We got any frugal folks here who care to share ideas of your frugalness? After what we’ve been through the last eleven months I’m trying to simplify things AND watch what we spend.

After the obvious, no cable, no internet, low or no phone bill. My wife, bless her heart, makes a game out of shopping at Goodwills bins. The bins are where things go when they don't sell at Goodwill. Most things are sold by the lb. Last year all the nieces and daughter got excellent condition high end purses. Coach, Dunne and Burke Etc etc which she gets for a fraction of their cost on sale when new. I walked in there with her once and saw a great pair os skiis for sale, last generation. I'd just bought 2 pairs of new ones for the year for somewhere @ $2000 and I see something comparable for $2.00 a lb....good condition. We just came back from a wedding where the dress she wore, and it looked good to me, cam out of the bins. $2.00 a lb for a dress.

On the flip side, she's also more likely now to gift them nice things that no longer fit etc etc. That's something she wants me to get into but I'm more of a hoarder and have a difficult time letting go.

When I first met her, she made it all winter using 1 single 5 gallon tin of Kerosene and a kerosene heater (be careful of CO2 if you do this) to heat her apt. Her heating bill for all winter, in an old drafty apt, was about $5. (Pro tip, stock up on blankets from goodwill bins first:-)

Just my wife and I. When we make dinner we make enough for four meals. (Dinner for two and leftovers for two)

We also became fans of Smart n Final and Costco. Oh, and the freezer is our friend.

I'll smoke a 10lb pork shoulder for 14 hours then she slow cooks it in a chili Verde sauce for another 8. Most versatile meat ever.

12lb pork belly on smoke for 14 hours. When finished we cut into 3" strips. Keep two out and freeze the rest. Slice, dice, or finally chopped, that hot smoked bacon is the best.

A Costco chicken, 5 cans of chicken broth, an onion and some carrots sauteed in garlic, some celery stalks, and some salt n pepper - best chicken soup ever (learn to make you're own pasta and - WINNING!!)

My spouse and I started on a plan about 5 years ago. 2.5yrs in we bought our property and here we are retired early and loving it.

I would say the first step is having a plan. If you haven't defined what your goal is, it's hard to push yourself when deciding what is a need vs. want. Next up is deciding what needs and wants are. Those are going to vary, but for the most part are easy to divy into categories. After that, start slow and always have your eye on the prize. I'm not saying the willpower isn't there to go full bore out of the gate, but drastic changes are hard, then again maybe your good for that so if you are, then don't let that bit of advice stop you.

Every little bit adds up.

Cut the cable, just about everything is available on the internet.

Limit eating out, but plan for it so you have something to look fwd to.

Meal prep or plan, no going to the grocery store with a blank slate.

If you're going to the store for something, only get that. It's easy to add stuff because you're there, but it's also easy to go after wants at the same time or justify needless expenditures to save time.

Just because it's on sale doesn't mean it's in your need list, even for "down the road I'll need it purchases". Things change, get what you need as you need it.

Always be willing to say no to invites you really can't justify. Dinners, Ball games, movies, etc....Ask for a rain check and then invite them when it has factored into you plan.

Don't cut yourself off from enjoying life, just add it to your plan. When it's part of your plan to go out to eat, or the movies, or any other treat, do it as reward and part of your plan. If it's part of the plan then you don't need to feel guilty.

Repeat, have a plan.

Thinking of you and your family always.

Ive been cutting my own hair for about 16 years now. I cut it about once every 10 days.
I figure that's at least $500-$700 a year savings depending on the price of a cut+tip these days.

Mrmoneymustache.com and the book "Bachelor Pad Economics" are 2 of my favorites.

quote:

Thinking of you and your family always.

Thank you so much, we appreciate that.

Buy used, not new. Don’t be fooled by marketing types who want to convince us that we need to have the latest model car, truck, bicycle, cell phone, gun, gizmo, or whatever.

I think one of my big ones over the years was brown bagging lunches.

I’m a few years away from when I want to retire and I own my home but right now taxes and insurance alone run $600 a month and it will continue to go up. I’m trying to find land local to me where I can park a 5th wheel RV to live out of. The RV can’t be taxed like a house so I’ll only have undeveloped property to be taxed on.

All my autos are paid for, I refuse to pay 30k plus for a new vehicle (and I can’t find any new under that amount that I like). I was really tempted to pick up a brand new 2018 Dodge 4 door 4x4 diesel I found but even at 20% off msrp I can’t spend 42k on a vehicle. My next one will be used but right now one car is only a year and a half old and my other one only has 75k miles. If you buy used and want something nicer to travel in I’ve rented a car for about $200 a week.

I have a home based business so I can get some tax breaks for things I buy for the home. That’s changed recently but it does help some and I trust my cpa to get whatever I can.
I’m curious to see all the tips here.

Do all your own repairs as much as you are capable. YouTube and Repair Clinic have tons of how to videos (plus Sig Forum experts)

This is a saying from my mother.

You need to separate your needs from your wants.

First start with a big garage sale. Put proceeds in a jar and see how long those funds last by only spending money on what you absolutely need at home.

Needless trips to town add up. We all spend money. It is trying to limit those unnecessary
expenditures. Not eating out saves a ton of $.

If you are out and about a lot, you are spending money.

Good luck.

No collection of tips and tricks will make a dent in your spending. You have to cut right down to the source and address the problem:

Poor habits make poor people.

Scrutinize your personal habits, and see how that affects your spending. Eat out too much? If so, it's probably because you are lazy and can't plan ahead. Spend too much on stuff that clutters your life? It's probably a result of non-productive idle time. Always spending big bucks on unexpected big ticket repairs or health problems? Lack of proper maintenance. The list goes on.

Get your habits in check and you can move onto lesson two: own your things, don't let your things own you.

Invest in guns. Firearms are worth money. May have to start with a Ruger. LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
No collection of tips and tricks will make a dent in your spending. You have to cut right down to the source and address the problem:

Poor habits make poor people.

Scrutinize your personal habits, and see how that affects your spending. Eat out too much? If so, it's probably because you are lazy and can't plan ahead. Spend too much on stuff that clutters your life? It's probably a result of non-productive idle time. Always spending big bucks on unexpected big ticket repairs or health problems? Lack of proper maintenance. The list goes on.

Get your habits in check and you can move onto lesson two: own your things, don't let your things own you.

Dang Aeteocles, it sounds like you have the beginning of a book there. A very good book!

A Costco chicken cannot be beat for 4.99. 3 meals for the two of us. We buy one per week.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LS1 GTO:

A Costco chicken,

Weigh out your wants vs your needs.

Sure, I WANT a new $900 cellphone, but do I NEED it? Can a $90 flip-phone cover that NEED?

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
Weigh out your wants vs your needs.

Sure, I WANT a new $900 cellphone, but do I NEED it? Can a $90 flip-phone cover that NEED?

I guess you could argue that no one "needs" a cell phone at all. For that matter, I'd bet a huge percentage of those of us on this forum spend a heck of a lot more than we should on guns and ammo. Nothing wrong with saving money, but going crazy with frugality won't last long.

no www, no sat or cable tv