Tip 1: Develop Neuroses

I've been thinking lately about what makes it so that I can save over $10,000 in a year while spending as recklessly as I ever have in my life. I've got some natural advantages, like no debt from college, but most of the advantages come back to choices I've made about money. And most of those choices, I believe, go back to genetics. I am Tightwad, progeny of Tightwad & Spendthrift.

Tightwaddery is not a particularly socially acceptable condition. Who wants to go out with the cheapskate who counts pennies and turns down invitations to nice restaurants? Not many, and probably even fewer decent folk. But luckily the genetic line of tightwaddery I have comes hand in hand with other charming mental traits such as extreme ethical rigidity.

(If you want to save money, cheer for extreme ethical rigidity! It is your best friend! And, once employed appropriately, your only friend!)

For you, genetically unlucky person, Extreme Ethical Rigidity (EER) will need to be learned. I'll offer tips.

1. Develop an ethical framework. What are your values? Which of society's values do you embrace?

2. Put every decision into your ethical framework and expect perfection.

3. Save money!


Perhaps a practical, real-life example would help:
1. The general American cliched values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a good starting point. You can do whatever you want and buy whatever you want so long as you don't go messing around with others' rights to those three.

2. You decide to get a new wallet. You can't buy wallets made in most countries of the world, because you are unsure of the labor standards under which they were produced. Vinyl's out, because its production is too toxic. Leather's out, because of livestock isn't an efficient use of land and you're not sure the animal was killed humanely. If you find yourself getting close to making a purchase, remember that your money is also how you communicate what you value. You might want to support a locally-owned business that pays a living wage to its employees and sources its materials in a sustainable way.

3. Ha! Good luck, sucker! Put that money straight into the bank instead of worrying about finding a wallet to carry it around in.