Money for Comics and Games

I live on a budget... well, that's understating it: I live meagerly. Okay, I'm poor; I'm effing broke and have been for years. I have bad credit, no "real" full-time job, and no real hopes for any immediate change in any of this. So you may be wondering how I can afford $50+ a month on comic books, and I'm going to tell you.

Keep in mind that this all came about because I was talking to a friend and mentioned this idea - the one of telling y'all how to save some money in order to buy comics and games - and she thought it was a really good one. I'm no expert at saving money; I have no savings - in fact, as of right now, I have something like $4.00 to my name - but that's where this all comes from.

I found a book at the library (actually, it's a series of books and the library has all three - or the first three, if there are more) called The Tightwad Gazette and since the title intrigued me, I picked it up. It mentioned some pretty... well, tightfisted ways of saving money (such as reusing aluminum foil, washing plastic baggies, and so on) and is really geared more toward families and those with children than single men (or men in general), but I did find some really great ideas in it that I thought I'd share with you.

Since I'm only partway through the book, I figured I'd let loose a few common sense items it contains and see if it generates any responses. If you think it's a silly idea, then that's no problem - I'll stop here and consider it not worth the effort - just let me know, but while these first few bits are largely common sense, I found them extremely helpful and I thought some of you might as well. These aren't going to magically make you rich or anything, but after a few weeks/months of practicing these habits, you will definitely have at least a few extra bucks in your pocket to do with as you wish... such as buy comics and games!

1. Smoke 3 less cigarettes a day. I know, I know, but if you're like me, completely stopping smoking is not necessarily an option - it's not that I don't think I can, it's that I really don't want to at this point in my life. And while I've often said, "I'm cutting back," I haven't yet. Take 3 cigarettes from your pack, put them in a sandwich bag, wrap them up and stick them in the freezer. This will keep those smokes fresh and will ensure you don't smoke them that day.
2. Buy cheaper checks. I haven't tried either of these companies yet because I literally just got a whole new box of checks on the 3rd, but two companies where you can get checks for as little as $5.00 for 200 are: Current, Inc. at 800-426-0822 and Checks in the Mail at 800-733-4443. My bank charges $10.00 for checks, so you can believe part of the reason I'm including these here is because I intend to call them for my next order.
3. Buy dry milk. It's sometimes difficult to find depending on where you shop, but powdered milk doesn't go bad. It's nowhere near as good as real milk, but this isn't for using on your cereal; substitute powdered milk for real in your cooking. Whether making mashed or instant potatoes, baking a cake, mac n cheese, even as creamer for coffee or tea - anything that calls for milk can use powdered milk instead. And yes, if pressed, you can put it on your cereal but no, it doesn't taste as good as regular milk. The nifty-thrifty thing about this one is that you not only save on actual milk, but also on gas; I'm sure, like me, you've had to run to the store just for milk at least a few times, and this idea alleviates that almost completely.

Again, I know there's nothing really new or cutting-edge about any of these ideas, and many of you likely already knew them, but it never hurts to be reminded about the simpler things from time to time. And, believe it or not, the 50-cents you save here and there, along with the couple-few dollars you save on checks, along with the few bucks a month you save on gas and milk really does come to an extra $5-10.00 each month. And after 2-3 months - along with some of the other tips I can share with you - you wind up saving something like $100 a year!

That's like 3 or 4 comics!