The Rule of Three

Everything costs. Either time, money or work. Usually a blend of all three. You can get away with two of the three, but almost never one. Something costs time and work, but saves money. Or it costs money and time, but no work. It's the rule of three.

With the economy floating in the toilet. It's always a good thing to know ways to live cheap.
I don't mean, we bought the rib-eye because the prime rib was way overpriced. I mean how to maximize your money so you can have shrimp on occasion (without it being a special occasion!)

When you're in college, living on ramen is a standard. When you have kids or a mate, that gets tired fast. It's all about the planning. Have the joy of the hunt and save! It will take some time and some thought, but it's totally worth doing if you need to economize.

I like healthy food. I am serious about eating balanced meals. With 5 kids and 2 mates, my list of likes and dislikes is frightening. I've started taking meals to my father, since Mom isn't around anymore to cook for him. Add another plate to the stack and more likes and dislikes to the list.
One of our sons is wheat intolerant. It makes it even tougher. And it's not just about food.

My 14 year old daughter wants name brand clothing. My second son can kill a cheap sneaker in 2 months with ease. My 3 year old creates stains in her clothing that take mild explosives to remove. My 16 year old son gets ink on everything he owns and is happy to wear clothes with large stains, holes and other unacceptable defects. Our man wears his jeans until prayer is the only thing holding them together and is amazingly specific about their cut, style and hang.

We're all technophiles with lobster tastes and hot dog budgets.

What do you do? Research, research and more research. Know your humans, know your products and know your abilities.

It's possible to live well on little cash. It just takes some know how and some effort.