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Happy Monday everyone. Hope you all had a good weekend.

Today's frugal living tip might seem a bit radical to some readers, but it is a money saving strategy I've been employing for the past few years, and I have found it to be quite successful.

The basic premise behind this method is simple: Whenever you plan to purchase something that can be clearly defined as a want you will need to sell some of your possessions to finance the purchase. For example, if you've got your heart set on a Nintendo Wii you might have to sell your Playstation 2 with 30 games to afford the purchase.

Adhering to this method will accomplish a couple of things:

1) It will force you to evaluate just how badly you really want the item. Are you willing to give up that PS2, or your golf clubs? It is yet another impulse check on your spending. *As you may have gleaned if you've been reading this series, I'm a big proponent of impulse checks. But putting these checks in place is arguably the biggest step towards eliminating debt and attaining financial freedom, so I will continue to extol the virtue of doing so.

2) It will act as an ongoing clutter control for your home. If you've lived in your current residence for any length of time you will have inevitably acquired a plethora of odds and ends that fill the garage, the shed and the spare bedroom. If you sell something every time you purchase something new this stuff will take much longer to accumulate. As a side benefit you will find that once you start eliminating clutter you don't need quite as much living space as you thought you did. This provides an opportunity to potentially downsize into a smaller home, which could represent a huge savings going forward.

If you find you cannot part with enough stuff to finance your latest want then you'll have to get creative. Take on some odd jobs, go pick fruit for a couple of weekends, monetize your blog. Basically, find some other way to acquire the difference needed without tapping into your savings from your regular income. It may seem like this is extreme, but you will find you enjoy an enormous feeling of satisfaction once you've managed to scrape together enough money to make your purchase.

Now, this method may not be for everyone. Having the support of your spouse for this project is key. There's bound to be some tension if one spouse is sacrificing all their old treasures while the other spouse is still spending indiscriminately. Still, it's worth kicking the tires and seeing if this is something your significant other can get on board with. The lure of debt-free living can be a powerful motivator, so maybe they will surprise you and agree to this "crazy plan".

Overall, this is just another strategy for eliminating drain on your regular income. You don't have to adhere to it as outlined above. Get creative and find what works best for your situation. Good luck, and enjoy the challenge!

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Author of frugal living tips website at http://www.cheapcanuck.com