[Kätzchen]

I've learned to live on what I earn, by spending my earnings in modest ways. I keep all my living expenses to a minimum and paid in full, on a monthly basis, which is super tricky if the power bill escalates during intermittent cold spells, but it's entirely something I've learned to monitor closely.

When it comes to grocery shopping, I limit my purchases to a monthly total of $300.00 (cash), because I shop for items that are fresh, local, and stay with foods that are healthy for my overall physical health.

As far as having extra money on hand (the savings acct), I bank at a Credit Union, taking advantage of special offerings like getting small personal loans, which I never spend. I just sink the entire loan into my savings account, never touch it, make the monthly payments for a year, earn a great credit rating for timely payments, collect dividend interest on the money sitting in my account, then do it again each year, etc. I have a nice nest egg to tap in case I ever need to use it. I love my credit union!