Being Frugal...

[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.
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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!!!

[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

[Pembroke_Corgi]

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.

[Daisy and Delilah]

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.

[Alysser]

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.

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.

[popcornbird]

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.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

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]

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.

[Daisy and Delilah]

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.

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.