This is Part 1 of a three-part series, Navigating the Financiapocoalypse. It’s intended as a get-started guide for people just starting down the path of actively managing their money.

Before you can do any saving, you need to get your spending under control. As I said in my intro to this series, however, this isn’t going to be a guide on how to be a total cheapskate. I’m not going to be the one advocating use of a coffee shop for Internet access and the sports bar to watch TV, or putting on six sweatshirts so you don’t have to turn the heat above 50. But there’s plenty of smart decisions you can make to reduce expenses while still maintaining a lifestyle you enjoy.

My thoughts on budgets

Lots of financial types insist that you have to have a strict budget. Maybe this is starting off on the wrong foot in a lecture about controlling spending, but I have a confession to make: I don’t keep a budget. (I have a guideline that I call a “reverse budget,” but we’ll talk about that in part 2). I do keep rough numbers in my head, but I’m not going to agonize over every dollar — it’s too time-consuming and too much micromanaging. I know what our typical monthly expenses are, and I try to keep them low. Beyond that, my energy is better spent on doing more active things to control our money. Besides, many of the people I’ve met who do dollar-by-dollar budgets are usually so obsessed with recording that last receipt in Quicken that they forget to enjoy life.

Controlling your “right now” money

So I don’t consider planning every monthly expense to be very important. The important part is making the best decision at the time you have to actually spend that money (or in the case of recurring monthly bills, at the time you sign up for the service), and while I’m not a proponent of cheaping out on everything, you need to be conscious of the fact that a few bucks here and there can really add up. Making your own coffee instead of going to Starbucks can mean $50 or $60 a month — that’s a cell phone bill. Bringing lunch instead of buying 4 days a week can save you over $120 a month. How many times do you think you’re really going to watch that movie? Rent it instead of buy it. Everyone’s heard stuff like this of course, but once you get used to asking yourself the questions, “Do I really need this right now? What is it worth to me?”, you’ll find that sometimes the answer contradicts your first impulse.

This sounds like simple common sense, but there was a time when I wasn’t so great at asking myself those questions — and many people are affected by the same “must have” impulses fueled by our consumer-centric society. That’s what got so many people deep into credit card debt — buying things they didn’t really need because they were told that just “wanting” it was enough justification.

Another way to save money on bigger purchases is to avoid those store-offered warranties. People who try to actually use those rarely have a story with a happy ending — and if you use your major credit card (paying it off immediately, of course) you often will get a double warranty anyway, provided courtesy of MasterCard or Visa. I didn’t follow my own advice on this just one time, and sure enough the store (Best Buy, in this case) tried to cheat me when I needed their warranty service.

Monthly bills

Cutting back on recurring monthly expenses can be more difficult, but it is possible. With the advent of so many online video sites (like Hulu.com for NBC and FOX shows; all major networks have something up now), many popular TV shows are available for free — completely legal, ad-supported shows. This has allowed some people I know to ditch cable TV or at least downgrade to a lesser package, freeing up $40 to $80 a month. Many have already given up their landlines in favor of cell phones, and energy-saving tricks like bumping the heat down a few degrees at night (when you’re under the blankets) and when you head out the door can really add up too.

One big one I think a lot of people need to look at is their text messaging portion of their cell phone bills — the rates are extreme (if you multiply the bytes and dollars out, AT&T charges $1,310 per MB! For comparison, most MP3s are 3 to 4MB and viewing just a couple web pages can easily cause you to pass 1 MB) and you might ask yourself if you could just send an email instead. Email is essentially free, while SMS is priced in the stratosphere — the U.S. Senate has even opened an investigation into the wireless companies for the exorbitant SMS pricing. I personally get by just fine on the lowest SMS plan — 200 a month. I use email for most communications.

Take a week (or two) and examine closely how much you use the cable TV, cell phone minutes, text messages, and anything else that you may be overpaying for. Watch out for package “deals” from communication companies — yeah, you can get cable TV, Internet, and phone for $99/mo, but do you really need the phone? They’re not always the best deal for your needs. Also don’t be afraid to ask your service providers for discounts. Some will offer a significant percentage off if you prepay for a year; some have specials that are advertised to new customers, but might be willing to give to an existing customer if all you do is ask nicely.

Finally, look at your bills. I’m admittedly bad about this, and I know some of you are too. I didn’t look closely at my cable bill for many months, and when I did I realized they were erroneously charging me for the CableCARD in my TiVo. A couple phone calls later and I was credited for 10 months worth of incorrect billing. Always check the small print and individual charges — big companies tend to make mistakes in their favor.

Simplify your stuff

Taking stock of what you own and eliminating “stuff” can help too. I embarked on a cleaning mission for my office closet a few months ago — the closet that contains the myriad of computer parts, gadgets, and other electronics I’ve accumulated over the years with the thought “Oh, I bet I could use that one day!” I sold a few of the things that were really worth something, gave some of it away, and trashed the rest. Not only did I clear some storage space, but I made a little money and — more importantly — it made me re-examine a few of my spending habits. A few weeks later when I ran across a similar little gadget to one I had given away, I thought to myself, “The last time I bought something like that, it wound up in the closet after just a few months. Maybe it’s not worth it.” Clearing out the cruft will enhance your mental spending discipline and reduce clutter (I hate clutter!).

It’s all in your head

What all this boils down to is using your head and training yourself. You have to be willing to stop and ask yourself questions before buying something, and you have to be willing to spend just a little time with your monthly bills to make sure everything’s correct and you’re getting the best deal possible. It’s hard to put an exact number on it, but since I started asking myself those questions and spending that time I’d say we’ve saved on average $250 a month or so. It might take a little sticky note in your wallet over the credit card (“Should I really buy this?”), or a conversation with your spouse for any non-essential item over a certain dollar amount, or (in extreme cases) freezing the credit card in a glass of water so you have to wait for it to thaw — and therefore, give yourself time to think between the impulse and the act of buying — but get yourself trained to ask that question.

But why cut spending? Up next, a very important and neglected subject: aggressive saving.