When I left my well-paying sales job to become a freelance writer, I created an initial monthly budget to see how much I’d have to make. Then I cut the budget by 10 percent. Then 20. I still didn’t think it was possible that I could bring in that amount of money, so I cut more. Eventually my budget was about half its original size.

Now I’m close to celebrating my first full year in business, and I’m still facing money problems, even if they are my own fault (like the invoicing thing). I’ve now implemented several rules to help me continue to control my costs.

1. I am not allowed to put non-essentials in my shopping cart. If I can’t leave the store without that item, I can go get it before I leave. And I can almost always leave without it.
2. When I get a hankering for something, I say to myself: Beth, you’ve lived 39 years of your life without that item. Is it absolutely necessary to bring it into your life now?
3. When I have to do a substantial grocery store run, I go sale shopping. Instead of looking for items that I want to buy, I scan the shelves for sales signs and choose among the items with the most dollars off. The other day at the store, I spent $105, but the savings were $41, and I filled my pantries.
4. I buy clothes and most household items at thrift stores.
5. I fix things and make do: my BlackBerry trackball was sticking, so last night I took it apart and cleaned the connections with alcohol. A year ago I would already have purchased an iPhone. My laptop space bar is no longer working, but instead of getting a new laptop, I’m dragging around my wireless keyboard.
6. I eat cheaply. Even the good tuna goes on sale for about $1.50 a can, and frozen blueberries are significantly less expensive than fresh. Shredded wheat is shredded wheat, so the store brand does just fine. And good old tap water costs nothing.
7. For indulgences, I make small adjustments. For example, I still have a really bad coffee habit, but I am afraid to give it up entirely because sometimes the employees at the coffee shop are the only people I interact with all day long. So I switched from double Americanos to regular house coffee, which is half the price.
8. I treat myself at home. After the marathon, I really, really, really wanted an indulgent pedicure. I made an appointment at a place that won two years in a row for the best pedicure in San Diego. But then my eye appointment cost $500+, and I couldn’t indulge. So I canceled my appointment and gave myself some pampering.
9. I don’t meet friends for drinks at bars or dinner. I’m really not the kind of woman guys buy drinks for in bars, so when I go out for drinks, it’s easy to spend $20 and more. And if I meet someone for dinner, it’s $30 easily. At a grocery store, $30 can be food for three days! But if I invite a friend for coffee, the bill stays under $10, and if we meet somewhere for lunch, my tab is maybe $15. I can save even more if we sit for glasses of wine on my front porch.