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Most people in America nowadays are pathologically clean. You can save $50 a year, just by reducing the number of loads of laundry you do by one a month. Do you really need to use a clean towel every time you take a shower? Do your bed linens really need to be changed every X days? If you're going to do something dirty or sweaty, take something out of the laundry hamper to wear while you're doing it. Change to loaf-around-the-house clothes when you come home, and launder them when you can't stand the smell, and save your outdoor clothes for multiple days use. If you have to put on clean clothes every day, seek counseling. Psychiatry calls it Contamination Obsession.
Frugality is about utilizing your limited resources (and everyone has finite resources) to maximize the quality of life. Everyone, of course, has different ideas on what constitutes a high quality of life. I would rather drive a used car and work less so that I can spend more time with my husband, pets and doing things that make me happy. I would rather eat out less often and, when I do, order a nice meal that I really savor.
Things I do to save money:
Air out my biz clothes and use home-base dry cleaning cloths to save $$ and the environment
Drive and maintain a high quality USED car, which I expect to last 200,000 + miles
Grow and freeze fresh vegetables and fruits (good for our budget and health)
Exercise as a low cost hobby (maintains health and keeps medical costs low)
Use the library - I was surprised how much $$ I am saving. I used to buy lots of books.
Supplement grocery shopping with trips to Aldi and the Farmer's market. And Trader Joes now, too!
I will tag a personal trip on the end of a business trip to save $$ with transportation/airfare- that's a biggie!
This is a great thread...I look forward to reading input from other people.
I started a car fund. I buy $500 a month in mutual funds so that i gain interest instead of losing interest on a car loan. My wife a i have fairly nice cars which are paid for and they will hopefully last several years. We also have a $3000 car sitting in storage for emergencies. But when it is time to buy another one we will do so with cash. I am also thinking about starting a fund for property taxes, if i do it will have to be more concervative sence i will need it annually.
I cut that card up and trashed it months ago. I get many other offers but I don't think I'll ever have one again. Not even a mortgage. They ruin folks royally. It helped my credit rating though, ironically now that my credit is very good, I now don't plan on using credit in the future.
Even better, sign up for a bunch of rewards cards, pay them off every month, and collect the rewards. Big win for your acquisition of rewards AND your credit score.
Also, if you need to buy something and don't mind getting it used, try buying it at Goodwill.
If you really need to get rid of something but can't find any buyers, instead of throwing it away, try donating to Goodwill and collecting the tax credit.
And if they don't have it at Goodwill and you don't need it this minute, buy it online.
If you have a large county library system, request your books and have them delivered to the closest local branch instead of driving to the branch that has it. It's worth the cost of gas even if they charge a nominal fee.
I agree with using a rewards based credit card to earn points & pay off monthly. However, I would recommend using only one rather than many. The more you use one card, the more rewards you will accumulate rather than spreading purchases over a couple of different cards.
I want to follow up on the comment about donating items to Goodwill to receive the tax credit. Excellent idea! I've been doing that for years. What I just found out this year (it may have always been there but I only just found out) is that you can write off the mileage you have to drive to Goodwill to make the donation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ragnarkar
Even better, sign up for a bunch of rewards cards, pay them off every month, and collect the rewards. Big win for your acquisition of rewards AND your credit score.
Also, if you need to buy something and don't mind getting it used, try buying it at Goodwill.
If you really need to get rid of something but can't find any buyers, instead of throwing it away, try donating to Goodwill and collecting the tax credit.
And if they don't have it at Goodwill and you don't need it this minute, buy it online.
If you have a large county library system, request your books and have them delivered to the closest local branch instead of driving to the branch that has it. It's worth the cost of gas even if they charge a nominal fee.
I have the windows in my house double layered with towels. Really stops any cold from getting in through poorly insulated windows. Dark, yes, but worth the saving of $100 plus a month.
Also I buy wholesale food
The wholesale food store up my block sells me a gallon of milk for 2.39, which is unheard of in NYC.
I've also downgraded on things I don't really need, like cable and going out to eat.
Two years ago I vowed I would live on the salary I currently have, and put any raises I get into the bank/retirement/mortgage payments.
I figured I was content with my life at the time, why spend more money when I get raises.
This is a great idea. I don't expect to be gaining income in the near future, but if something remarkable happens and I do, I'll remember this. Congrats for your good sense.
Two years ago I vowed I would live on the salary I currently have, and put any raises I get into the bank/retirement/mortgage payments.
I figured I was content with my life at the time, why spend more money when I get raises.
How do you deal with rising costs? Property taxes and utility costs will keep going up. Unless you don't drive gasoline costs rise at a hyperinflationary rate. If your costs are steady your standard of living in real terms has been going down.
We have a wood stove to heat some of our home. We go out into the woods and chop our own wood. Why pay 300 for half a cord to some company that delivers green wood? Been there, won't do that again!
I buy second hand clothes for my kids and myself. Sometimes, you can even find new clothes there and get them, with designer labels, for 1/4 the original cost.
We use the library a lot. If I want or need to buy a book, I go to Half Price bookstore.
Always use coupons. I use CouponMom.com and newspaper coupons and also use other store flyers at Wal Mart. They will let you match prices.
Do all my shopping trips in one day.
Use store brands when possible.
Buy in bulk at Sam's club. We used to go to Costco but it seems more expensive (at least where I live) so it's just Sam's now.
Use a grocery store program where you get "fuelperks" for buying groceries. I buy only the sale items with coupons and/or gift cards and use the perks to buy gas.
Use Netflix instead of going to the movies.
Eat veggies and less meat.
Make most meals at home. Eat out only with coupons or special deals.
Use Consumer Reports to find the best brands for the least amount of money.
Buy good items for larger purchases, even if they cost more initially. We buy used Honda cars and find that because they are well made we deal with less repairs and the cars resale values remain high. We drive them until they drop then sell them and buy used again!
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