Casual Friday

When I used to work corporate, we had a "casual friday." My boss was a horrible hosebeast, so her idea of "casual" was: standard work attire + jeans - no sneakers, t-shirts, etc. In addition, if you wanted to wear jeans, you had to donate $1 to a charity (changed by the month). Naturally, I didn't mind giving to the charity (usually a children's charity or women's shelter), but the idea made me think - what a great way to save up some money!

This is a technique to help you cover a smallish expense every month - maybe a cable bill, or gas money. Try to find something you do every day (and enjoy!), like drinking a cup of coffee, drinking a soda, having some candy/chips/whatever. Just make sure it's something you enjoy. Then, every time you do this thing, put a set amount of money aside (if you can afford it, a dollar is great!) - make sure you have the cash to do it! If you run out of cash, you don't get to do it! So if it's coffee for example, you might save up $60 a month without really trying that hard!

Obviously this doesn't work for every situation, but if you can find something that works for you, some little vice that you can pay a dollar each time for, then it can be an easy way to keep your Animal Planet subscription!