Thrifty used to be considered good quality. In today’s spend and consume it all society the thrifty in society appear to be the outcast. Even with the US consumer slipping deeper into debt, the media barking signals of “Black Friday” coming we must all still consume to keep the economy going. If you did not realize it yet… the media is about making money providing “news” through their sensational eyes. Individual and corporate spending got us as a nation into debt. We cannot stop spending, but we become smarter buyers…

Don’t always buy new. Buying a used item may not give the same feeling of joy felt in buying something in a factory sealed box does, but is that fleeting feeling worth a few hundred dollars? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with most used products on the market. People move, upgrade, and get rid of stuff more monetary reasons.

Very rarely will you encounter a used product in poor condition. With the availability of internet auction and ad sites like eBay, buying used is easier and often cheaper than ever. Big ticket items especially should be examined carefully in the used market. Whether it be appliances, electronics, power tools or other items, you can find hundreds of these products at numerous sites across the internet, or in pawn shops or your local papers.

One of the keys to buying used is to anticipate when you may need the item. If you’re in a situation where you absolutely need an item quickly, you may not feel like you have the time to buy it used. This really shouldn’t be a problem with big ticket items, as there should not be any real emergency on acquiring most of them, but it’s something to consider nonetheless.

Use Cash Is this one ever a biggie. If you don’t have the money for something, don’t buy it, plain and simple. Every household in America should be cutting up every credit card they own knowing as we now do what havoc they can wreck on our finances. The trouble is that once you get into that spiral, it’s difficult to get out, and many of you are probably forced to pay for things with credit because your cash goes towards paying the credit each month and you don’t have any left over to get ahead. Whatever you do, get out from under those cards, be they charging 1% or 20% interest rates. Don’t settle, it’s your money.

Buy Generic Many grocery stores have their own generic food brand, and the majority of them are actually of very good quality, hardly a step down from the major brands that can cost two to three times more money. Give these brands a try at the very least if you haven’t already. Just the process of saving money may make them taste all the more better alone.

These are just a few tips to spend while still saving money. There’s nothing wrong with being thrifty and there’s nothing wrong with being a smart shopper. Millions of American families wish they had the same traits right about now.