Thrifty Thursday: Good Advice from a Grandma

One of my grandmother friends once gave her daughter an excellent piece of advice. The daughter had the itch for a new car. Her mother advised her to figure out how much per month the new car would cost and put that amount in a savings account every month for six months or even a year. At the end of that period of time, she would know what impact the extra expenditure would have on her budget, and she would have a hefty sum to pay down on the car.

My friend's advice reminded me of another budgeting method suggested by one of my readers after one of my earlier Thrifty Thursday posts. He recommended Dave Ramsey's envelope method. A family simply decides how much money to spend on food, clothing, gasoline and entertainment and puts the designated sum, in cash, in an envelope. When the money in an envelope is gone, no more money is spent in that category. The family becomes more aware of how much they are spending on particular budget items and occasionally has to come up with some unique ways to stretch the budget.

Sometimes the best ideas are simple, low-tech strategies. And sometimes they come from a grandparent!

More Thrifty Thursday hints from the Parenting & Family Channel: