"Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." - Woody Allen

    We had the Parent Hacks earlier this week, and I was thinking it would be fun to do the same with finances - ways to trick yourself, to get around obstacles, to boost your accounts, without it hurting.

    Improving your finances improves your happiness, in general, so I thought it would be important to share stuff that's worked for me.

    I'm in the best financial shape in my life, despite quitting my job and my wife recently quitting hers too. A lot of that is thanks to you guys, the readers, but it's also thanks to frugality, to eliminating debt, to saving as much as I can. To these hacks.

    Here's what works for me - please avoid flaming me, as I'm not saying they'll work for everybody. Share your tips and tricks in the comments!

    1. Use cash.

    Instead of charging things to credit cards or debit cards, use cash for non-bill spending such as eating out, gas, groceries. Spending cash makes the spending more real, and there's an added advantage of knowing when you're out of cash, instead of spending more than you

    2. Small weekly savings transfers.

    I got this idea from my friend Trent at The Simple Dollar, who automatically deducts $20 a week from his check to savings. I decided that I could live with $40/week without really feeling it - it's a relatively small transfer that I barely notice, and I save about $2,000 a year on top of my larger bi-weekly savings transfers.

    3. Stay home.

    Going out makes you more likely to spend unnecessarily. You eat at restaurants, go to the mall, stop at the gas station for snacks. It's hard to avoid spending when you're on the road. Instead, stay home, and find free entertainment. It's also a great way to bond with your family.

    4. Don't get catalogs.

    Or emailed announcements from companies trying to sell you stuff. Their announcements of sales or cool new products make it very tempting to buy something you don't need. Instead, stop the catalogs and emails from ever getting to you in the first place, and you'll spend less.

    5. Keep a 30-day list.

    If you have an impulse to buy something you don't absolutely need, put it on a 30-day list. You can't buy anything but necessities - everything else goes on the list, with the date that it's added to the list. When the 30 days are up, you can buy it - but most likely, the strong urge to buy it will be gone, and you can evaluate it more calmly.

    6. Cook at home.

    I know, it seems more difficult than eating out. But it doesn't have to be hard. Throw together a quick stir-fry with frozen veggies and either boneless chicken or （my favorite） tofu with soy sauce or tamari. Make home-made pizza with a ready-made crust, some sauce, cheese and veggies. Put some spices on something and throw it in the oven while you cook some brown rice. Not only is this much cheaper than eating out, but it's healthier.

    7. Exercise.

    Staying healthy is the best way to avoid costly medical bills later.

    8. Use the envelope system.

    It's the same idea as using cash for spending, but in addition you use envelopes to split your spending cash into categories. My non-bills categories are groceries, gas and miscellaneous spending. Three envelopes, and when they're empty, I've spent my allotment.

    9. Talk with your SO weekly.

    It's important that you and your significant other be on the same page. You should have the same financial goals, and from there you should agree on a general spending plan and a policy for impulse buying that won't have either of you wanting to choke the other. Make sure you both know what bills have been paid, what your balances are, etc. A weekly meeting of just 20 minutes accomplishes that. Communication is key.

    10. The spreadsheet tracker hack.

    There are expensive programs like MS Money, Quicken, and the like that will do amazing things with your financial information. There are even free ones, on your desktop or online, that can do all kinds of things. Trouble is, I don't need all that. All I want is a way to track my money easily, with no other bells and whistles, and a way to access that online so that I can view it from anywhere. The best way I found to do that is through Google Docs and Spreadsheets. I created a simple spreadsheet to track my bank accounts, that does everything I used to do with MS Money. It has the date of each transaction, the title and amount, a little field for memos, and a running balance. What more do I need? Keep it simple. Update: View a sample I put online here.

    11. Pay savings and debt first.

    When you sit down to pay your bills （I do them all online）, make the first bills you pay be your savings transfer and your debt payments. If not, if you pay them last … you'll often end up shortchanging them. But if you pay them first, you'll make sure you still pay your rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries and gas … so you'll just cut back on other spending.

    12. Exercise at home.

    Some of you will disagree with me on this, which is OK - everyone should do what works for them. But I've saved a lot of money that I used to spend on gyms by just running at the local track or on the roads in my neighborhood, and buying some simple weights and a chin-up bar. I do a lot of body-weight exercises （pushups, Hindu squats, lunges, pullups, dips, etc.） and I don't need a gym for those things.

    13. Cut out cable TV. I'm not saying I don't watch TV - I watch DVDs, so that I'm sure that what I'm watching is something great, rather than the useless stuff you find on TV most of the time. And there's a lot of it online for free if you look. Not a huge savings, but it adds up.

    14. Declutter.

    By getting rid of all the excess stuff in your home, you not only make your life much simpler and more peaceful, but you make it harder to buy stuff that will just clutter things up again. Once you've simplified your home, you won't want to go back.

    15. Lend and borrow.

    Give books and clothes and toys you don't need anymore to your friends and family. If you need something, send out an email asking if anyone has it. Chances are, they'll give it to you for free if they don't use it anymore.

    16. Barter.

    It's a lost art, but lots of people will take your services or goods instead of money, especially if you're friends or at least know each other. Get into the habit of offering to barter, and you'll find yourself saving a lot of money. My website design was done through the barter system, so I saved well over $1,000 there, for example.

    17. Use online savings.

    I use Emigrant Direct, but ING Direct is also popular, as are a bunch of other online banks. Not only do you earn like twice the interest of a normal bank savings account, but if you don't get the ATM account it's not as easy to withdraw money … making it less likely that you'll get money out on an impulse.

    18. Try frugal gift-giving.

    Giving people gifts is one of the most wonderful traditions, as it shows generosity and caring. Until it becomes commercialized. Then it's just really really expensive. Instead, try giving the gift of spending time with someone. Try giving them something you baked or made yourself. Try giving them services they'd appreciate. It doesn't have to cost a lot to be generous.

    19. Teach your kids about advertising, saving, earning, and gift-giving.

    If you have kids, educating them about money will save you a lot of money in the long run. If they know about how advertising influences them in tricky ways, they'll be less likely to demand （OK, beg and plead for） the latest fad toys. If they know about saving and earning money, they'll respect the money that you earn, and that you are trying to save. If they know that gift-giving doesn't have to be about spending a lot of money （see above）, they won't necessarily want expensive stuff.

    20. Find happiness in life, not spending.

    Many times people buy stuff because they think （subconsciously perhaps） that it will bring them happiness. They just HAVE to have the latest gadget or shoes or cars. It's so fun! And yet, you buy that stuff, and you're only happy for a day or two at most. Then you just need to buy more. It's a never-ending cycle. Instead, learn to love life. Find joy in nature! In the people around you! In doing something you love! In exercise and meditation! There's so much in life to make us happy, there's no need to find it in spending.

    "I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money." - Pablo Picasso

    "若僅就錢論事的話，有錢總比沒錢好。 "--伍迪·艾倫

    在本周初，我介紹了一些當好家長的技巧，隨后我尋思，或許再介紹些理財的技巧也不錯，諸如自我理財竅門、如何避免投資陷阱、如何使投資快速盈利且不虧損之類的。

    一般而言，經濟狀況的改善會促進幸福感的提升，因此，我認為有必要將我個人認為很受用的方法分享給大家。

    盡管最近我妻子和我都辭職了，我卻認為我們的經濟狀況是有史以來最好的。這大多是你們--我親愛的讀者們的功勞，同時還多虧了我一直以來奉行的"方針"--厲行節約、杜絕負債、能省則省--也就是所謂的理財絕招。

    以下是我認為很有用的技巧--但如果它對您沒用，也請您不要遷怒于我，我可沒保證它對誰都有用。您還可以通過留言分享您的理財訣竅。

    1. 使用現金 .

    在可使用現金的場合，例如餐廳、加油站、以及超市時，一定要使用現金而不是刷信用卡或借記卡。支出現金能使你更加真切地感受自己的消費行為，此外，還可以便于你更好地掌握自己的經濟狀況，避免入不敷出的情形出現。

    2. 每周轉存點錢。

    我有一個在Simple Dollar工作的朋友，特倫特，他每周都從開支中留出20美元并存到一個固定的賬戶。受他啟發，我決定每周拿出40美元存起來--40美元其實不算多，它完全不影響我的日常生活質量。一年下來，我竟然存下了2000美元--這都是每周轉存40美元的功勞。

    3. 待在家里。

    待在外面會使你花很多不必要的錢。上餐館會多花錢、逛商場也會多花錢、就連停在加油站你都有可能因為買零食而多花錢。你在外面就避免不了各種各樣的花銷，而留在家里，你不但可以觀看免費娛樂節目，還能增進與家人的感情--多棒��！

    4. 拒絕宣傳手冊。或宣傳銷售產品的電子郵件。

    他們對其新奇酷或促銷產品的宣傳很可能誘使你購買你用不著的東西。因此，從源頭上杜絕這類慫恿你買東西的宣傳信息，能大大減少你的開支。

    5. 列個"30天考驗"清單。

    如果你因為沖動而想買一些不是特需要的東西，那么你先把它放到"30天考驗"清單上。你的錢只能你買生活必需品，所以其他的都列到清單里，并標注好日期。當30天考驗期一過，你就可以買下它們了--但結果往往是，你早已失去那強烈的購買欲了，這也有利于你更冷靜地做出買或不買的決定。

    6. 在家就餐。

    我知道你肯定會說這比下館子麻煩多了，其實，在家做飯并非那么困難。你只需要把冷凍蔬菜和去骨雞肉放到鍋里，炒一炒，過過熱，就可以出鍋了。（我的最愛）豆腐加醬油的搭配也不賴。你還可以試試自做披薩：在做好的披薩底上，放一些醬、奶酪和蔬菜，在撒上一些香料后把它放到烤箱里，在等待披薩出爐的同時，你可以煮幾杯糙米。比起外出就餐，自己做飯不但更經濟實惠，還更加健康營養。

    7. 運動。

    保持強健的體魄等于節省昂貴的醫療費。

    8. 利用信封理財。

    這與使用現金是一個道理，只不過你需要用信封類為你的開支分類。我的非支票支出分類如下：日常食品、天然氣和其他雜項支出。當這三個信封一空，我就不再亂花錢。

    9. 每周與你的愛人聊聊。

    你的愛人是否與你同步是很重要的。你們應該有相同的經濟目標、共同商定大致開支計劃以及制定非理性購物（沖動購物）善后政策--即當任何一方因沖動購買某物后，如何處理才不至于出現拼個你死我活的場面。建議你們每周開個20分鐘的小會，以確保你們倆都清楚賬單支付情況、以及賬戶余額等�？傊�，溝通是關鍵。

    10. 電子記賬法。

    購買諸如微軟出品的理財通、Quicken及其他類似軟件是很費錢的，但他們處理各類財務信息的功能也的確不是蓋的。你甚至可以從你的軟件庫里或網上，找到具有此類功能的免費安裝程序。但問題是，那么多的功能我根本用不著，我所想要的不過是找到一種易操作的方法，來記錄我資金的流向，不需要多花里胡哨，只要能兼具聯網功能就可以了，因為這樣我就能隨時隨地監控了。通過實踐，我發現谷歌文檔和電子表格可以達到我想要的功能。以往需要微軟理財通才能實現的賬戶追蹤，如今僅需要建立一個電子表格就可以了。它能記錄每筆交易的日期、內容和數額，還可以添加備注，以及顯示收支狀態。一切我想要的功能它都有，我還在奢求什么？保持簡單最好。（最新添加：請看我的示例。--一個下載文件，即他的理財模板。譯者注）

    11. 存錢還款第一位。

    當你開始支付帳單時（我通常在線完成）,請務必確保你把儲蓄轉存和債務還款排在首位。如果你不這么做，而拖到最后才轉存和還款…那么，你會發現你沒法完成你的預定存款額或還清欠款。但如果你第一步就是轉存和還款，那么你會精打細算以確保留有足夠的錢來支付房租或抵押貸款、水電費、雜貨和燃氣費用…從而自然而然地削減其他不必要的開支。

    12. 把家變成健身房。

    也許你們中有些人并不認同我的這個觀點，我完全理解--因為每個人都該采取對他自己而言最有用的方式。但于我而言，僅需將鍛煉場所轉移到臨近公路上，外加添置幾件鍛煉器械，我就省下一大筆去健身房的開支。沒有健身房，我在家一樣能鍛煉身體，我可以做各種提升身體力量的練習（如俯臥撐，印度深蹲，扎弓步，拉伸肌肉，壓腿等）.

    13. 不看有線電視節目。

    我并不是說不看電視--我會看DVD碟，因為我能確定我所播放的是有意義的東西，而不是電視上常播的那些沒勁的節目。如果你留心注意的話，你還能在網上發現各種免費的東西。雖然省不了太多，但是積土成山嘛！

    14. 簡化房間。

    把家里多余的東西都丟掉，你會發現，不僅生活變得更簡單更安寧了，你也變得不再輕易買只會給家里添亂的東西了。一旦你的家變得簡潔明凈，你就會竭力保持它的整潔而避免歷史重演。

    15. 贈送與索取。

    把你不再需要的書籍、衣服和玩具送給你的朋友和家人，而當你需要什么東西時，就發封郵件詢問誰有。你會發現，如果他們正好有而且再也用不著的話，他們會免費送你你需要的東西。

    16. 一物換一物。

    這是一項失傳的藝術。也許很多人交換的將是你的服務或商品而不是金錢，特別是你的朋友，或者認識的人。你會發現，以貨易貨的習慣能為你省一大筆錢。 例如，我的網站設計工作就是得益于易貨交易，這為我至少省了1000美元。

    17. 使用在線儲蓄。

    我用的是移民公司的在線儲蓄服務，但ING公司（荷蘭在線銀行）的也很受歡迎，此外還有其他很多在線銀行。你不僅可以得到幾乎兩倍于普通銀行存款的利息，還可以避免因一時沖動而亂取錢花--因為如果你不開設ATM賬戶，取錢就很費勁，那么你就不那么輕易花錢了。

    18. 送禮從簡。

    送禮是我們最美好的傳統之一，因為它表達了你對他人慷慨和關愛之情。但隨著送禮商業化，它貴得越來越離譜。那么，就換種方式吧：嘗試多陪陪他人，這也是一種形式的禮物；或者送給他們你親手烘焙或制作的東西；要不然還可以試著提供他們會喜歡的服務�？傊�，你不需要通過花錢來顯示自己有多么大方。

    19. 教育你的孩子，讓他們明白什么是廣告、儲蓄、收入、和送禮。

    如果你有孩子，你要告訴他們，從長遠的角度看，錢能生財。如果他們能看透廣告是如何狡猾地誘使他們買東西的話，他們也許就不太會要求你買（好吧，應該是苦苦央求你買）最新流行的玩具。如果他們了解什么是存錢和掙錢，他們就會懂得你掙錢的辛苦和努力存錢的苦心。如果他們明白送禮并不一定要花很多錢（見上一條）,他們就不再只要昂貴的禮物了。

    20. 發現生活中的幸福，而不是通過花錢來營造幸福的幻覺。

    人們之所以買東西，常常是因為他們認為（也許是潛意識認為）這樣能帶給他們幸福。因此，他們不得不購買最新款的小玩意、鞋或車--還自認為，這多么有意思��！其實，即使你買了某樣東西，你最多也就高興上一兩天。而接下來，你需要不斷地購買添置新東西，常此以往，最終陷入惡性循環。實際上，你只需要學會熱愛生活。從大自然中尋找樂趣！通過與身邊的人交往而收獲快樂！去做你熱衷的事來獲得成就感！在健身和冥想中提升幸福感！生活中有如此多值得我們高興的事情，我們沒必要靠花錢來買幸福。

    "即使我不缺錢，我也希望自己能過窮人般簡樸的生活。 "--派卜羅·畢加索