By Sharon Harvey Rosenberg

Sharon Harvey Rosenberg is the author of the Frugal Duchess: How to Live Well and Save Money – a coming of age memoir about money — and a contributing writer in Wise Bread’s 10,0001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget. She is a freelance journalist and a blogger for Wisebread.com. The Frugal Duchess blog is located at www.sharonhr.blogspot.com.

Creativity, accountability and flexibility are key tools in my personal finance toolbox.  With education and discipline, I use those tools to handle financial difficulties.

Here’s how my toolbox works:

1. Creativity: I try to find new uses for aging products, including my workplace skills. For cast-off household items, such as an old teapot, this process helps me to spend less money and save a small corner of the environment. Here are a few ideas for my teapot’s second life: plant potter, pen holder and a napkin centerpiece.

I’ve used the same process to earn more in an economic environment that has yielded massive layoffs and cutbacks for traditional journalists. I’ve repackaged, recycled and refurbished my writing, researching and reporting skills. This process has led to unexpected opportunities in the healthcare industry, blogging, public speaking and teaching. It’s a nonstop process of evaluation and can be applied to those in other industries.

2. Accountability: I know the bottom line, and it’s that space where my bottom hits the dining room chair. Quite simply, my dining room chair and table are great tools for managing the family budget. I use those tools best when I sit down and construct a realistic family budget that honestly reflects the income that comes into the house and the expenses that leave the house. This process demands full disclosure of nickel-and-dime expenses and the cost of big-ticket items. Periodically, the bottom line gets lost or mangled when I fail to either track expenses or dedicate adequate time to the budget process.  Mindful planning, in contrast, keeps me honest about what’s really going on in my life. And there’s an eco-friendly perk to this process: When I live very frugally, I conserve energy, money and other resources.

3. Flexibility: A package of Oreo cookies once sweetened a difficult lesson about personal finance. Driven by a strict diet, I had banished sweets from my life. The severe diet was short-lived because the sugar purge led to a huge binge in which I ate an entire package of cookies. When I brushed away the remaining crumbs of pride, I realized a personal truth about personal finance. Discipline and flexibility are equally important. It’s crucial to create and adhere to a plan, but budgets and menus have to deliver small perks and well-placed desserts. My best budgets have room for occasional small treats. That process rewards good behavior and avoids rebellious spending or eating binges.

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