Frugal's the Word!

[Munerift]

Well, I dont know how most of you sit in life... but I had a feeling that most are along the same lines as my family...

We're newly married, have a 9 month old daughter who is sooooo cute... (see image below) we've both been holding just sliiiggghhhtttlyyy above minimum wage jobs, and living in a middle-priced apartment on the better side of town can leave you stretched thin between the rising cost of gas, diapers, and formula.



I was delighted when I ran across a term a couple years ago; frugal.

It's the act of saving yourself money by employing little tricks such as buying store-brand macaroni, reusing those dredded AOL cds, and other little tricks that leave your pocket just alittle bit more padded throughout the month. Some people of course live by a frugal-only life, and others simply pick and choose what works best for them.

I thought others would be interrested, so link follows:

http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm


I did follow another site when I was first looking, however it's since been swallowed up along the masses, not to be found again. I do know they had a little guide by the lines of "The Guide to Living Cheap" but a google search turned up nothing. (you'll notice many want you to pay for their guides, but all the information is already on the internt for free.)


Some tatics I employed were:

Napkins were too expensive... but wendy's napkins are free... and they have *great* salt. (or pepper)

Buying gift items when I find a good sale, plop them in a trunk at home and when a gift-giving occasion came up I could just pick something appropriate, and coupling it with a home-made gift.

I admit, I've been dead broke... to the point of I didnt have toilet-paper. Know where this is going? Sure ya do! I dont think anyone notices when you stash a couple feet of toilet paper off the Mc.D's roll... hehe.

My Favorate: Making up huuuuuggggeeee meals, and portioning the leftovers to the freezer for home-made dinners! (another entire meal with seemingly no prep!)



What's everyone's thoughts on this? I thought some might like alittle tip, but I think now my tips gotten too big! ^_^

[Xepher]

Oh, frugal is a choice? Hmm, I've been living that way since I first remember. As a kid, I remember getting upset that we couldn't have name-brand cereal. On the other hand, we had a six wheeler and a home worth 500,000 dollars. My family's always been odd that way. Right now my parents have an H2, a tricked out F-350 crew cab, my brother drives a beatle, and they just bought a boat. They all live in a trailer home and buy generic cola.

Me? I eat out a lot, but I buy clothes at wal-mart. I build my own furniture whenever possible. I sleep with a futon mattress on the floor. Save money where you can, and enjoy life as much as possible.

[Munerift]

Yes, that's the word!

..I was taught earlier though that cloths at walmart are not the best bargains all the time... I went to JCPenny's, and found a skirt and several shirts to go with it for under what I would pay for a cheaper imitation at Wally*World.

[griever]

My parents have always been very frugal and I've followed most of their ideas.  However, there are some things that we've agreed have to be bought well - in other words, spending the extra cash for an item that has demonstrated its longevity time and time again is worth it.  Shoes are an example...I'd rather get shoes from a namebrand than get generic Walmart shoes because I want them to last 3+ years and the only thing going is the tread.

[Xepher]

Quality shoes are good. (See song by Mark Knopfler, entitled "Quality Shoe") but name brand does NOT equal quality. I've got a $50 pair of hiking boots that's lasted me through 2 winters in colorado and another 3 in texas and are still going strong. I've bought New Balance name-brand shoes and they died in 3 months. I've got $10 sandals that have lasted me through 5 years and three oceans. I bought a pair of Nikes that lasted less than 6 months.

Same goes for wal-mart clothes. I don't assume that wal-mart is always the best deal. But when they are, it's usually pretty good.

[Chow]

Man, I remember from the time when I first got into college to about 6 months ago, I was a vegetarian by budget not by choice. I wasn't making a social comment, I just couldn't afford meat all the time!

Then I learned the REAL way to eat Ramen, with thin slices of meat and veggies in with the noodles. I'll tell you what, I ate for a week on less than $20!

[griever]

I've had really bad luck with Walmart shoes to the point where it's not even an option now.  Flipflops, sure, cause those never last through the summer anyway.  And workboots for a temporary job are okay too.  But my shoe experience with Walmart has always been bad.

There's one type of jean brand that I will always buy, strictly because the hip to leg ratio is perfect.  Normally, I have to get my pants altered because the legs are too long (usually about 6 inches).

[Ashley_Rose]

Adam and I have taken to living very frugally. We have internet, no cable, don't go out on dates much (we've been hit with a couple solid months of bills), and mostly make sure to eat what's in our cabinets and freezer. The one thing I'm thrilled to have is a mini-deep freezer. It's not entirely small, but it fits a lot of frozen foods.

Also, with it being summer, we'll usually get corn and tomatoes, cook the corn and slice the tomatoes, and have the corn for our meal and the tomatoes with sugar on them for dessert.

We usually don't cook huge meals (something that took me a LOT of getting used to, as I come from a large family of eaters) so if we see a good deal on a large package of chicken parts, we'll buy it and then seperate them appropriately. We do that for any meat products, really.

[Gwyn]

Yeah, when I do buy meat I buy stuff that's in bulk for cheap, and I seperate it. I eat really cheap though, and only do a big grocery shop once a month. Rent kills me so I don't have much for anything else, and I'm still trying to find a job (well I have something in the works, but that is a long and off topic story) :p

I take extra napkins from fast food places as well.

[Ashley_Rose]

Hee, I work at a Culver's and periodically swipe some of their sauce containers.