Being Frugal...

How do you spend less/save more money? With the bad economic outlook lately, I have been trying really hard to cut down on expenses. We are in the middle of yet another house construction project, so it is good incentive for me to be extra careful with spending right now.

One way is at the grocery store...I have cut out buying individual yogurts (we were going through 3/day, one for each of us, and instead getting the large size container. Right there, that is saving me close to $8/week. The same thing with individual fruit cups, and getting the larger sized cans and dividing them up myself. And I am also buying ALOT more store brands, and 95% of the time they taste the same.


Another area is clothes buying...lately, Lydia has been outgrowing her 2T outfits so fast, so I decided to try a local thrift store near us. I normally HATE thrift store shopping because usually they are filthy nasty, and you have to dig through piles of clothes to find the sizes that you want.

However, my BFF has been recommending this one store to me....they wash every single thing (they have a room with 2 washers/ 2 dryers) before they put it out. Not only that, but they have it all organized out by size and boy/girl. And when you walk into their building it smells so clean in there. I was SO impressed!

Anyway, this is what I got for $27 yesterday:

Five shirts:
http://www.pt.plainolpup.com/1230082.jpg


Two dresses (the denim one is brand new):
http://www.pt.plainolpup.com/1230083.jpg


Three skirts:
http://www.pt.plainolpup.com/1230084.jpg


Four pairs of pants:
http://www.pt.plainolpup.com/1230085.jpg

Everything:
http://www.pt.plainolpup.com/1230081.jpg

I will definitely go back there!

So please share ways to be frugal...I'm all ears! :D

What a great deal you got!! I've been cutting back alot as well. I called around for car insurance. Looks like I'm staying with Travelers. I spoke with Amica and thought I'd died and gone to heaven till I read her my stats on my previous policy. I have alot more coverage with Travelers ($92/month) than Amica could've given me ($103/month).

Oh well. I tried.

I love going to consignment shops. Why pay full price when you can get a deal on "gently used" items.

Since I haven't been working, I have really made an effort to not drive and/or combine my trips. When I have a job interview on a particular day, I do what I can to also run my errands at the same time, and go in a circle. My car gets good mileage, but I'm spending half as much on gas as I did before - approx only $80/month insead of every 2wks. It also helps that I'm not driving to work.

We also have recently got a WalMart Super Store in my area, and I'm buying more groceries there. Where I might spend over $200 at a Safeway, I can get at the WalMart for $130.

I also almost never buy anything at full price. I'm going to wait to use my Christmas money and gift certificates and buy my clothes on the winter blow-out sales.

We've been buying lots of clothes from the Human Society thriftshop. My husband swims 3 mornings a week and the chlorine in the pool ruins his swimsuits. So, he buys all his trunks from the thrift store for $1 each. Maybe we've just been lucky, but we've never been to a thriftshop where the clothes/items were dirty.

Saving money items that come to mind:

quit smoking -- my sister estimates she would save over $3000 a year IF she quit smoking.

get rid of cell phones -- we don't have any and the world keeps turning....

get rid of cable/satellite TV -- again, not as important as food in the fridge

I use coupons for everything -- especially pet food/supplies

Our local video store has a 2'fer Tuesday program. We rent 2 movies for the price of 1 every Tuesday.

Turn down the heat 1 degree. Turn down the hot water heater. Why heat 50 gallons of water all day?

Our internet would go before we'd go without utilities or health insurance.

Sell CDs/DVDs you don't want anymore on Craigslist.

Turn off the lights! I'm always amazed when I drive by a house that has every light on.

Unscrew some light bulbs. We have 4 overhead light fixtures in this house. Each one has SIX light bulbs in it. When we turn on the lights, it feels like you need to wear sunglasses! We removed 3 bulbs from each fixture and it's much better.

To save gas, I put the clutch in/put the car in neutral and coast down hills.

I do not shop for clothes. The clothes I have are so worn out. That's what I asked for for Christmas, gift cards so I can buy some clothes. And I'll go to Target and look for clearance items.

When we grocery shop we always buy store brand or what's on sale for the best value. We shop at Safeway so we "feel" like we save with the club card thingy.

I get a discount on pet food and supplies for being a volunteer at ARF. And our heat is on a timer so it's down at certain times of the day. Unfortunately, Bruce works at home so that doesn't help. One good thing is he doesn't drive TOO much. He has a SUV.

I always buy store brands when I can. It's such a long-term habit for me now, that I don't even think about it.

I am also really good at using left-overs the next night, so we don't waste food. Porkchops on Monday become pork fajitas on Tuesday.

I only buy clothes on clearance, and it has to be a deep clearance at that.

I am quitting smoking on the first, that should save a bundle.

But, I'm not the one with outrageous spending habits, never have been. I just don't care. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I still would hate to shop. But DH, OTOH, thinks every dime needs to be spent. If he were in control of the family budget, we would be in debt over our heads and buying more every month. It's a constant battle, though, let me tell you.

My cellphone IS my only phone. I have cable for internet and my tv. I couldn't THINK about not having cable tv. I house sat for my friends and they've cut back, eliminating cable tv. I was a basket case without it. I couldn't get ANY channels at all. Sorry, I don't go out to the movies, nor do I eat out very often (I'm also a big fan of leftovers). I don't smoke, nor do I drink. I haven't bought clothes since 2002. I think THAT justifies my having cable for entertainment.

If you have a Redbox in your area and a cell phone with text messaging enabled, you can get a free movie every Monday. Redbox is a video rental stand where you can rent movies for $1 per night. We have one located in WalMart and McDonald's in my town. To sign up for the code to get a free movie on Monday's, just go to this link and enter your cell phone number. They will send a text message with a promo code to use on Monday for a free movie. I used it for the first time this week and watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants II. There is also a link at the top of that page that will help you determine if there is a Redbox near you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Taz_Zoee

I do not shop for clothes. The clothes I have are so worn out. That's what I asked for for Christmas, gift cards so I can buy some clothes. And I'll go to Target and look for clearance items.
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I have a 'wonderful' story about close outs at Target.

I bought a pair of cotton shorts for three dollars at a clearance.

They had an elastic waistband that drove me nuts-pun intended!

I was always shifting them to get them comfy and one day, I inadvertantly exposed myself to a child!

I figured out why, one day when I they were ready to be tossed into the rag pile.

One leg was two inches shorter than the other. Being a 'guy' I never paid attention to my laundry until one day when I was folding my stuff CAREFULLY!

I had a great laugh and promised myself to pay attention to what I buy on sale and when to where it.

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Frugal?

I walk to all my shopping expeditions. I could KISS my dad! If I need something I have every available store, market, supplier within walking distance!

I just have to be careful of what I buy....I even have a THAI food store 4 blocks away!!!:D

You can't beat the hrift shops for kids clothes, lots of it is brand new and kids outgrow clothes so fast. I actually will shop there for myself because I sometimes find something comfy to lounge around in and even find great broken in jeans, I hate news jeans.

One thing you can watch for are the grocery store wars, where they will try to beat each other's prices for orange juice, eggs and often chicken. So many casseroles you can whip up with cheaper cuts of meats that will go a long way too. I save year round wherever I can so I don't think I can cut too much more form what I buy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RICHARD

I have a 'wonderful' story about close outs at Target.

I bought a pair of cotton shorts for three dollars at a clearance.

They had an elastic waistband that drove me nuts-pun intended!

I was always shifting them to get them comfy and one day, I inadvertantly exposed myself to a child!

I figured out why, one day when I they were ready to be tossed into the rag pile.

One leg was two inches shorter than the other. Being a 'guy' I never paid attention to my laundry until one day when I was folding my stuff CAREFULLY!

I had a great laugh and promised myself to pay attention to what I buy on sale and when to where it.

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LMAO!! Too funny! Thanks for the warning. I'll have to make sure to check my clothing carefully before purchasing. :D

i have gone to thrift stores for years. especially when my daughter was young and growing out of clothes so fast. sometimes you can find some really really good deals like new clothes with the original tags on them. i got a nine west handbag at a goodwill for $1.99 last summer.

we also grocery shop at places like aldi and save a lot. you can get a trunkful of food for 80 dollars or less and they carry some name brands too. not to mention cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc.

our city offers free recycling, so we recycle everything we can (paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, etc) and have reduced our weekly garbage to one bag versus several bags. we have to use the city bags ($15 for a box of 10) or put tags on regular bags.

places like family dollar and big lots have a big selection of food items too. like egg noodles 2 for a dollar a bag. munchies and stuff like tuna and even off brand soda.

i have found that coupons are usually good for name brand items, and that it usually cheaper to go with the spartan or store brands even without a coupon and they are pretty much the same. if you check, some of the off brands come from the same companies the name brands come from. tricky, no?

for pet food, check the food brand sites and there are usually coupons for food and treats. i just got a FREE bag of friskies cat food from a promotion they were having. free rules! :D

both my husband and i are currently laid off. we've cut corners on everything from scaling back the cable tv channels and cancelling our land line that we never use (our cell phones are cheaper and offer free long distance). we got a cheap snowblower on craigslist and it's already paid for itself and winter just started.

i also am a huge fan of freecycle. http://www.freecycle.org/ everything is free. you can search for items you need or get rid of stuff you no longer want. i use it all the time.

~aki :D

I love thrift stores! Consignment vs. donation makes a difference- consigned clothing is generally higher quality and less worn than donated clothing. One of my favorite things to do is go second-hand shopping, but in this economy I have found more people are buying there so the selection is not as good.

One suggestion I have for saving money that no one mentioned yet is winterizing your house. You can buy a kit to put plastic on your windows for very little (and get some rope caulk, which is also very cheap). Put the caulk in the places where cold air comes in, and put the plastic up on your windows- it really does help keep the cold out and lower your energy bill. Also, I would switch to CFLs and turn down your heat at night.

My son has told me what his girlfriend does. She has this down to almost a science. She goes to certain websites and prints fantastic coupons. I remember him telling me they have bought hundreds of dollars worth of groceries for $12. It amazes me. I have to get the names of the sites so I can start doing it.

I have stopped eating out so much. The money I save is unbelievable.

Store brands are fine for me. Some of them are better than others and some aren't. It's probably best to set up an amount you're going to spend on groceries each week. Make a list, add your purchases as you go, and you'll be right on every time. Make sure you leave what you can't afford and don't really need.

I save money on gas too by driving alot less. If I need to do something, I schedule all my errands in one day.

I'm doing laundry only when it's absolutely necessary. I was just throwing a load in whenever I felt like it. Not anymore. It will be pretty hard to cut back with children in the house.

If you're shopping online: sometimes the best way to go by the way, all around. Shop only where they have free shipping. Buy only sale items and only what you need. I love Amazon, drugstore.com, Walgreen's, and, Target(these sites carry a multitude of items).
The "Today" show had some tips on a couple of weeks ago. They said you can Google online stores and + coupons on to the end of your search. Alot of times, the store will display discounts you can take on yur order. You just need to obtain a code number. Example: Walmart + coupons(in the search box).

Long distance will get you in some cases. Find a cheaper plan and go with it. There are alot of them out there.

Get rates lowered on your credit cards by calling them. If you have running balances, be on the lookout for offers for free transfers and no interest for a year. Keep paying them down but with no added interest. Read the fine print. Many of them will charge 3% of the balance for a fee. Try to avoid that. Also: no annual fee.
The credit card companies were getting pretty strict for awhile but my mail tells me their starting to loosen up to get more business.

Tax time is coming up. Skip the high charges and learn to do it yourself. Make sure you know what you're doing. If you don't, the IRS will find the error and contact you.
Those tax forms appear to be so complicated. It's not that hard to read through them as soon as you learn how to eliminate the mumbo jumbo they add.

If you have to travel. I'm big on getting rates cut any way I can. Almost everybody at any business will give you a break if something is wrong. If you go to a restaurant and have a bad experience.....nicely explain this to the restaurant manger and they will generally give you the meal free or vouchers for another time.
Also, there are many travel related items that have discounts if you just ask. Hotel rooms, transportation, food, etc. I've found that just asking will bring out the best in people and you can get breaks on some of your trip.
Don't forget the senior citizens discounts, usually for the over 50 people.

This is a great thread. I think we can all use some help.

This is coming from an avid videogame player, but seriously consider getting rid of games and game systems you no longer use. Sell them on craigslist, ebay, or ever go to the local video game stores and sell them off if you don't use them any longer. It could be sitting there collecting dust in your house when someone who wants it will buy it off you. You can get money for old things, maybe not as much as you paid but it's still money.

Going to stores like TJ Maxx or outlets saves alot. They aren't as cheap as thriftshops no, but it's cheaper then the other actual products!. I bought a Roxy jacket in TJ Maxx for $33 and I saw it in the mall for $70. I've seen many name brands like Nike, Puma, Underarmor, in there. I have even seen coach purses and Ed hardy stuff. I will admit some outlets are rip-offs and aren't really outlets, but the local ones that were just built have a great Underarmor outlet. I just bought two shirts in there(under armor material) and it would have been $40 but it was $15. I go to the gym ALOT, at least 3 times a week and some of my shirts get worn out, and I just joined. I also am planning on possibly start jogging but I'm not sure because I have a heart condition. So these things are good for me. I'm a pretty active person when you get down to it. You can get good deals if you search. :D

My mom bought me 4 hoodies for christmas all of them one clearance, all name brand. Lucky Brand Sweatshirt on sale in Lord and Taylor. 3 Roxy hoodies on sale for about $10, on clearance in MACY'S. You might be able to find good deals even in MACY'S and Nordstrom and overpriced stores like that.

Oh, and one more thing:
You don't have to join diets like Jenny Craig and South Beach Diet to loose weight, you really don't. If you exercise enough and make your own diet up you get results and I have found BETTER Results by doing it myself. Also, if you want to join a gym, go to RetroFitness. It's only $20 a month and $140 to actually join, but if you wait awhile you will find they always make deals like Join for $50 or $70. I JOINED FOR FREE, because I waited for a deal to come! My friend joined a gym that was $175 a month! THAT is outrageous when there is a RetroFitness right down the road. There's NO catch, same machines and equipment/etc.

We've also taken a few steps to try to save money.

1. We got rid of my cell phone plan. I'm at home most of the time, so people can always call me at home. The only time I need a cell phone is when I go out, and that is only so my husband can reach me if/when he needs anything, or in case of an emergency. We pay $100 for 1000 minutes that usually last me 7 - 9 months. That saves us a few hundred dollars every year. For our home phone, we have Vonage. It saves us a lot, especially on international calls to family members who live overseas.

2. I personally have never shopped at a thrift shop, but I don't buy clothes very often. I only buy clothes when I need clothes. Sometimes, I sew my own clothes. When I buy, I prefer to buy nice clothes...usually from Macy's. You'd be surprised to know the great deals you can get at Macy's during big sales and clearances. I have managed to buy dresses that were originally $150 for less than $30, and $50 pants for $10. You can get good deals there if you look at the right time, in the right racks.

3. We often sell things we don't need on Amazon, like books, etc. That brings in some extra cash.

4. We eat out only once or twice a month. Cooking at home saves a LOT of money, and you can make it a lot healthier too.

5. I try to use the AC/heat only when absolutely necessary. Warm clothing and blankets help save on bills. ;)

6. I was driving less when gas prices were high, but now that they're low again, we've become a little relaxed on the driving.

7. You'd be surprised how much money you can save by shopping for groceries at small, individually owned shops instead of the big stores like Safeway and others. What costs 20 cents at a small grocery store would cost $1 at Safeway. Translate that into an entire week's shopping and you'll be saving at least $20 a week.

8. We stay completely debt-free by not getting a loan on anything.

There was a similar THREAD here back in the summer full of great tips.

I posted a lengthy post there full of tips you can read if you want.

In addition to what I had originally listed there I've added a couple more ways to save since that post...

We cut the cable service back to the next to bottom analog service. We're going to cancel the service but not until I get a billing error fixed then it's only movies on youtube and the library for us. We got our converter box coupon the other day.

This one sounds gross but it really does work and the savings do add up. Don't flush the toilet every time. Even a low flow toilet uses a couple gallons of water per flush. If you have several people living in your home that adds up to a lot of gallons to flush a few pieces of thin paper and basically more water. My last water bill was $10 less from doing this. I read about it on some website I stumbled across, with the slogan "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down". I don't do this at the end of the day or if we're going away because I don't want it to sit there and stink all day/night. It really doesn't make sense for me to flush a little pee and paper when hubby's right outside the door wanting in to do the same thing. One flush will suffice.

We declutter during the slower more boring winter months and pack in boxes all the usable items we no longer need or want. In the summer we have many small garage sales. The money we make goes in a jar for things like vacations, a new gadget, or whatever we both agree on using it for. We've had as much as $300 in there before from one summer of garage sales. I price my stuff dirt cheap to sell and get rid of not to make money. By doing that we sell alot more in volume! Not only that but our house is getting less cluttered all the time. Someday I'll finally have a bare shelf somewhere with not a darn thing on it! lol

I've been saving the super cheap bread baggies I use for my lunches for cleaning the cat boxes out with so I'm using less garbage bags.

I water down my dish soap so it goes further.

I'm mostly switched over from using liquid hand soap and body wash to bar soap. I bought a couple of these(mesh sponge) to put my bar soap in. One I got at Bath & Body works but they don't seem to have them anymore. The other I got at a department store and it had a regular sponge in it which I took out. I can buy a year's supply of bar soap on sale with a coupon for less than I was spending for just a couple months on liquid soap.

We ditched buying paper plates anymore, it just means hubby has to do more dishes.

We rewash the plastic silverwear and use them until they all break before buying new ones. I draw the line at washing out ziplock bags though. lol

We bought some powdered milk for cooking. Hubby & I both grew up having to drink this stuff and both swore we'd never use it ourselves, however.... I have found that if you just use it for cooking you can't tell the difference and trust me I'm very finicky about the taste of my food! The powdered stuff is cheaper and lasts alot longer so we can store it up in the pantry.

Since it's winter we bundle up alot in the house. Our house is very old and lacks insulation so it's very drafty. We have a programable thermostat that's only job is to turn the heat DOWN 4 times a day at key times we tend to leave the house in case we forget to turn it down before we leave. It's saved us a LOT on our heating bill. The heat goes down to 61 degrees at night and when we're away, and we usually run it between 65-68 when we're home, unless we have company then we'll turn it up a bit more. I'm typing this now wearing big fuzzy boot type slippers and a heavy fleece housecoat over my regular clothes. lol Our gas bill goes to about $150-$180 during the coldest month of the year then drops over about 2-3 months down to about $30 which is where it stays until the next winter.

A good way to look at anything in your budget is to think about how many hours you'd have to work to pay for whatever it is, AND add up how much it costs you per year for whatever it is.

For instance let's say you make $10 per hour on your job. Once a month you like to get a $20 pizza and a $3 movie for a family night.

$23 x 12 months = $276 per year. At that pay rate you'd have to work 27.6 hours per year just to pay for that.

Compare that to..
Movie from library = free
frozen pizza on sale = $8
Hours worked to pay for it = 9.6

Quite a savings in both time and money.

Anyways I'm on to writing another mini novel, sorry. I've gotten rather into this saving money and am really enjoying being able to take longer vacations and have money to spend on things I really need and want to do.

We're also in the middle of house repairs. Right now, we're painting the livingroom and dining room. I bought a 5 gallon bucket of NICE paint from the local paint store for $5. It was a mis-tint from a locAL contractor. I often get 1 gallon cans for $1. You can get them from Lowe's and Home Depot too, but its more expensive from them. Only problem... I ran out of the tan trim color and now I have to actually have them MAKE MORE for me :eek:

I do everything myself and take my time. Nothing is better and more cost-effective than doing somethign right hte first time 'round.

There are some great tips here. Thanks to everybody.

I just wanted to say that alot of people don't realize how helpful it is to save on every little thing you can. Five or ten cents may not seem like alot but it adds up. I've learned not to waste anything over the years. It really pays off in the long run.

I forgot about not always flushing the toilet. Great tip!! When we had the floods in my area, earlier this year, I wasn't able to flush very much for days. That was pretty bad, but, it really isn't that bad to only flush when really needed. I don't get to the gross point but I stretch it to the limit.:) It saves alot of money.

Whenever I get change, I put it in a pocket on my cars visor. I find at the end of the month I usually have about $10...in my car thats half a tank! :eek:

I only fill up twice a month as is, only spending about $40 a month in gas makes a huge difference.

If I see something the Found Ctas can use I grab it and take it home.
And My Angels :love::love: lead me to where I ca find things that have been disposed of like the Pittsurgh Steelers jacket worth about 60 dollars hair bed, and the two storage end tables!!!
And the sectional thats on the Cat Porch , and the bookshelf as well.
2008 was a great year for Free Stuff!
And I keep my eyes on the Pet Store Flyers they had 20 pound bags of Pro Plan for 20 dollars!!
And 44 pounds of litter 5.93!
It pays to save!!!:cool::cool:

another thing i do at christmas is save and reuse all the boxes, tissue paper and gift bags. i use the fronts from the christmas cards i get to use for gift tags the following year. sometimes you can get more then one from each card. i either tape them on packages and write on them, or punch a hole in the corner and tie them on with ribbon. scrapbooking scissors are fun to use if you want a funky edge. :D

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Originally Posted by Daisy and Delilah

Those tax forms appear to be so complicated. It's not that hard to read through them as soon as you learn how to eliminate the mumbo jumbo they add.[/B]

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I always did our taxes when we have straight forward W-2s. Once Justin went became self-employed we got a CPA. Actually I did them myself the first year, and we got a CPA after that. The CPA re-did our taxes from the first year and got us a lot back that we were able to credit to the next year. We may have to pay a few hundred a year for a CPA, but it's worth it when she saves us thousands.


I also hang my laundry rather than use the dryer.

I don't have a dish washer, but I would imagine that washing dishes by hand is cheeper than running the dishwasher.

I use the toaster oven rather than the big oven when possible. It's cheeper to heat the little toaster oven then to heat up the big oven.

We do a lot of the other things people have mentioned too.

I couldn't agree more, Kari. :) I think I should have added that doing your own forms should only be done for the simple filings. Some are so time consuming and frustrating, we have to hire someone. Self employment returns are a basic nightmare in alot of cases. My BIL is a good example of that. He keeps his receipts all over the place and throws them all in a box at the end of the year. Some of them have stuff spilled all over them, shoe prints, etc. I used to do his taxes and it was scary.:eek:

I heard what the tax places charge for a simple 1040A or an EZ and I couldn't believe it. For a long time, I did tax returns for people with simple returns. I felt so bad that they were paying so much and I wouldn't charge them anything.

In many cases, it's completely necessary to go to a professional.:)