I think it comes down to deciding what you enjoy in life. I take pleasure in food and the coffee experience mentioned above. Maybe if I had money issues or if we were still struggling to pay off debt, I’d need to give it up. But at this point, I see it as a pleasurable thing I do that costs a lot less than other activities I could take up.

I’ve just noticed that PF advice always brings up the daily coffee, and there are so many other expensive habits out there that deserve some attention (big screens, iPhones, 300 TV channels, expensive hobbies, etc.).

grr grumble hanging parenthesis typo daemon….

Thanks for pointing out President’s Choice Financial (operated by CIBC). I’m looking into them and so far they look pretty good. So long as I can get my pre-authorized stuff moved over okay and so long as they’ll permit transfers out to ING and an RRSP without charging transfer fees I’ll probably go for it.

The ATM thing is a pain (basically you only have free transactions at ATMs in a Superstore, but if I’m going there every 2 weeks or so and get my government cheques direct deposited (my paycheque is already direct deposit) it shouldn’t be too bad.

Plus, when you use your PC debit card at Superstore you get points you can turn in for stuff. This could be a good solution!

When my expensive Treo bounced out of my backpack when I hit a pothole on my bike, I spent a few hours on the phone with a company that saw that I had been with them for thirty years through thick and thin, and they gave me a new one.

Just as I buy my vegetables at a farmers market where I can look the farmer in the face, I think relationships with your pharmacist or insurance broker or banker are far more important than saving a few cents on a promotion.

Loyalty, relationships and support of your local provider count, more than chasing the absolute lowest price of the moment. Status quo bias pays off big in a crunch, when people have to decide who their friends and best customers are.

It’s true, any time you do something on a regular basis it’s worthwhile looking at how you could do it using less resources.

I also have been thinking about my automatic dishwasher detergent usage, and have taken a tablespoon and tied a string to it and taped it to the detergent box. That way I can actually measure the amount of detergent I am dispensing. I am guessing that for light loads I won’t need more than 1 tablespoon, which is probably 1/3 of what I am currently using by just pouring detergent into the machine’s receptacle.

This is an example of what deciding what’s reasonable to use and then creating a system so that it’s easy to do so. The “system” and “easy” part are at least, or more so, important than the analysis part.

Coffee per se is not really a whipping boy for personal finance writers, it’s just one of the most common examples of where, if people changed their daily routines, they could find a good chunk of cash to balance their budget with.

I, too, enjoy going into our local coffee shops and chatting with the regulars. One of them even has better coffee than I could make at home. I enjoy the ambiance, the people, and the overall experience.

However, I decided I could use the $100 plus in cash more than I could use the experience of paying for my coffee. It was a personal decision, not a judgement on others. I don’t go to these shops more than once or twice a month because I added up what it was costing me and decided the coffee shop experience wasn’t important enough to me that I would rather keep the $100 a month for things that are more important to me in the short, medium, and long term.

I do have the job problem of keeping the same job too long, as learning the ropes pointed out.

For Kate, I keep my price book somewhat updated with the products I buy regularly. I use my receipts (often, not always) to update the price if it has changed. And then when I’m in another store, I’ll occasionally check items I don’t usually buy there. I look for sales there and compare the sale price to my usual price; if the sale price is lower, I’ll record both the sale price and the regular price in my price book. I mostly only change my habits when I find a new product. Like I’d been looking for a tasty whole-grain (high-fiber) bread, and when I found Alvarado St. Bakery bread, I checked all my favorite stores to see if they had it and if so, for how much.

The main thing I keep changing through time is how to invest my money. When I was a kid, I used savings accounts (that paid 5% interest). Then I switched to CDs because even though there is a “substantial penalty for early withdrawal,” you never lose more than you’ve earned since you bought the CD. And the interest was so much higher that even if I did have to cash one in early every now and then (which I did), I’d still come out way ahead. Then I-bonds were kind of nice when they paid 3% (or more) over inflation. And now online savings accounts are better than all of those.

For longer-term investments, I’ve mostly changed as I’ve learned more, but also more things have become available there, too (like index funds! woo hoo!). So that’s an area where you have to keep checking. Other areas you should probably re-check periodically are insurance and cable, phone, and internet services. (There’s also a lot of construction in my area–they’re
developing an old airport–so I need to check driving and bus routes periodically.)

Another area I do have to watch out for is food habits. Like if I use a vending machine once when I’m starving, then any time I’m in the place where the vending machine is, I feel it calling to me. Same with eating at a fast food place–once I let my self do it once, suddenly I’m in the mood to do it every day.

About banking fees…I live in Canada and a few years ago I switched to banking with President’s Choice Financial because there are no bank fees. In about six year’s, the only time I paid bank fees was when I accidentally went into overdraft. I don’t know if PC Financial is available everywhere, but there must be other banks out there that have no bank fees….it is ridiculous to me to pay money for the privilege of spending my own freaking money – banks make interest off of investing my money, that is enough of a gain for them in my opinion so it is no fee banking all the way for me.

I don’t mind not having a physical bank – all of my needs can be met with a bank machine. When I need to buy foreign currency, I just go to a national bank and they will sell currency to anyone as long as you have the cash on hand (no debit or credit cards). Works for me!

I don’t see my morning coffee as a “problem”. I make my own for just pennies per cup. Sure, if I don’t get my coffee I get a headache, but I wouldn’t call that a problem. Now if I spent $4 per day at Starbucks, that would be a problem.

Me, too. Why does the personal finance advice always knock on coffee? Why not sodas? Why not alcoholic beverages? Coffee is the whipping boy of the personal finance world.

Some of us enjoy the experience of going into our corner coffee shop, chatting with the regulars, and taking a moment to wake up and reflect before starting our day. I’m with the Europeans–drink coffee and wine, eat good cheese, and really live your life.

i have also looked for cheaper car insurance and every time we do they said we get too good of a deal being with the same company for so long that no one can beat it.

so i guess the more important thing is to be willing to research and change!

By the way, I know you to be a fellow bibliophile…let me recommend “Soft Addictions…” by Judith Wright. She makes very valid points about living mindfully, goal setting and surprisingly, much of what she says can even be tied to frugality.

Thanks again and I hope you all have a fabulous day that sees growth, wealth and change!

Sam
Fix My Personal Finance
http://fixmypersonalfinance.com

Frankly, if my Credit Union had a branch in our city as well I’d just switch everything there, but they don’t and the work around to do stuff here via another credit union’s ATM is a pain. But I have to reduce these crazy fees (it’s just that all Canadian banks are expensive).

I was just talking to my hubby about the grocery store issue last night after I went to both Superstore (out of the way and not as good hours, huge crowds and lineups, don’t pack your groceries for you, horrible produce) and Safeway (on my way home from work, open until midnight, nice produce but more expensive for lots of things). I’ve always used Safeway as my default but I really looked at a number of items that we use regularly and they are much cheaper at Superstore.

Bottom line, I think from now on I’m going to go to Superstore every couple of weeks for all the cheaper things as well as the things they have that no one else does. But I won’t go every week and waste the gas and the time.

Cell phone? I recently switched to Bell from Fido for improved service, data capability and my beloved free BlackBerry for about the same price as my totally unreliable Fido.