They went on to say, “I mean, think about it. Does a day go by that you don’t use your credit card four or five times a day? Coffee shop on the way to work, lunch, grocery store and gas station on the way home.”

I suppose they are right; we do seem to use our credit and debt cards several times a day. I guess we could just as easily use cash. Well, maybe not just as easily – after all, those card readers at the gas pump are pretty convenient.

The question is, would we spend cash so easily? The bigger question is, why are we consuming so many things every single day? Can we not go a day without buying something? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself lately, and I’ve made it sort of a challenge.

A “No-Spend” Wednesday

Yesterday was a good example. We had breakfast at home, as we typically do. No stops by Starbucks on the way to work. At work, I drank water and avoided the vending machine (not hard to do since I’m trying to eat better, but the occasional diet soda is still my weakness).

Lunch was a brown bag from home – a roast beef sandwich, a portion of cottage cheese and a water. After dinner at home I ignored the the blitz of “deals” that often hit my inbox – Amazon’s deal of the day (yeah, the 32BG thumb drive for $22 was tempting), a $1.99 movie rental opportunity, etc.

Fortunately, my wife agreed to a “No-Spend Day,” too, so her and the kids made it a point to avoid some of the infrequent treats they enjoy throughout the week like the once-a-week visit to Sonic after school to grab a half-priced drink. Sure, it would have only cost them a couple dollars, but we were making a point not to spend any money. Not even $1.00!

Lessons Learned from a No-Spend Day

The exercise has made us more aware of two things: we have a lot of little money leaks in the average day. And two, we need to find more activities that don’t cost money. My kids are ahead of the adults on this one – they have already asked about going to the library this weekend to stock up on some new reading material.

The weather has improved to the point where doing things like taking a picnic to the park once again sounds enjoyable. My son has asked me to start taking him fishing (a sneakily expensive hobby, but very low cost once you have the basic equipment).

We are also on the lookout for things to do nearby that don’t cost much, or are absolutely free. These may be community events or events sponsored by local businesses. Check the Living or Community section of your local newspaper to find out what’s happening in your area.

So, to wrap things up, I challenge you to schedule a no-spend day in the very near future. It’s sort of like a fast, but instead of giving up solid foods you’ll be giving up spending money, just for a day.

You may find that by stringing a few no-spend days together, or dedicating a day of the week as a “no-spend day” every week, helps you significantly reduce your monthly expenses. 

Disclaimer: I own no stock in Visa or Mastercard

Commercial as it may have be, I have to admit that the general idea behind it isn’t exactly villainous. Giving gifts to those you love is never all bad, and as this infographic points out, may actually have health benefits.

Overall, I think giving is a good thing, as long as you keep it within reason, and don’t get too caught up in the consumer hype surrounding holidays like this. Check out this infographic to learn a little bit more about just how complex the construction of Valentine’s Day really is.

The following infographic helps explain some of the biggest issues in web safety and gives tips on how to keep yourself protected, from passwords to privacy policies. With a few steps, you can be confident that you control what you share online.

Our Infographic takes a look at some of the statistics about preventable diseases over the last few decades in the US, and a history of official food guides over time. It ends with some actionable pieces of advice for folks who find themselves in a less healthy state than they’d like or who simply want to maintain as healthy of a diet as they can. I thought it was very informative. I hope you find it helpful.

The Jan. 18th protest was the largest in U.S. history; our new graphic recounts that momentous day for social media users in tweets, emails and calls. We invite you to pay respects to this online movement that inspired/pressured 13 SOPA-supporting senators (and 3 co-sponsors) to issue statements against overly-strict online privacy measures. And as exciting as the success of this online mobilization has been, our efforts only tabled two of the worst censorship bills to ever face the web.

Naturally, we both wondered if shopping like this was really saving us money, or just saving us from more trips to the grocery store, which in turn would likely save us money.

The problem, for me, with shopping at places like Sam’s Club is that there are so many shiny things to distract you. If you manage to steer clear of the electronics section, bypass the rows of discounted books and outdoor equipment, you will eventually make your way to the food, where the occasional deal may be found.

We like to stock up on things like ground beef, which comes reasonably priced in big “family pack” packaging. Once home, we separate the ground beef into roughly 1 pound portions and freeze them for future use in various recipes and regular dishes (tacos, spaghetti, homemade burgers, etc).

We also typically like to stock up on certain non-food items – paper towels, toilet paper, kitchen trash bags, over-the-counter medicines and vitamins, etc. The bulk pricing is not always a deal here, and I’ve occasionally found that I can often save more by coupling a store sale with a manufacturer’s coupon.

Still, the idea of stocking up on paper products for the next month or two, and not having to contend with those items in your weekly grocery store trips is appealing.

Shopping at a warehouse club like Costco or Sam’s can drive down your unit costs for items you regularly use, but there is one thing to consider: storage space. I would not suggest shopping at a warehouse club if you are short on space, including plenty of freezer space.

For storing paper products, consider a closet shelf in an guest bedroom, or under-cabinet storage in a guest bath. Naturally, places like basements and garages make great storage locations, but consider fumes, humidity and temperature and only store items that may be safely exposed to those elements.

On the Way Out: Top Off the Tank

Before leaving Sam’s Club we typically top off our gas tank, as the cost of fuel is a good $0.05 per gallon cheaper than it is in our town. Obviously gas pricing is regional, and you may or may not experience similar results in your area. However, we have found the gas prices at warehouse clubs consistently beat those of surrounding stations.

Consider the Costs: Membership Fees

Though warehouse clubs do occasionally allow non-members to shop on special days, it does cost money to shop. Do a simple break-even analysis to make sure you aren’t giving away all of your savings in membership fees each year. Divide your annual membership costs by 12, and then estimate how much you are saving each visit over shopping at your local grocery store with coupons.

If the cost of the membership is more than the amount you are saving each monthly visit, then it probably doesn’t make sense to sign up. Remember, bulk shopping is not always cheaper shopping.

I’m familiar with the temptation to overspend on kid’s toys. And I know the problem with buying for your kids is that usually the most popular game or specific remote controlled car is just the only thing that’ll do. It’s hard to keep your consumer sense in the midst of the trends that keep our kids and tweens primarily wanting all the same things.

My latest graphic on U.S. toy spending should remind you to check loose spending on that latest video game or too-frequently updating kids’ collections of non-necessities. Check out the surprising cost of our kids’ whims:

So after many months in a row of daily updates, fretting over the categorization of expenses (should paper towels purchased at the grocery store go under Household, or Food, or should I create a new Paper Products category – ugh!), I have decided on a new approach.

Using Two Checking Accounts to Manage Big-Picture Household Finances

From now on, I will simply have my paycheck split into two checking accounts. The majority of the money will go to a “Bills and Savings” account, where I will have regular expenses and savings contributions (Roth IRA, DRIP stocks, etc.) automatically deducted.

Things like the mortgage, utilities and any subscriptions of services we pay for on a monthly basis will come from this Bills and Savings account. What’s left in the primary checking account will be ours to spend – our “What’s Left” account. That’s it; that’s all there is to it.

Don’t worry too much over the “split” either. It doesn’t have to be exact because you can theoretically move money from one account to the other.

Add up all of your regular bills, plus your monthly savings contributions, and have roughly that amount taken out of your paycheck and moved to your Bills and Savings checking account. And when estimating for this account, round up just to be safe. 

For most people, that split might look like a 70/30 split between your “Bill and Savings” account and your “What’s Left” account. So if your take-home pay is $2,000 a paycheck, have 70%, or $1,400, transferred to your “Bills and Savings” account.

Then make it a goal to live off the remaining $600 left in your primary checking account. Things like gas and food and entertainment expenses are deducted here. If you run out of money in the “What’s Left” account, you better start searching the pantry for food and giving up on entertainment until your next paycheck replenishes the account.

Tracking the “What’s Left” Expenditures

I am no longer tracking every penny I spend on food, or gas, or paper towels, or books and movies. I will still try to spend as little as possible on those things, and have vowed to renew my interest in using coupons where possible. However, I am not going to invest my time in tracking all of our expenses to an infinite detail, because quite honestly, looking back I can’t see what we’ve gained from that exercise.

With several months of detailed tracking available at Mint.com, and in our household ledger, I can see that we spend more money on gas than we did a couple years ago. Duh, that’s because gas prices have gone up.

I can also see that we pay a little more each time at the grocery store, and that thanks to new fees, our cable provider has increased our services. But what can I do with this information?

Focus on “Big-Picture Finances”

More important to me is the fact that we have spent less than we’ve earned. We’ve increased savings. We’ve paid off our debts. We are saving for retirement, and college, and we are funding a few sinking funds to cover those once-or-twice-a-year expenses like car tags and vacations.

We are winning over the long term. We are winning the big picture. That’s what really matters – not how much I’m spending on dog food or fast food from one month to the next (no, it is not a coincidence those examples were found in the same sentence).

Now, I don’t mean to completely knock the process of tracking expenses. It can be a very important exercise, particularly if done on a short-term basis (for 30 days, for instance), to get a handle on where your money is going. However, it isn’t something I would spend a lot of time on every single month, or in my own previously obsessive example, every single day!

Life is short. You can spend it meticulously going through receipts to split costs from your last grocery store visit between paper products, baby food, and the Redbox rental you grabbed on the way home, or you can look back at the end of the month and reflect on your increase in savings, your reduction (or avoidance) of debt, and your time spent doing things other than updating your elaborate budgeting program.

We all know that charging high interest rates on brokered loans allow pawnshops to cut great deals on just about anything, from high quality jewelry and sports equipment to consumer electronics. And just this year, stores here in Denver reported holiday sales spikes of 40% and the 3 publicly traded U.S. pawnshops reported net incomes up at least 25%. It makes sense that those of us looking for ways to save have found ourselves checking the pawnshops for our kids’ band instruments or anniversary gifts.

As always, I’d recommend staying aware of predatory lending whether it’s a bank or a pawnbroker. But check out my latest consumer infographic on the trend you might be missing out on:

It’s the ingenious image of the sweet and simple cupcake that propelled the treats into a $6 billion industry. We’ve all made cupcakes a thousand times. The ingredients are familiar, pronounceable items we always have on hand. Their authenticity helps us feel better about buying our kids and ourselves a $4 cupcake over a lot of other fast food snacks. But really, like most anything we eat nowadays, the cupcake represents global effort of laborers and products from places we don’t tend to think about. Check out this new graphic weighing the ingredients of this trendy personal treat: