Just curious who else is living super frugal

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

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Nah, sweetie, vent your heart out. I doubt there is anyone hear who can talk about living frugally who hasn't done without something we actually need in order to provide something a child wants. I doubt there is one of us here who hasn't said No to our family and then gone and cried over how helpless it feels.

Money is about way more than the stuff it buys.

 

[mom22alcorns]

I have WHAT in my yard? :

Quote:
Nah, sweetie, vent your heart out. I doubt there is anyone hear who can talk about living frugally who hasn't done without something we actually need in order to provide something a child wants. I doubt there is one of us here who hasn't said No to our family and then gone and cried over how helpless it feels.

Money is about way more than the stuff it buys.

Absolutely! I read this thread sometimes because I need to see that I'm not the only one trying to make tough choices. You guys give me ideas and inspiration!

Vent away!!​

 

[classicsredone]

Have any of you tried the Goodwill Outlets? The first in our area is sketchy...I was afraid I'd be shanked. I also wear gloves and carry sanitizing wipes. The new outlet is in a better area and is much nicer to shop at. Clothes and bedding are $1.35 a pound. For $12, we got four pairs of jeans, two dress shirts for DH, a shirt and dress jacket for me, a shirt and nice nightgown for DD, and a huge bag of crayons for melting into new swirly crayons. Books are $.25 for paperback, and $.50 for hardcover. They have furniture and household goods, too.

My advice is to bring rubber gloves just in case you need them. (Sometimes the bins have something spilled in them, or clothes aren't washed.) Get there early, and don't let people push you around. On holidays they have half off at regular and outlet stores if you can handle the crowds. It sounds a little crazy, but it ends up being something you want to go back and do again.

 

[brx017]

I just turned 28, my wife is 26. We have been together for 12 years, married almost 4. We put our money together 1-2 years before we got married and tried to figure out a way to start out without going way in debt. We wanted to live comfortably and BELOW our means.

We were both working to PAY OUR OWN WAY through college WITHOUT student loans, so we put off marriage an extra year to get that expense behind us.

I have always been into cars, but I sold my very nice Subaru WRX to get out of debt. I think I sold it and only had $800 after paying off the car loan. The lady at the bank was like, "What are you going to get to drive for THAT MUCH!?!", haha. I borrowed a few hundred bucks from my mother-in-law and paid cash for an old CRX that got 42mpg's. I paid the MIL back in a few weeks, and started saving like crazy.

We bought 2.5 acres, and had to get a loan for that, but we paid off the 10yr loan ($16k borrowed) in 20 months I think. And during that time we managed to save up enough to pay cash for our mobile home, and do all stuff that goes along with that (grading, septic tank, driveway, etc.). Plus we remodeled and furnished the entire house ourselves. I think it was $10-$12k for everything.

After the house and land were paid for, we paid off my wife's car loan in 8 or 9 months and became DEBT FREE at 26 and 24 years old! And we did it without either of us ever making over $30k a year. We decided once we were debt free to only live off of one of our salaries (since they were about the same), and save the other for major unordinary expenses, and big ticket items. When my wife needed a car last year, we were able to pay cash for her '07 civic hybrid.

I got laid off 2 years ago, and other than cutting out most of the eating out at restaurants, we really didnt notice a big difference in our daily lives. The savings stopped, of course, but we really didnt have to use it for hardly anything during that six months. After not being able to find a job without commuting or relocating, I decided to become self-employed and do sub-contract labor for anything I knew how to do. I work most of the time as an Auto Mechanic, but I do anything from Residential/Commercial Electrical work to PC repair. I dont make as much as I used to, but we're still able to live off my wife's income, and save most everything I make.

We're expecting our first child in a few weeks, and I know it's going to take some adjusting but hopefully we'll manage to be able to make it on the budget we have now, and continue to save my income... or at least the bulk of it. Our goal is to one day buy or build a house with CASH.

 

[BarefootMom]

We have more DAV thrift stores than goodwill. The goodwill stores seem to be really pricey- I am not going to pay $2 for a faded Garanaimals shirt when they are $3.50 new.

We have one DAV store that is called Red Rack- on Sundays everything with a purple tag is $0.10 and orange tags are a quarter. VHS tapes are $0.99 and we found my son a TV and VCR for $7. So now he gets watch all the movies he wants to. I find lots of Seasame Street, Dora, and Blue Clues. I can't really find clothes at thrift stores that fit me because I am so tall. (6'3 with a 37" inseem) and my feet are too big to find shoes. People my size hold onto their clothes forever. lol

For the kids clothes I save everything and cosign them at a bi-annual kids consignment sale. and Then with the money i make I buy the next 2 seasons worth of clothes. I have been doing that for 2 years, it works out pretty well. We now have 3 different sales locally. Here is a link to a directory for the USA if anyone is interested: http://www.kidsconsignmentsales.com/seasonalsales.htm

 

[LeafZoo]

These are all such great ideas! Do any of y'all do the "extreme couponing?" Just love that show, and have been psyching myself up to try it.

If you haven't seen the show, you can watch them online: http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/extreme-couponing-videos/

When I finally build a house, it's going to be a monolithic dome. They are incredibly energy-efficient. Also, tornado-, hurricane- and fire-proof, which is always a plus!

Did just find out that my credit is considered just as bad as "bad credit" because I've been paying cash for everything for a decade, so all my paid off things have fallen off the reports. Because of that, I can't even get a regular credit card and am going to have to do one of the "yearly fee" kinds of cards.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Agree with the food thing. I don't buy all organic veggies or fruit, but there are some things that I always buy organic like apples, peppers (I do freeze alot from the garden), mushrooms, or potatoes. This is why I do alot in my own garden so that I can have "organic" (pesticide, herbicide, chemical fertilizer free produce) at a much cheaper cost. I do have to buy organic potatoes year round from the grocery store -- I had an awful time with those potato bugs in the garden one year. Most of what is in my grocery cart is fruit/veggies (and milk!).

 

[HeatherLynn]

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The credit thing is annoying and i really would love to escape the need for it at all. I pay off a card but I keep using it in small amounts. The card company then lowers my credit limit and bam my credit score is trashed. I have 6 paid off medical bills showing as collections on my report. It has taken almost a year to get them off. That really hurt my score and through no fault of my own which makes it worse. I don't want to use credit but I know that not having great credit will affect our job prospects, car insurance, and even ability to get a cell phone. Its a trap and its very frustrating. Once upon a time having less credit but having a good history was the right thing to do. It was the debt to income ratio that was used. Now they used the debt to credit ratio. The more credit you have the better. That just makes no sense to me at all.

 

[BarefootMom]

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I don't go as extreme as the show with my couponing, but I do coupon. I have stockpiles of things....like laundry detergent, toothepaste, toothbrushes, deodarant, shower gel, shampoo, razors, and I did have a stockpile of diapers for my youngest, but I am on my last package.

Most of it I got for free or vvery little money- the best is whne the store actually has to pay me for my items.

This was my laundry detergent stockpile- Cost me maybe $40--enough for 598 loads

and this is my best deal yet:
$2.69 after tax--The nivea was priced at 2.50 and I had 5 $3 off coupons, I had $1 off coupons on the degree- it was priced $1 the razors were priced 2.50 and I had a coupon for 2.00 off and the diapers were originally 4.50. They gave me $0.50 for each Nivea so that was $2.50 in "free money" then take that off the diapers, and voila!

I have people save their coupon inserts for me and I clip all the coupons. The ones I know I will never use I pile up and "sell" them on ebay. Selling coupons is illegal but srlling myu time to clip and organize is not. I made $7 this week on ebay.

 

[Abirdbrain]

OH-HO! Show me THE LAW that says selling widespread coupons is Illegal! It may violate the tenants of a proposed contract with the provider, but that is an unreasonable control when thousands of coupons are released en-masse, without controls. Let the provider try to sue me for breach, when I am using what is provided. Promotions my butt, eliminate the coupon, and lower the price. Now there is an incentive to buy..!

When it comes to money, we exchange one talent for paper to represent some accomplichment, price having nothing to do with value. Value is a choice of life style. New bits of cloth and sticks of wood, called furnature is available, and the least important of your life style. Fine cabinetry, can be replaced with piles of cemnt blocks, and a coupla planks to hold food and books and bedding. Sears, Wally mart, or Sams resale.. It is your choice, mostly made in Bangladesh or China anyway.

Money is but a token, and a tool, It is NOT WEALTH. Wealth is the ability to CREATE INCOME, not spend it. Money spent is an empty account, and surely is NOT wealth. A new Car is a trapping of wealth, but ages and is used up, and is not wealth. Wealth has nothing to do with lifestyle, NOTHING. Wealth is not the persuit of Money, those that overfocus on this, miss the point of life, of being happy, and satisfied with what is needed. Human touch, a feeling of security, a vision of tommorrow. If you must Vacation, 'to get away' I wonder what is wrong with your home. Is it lack of new adventure? That is diferent. Home is where I hang my hat, between adventures and paying work. It is where I work on my projects, that are my way of life.

I am unemployed now for 3 years, and may never 'work' agian. In truth, I work on the chicken tractors, my machinery and vehicles, and yes even fix things for strangers, as I see fit, and fits into my time line. I am contnet to be called a 'Bum' without visible means of support, controlling my little Universe of 5 acres and 3 houses. I should have shortened the process and become a 'Bum" making deals as I see fit , long ago. I am content to watch the antics of my cats, chickens,and my partner, in the orbits of my Universe. I wish everyone the same peace of mind, to stop struggling with others standards, and create my own. I am much more at peace, when I can satisfy myslef on a creative fix, junk conversion, or sale of repaired castoff, that some other decided wasn't worth it, in their eyes.