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I don't know if that's the best way to put it. You can technically be money stupid and frugal at the same time.
Consider a guy who makes $20/hr and washes his own clothes. He's money stupid in that he sells an hour of his time for $20 but he's frugal in that he doesn't hire someone to wash his clothes.
Another guy who makes $50/hr and pays $20/week to get his clothes washed. He's money smart in that he's selling an hour of his time for $50 while not so frugal about his laundry.
You're right. We should all just make $50 dollars an hour. What were we thinking making less? I am going to tell my boss tomorrow I am trying to be frugal so I need a $30 raise.
In the facilities industry the frugal people buy new and use till the part fails. The idea is with preventative maintenance, the thought being it is better to give the basic care to a part untill the part no longer works. Replace with a new unit with money saved from your maintenance budget. Saying that, the idea is not to buy old things to fix old things. The idea is to not fix anything but to replace with new all the time. If you fix a 20 year old motor what you have is a 20 year old motor that will not be as efficient or offer new and improved features. Frugal in this case in saving money by lack of maintenance or the minumum in maintenance and taking that budgeted money to replace the non functioning item.
For a home owner that would relate to replacing a faucet instead of putting a replacement stem or what have you. For a car owner it may be buying a new car and driving that car for 10 years and then replacing with a new car, paying cash for the new car. If you can't do this now then dump the old car, buy a new car on credit and drive that car for 10 years always making a payment for either the car or yourself at the end of your loan. The second car is paid for in cash and you go from there, always having a car that is no older than 10 years old.
You're right. We should all just make $50 dollars an hour. What were we thinking making less? I am going to tell my boss tomorrow I am trying to be frugal so I need a $30 raise.
What you sell your hours for is your problem. I was talking to my kids about this the other day. Most of us spend our time in exchange for money. Our most precious resource and many give it away or offer it at a low price all because we think that is what we are supposed to do. I am tired of doing that. What my kids and I figured out is that some of our friends spend their time developing ideas. They then sell the ideas for money. Imagine that.
I simply don't believe that the material in a sanitary pad has anything to do with a woman's cramps! Honestly!
I used cloth diapers. I had a terrible time toilet training my oldest two. There are environmental issues with adding disposable diapers to the landfill, but toilet training should not enter into a decision. Of course, with cloth diapers, you are adding chlorine bleach into the waste water, which ultimately finds its way into all the water. So--no easy answers.
I used cloth diapers too. With the firstborn I used the pin & fold, old school, with plastic pants. I used bleach then because I did what my mother suggested. With my second son I'd had some time to learn and research. I bought fitted/snap-to-fit cloth with breathable snap covers. I never ever used chlorine bleach. There are other ways to disinfect, and I wanted those diapers to remain in good shape (organic unbleached cotton terry).
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerseygal4u
I do think buying items for a car in a junkyard are stupid.
We are talking safety,not to mention if the part doesn't work,you have to buy another part,when you could have just sepnt a little more and brought the new part in the first place.
Depends on the car. I had a late 80's station wagon. Could not FIND the needed part anywhere but the junkyard (rear tail light).
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE
In the facilities industry the frugal people buy new and use till the part fails. The idea is with preventative maintenance, the thought being it is better to give the basic care to a part untill the part no longer works. Replace with a new unit with money saved from your maintenance budget. Saying that, the idea is not to buy old things to fix old things. The idea is to not fix anything but to replace with new all the time. If you fix a 20 year old motor what you have is a 20 year old motor that will not be as efficient or offer new and improved features. Frugal in this case in saving money by lack of maintenance or the minumum in maintenance and taking that budgeted money to replace the non functioning item.
For a home owner that would relate to replacing a faucet instead of putting a replacement stem or what have you. For a car owner it may be buying a new car and driving that car for 10 years and then replacing with a new car, paying cash for the new car. If you can't do this now then dump the old car, buy a new car on credit and drive that car for 10 years always making a payment for either the car or yourself at the end of your loan. The second car is paid for in cash and you go from there, always having a car that is no older than 10 years old.
I have only had one brand NEW car in my entire life... and it was nothing but problems. I buy cash USED cars and I research to death, buy cars known for reliability. I don't end up with problem cars and I don't have car payments... haven't had a car payment in 17 years. No credit needed. I haven't had a car yet over $3000 either. My current ride is a 1995. One before that was '96 and cost me $600. The current one was $2900 and I have had it since November 2011. Aside from a big brake job it hasn't cost me anything aside from regular oil changes (and tires right after I bought it). It has anti-lock brakes, airbags, and air conditioning. Seats 7. We're happy.
Others hire maid services to clean and even do the laundry. Part of being frugal is in knowing how to use your time more efficiently.
When I was a lot younger my parents had an older lady come in once a week to clean the house. This isn't unusual for my mother but the funny part about it was that she would have my brother and I straighten things up the night before the cleaning lady came. lol
When I was a lot younger my parents had an older lady come in once a week to clean the house. This isn't unusual for my mother but the funny part about it was that she would have my brother and I straighten things up the night before the cleaning lady came. lol
Ha ha yes, this!
I lived with a trustafarian. Excuse me, a trust fund guy. I rented part of his house from him... not because he needed the rent but because he didn't like living alone. I paid very little for an awesome space. It was a REALLY good deal for me. The "maids" (plural) came once a week, and they were also his parents domestic workers, so he was terrified that they would come over and then report back to his parents that he was a slob. So, every week he would do this massive freakout the night before they showed up, to clean before the cleaning. I got tired of his panic and finally just told him to keep the maids from my portion (I occupied the entire upstairs) so he didn't have to worry about what my portion looked like weekly, I really didn't want the "maid service"!
I'd kill for it now though, 3 kids and pets and years of "stuff" later.
always having a car that is no older than 10 years old.
My goodness, why would I sell a perfectly good 10 year old car? The one I am driving right now is 33 years old and runs perfectly and still looks brand new, with perfect, shiny, unmarred original paint. I had to replace a $45 part last year, which sure beats having car payments.
The car it replaced had over 350,000 miles on it, still looked good, but needed new shocks at that time. It never had any repairs other than routine maintenance.
"Frugal" with automobiles involves buying the right car to begin with and then taking excellent care of it and doing all the routine maintenance on time, so that it lasts a long time.
My goodness, why would I sell a perfectly good 10 year old car? The one I am driving right now is 33 years old and runs perfectly and still looks brand new, with perfect, shiny, unmarred original paint. I had to replace a $45 part last year, which sure beats having car payments.
The car it replaced had over 350,000 miles on it, still looked good, but needed new shocks at that time. It never had any repairs other than routine maintenance.
"Frugal" with automobiles involves buying the right car to begin with and then taking excellent care of it and doing all the routine maintenance on time, so that it lasts a long time.
OK, You got me on that one. I am currenly driving a 1969 Beetle and my wife drives a 2003 Chevy Astro Van that we plan on keeping for the next 10 years as we have a large family and see no need to replace it. If truth be known I am not even following my own advice. My line of thought for the new car issue though was for individuals to realize that they can have a new car, pay cash for it, take care of it and replace it all with no debt.
It's all relative. I buy refurb from Napa not Autozone. My refurb starter is still working after 7 years and 100k.
Is that your car I hear idling in the background?
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Excuse me, a trust fund guy. I rented part of his house from him... not because he needed the rent but because he didn't like living alone. I paid very little for an awesome space. It was a REALLY good deal for me. The "maids" (plural) came once a week, and they were also his parents domestic workers, so he was terrified that they would come over and then report back to his parents that he was a slob. So, every week he would do this massive freakout the night before they showed up, to clean before the cleaning. I got tired of his panic and finally just told him to keep the maids from my portion (I occupied the entire upstairs) so he didn't have to worry about what my portion looked like weekly, I really didn't want the "maid service"! 
Is that your car I hear idling in the background?
