Some of these ideas strike me more as "cheapskate" than frugal.

quote:

Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Lots advice about shopping.

You have enough of everything but food I’d bet. Make do with current inventory. Till clothing is threadbare keep wearing it. Mow the lawn every other week. Don’t eat out ever, period. Freeload whenever possible, bring a bag of generic chips to the potluck, and eat hearty. Liability insurance for the car, if it must have collision sell it you have too much car. If you are here you must shoot, quit it’s damn expensive, drop the rest of your hobbies.

Poor folks have poor habits, embrace them.

I don’t want to freeload and I’m not poor, just looking for other people’s ways of cutting back.

A friend once told me he doesn’t buy things that won’t make him money.

This can work two ways - he buys tools and does the job himself and also works for others,

Or, he finds things cheap (often broken) fixes them and sells them.

He does not buy Knick-nacks, dust collectors, nascar collector plates, etc. He does not develop his “salt shaker collection”.

He does do all his own home maintenance and improvements. Does almost all his own vehicle maintenance and all of his own equipment maintenance. Yes, he is skilled. He decided to be and he works at it. It is a STATE OF MIND. It is a decision to do for himself. No waivering, no indecision, just do it.

Being of a similar state of mind, we both can do just about anything we set our minds to.

Find a mentor that is living the way you wish to live. Listen.

See the thread "really cheap beer"
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/7090091854

quote:

Originally posted by techguy:

I don’t want to freeload and I’m not poor, just looking for other people’s ways of cutting back.

You should check out the book Happy Money. Talks about maximizing happiness for each dollar spent.

Learn to value what is real.
Status is not the brand new BMW or Mercedes in the driveway...
Status is the paid off car in the driveway.

Live frugally...You don't need a 4,000 sq ft house when you have no children at home and never entertain. One of the best things I ever did was remain in a 1500 sq ft home instead of "upgrading". Now, I live in the same house, the neighborhood has become one of the desired neighborhoods in my area of Texas and my home is worth 3X what I paid for it. And it is paid for.

Why join a gym when you have a workout at home? I do all my own maintenance for my home, my cars (4 of them) and my yard. Just go outside and get a good sweat going.

When you go out to a restaurant, instead of looking of that "cool" trendy place or the stuffed shirt overpriced venue, look for that out of the way hole in the wall that serves a 5 star meal. We eat out a lot and have more fun looking for the locally owned dive that no one knows about. Price is much better and there is a sense of pride finding that "gem".

Buy only what you need, not what you want. If you need a truck, do you really need that F250 4WD ($70K). Get real man. Very few people need a truck like that. If you own a home you probably need a truck but a mid-sized truck will do just fine. You will save on the initial price and on upkeep, insurance, etc.

Buy used cars. I have done research and it appears that cars in the 3-5 yr range are in the sweet spot. Most of these vehicles will have 30K-50K miles. Vehicles last 300,000 miles now. If you only base your decision on a 200,000 mile vehicle life then that 3 year old car has over 75% of its usable life remaining yet, a 3 year old car will generally sell for about 50% of it's original price (unless it's a SUV/truck). So you get 75% of the life for only 50% of the price.....that's a bargain.

I don't know if I'm really poor, but I live like it. I started planning for retirement long before it came. My house is an example. I brought it when housing wasn't moving. It had been built by an old farmer, and as the realtor said; he over-built it. 6" stud walls instead of 4" Insulation out the ass. I added to that by new windows, doors and HVAC. How's a less than $90 a month electric bill sound. We run a freezer and buy meat only on sale. No cable. We allow ourselves Netflix. A tracfone flip phone with minimal use. Obviously we do have internet and a landline. How's $57.21 a month sound?
I have a fair collection of tools and shop manuals. I do work in my driveway, and work on motorcycles occasionally. This pays for upkeep on my two Harleys that my wife and I enjoy immensely.
New cars/trucks? You're kidding right? Neither want or need such. We shop at Aldi's. $30 to $50 a week depending on needs.

Buy 2-ply, but separate it as you go. One square becomes two squares! Some countries don't even use toilet paper, don't live like the 1%ers with their double sided toilet paper!

You should also read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.

I guess I should throw in some practical tips.

Engine and cabin air filters are cheap online and take just a few moments to change out yourself. For instance, my Subaru's cabin air filter is $15 online and takes about 30 seconds to change while and the dealer charges $80 to service it.

Most major appliances can be fixed with some hand tools and a voltmeter. My clothes dryer was not blowing hot air and I diagnosed it as the centrifuge switch. A replacement motor (motor and centrifuge switch is a combo on that unit) was $170. A service guy would have charged MSRP on the motor and likely charged me $350-400, while a new dryer would cost $750.

Hunt, fish and plant a vegetable garden.

Don’t borrow money for a vacation.

Fix, paint, perform maintenance yourself. Do not pay someone else if you could do the job.

Our internet is supplied by BrightHouse, now owned by Spectrum. I imagine that Spectrum's related companies, Charter etc., have a similar deal: We switched to their mobile (cellular) service.

This is a really good deall IF you don't use much cellular data. We don't use much cellular, almost all of our data usage is via WiFi, so there is no cost for this data.

Spectrum Mobile rides on the Verizon network, probably the best cellular coverage for most users.

The deal is, no charge for unlimited text and calling. If your data usage is low, the "By The Gig" option is best: $14.00 per gig, all taxes and junk fees are buried in the $14.00, so that's the actual cost. My wife and I are on the same account, and the joint two gigs are pooled / shared, so if one of us goes a bit over, s/he can "borrow" from the other.

Based on past use, our combined cellular data will rarely, if ever, even hit half of the two gig pool, so our TOTAL cost for cell phone service is $28.00 per month, for the two of us.

The only catch: You must be a Spectrum (associated companies probably work) internet customer, else there is a $20.00 per phone monthly access charge. Since we use BrightHouse / Spectrum internet, we're fine.

There is also a feature that you can set in the free app to search for, and automatically log on to, any Spectrum WiFi hotspot in the area when you are out and about. This provides free data that does not count toward your gig, since it is not going through a cellular tower.

Best deal, by far, that this cheapskate has found for cell service. I dreaded having to deal with Spectrum sales and customer support but to date it has been surprisingly painless.

quote:

Originally posted by Scuba Steve Sig:

Buy 2-ply, but separate it as you go. One square becomes two squares! Some countries don't even use toilet paper

Remember, when in those countries, your right hand is for eating.

These are neat ideas but the thing that is holding me back from retiring early is the cost of health insurance.

How are folks coping with that cost ??

Thanks ! mike

quote:

Originally posted by mike28w:
These are neat ideas but the thing that is holding me back from retiring early is the cost of health insurance.

How are folks coping with that cost ??

Thanks ! mike

As a self employed individual, I've always bought my own insurance. Pricing is essentially the same in the "small group" plans as individual, so I won't notice much change.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
no www, no sat or cable tv

Ummm, how did you post that?

. I think he posts as a guest on Casey’s General store WiFi .

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mike28w:
These are neat ideas but the thing that is holding me back from retiring early is the cost of health insurance.

How are folks coping with that cost ??



There is "always" going to be something. Some reason not to do whatever.

I have seen it in my family and just about everyone else I have met or come across. And yes in myself at times as well.

Most people never achieve something they keep saying is important to them.

Fact or the matter is, saying it and holding on to it. Is actually more important to them. Sad in my book.

If you really want to do something, DO IT. Quit saying you want to do it, but can't.

You are holding yourself back, not the cost of health care or anything else for that matter.

^^^^^^^

I've been getting serious about the transition to retirement. I've been saving for 25 years, but when it starts to get close, the mind plays a million "what if" tricks. If you are off on your predictions of inflation or ROI by a percent or two, your plan can fall apart quickly. Monte Carlo predictions are a fun exercise, but not particularly useful on an individual basis.

The biggest spit ball is the budgeting for 25-30 years out. Think back 25 years. Could you have predicted what you'd be spending money on today? Very unlikely that our ideas today will remain unchanged.

I agree with ORC. At some point, you just have to roll the dice. The things we are worried about now(like health insurance) may not even be on the radar in 5 years if they are replaced by some bigger concern.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
no www, no sat or cable tv

Ummm, how did you post that?

I will add - some people save quite a ton of money annually by couponing. There are tons of sources for them - visit manufacturer websites for example. Stores now offer digital coupons.

Try not to buy anything not on sale. When a good sale comes up on items you regularly use, buy a lot.