Being Frugal...

[moosmom]

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.

[Nomilynn]

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.

[kuhio98]

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.

[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.

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.

[Twisterdog]

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.

[moosmom]

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.

[Moesha]

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.

[RICHARD]

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.
.

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!!!

[shepgirl]

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.

[Taz_Zoee]

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.

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

[aki]

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!

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