"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

    "若仅就钱论事的话，有钱总比没钱好。 "--伍迪·艾伦

    在本周初，我介绍了一些当好家长的技巧，随后我寻思，或许再介绍些理财的技巧也不错，诸如自我理财窍门、如何避免投资陷阱、如何使投资快速盈利且不亏损之类的。

    一般而言，经济状况的改善会促进幸福感的提升，因此，我认为有必要将我个人认为很受用的方法分享给大家。

    尽管最近我妻子和我都辞职了，我却认为我们的经济状况是有史以来最好的。这大多是你们--我亲爱的读者们的功劳，同时还多亏了我一直以来奉行的"方针"--厉行节约、杜绝负债、能省则省--也就是所谓的理财绝招。

    以下是我认为很有用的技巧--但如果它对您没用，也请您不要迁怒于我，我可没保证它对谁都有用。您还可以通过留言分享您的理财诀窍。

    1. 使用现金 .

    在可使用现金的场合，例如餐厅、加油站、以及超市时，一定要使用现金而不是刷信用卡或借记卡。支出现金能使你更加真切地感受自己的消费行为，此外，还可以便于你更好地掌握自己的经济状况，避免入不敷出的情形出现。

    2. 每周转存点钱。

    我有一个在Simple Dollar工作的朋友，特伦特，他每周都从开支中留出20美元并存到一个固定的账户。受他启发，我决定每周拿出40美元存起来--40美元其实不算多，它完全不影响我的日常生活质量。一年下来，我竟然存下了2000美元--这都是每周转存40美元的功劳。

    3. 待在家里。

    待在外面会使你花很多不必要的钱。上餐馆会多花钱、逛商场也会多花钱、就连停在加油站你都有可能因为买零食而多花钱。你在外面就避免不了各种各样的花销，而留在家里，你不但可以观看免费娱乐节目，还能增进与家人的感情--多棒啊！

    4. 拒绝宣传手册。或宣传销售产品的电子邮件。

    他们对其新奇酷或促销产品的宣传很可能诱使你购买你用不着的东西。因此，从源头上杜绝这类怂恿你买东西的宣传信息，能大大减少你的开支。

    5. 列个"30天考验"清单。

    如果你因为冲动而想买一些不是特需要的东西，那么你先把它放到"30天考验"清单上。你的钱只能你买生活必需品，所以其他的都列到清单里，并标注好日期。当30天考验期一过，你就可以买下它们了--但结果往往是，你早已失去那强烈的购买欲了，这也有利于你更冷静地做出买或不买的决定。

    6. 在家就餐。

    我知道你肯定会说这比下馆子麻烦多了，其实，在家做饭并非那么困难。你只需要把冷冻蔬菜和去骨鸡肉放到锅里，炒一炒，过过热，就可以出锅了。（我的最爱）豆腐加酱油的搭配也不赖。你还可以试试自做披萨：在做好的披萨底上，放一些酱、奶酪和蔬菜，在撒上一些香料后把它放到烤箱里，在等待披萨出炉的同时，你可以煮几杯糙米。比起外出就餐，自己做饭不但更经济实惠，还更加健康营养。

    7. 运动。

    保持强健的体魄等于节省昂贵的医疗费。

    8. 利用信封理财。

    这与使用现金是一个道理，只不过你需要用信封类为你的开支分类。我的非支票支出分类如下：日常食品、天然气和其他杂项支出。当这三个信封一空，我就不再乱花钱。

    9. 每周与你的爱人聊聊。

    你的爱人是否与你同步是很重要的。你们应该有相同的经济目标、共同商定大致开支计划以及制定非理性购物（冲动购物）善后政策--即当任何一方因冲动购买某物后，如何处理才不至于出现拼个你死我活的场面。建议你们每周开个20分钟的小会，以确保你们俩都清楚账单支付情况、以及账户余额等。总之，沟通是关键。

    10. 电子记账法。

    购买诸如微软出品的理财通、Quicken及其他类似软件是很费钱的，但他们处理各类财务信息的功能也的确不是盖的。你甚至可以从你的软件库里或网上，找到具有此类功能的免费安装程序。但问题是，那么多的功能我根本用不着，我所想要的不过是找到一种易操作的方法，来记录我资金的流向，不需要多花里胡哨，只要能兼具联网功能就可以了，因为这样我就能随时随地监控了。通过实践，我发现谷歌文档和电子表格可以达到我想要的功能。以往需要微软理财通才能实现的账户追踪，如今仅需要建立一个电子表格就可以了。它能记录每笔交易的日期、内容和数额，还可以添加备注，以及显示收支状态。一切我想要的功能它都有，我还在奢求什么？保持简单最好。（最新添加：请看我的示例。--一个下载文件，即他的理财模板。译者注）

    11. 存钱还款第一位。

    当你开始支付帐单时（我通常在线完成）,请务必确保你把储蓄转存和债务还款排在首位。如果你不这么做，而拖到最后才转存和还款…那么，你会发现你没法完成你的预定存款额或还清欠款。但如果你第一步就是转存和还款，那么你会精打细算以确保留有足够的钱来支付房租或抵押贷款、水电费、杂货和燃气费用…从而自然而然地削减其他不必要的开支。

    12. 把家变成健身房。

    也许你们中有些人并不认同我的这个观点，我完全理解--因为每个人都该采取对他自己而言最有用的方式。但于我而言，仅需将锻炼场所转移到临近公路上，外加添置几件锻炼器械，我就省下一大笔去健身房的开支。没有健身房，我在家一样能锻炼身体，我可以做各种提升身体力量的练习（如俯卧撑，印度深蹲，扎弓步，拉伸肌肉，压腿等）.

    13. 不看有线电视节目。

    我并不是说不看电视--我会看DVD碟，因为我能确定我所播放的是有意义的东西，而不是电视上常播的那些没劲的节目。如果你留心注意的话，你还能在网上发现各种免费的东西。虽然省不了太多，但是积土成山嘛！

    14. 简化房间。

    把家里多余的东西都丢掉，你会发现，不仅生活变得更简单更安宁了，你也变得不再轻易买只会给家里添乱的东西了。一旦你的家变得简洁明净，你就会竭力保持它的整洁而避免历史重演。

    15. 赠送与索取。

    把你不再需要的书籍、衣服和玩具送给你的朋友和家人，而当你需要什么东西时，就发封邮件询问谁有。你会发现，如果他们正好有而且再也用不着的话，他们会免费送你你需要的东西。

    16. 一物换一物。

    这是一项失传的艺术。也许很多人交换的将是你的服务或商品而不是金钱，特别是你的朋友，或者认识的人。你会发现，以货易货的习惯能为你省一大笔钱。 例如，我的网站设计工作就是得益于易货交易，这为我至少省了1000美元。

    17. 使用在线储蓄。

    我用的是移民公司的在线储蓄服务，但ING公司（荷兰在线银行）的也很受欢迎，此外还有其他很多在线银行。你不仅可以得到几乎两倍于普通银行存款的利息，还可以避免因一时冲动而乱取钱花--因为如果你不开设ATM账户，取钱就很费劲，那么你就不那么轻易花钱了。

    18. 送礼从简。

    送礼是我们最美好的传统之一，因为它表达了你对他人慷慨和关爱之情。但随着送礼商业化，它贵得越来越离谱。那么，就换种方式吧：尝试多陪陪他人，这也是一种形式的礼物；或者送给他们你亲手烘焙或制作的东西；要不然还可以试着提供他们会喜欢的服务。总之，你不需要通过花钱来显示自己有多么大方。

    19. 教育你的孩子，让他们明白什么是广告、储蓄、收入、和送礼。

    如果你有孩子，你要告诉他们，从长远的角度看，钱能生财。如果他们能看透广告是如何狡猾地诱使他们买东西的话，他们也许就不太会要求你买（好吧，应该是苦苦央求你买）最新流行的玩具。如果他们了解什么是存钱和挣钱，他们就会懂得你挣钱的辛苦和努力存钱的苦心。如果他们明白送礼并不一定要花很多钱（见上一条）,他们就不再只要昂贵的礼物了。

    20. 发现生活中的幸福，而不是通过花钱来营造幸福的幻觉。

    人们之所以买东西，常常是因为他们认为（也许是潜意识认为）这样能带给他们幸福。因此，他们不得不购买最新款的小玩意、鞋或车--还自认为，这多么有意思啊！其实，即使你买了某样东西，你最多也就高兴上一两天。而接下来，你需要不断地购买添置新东西，常此以往，最终陷入恶性循环。实际上，你只需要学会热爱生活。从大自然中寻找乐趣！通过与身边的人交往而收获快乐！去做你热衷的事来获得成就感！在健身和冥想中提升幸福感！生活中有如此多值得我们高兴的事情，我们没必要靠花钱来买幸福。

    "即使我不缺钱，我也希望自己能过穷人般简朴的生活。 "--派卜罗·毕加索