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We get it. You’re starting a new businesses and you’re strapped for cash. There are a million questions going through your head. We empathize with bootstrapping entrepreneurs and small-business owners everywhere, and today we explore meaningful ways (that add up) where your business can save money in the early phases. That said, every small-business owner and entrepreneur has a unique set of circumstances that pertains to their business, industry, strategy, and execution. Here we will outline some of the key choices, some obvious, some less obvious, on ways you and your small business can save money.

Once a month (or so), I share a dozen things that have inspired me to greater personal, professional, and financial success in my life. I hope they bring similar success to your life.

1. Colin Grant on being the son of a difficult father

From the description: Colin Grant has spent a lifetime navigating the emotional landscape between his father’s world and his own. Born in England to Jamaican parents, Grant draws on stories of shared experience within his immigrant community — and reflects on how he found forgiveness for a father who rejected him.

For starters, I love hearing the stories of people with lives that have been much different than my own. While I can hear a few echoes of similarity in Colin’s story, most of it is on completely different ground than what I’m familiar with and I find that fascinating. It’s a window into another world of human experience.

A couple of days ago, I posted a list of fifteen items I don’t skimp on. That list mostly consisted of extremely heavy use items and maintenance of my health and my most expensive purchases (homes and automobiles).

So, what do I skimp on? In truth, I skimp on a lot of things… but they’re mostly things that don’t seem to affect my quality of life when I spend less on them. This article lists fifteen of those things.

A few caveats:

This list doesn’t include stuff that I just don’t buy. I don’t spend my money on most junk food options. I don’t buy a lot of hobby supplies, either, outside of the occasional board game or book. This list focuses on things that I do buy regularly, but where I seek out the lowest possible price.

Frugality is a major part of our financial independence strategy. Since we live on only one income and save the other one, we have to be quite careful with our spending.

As I’ve mentioned many times, my perspective on frugality is to spend as little as possible on things that aren’t as important to us so that we can spend adequately on things that are important to us.

Still, there are a number of things that I simply don’t skimp on. Buying the “dirt cheap” version of these things seems to cause more problems in my life than the savings will ever be worth, so instead I either choose to buy these items “for life” (meaning I shoot for highly reliable versions of the item) or I buy the best “bang for the buck” version I can find (relying on recommendations from trusted sources like Consumer Reports).

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does provide a great example of some items that I don’t skimp on.