The Save Money Blog

Posts Tagged ‘frugal-lifestyles’

What is frugality? The dictionary definition of frugal: "Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources." People think of it as simply being "cheap," in the fashion of Ebeneezer Scrooge. I see it as the practice of getting the most for one's money, without giving up anything important.

It may surprise people to know that I buy the cheapest t-shirts and yet pay to have someone mow the lawn. But the shirt does the same job as the expensive ones, and my time is worth more to me than what I pay for mowing. That's getting the most for my money, and I sacrifice nothing for this kind of frugality. Of course, I get a good deal on the lawn work too. Here are three ways to spend less and still get what you want.

1. Look For Free Things

I once got free dental x-rays from the dental hygienist program at a local college. Other dental schools will x-ray your mouth for free or at a reduced charge, if you have the patience to sit there while the instructor coaches the student through the process. You then get your x-rays to take to the dentist, saving you the cost of that part of the visit anyhow.

One of the prettiest campgrounds my wife and I have stayed at was Williams Landing, on Lake Talquin in Florida – and it was free for up to ten days. There are free campgrounds scattered across the country. Woodall's campground directory lists most of the campgrounds in the country, including ones which don't charge.

I got my tires rotated for free a couple years ago. I don't recall the name of the chain of tire shops, but this is their normal policy. It is amazing how many things you can get for free if you keep your eyes open.

2. Take Advantage Of Promotions

We regularly use coupons for restaurants in our small town. Several of them have "Buy a meal, get the second one for half off" deals in the paper every week. We eat at these places anyhow, so it is a true savings when we use a coupon to save $5.

Speaking of coupons, if any of the stores in your area double them, here is how you take advantage of it: Suppose you have a 50-cent coupon for dish detergent. If the store is doubling it, you'll get a dollar off. Now, if you buy the 38-ounce size at $2.19, it will cost $1.19, or 3.1 cents per ounce. But if you buy the 18-ounce size at $1.19, it will cost you 19 cents, or a bit over a penny per ounce – a third of the cost. Buy small sizes when coupons are doubled.

Look for any other promotions you can take advantage of. If your favorite shampoo goes on sale, buy enough for the next six months. Stocking up on non-perishables during sales can cut the cost of your household supplies dramatically.

3. Find Alternatives

Often there are cheaper options that can replace what you think you need. Certainly this is true in the case of generic prescription drugs and store-brand foods. But even in area where you think you have no alternatives, look again. Let's use car insurance as an example.

You might have found the cheapest company to buy your insurance from, and so you think that is the best you can do. However, the various companies are not the only alternatives you have. You could still lower the premiums by raising the deductible, for example. After all, if you really can't afford the first $500 of an accident, maybe you should rearrange your financial life rather than pay for expensive ways to avoid the responsibility of setting aside a bit of money. If you pay cash for an older car, you can also decline collision coverage.

Frugality can mean being an opportunist too. This is especially true when looking for alternatives. For example, it almost certainly isn't true that only one specific place will suit you for a vacation, so why not look at the offers and plane fares for several destinations you would enjoy? Then pick the cheapest one. You may spend half as much, have twice the fun (who knows?) and have money left over for other important goals.

Again, frugality isn't about self-sacrifice and miserable "cheapness." It is about spending less, and when you do that, you can have even more of what you truly need and want. Every piece of used furniture we buy, which looks the same as a new piece but costs half as much, means we get the same comfort at home and money left over for another day of travel (you pick what's important to you).

Below is the link to full story about a mom who shares her frugal family feeding tips. They are pretty good tips to follow if you need to save money feeding your family, like we all do.

Here are some highlights from the article:

1. Cook more meals at home. Cooking a simple meal isn’t that hard — you’ll eat healthier and spend way less cash.
2. Use the ads to your advantage. Careful stocking up on sale items and loss-leaders will really cut your grocery bill. Incorporate as many sale items into your weekly menu as possible.
3. Take time to plan. It only takes a few minutes to plan a week’s worth of dinner meals. Having a simple menu planned will minimize visits to the drive-thru lane, reduce trips to the grocery store, and save you a ton of time and money.
4. Avoid impulse buys. If you’re not using a shopping list you’re likely to pick up more items on impulse. Research shows that impulse buys count for almost 60 percent of the average shopper’s purchases.
5. Stay out of the store. The less often you go to the store, the more money you’ll save.

‘Cheapest’ mom shares tips for frugal family-feeding How do you put food on the table for a family with five kids and still manage to save any money? Annette Economides of "America's Cheapest Family" shares her secrets. Home – Homemaking – Frugality – Family – Parenting Read more on MSNBC

Saving money doesn't have to be an awful task or something that seems to be hard work. It can be fun as well. Frugal living brings all sorts of negative condentations but people that believe in a frugal life actually enjoy saving money and find pleasure in saving. In the end it doesn't even matter how much, just that they have saved something.

Too many people think that frugality is for those without money. I grew up in a fairly poor family and the idea of frugal living never really appealed to me. I like to spend money. I like to have what I want when I want it. I never thought I'd be a frugal person.

But somewhere along the way I realized that to have everything I want, I have to stop buying and using things I really don't want. That almost makes sense, doesn't it? Basically, I set some goals. And to fulfill your goals, you have to take action.

And I became hooked on living frugally.

Frugal living becomes a game you play against yourself. You are looking for ways to save. I started out simply looking to see if I could really lower our electric bill. And I did with very little effort. Then I looked to our heating costs. Hey, I did it again. Then I looked to our driving expenses.

Okay, you just get hooked. Now I'm working on cutting our food costs. I've been trying several methods, so we'll see what works. In fact, I've become so good at cutting costs, my husband is taking a lower paying job that will bring him more time at home with us.

Frugal living isn't something that is easy on a family when you take the attitude on that you must do it. It is like cleaning house. It is something that has to be done. You can either make it a good experience or a bad one. With the wrong attitude you will probably fail.

Consider frugal living as a challenge. And the best thing is that you are improving more than just your financial situation. I've heard many, many financial counselors and advisors say that when people gain control of their money, they gain control of their lives. That is because self-control bleeds over into other things. You simply begin to look at things differently.

Whether you are looking to a frugal life out of necessity or out of a wise money management plan, start by simply tackling one area of your expenses. Then move on to another. Over time, you will find that your attitude changes and you look at things differently. And you start seeing that you can save money (to spend on things that really matter) without much effort at all. And that's the best thing about the frugal challenge — you save money.

Frugal is thrifty in summary. Frugal is summarized as values with traditional backings over belief and lifestyle. Often those who practice frugal restrain themselves and use resources for buying economical services and goods sparingly. The purpose is to make their purchases good last. It seems to fulfill their goals.

Using the cash economical system frugality places emphasis on economy since the money is employed to meet personal long-term goals, communal needs and familial.

In short, frugal is penny-pinchers that use thrifty tactics to save energy, money and the economy. Few of the chief tactics of frugal involve waste reduction. This process changes the common cost expenses or habits. A frugal will suppress spending for the purpose of achieving gratification instantly through means of self-restraining fiscal while striving toward efficiency.

A frugal avoids traps. These people defy expensive items that the common norm society focuses on. A frugal embraces free items, or gratis choices rather than focusing on materials.

Frugal does not have a problem bartering. The barter system is a process that involves many challenges, such as negotiation, bargaining, swapping, trading, exchanging and so on.

In summary, frugal that barters will swap one good in exchange for another item in which the party needs. Therefore, this person only focuses on necessities rather than material, which is a healthy quality.

A frugal will stay informed. These people seek information of current affairs, local situations, including product, service and market changes.

A frugal is a self-sufficient person that prefers to live the simple life. Often these people associate concepts of their frugality as philosophic. This often backs a deeply worried emotion or lack of trust. These people often gain professional knowledge that guides them to understand the commercial realm or the cultures in the corporate world. These people claims to understand economic changes, spiritual interests and materials best.

Various spiritual societies contemplate over the frugality of its virtue or else religious discipline. You can note examples of these people by understanding the Puritans or the RSF -”Religion Society of Friends.”

Common theories back these ideas, which include saving money to make cash more ready for other individuals. Environmentalists often follow the frugal structure in that these people places their virtues on bringing humanity closer. The purpose is to guide humanity back to its roots. This includes the forming into a group to bring things and people together.

It also includes needing and carrying of little and discovering the purpose of nature intentions rather than manmade religions. In short, frugal forms a pattern that attracts followers, supporters, or an audience by accumulating traditions and beliefs that fit the frugality profile.

A key part of living a good frugal life is taking what you already have to make what you need. And by this I mean taking your products that you have in your house to make other products. If you have tomatoes then you have no need to buy spaghetti sauce. You simply use your tomatoes to make your own homemade sauce. Take it a step further and grow your own vegetables and bypass the grocery store all together. It's hard to be completely hardcore frugal like this but every bit counts. My wife started to make her own face creams recently. You really only need blended oils, beeswax, coconut/cocoa butter, and grapefruit seed extract. There are million websites online that show you how to make face creams and lotions.

Think about some of the things that you use everyday and then ask yourself if you can make your own. You will be on your way to living a more frugal life like me.

So thanksgiving is behind us as is Black Friday and Cyber Monday or whatever they were calling it. Clear sailing, right? Not really because here come Christmas. It seems like we were just shelling out our wallets for summer vacation. Believe it or not there are still some relatively free or frugal things you can do with your family.

1. I am surprised how many people that I know who make use of their Local Library. It's a sign of the time but you can get free movies to rent from the Library. I have no idea how current they are but I am sure you can find something to keep the kids occupied without breaking the bank at the video store or the movies.

2. There are plenty of snow or winter activities at your disposal like tubing or tobogganing or outdoor skating. Skating is a great way to get exercise and a great free way to get the family together for an afternoon.

3. Check your local public free newspapers or websites for freebie activities. For example, our local zoo has a free outdoor movie night during the summer or free plays. There are more free activities going on out there than you would think.

4. Get together with your friends, other couples or family and have a pot luck kind of night. You can have a great night out without spending a fortune on food and drinks.

5. You can still have fun playing board games believe it or not. We still play monopoly and it kills the day and keeps everyone occupied.

6. Get the family together and do a Christmas Light tour.  Take a walk or drive around your place and check out the houses all lit up for Christmas or your local park or city attraction.

7. Do some baking, the girls in my house make a day out of baking cookies and muffins.

Those are just a few frugal free activities you can do with your friends, family or other half. You just have to look a little harder.

I came across some frugal living tips that might be of interest. Some of the of course may seem over the top or really cheap in nature but every cent counts and some of them will save you money. There is not doubt about. They aren't really categorized, sorry about that. When I get a chance I plan on elaborating on a few of these as there are some really good saving money tips here.

1. Wash and reuse foil wrap.

2. Trade things you don't want with friends, neighbors, relatives.

3. Become a "brown bagger". Take your lunch to work.

4. Paper towels are expensive. Use washable cloth dish towels instead.

5. Save empty plastic food containers for storing leftovers & freezer use.

6. Don't throw away anything. Save everything for a future garage sale.

7. Attend movies early when prices are generally lower.

8. Give yourself a home permanent instead of paying top prices at a salon.

9. Consider cutting your family's hair yourself.

10. Use plastic bread wrappers and produce bags for freezer use.

11. Think in terms of doing it yourself rather than hiring someone to do it, such as home repairs, painting, garden work, cutting the lawn, etc.

12. Swap services with friends and neighbors who can do things you can't.

13. Take advantage of free recreation, such as picnic areas, libraries, public tennis courts, swimming areas, parks, zoos, etc.

14. Avoid spending on "throwaway" items such as disposable razors, flashlights, pens, toothbrushes, paper cups & plates, diapers, cigarette lighters, etc.

15. Garage sales and flea markets are excellent for both selling and buying.

16. Grow your own herbs and spices in window-sill flower pots.

17. Coffee is expensive. Brew only as much as your family will drink and stop buying your coffee from coffee shops.

18. Don't spend for extra ice cubes. Store them in plastic bags in the freezer.

19. Dilute your shampoo with small amount of water – for easier rinsing.

I remember when not so long ago the "frugal" was pretty much a negative term. It was almost an insult to refer to somebody as being frugal. In today's economy I think things have changed. Being frugal is almost being smarter with your money than being a cheapo. I found some tips about living a frugal lifestyle. Most are things that I have talked about but I thought I would share as it makes for good reading.

1. Eating Out – Having gimmicks with friends on a Friday night is fine if you do it once in a while. But this can be expensive if you add them up at the end of the month.

2. Clothing – Naturally, if you are the kind of person who adores signature and designer clothes, do not expect that there will be something left of your take home pay. Instead of being trendy, wear clothes that can easily be matched with your other clothes.

3. Own Home – If you are planning to move out and find a place to settle, do not be overwhelmed by the excitement, instead be practical. As a start, buy a smaller house or try other ways like rent-to-own, do-it-yourself arrangements, and owner financing.

4. Buying Your Own Car – Shy away from sports cars or SUVs. Just stick to your purpose of buying a car which is to transport you anywhere you need to go. Check out also program cars like a new car warranty. Maybe this is not just the best time to replace your car with a new one.

5. Shopping for Groceries – As much as possible do not go with items that are branded. Choose non-brands and try looking for items on the highest or lowest shelves for best prices. Grab the opportunity and shop during sales or use coupons.

6. Family Out – There are inexpensive ways to bond with your family and be entertained like going to libraries, local parks, malling, picnics, visit friends and local church.

7. Buying School Supplies – Stock school supplies at home and do not buy anything fancy.

8. Be contented with what you have and try to live within what you earn.

9. Plan your Child’s College Education – Teach them the ways to be independent and self-supporting by encouraging them to apply for scholarships and “on campus jobs”.

10. Be Aware of your Financial Limitations