Just curious who else is living super frugal

[mochicken]

My wife and I discussed last year how we were in over our heads, payments we couldnt afford, bill collectors calling, got sued over a 231 dollar hospital bill etc etc etc. It got to a point where we needed to decide if we had lights or food and obviously food came first

It was time for some MAJOR changes, we turned off the cable, downsized our cell bills, did not eat out at restaurants but one time a month, stopped buying "impulse items" when we shopped, used coupons and sales ads, no more wasting gas, traded items with others in the same financial trouble vs buying new, and other changes including talking to people around to find out what cash jobs I could do, I sometimes make more in a month doing lawn work or helping fix something than I do at my job, my salary for a year is only about 40k so if we need more in a particular week or month I always have a backup plan.

I am happy to say in one year I paid off $13000.00 in credit card debt, all my cards were then canceled because credit cards were something we used almost daily and I dont use "borrowed money" anymore because the money I work for is a little harder to let go. I also paid off all of our combined hospital bills and all other debt, I sleep easier these days and we have our internet and cell phones back now because we have payed off the stuff that were costing us all of the money per month.

We still do the following
Coupons, definitely, we went shopping last Thursday for a 2 week period and the total was 203 bucks before the coupons and 106 after, I know some of you have seen "extreme couponing" and know you could "get the store to pay you" but I have yet to figure that out lol, but saving nearly 100 bucks helps.

Light bill, we only run the AC when we have to and the thermostat is set on 76 and we are ok with that, we also installed a "wood fire forced air stove" outside that ducts into our ducts, we have an electric furnace for backup. Our average electric bill before was 300 per month in the winter and now it hovers around 100 bucks.

We dont run around, we go where we have to go and rarely just go driving around for the fun of it. We do not eat out much and we are pretty thrifty when we do.

We have one car payment still, we payed one car off and are in the process of paying the second one off by paying an extra 2-500 per month toward the principal, when that is payed off we will NOT be buying a new car, we will buy used with cash in the future. Having a nice car is nice but having an extra 600 bucks in your pocket at the end of the month is too lol.

I think that is the majority of our changes, if I think of anything else I will post it.

 

[areyoumymother]

I am shopping for a new car !! LOL...My lil chevy cavalier has about 160k miles on it and still running strong, but gotta have a plan for when its not....here's the plan.

I have my eye set on a '11 Chevy Cruz ...40 MPG, 10 airbags...compact car placed in the mid-size category because of the room inside the car, utilized some recycled material IE old jeans have been shredded and placed in the side walls for insulation and noise reduction. Stickers for about 23K give or take.

I will start paying myself $500 a month for the next 2 years which will give me about 13K or so with the interest, in 2 years the value of the car will have dropped drastically and I should be pretty darn close to being able to pay cash for the darn thing. Still get a great car just used with low mileage, let someone else break it in and work out all the kinks.

 

[lockedhearts]

We are debt free (except for mortgage and that is only 12 more years) but ours was a combination of our lifestyle (we show horses and that is our entertainment) and my being suddenly unemployed 2 1/2 years ago and no job prospects to date.
I coupon, have always shopped consignment or thrift stores. Watch sales carefully and fix most stuff ourselves. I also barter for services needed, such as car repair. I needed ball joints on our explorer, my mechanic was behind in billing and paperwork, I took care of that, he fixed my car.
I also, this year am very careful about using my air condition, luckily it has been unseasonably cool, so it has not been hard, but on hot days, I only turn it on for a couple hours when the temp in the house registers 85. I have not used the fans in my barn and am keeping the light useage to a minimum.

I schedule only one or two trips to town each week. We do eat out one or two times a month, I always have a coupon for that. We do what we do, because our animals are important to us.

 

[halo]

This is a great thread. I am on the Dave Ramsey plan of getting debt free, and it certainly has slowed down my spending. When he says name every dollar, he means it, and its a great way to watch where your money is going. Ive cut way back on my grocery bill, and I dont eat out any more. Just cooking at home, and cooking enough to freeze for a second and third meal, is huge savings right there. Im very careful with gas, plan for only one trip to town a week. No more spontaneous "going to the grocery store". One stop once a week, and if I didnt get it then, oh well, wait until next week.

I barter eggs for meat at the local organic/grass fed meat market, and havent had to buy meat in a year. Its a huge help and savings, not to mention so much healthier. Ive got myself down to $30 a week in groceries.

Its great that people are understanding their money more.

 

[ForgottenGlen]

Quote:
A great game to play and win Dawn.
We have those food saver vacuum bags and we buy meat in bulk and freeze it in smaller "us size" portions. I'm sorry, I cannot compromise on my air conditioning, I get hot easy and become quite a bad wife!

On the plus side, we have a brand new home so our electric bill is not so bad.

 

[Abirdbrain]

Hey! Me and the YL are animal people , so having the latest in NEW furniture was gone before we started. My Plant closed 3 yrs ago, and I'm too old to hire, too young to retire. So I odd job my way along. She still works. Develop your skills and market them. I am a fixit guy, and have a Universal AC card, and tons of equipment. Credit cards still inplay, but very low levels. KIB rule. Kash Is Best. No new cars, I have two Rangers, 97 & 02, rebuilt from wrecks, by me, that serve well for transport of our goods and groceries. I buy and sell just about anything worth trading, and now we have a chicken flock, eying sales to the Veggan market here. Have some land and building tractor coops from shipping crates and salvage materials. Barn siding for roofing. It works. Hard to get aroudn fuel cost, so milage is budgeted as far as possible.

Two theories, become self sufficient, or become minimalist. The less you own, the less you spend. Its a mind game to get away from IWANTSDAT! Do you reaaly need that? Excuses (lies) can be made. If you wait a few days, see how you feel, mostly it will not be that important. NOT spending is a hard skill to learn, but can pay handsomely.

 

[areyoumymother]

Last year we took advantage of the energy tax incentives...completed some projects that I was going to anyway.....

Purchased a HUD house about 2 years ago....took advantage of the 8K First Time Buyers tax credit.....

so, what did we do with the 8K? put it back into the house......

House built in '84 and had the original windows that all the seals were deteriorated along with the insulation in the attic that had turned to dust leaving an R factor of ZERO.....

waited til this fall to take advantage of the 'off season' deals for both......

got a great deal on replacement energy efficient windows that qualified for the tax credit......

and had the attic addressed....installed 20 inches of insulation, radiant barrier and replaced the soffit vents that had been painted over ... some of which also qualified for the tax credit.

My winter electric bills went from $300 to $75...can't wait til Aug/Sept to see how effective the radiant barrier is.

 

[CrittersNPets]

Such a cool thread. We are also Dave Ramsey fans and saved us when my spouse was unemployed for 7 months. Wish more of America would do what you are all doing. It sure helped us and now it's no big deal and I just LOVE when I find a super good deal at a consignment or goodwill etc.

 

[areyoumymother]

I am Thirft Store Junkie !!!!

Purchased my beautiful 4 piece bedroom set at a Salvation Army for $120 !!!! It was dusty and dirty, brought it home and cleaned it up with furniture oil and it is absolutely beautiful, no refinishing required

I would get such a kick out of going to work in a new thrift store outfit and get the standard compliment "outfit looks great, is it new?" my standard response would be "Sure is" then since I have no shame, actually quite proud of my accomplishment I would then tell them where I got it and how much.... I specifically remember one pant suit I got for $5, I was so jazzed, no one believed me LOL

 

[dkvart1]

I confess, we are "dumpster" divers. It's simply amazing what people throw away. I've had a beautiful wicker dresser and chest (washed and spray painted and they looked like new). A rocking chair in perfect condition. A brand new dresser (people were moving and couldn't fit it on the truck!). Brand new love seat, same deal, couldn't fit it on truck. Cruising apartment complexes at end of month can pay off big.

Signed up for freecycle, pays off once in a while.

Haven't used a credit card in 15 years. DH is a resolution specialist who works with credit unions, collecting debts and helping them put guidelines in place, training them, etc. He also counsels their members on how to reduce debt and live more simply.

Basic cable, were going to cut it out completely at new house but found out without it, one channel is all we'll get. Repurpose things all the time. Will now be able to have a garden and orchard again, big help on food bills. Used to grow about 80% of our food, can, freeze, etc., will be nice to get back to that! Also adding chickens and bees at the new home! (So excited about that!)

I shop thrift stores, rummage and yard sales, flea markets.

Knit and crochet my and hubbys sweaters. Sew, curtains, skirts, blouses.

Don't shop at pricey stores, but tend to try to avoid Walmart whenever possible as I don't like their practices anymore, certainly hasn't stuck to Sam's vision.

We NEVER buy new cars... auto auctions or repo's. Usually end up reselling them for what we paid for them, so we end up paying little if anything to drive our cars 3-4 years. Every once in awhile we even buy one or two, put a little work into it and resell and make a few bucks. We aren't greedy when we do this.

Never buy new lawn mowers or snowblowers, etc. always used.

I've tried to get DH to make fewer trips in car (combine errands, etc) but that hasn't happened.

and he won't let me freeze too many things.... has some sort of hang up about that.

Of course he hasn't managed to break me from collecting plants (indoor and outdoor) either...