20.  That's a win-win, a win for a high school fund raiser and a win for my wallet.

By Mike Thayer

I've never really been much of a coupon user.  Sure, there are those once-in-awhile times when I see an advertisement for a great deal and I'll take advantage of it.  Usually though, if I do clip a coupon from a mailer or see a digital deal online, I either forget to take the coupon with me to the store or fail to break out the phone at the register.  I also tend to let coupons/deals/promos expire before I remember to use them.  In fact, I may be kind of anti-coupon.  Ex-wife #2 was a big time 'couponer' when we first got married.  While I appreciated the savings, she would make me drive her around to three different grocery stores taking advantage of the various store deals.  That drove me crazy!  Pun intended. "Why can't we just get all our groceries in one store?" I would ask.  The ex didn't have a driver's license at the time and with our work schedules grocery shopping had to take place on Sunday's, which interfered with football...  Perhaps that's the root cause for my anti-coupon stance.

A danger in using coupons and taking advantage of digital deals/promo codes is justifying the purchase of additional items because you just 'saved.'  Hello ex-wife #2.  Another downside is you buy something you really don't need at the time or wouldn't ordinarily purchase but you bought whatever anyway because it was 'such a great deal.'  Hello ex-wife #2 and a couple of ex-girlfriends.  There's a legitimate thrill in saving, but the problem is, you may spend money on something you didn't budget for.  Buying a countertop deep fryer because you've always wanted one and it was on sale doesn't 'save' you any money if you had to short yourself on the grocery budget to purchase it.  Never mind you won't use the fryer nearly as much as you thought you would, it's a pain in the ass to clean and the whole house smells like fried food for a couple days after use. 

But coupons, digital deals and promo codes do have their place, as long as it's something you've already budgeted for.   I'm learning to get over my 'coupon bias.'

Here's an example, I recently purchased a QuikTrip coupon from a friend of mine - shout out to Ashley C!  Her daughter's school was doing a fundraiser for band and with these QT cards at just $20, how could I refuse?  I helped fund the school band and I get WAY more than $20 worth of food at QT, which is a pretty routine stop for me.  I do like a Big Q drink of Mountain Dew!

This comes out of my monthly restaurant budget.  So today for lunch, I had a free slice of pizza, regular price $3.49 (4 more of those freebies left on my card), a free Big Q drink, regular price $1.09 (four more of those freebies on my card) and I bought a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos for $2 and some change to go with.  I pretty much can't prepare a meal for myself that cheap unless I'm in the mood for Ramen or a bologna sandwich.  I'll take the pizza please.  So with a hypothetical figure of $200 to eat out with for the month of October, I now have $197 and some change remaining.    Now if I didn't eat out so much and have a restaurant budget, then this coupon card wouldn't make sense.  That would be like going out for dinner at a nice seafood restaurant just because you saw and clipped out a "free appetizer with the purchase of a 'select' entree'" coupon.  Translation:  Buy one of our higher dollar meals and we'll comp you the appetizer.  If you don't normally eat out at tablecloth seafood restaurants and budget for it, you're not saving any money.  If you don't normally eat appetizers when you eat out and you typically go for the lower cost items on the menu, you're not saving any money.

Saving money is a very good thing and you can do it with coupons etc., but that only works if it fits within your budget and routine.  Stick to your budget, stick to the shopping list!

Oh, and the pizza was pretty tasty!

Related: QuikTrip Bargain!

Related: Associate Appreciation Day October 9 at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar

$pend Wisely My Friends...

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If you appreciate the article you just read and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or a monthly donation.  Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike

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By Mike Thayer

The price of gas these days is OUTRAGEOUS!  

We had it good a few years back, when the USA had become THE global leader in oil production.  In May of 2019, our country became a net oil and gas exporter, the first time since 1953.  That production lead to a national average price for a gallon of gasoline in 2020 of just $2.17.  

Then Joe Biden got elected President.

His administration has been on the attack against domestic oil and gas companies since moving into the White House.  Biden has killed pipeline production and drilling, pulling permits and denying new requests.  The national average price for a gallon of gas is now $5.10!  An update took place as I was writing this article, taking the price from $4.94 to $5.10.

So with that high average price in mind, a lot of folks use those grocery store and/or convenience store loyalty cards to buy gas at a discounted price.  Now more important than ever, those cards do come in handy and depending on your shopping habits can benefit you with saving 10 cents a gallon on gas for example.

But that loyalty card gas discount doesn't guarantee you're getting the best possible price for gas.

There are also those gas buying apps, where purchases at big box stores can provide discounts or turn into money for gas or better yet, cash back.  One of the more popular gas apps is GasBuddy, which even claims to help you find the cheapest place to buy gas in your part of town.  According to GasBuddy, you can save up to 25 cents per gallon using their app, but their list of gas prices is only as good as the users who provide that input to GasBuddy and their list isn't always accurate, nor does it necessarily reflect the cheapest place to buy gas if GasBuddy doesn't have a partnership with a particular vendor. 

The average price for regular gas in Kansas as of this writing is $4.62 a gallon.  The Wichita area tends to run a little cheaper than the state average.  But we're 'lucky' here in Kansas, the national average price is now $5.10!  How is that Trump era $2.17 per gallon looking now?

If you're a grocery store or convenience store loyalty card user and you filled up today at a listed price of $4.44 per gallon for regular here's the breakdown.  With your loyalty card, you would pay around $4.34 a gallon, a savings of 10 cents per gallon.  Some days it's more, some days it's less - it does hinge on your shopping habit - but a savings of about 10 cents a gallon is the consistent average. You swipe your loyalty card, then swipe your credit/debit card or pay cash at the window.  If you put 15 gallons in the tank you saved $1.50. That's not bad, but you shelled out $65.10 to fill up and you're restricted to that vendor for gas, not necessarily the cheapest in town.  Dillon's typically runs around the area average in price, they're not the cheapest, but they're not the highest.  As for convenience stores, Casey's tends to be the least expensive, QuikTrip runs on the high end and Valero is THE highest in town at $4.60 a gallon for regular as of this writing.

If you're an Upside app user, you have to buy gas from one of their recommended 'offer' locations to get cash back and the amount of cash back depends on the grade of gas you buy as well as the vendor you choose to buy from.  Your discount could be 3.5 cents per gallon if you don't read the fine print but could go as high as 21 cents per gallon.  Keep in mind the cash back rate also correlates with the price per gallon.  The cheaper the gas, the lower the cash back per gallon amount is.  Higher priced gas, means a higher amount in cash back per gallon.  You also have to 'claim' the offer on the app before pumping, so if you forget to claim before pumping or don't pump the gas in the time frame provided (once you claim the offer you have four hours to upload the purchase receipt) you lose out on cash back.   So today, if you bought gas at an Upside 'offer' location, say, Kwik Shop for $4.47 a gallon for regular and you put 15 gallons in the tank, you could get around $1.95 cash back after your uploaded purchase receipt is approved (4-24 hours later).  You shelled out $67.05 to fill up.

If you're a GasBuddy user, you swipe your GasBuddy card at one of their recommended gas vendor locations, then the discounted price is withdrawn from your linked checking account in 1 - 3 days.  So if you buy regular gas at their recommended QuikTrip location for $4.43 a gallon and pumped 15 gallons, you would get "up to" 25 cents a gallon off in discounted gas taken from your linked checking account 1 - 3 days later.  But you might not get 25 cents a gallon, it depends on the deal GasBuddy has with the vendor you chose from their list.  You might get $62.70 pulled (25 cents off) from your checking account, you might get $64.95 taken (10 cents per gallon off) from your checking account.

Wholesale clubs pricing on gas is consistently the cheapest place in town.  If you put 15 gallons of regular in your tank today at Sam's Club it would cost you $4.39 a gallon, or $65.85.  Your membership card serves as your 'loyalty' card giving you what is typically the lowest listed price for gas in town and that goes for any town the club does business in.  A plus to having a membership is you also enjoy the cheapest gas in town benefit when traveling, whether you buy it in Kansas, Iowa or any other state.  Bonus:  You can use the Upside app at wholesale clubs!  Get cash back on the cheapest listed gas around by using the Upside app, today's per gallon cash back amount at Sam's Club for example is 15 cents a gallon, or $2.25 going into your bank or Paypal account.  The final cost for that fill up is $63.60.

So there you have it, the best way to fight Joe Biden's attack on your wallet is to buy gas at a wholesale club, using the Upside app.

$pend Wisely My Friends...

Enjoy this post?

If you appreciate the article you just read and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or a monthly donation.  Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike

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By Mike Thayer

Tuna is a diet friend, a budget meal, it's cheap, easy to prepare and can be used in a number of 'Carb-Check Friendly' recipes.

Today, it's tuna salad.  Needing only a five minute preparation - if that - you can make a quick tuna salad in the morning before work to be eaten for lunch, or make it the night before for a snack or lunch the next day, five minutes in the kitchen, that's it.

This salad only contains about 3 grams of carbs, most of those from the sweet pickle relish.  If you use dill relish, it's even lower in carbs.

Ingredients:

• One 5 - 6 ounce can of tuna (I like tuna packed in oil, better flavor)
• One heaping Tablespoon of mayonnaise
• One Tablespoon dried, minced onion
• One Tablespoon sweet pickle relish
• 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning salt
• A few shakes of black pepper
• Dash of hot sauce or Cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

This isn't rocket science, in a small bowl, mix all ingredients together.   I like to make this hours ahead of time and refrigerate to give that dried minced onion time to absorb some moisture and let those flavors marry.

This quick  tuna salad is great all by itself, or you can slap it on a leaf of romaine lettuce.  You can change things up by sprinkling some shredded cheddar cheese on top, or get out the bottle of Louisiana Hot Sauce and doctor it up with that.  Enjoy!   And enjoy the fact that all ingredients together costs about $1.50 - that's Bachelor on the Cheap wallet friendly!

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Making Turkey salad with leftover Thanksgiving turkey

By Mike Thayer

Of the meats, turkey is pound for pound a relatively inexpensive protein compared to the others and can be prepared in a number of delicious ways.  Turkey is actually an under-appreciated meat, being popular really, only during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  But there are all those possibilities aside from the typical holiday leftovers, all kinds of tasty offerings that can include ground turkey, grilled turkey, roasted turkey, pan seared turkey, white meat, dark meat, the diversity of dishes is impressive!  Don't ignore the turkey next time you go grocery shopping, turkey is quite versatile and can be used in a number of food applications.

Today, it's turkey salad.  Needing only a five minute preparation - if that - you can make a quick turkey salad in the morning before work to be eaten for lunch, or make it the night before for a snack or lunch the next day, five minutes in the kitchen, that's it.

This salad only contains about 4 grams of carbs, most of those coming from the sweet pickle relish.  If you use dill relish, it's even lower in carbs.  The best part - besides being tasty - is turkey is PACKED with high quality protein, about 8 grams per ounce!

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces of leftover Thanksgiving turkey
• One heaping Tablespoon of mayonnaise
• One Tablespoon dried, minced onion
• One Tablespoon sweet pickle relish
• 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning salt
• 1 teaspoon of Louisiana Hot Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

This isn't rocket science, in a medium sized bowl, mix all ingredients together.   I like to make this hours ahead of time and refrigerate to give that dried minced onion time to absorb some moisture and let those flavors marry.

This quick turkey salad is great all by itself, slap it on a leaf of romaine lettuce, grab some Hawaiian rolls and make sliders.  You can change things up by sprinkling some shredded cheddar cheese on top.  Mozzarella cheese works well too.  Enjoy!   And enjoy the fact that all ingredients together costs around $1.50 - a savings bonus!  Turkey salad is delicious, low carb, high in protein and Bachelor on the Cheap wallet friendly!

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By Mike Thayer

Looking to save a few bucks on that Christmas meal/party/shindig?

Don't put off buying the meat for the main course until a week before December 25th, look for the sales at your local grocery store just after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Here's why:

• Grocery stores typically over-order what they truly need for Thanksgiving sales and a surplus at the meat displays is NOT a good thing for the store.
• Grocery stores will discount hams, whole turkeys, turkey breasts, pork loins and even beef roasts in the days just past Thanksgiving.  They need to move product to make room for incoming shipments. 
• Prices for hams, turkeys, pork roasts, beef roasts, etc., in the days leading up to Christmas will go up.  Stores WILL manipulate your procrastination.

Look for the sales at your favorite local store, but don't be too anxious!  Exercise a little patience.  Most stores will typically reduce prices by 10 - 25 percent in the first few days after Thanksgiving.  But that won't eliminate all the Thanksgiving surplus meats.  Stores will then reduce prices even further, 40 percent, 50 percent off, perhaps even more going into the first 10 days or so of December.  But if you don't take advantage of that, watch, as the prices for those main course meats start to go back UP in price for Christmas and New Years!

Don't procrastinate, save yourself a few bucks and get your Christmas ham, turkey or whatever, on sale after Thanksgiving!

By Mike Thayer

I've heard friends and co-workers over the years throw out a number of claims on why they don't buy in bulk to save money:

• You really don't save much money doing that, it's not worth it
• You have to buy so much stuff to get the savings
• I can't afford the membership to places like Sam's Club or Costco
• I don't have the freezer/fridge/cupboard space
• I'm too busy, I don't have the time to repackage/re-wrap stuff for storage
• I'll never eat a 5 pound bag of cheese

That's all horse manure.

If you have time to watch an episode of Big Bang Theory, you have time to break down some meat, cheese and vegetables for the freezer and you'll be glad you did because you'll save a surprising amount of money.  And a side benefit, your food gets portioned out they way you like it.  That saves time in dinner preparation and your freezer will be more organized, easier to pull items from. 

Tonight I spent some time stocking up my freezer with pork chops and a couple roasts by breaking down a 10 pound boneless pork loin, portioning out shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese, as well as a brick of sliced American cheese.  I'm doing this as I watched, you guessed it, Big Bang Theory.

Buy some food in bulk at a wholesale club, portion cheese out for example in smaller bags and stash them in the freezer until needed. It's WAY cheaper than paying $3 each or more for those 12 - 16 ounce bags at a standard grocery store or Walmart.

I portioned out a 5 pound Kirkland brand (Costco) shredded mozzarella bag into 6 smaller bags. Price per pound - $2.37. *Weigh* that (yes, pun intended) vs. the typical everyday price for a 12 - 16 ounce bag at the standard grocery store.... $3 and up.  By breaking down a bulk bag, I saved approximately $3.15 vs buying 5 separate 12 - 16 ounce bags.... In Cheech & Chong terms, that's like a free bag of cheese man!

I did the same thing with Kirkland Brand shredded mild cheddar, a twin pack of cheese, 2.5 pounds each.  I won't eat 2.5 pounds of cheddar cheese in a week, heck even two, and keeping that amount of cheese in its original bag runs the risk of spoilage before it's all eaten.  Hello freezer!  Bachelor on the cheap savings by shopping in bulk at Costco: $2.57 per pound for shredded cheddar vs. $3 and up for 12 - 16 ounce bags at your standard grocery store or Walmart.

The brick of sliced American cheese I bought contains 120 slices.  At $10, that's just over 8 cents a slice and this is deli quality sliced American cheese, not that processed, plastic wrapped singles stuff.  I portioned the brick out into 9 smaller 'bricks', wrapped them in heavy duty foil and put them in the freezer.  The same amount of deli quality cheese like in say, Kraft's Deli Deluxe American Cheese Slices will cost you about $18.

Giving you even more savings is becoming your own butcher and it's not hard to do at all!  My savings today by cutting up my own chops and pork roasts was getting all that meat for $1.89 per pound, vs. $2.49 a pound at a place like the local grocery store.    Buying in bulk - under $19.  Buying the same amount of meat at the local grocery store - $25.  

So to sum, I saved about $3 on portioning out mozzarella cheese, another $3 or so portioning out some cheddar, about $8 with the American cheese and saved about $6 being my own butcher....  All while enjoying an episode of the Big Bang Theory!   Now I've got $20 I can use for gas, or maybe a bottle of wine to share with a date on date night.

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By Mike Thayer

Budgeting can mean a variety of different things to different people.....

For some folks, budgeting means pay yourself first by putting 10 or 15% away in savings every paycheck, leaving the rest for bills and living.

For others, budgeting means using an accordion file or the envelope system, putting dollars in segmented categories for bills, clothes, rent/mortgage, food, entertainment, etc.

For still others, budgeting can mean "I'm going to go on a diet of Ramen for awhile so I can afford to buy that new couch."

But there's something all these budget approaches have in common that make them work....

Discipline, the ability to tell yourself "No" when tempted to purchase that delivery pizza for dinner or buy that item of clothing just because it's trendy or on sale.

That's no easy task.  But as finance guru Dave Ramsey so aptly puts it, "When you see planning a budget as simply spending your money intentionally, you can actually find more freedom to spend! Once something has been budgeted for, you’ll be able to spend that money without feeling guilty."

It's a frame of mind.

Always keep your goals in mind when tempted by impromptu and/or frivolous satisfactions like a convenient fast food meal or buying a new fishing rod that you really don't need.

The ability to say "No" leads to success.  Never mind that telling yourself "No" is WAY better than saying, "Oh Shit, I don't have enough money for the electric bill!"

Once you've covered the basics in a monthly budget, food, transportation, utilities and shelter, it becomes easier to tell yourself "No" on other things, those feel good or impulse buys. 

Here's another way to look at it, ask yourself three things before buying something that really isn't in your budget or what you haven't saved up for:

What do you have?

What do you want?

What will you give up?

Asking yourself these three questions help you think through making a purchase you may regret later. 

If you have some food in your refrigerator, but you want to order that delivery pizza, are you willing to give up that $20 you need to put gas in your car to get back and forth to work next week?   Oooops, don't get the pizza, don't go digging in the couch cushions for gas money later....  Just don't....  Eat the leftovers in the fridge.

Or how about:

You have $1,000 in savings.

You love to fish and want to buy a fishing kayak.

Will you give up the comfort of having some money in the bank should some kind of emergency pops up?  What if you need some kind of car repair?

And don't think about putting a car repair bill on plastic, that only compounds your problem.

Learning how to tell yourself "No" is WAY better than accumulating debt.

Budgeting a.k.a. planning ahead, isn't a bad thing, it's simply smart money management.  Learning how to tell yourself "No" however is the hardest part of budgeting to master.  Once you get that down though, you'll enjoy financial success.   To quote Dave Ramsey again, "Once something has been budgeted for, you’ll be able to spend that money without feeling guilty."