Just curious who else is living super frugal

[gummiepig]

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help who is dave ramsey and how can i find out more thanks

 

[Aimless Farmer]

As for the clothes dryers, those of us with pollen allergies MUST use them. The only season I wouldn't NEED it is winter, and here in N. Central MA, you have to be a truly dedicated soul to hang all your clothes throughout the winter...it's freezing, it snows, it rains and then freezes. My Gram did it (never had a dryer), but you have to be prepared to wait days for your clothes to completely dry, and to replace your line when the weight of your frozen, snow/rain/sleet-laden laundry pulls it down (and freezes it onto the ground...hopefully snow-covered, and not just frozen mud).

Our pollen allergies are such that if we line dry just a bathing suit outside at the lake, I have to wash it before it can be worn it again. In the winter time I can dry some things on a rack indoors, with our wood stove and dry indoor air, but in a 170 year old house with dirt cellar, the other 3 months of the year, it makes the indoors too humid and invites funk and mold, to which we are also allergic.

I know many people who line or rack dry. I do as much as I can indoors. How much you can all depends on your circumstances, I suppose.

Most people I know, however, use a dryer. I guess it is part of our "instant gratification/convenience" culture now *sigh*.

 

[helenmar]

Wonderful! and Im with you on the ironing-I dont!!!!

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[sukie]

I have always been very frugal and now I don't really need to be, but it is instinctive. As a family we've never had consumer debt, which I'm very glad about though we've perhaps done without fancy new things that other people had. We've now paid off our mortgage too and our two daughters are through university with no debt (a lot easier in the UK, I grant you).
I grocery shop a lot more than once a month because I like to look out for what's on sale and what's in season. It is true that going too often tends to make you overspend, though. I think part of the key is being able to leave alone the luxury items (watch what aisles you go in - avoid snacks and candy etc) and to do a lot of stuff from scratch from what is already in your fridge and pantry.
I hope you have success in cutting down your expenses and totally eliminating your debt, and that you get some advice from wise people along the way!

 

[cuntryuppiechick]

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You don't need the Oxyclean. Some skip it because they are hardcore, no chemical. It does seem to add a boost but not essential. I have health issues and I think it is chemical too!!!

 

[chawk]

We are really lucky that we can line dry as much as we can. It got tricky a few times but I figured it out.( I will say when my youngest dd came home from school with lice I was really really really glad we had a new electric dryer the landlady bought!huge lice outbreak this year, yet when I sent my dd back NOONE checked her.Really) Our winters arent awfull so line drying can be done, so I do. Its cold, but I dont mind...

 

[klmclain1]

Oh good! Thanks! I think I'll try skipping it and see how it goes.

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You don't need the Oxyclean. Some skip it because they are hardcore, no chemical. It does seem to add a boost but not essential. I have health issues and I think it is chemical too!!!

 

[chawk]

I read somewhere that oxyclean is bad for aquatic life, and we live near the Chesapeake Bay so i skip it..I'll try to find the link.Found it!!http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/oxiclean.html

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You don't need the Oxyclean. Some skip it because they are hardcore, no chemical. It does seem to add a boost but not essential. I have health issues and I think it is chemical too!!!

 

[vanalpaca]

Family of 3. All eat differently. Haven't cooked dinners even once a week lately. When I do, it goes in the garbage so what's the point?

I think we are surviving on coffee, milk, bread, cheese, sometimes canned fruit. Subway feeds us a lot, and Wendy's, or McD's.

If I eat, I gain weight. When I ate 6 small meals a day with lots of protein, a little fat and some carbs, I lost weight but hubby was convinced that I was just stretching my stomach by drinking all that water and eating all that food. I certainly felt better and lost 25 lbs in 12 weeks.

Hubby is nauseous a lot and can't eat. So we try to get high calorie stuff into him. Lost 6 lbs in the last week. Cancer does that and so does chemo and radiation.

Daughter is 17, graduated, working, and mostly eats take out. I've been trying to get her to eat all the things I used to make for dinner for years and she has decided to not like anything I cook, so I don't. She has also refused to learn how to cook. So I finally gave up completely.

I hate going to the grocery store because it costs $50-$100 and most of it ends up in the garbage.

We stopped SHOPPING for clothes, etc., a long time ago. If daughter has to have something, she must make a list, I'll go with her, and we only get what is on the list. She is just getting it that she stopped growing!!

Hubby and I are still trying to wear out all the clothes we have all these years and the house is chock full of stuff. I even refused to buy family Christmas presents the last 2 years. What was the point in wasting all that money? We wrapped up empty boxes from the leftover paper in the attic and put them under the tree. We all got $50 to go buy what we wanted and were done with it. I waited until after Christmas and the big sales hit.

The "12 Days of Christmas" START on December 25th and end on January 5th. It's the perfect time to be buying and exchanging GIFTS at all the sale prices.

Daughter insisted on buying hubby an e-book. He researched the one he wanted online, she paid for it with her money from working. Saved big $$.

I don't believe in shopping at Wal-Mart and buying all that cheap MADE IN CHINA stuff there. Wal-Mart is NOT always the cheapest store on all goods, just cheap quality goods.(OOps, sorry, almost wained political, erased it!!!)

I buy the cheapest laundry detergent, dishsoap, paper towels, and tp. The dogs get the $20 for 50 lbs medium quality dogfood because it lasts them longer. The cats litter costs a fortune, but their bag of food lasts over a month.

We own our own cars. They are 10 to 20 years old and have over 150k on them. We watch the gasoline price daily because it goes up and down with the factories paydays here.

I shop around for hay. Price is $2.50 to $8.00 so it's the same hay and just having to find the different farmers is best.

I went together with a group to make a mill run of alpaca feed and we met the semi at a gas station and pulled our portions of the order off the truck and split the stopover charge. Saved $7 a bag versus buying it at TSC.

I sure wish the family would eat regular meals. I hate feeding the landfill. Hubby and I will eat a bowl of cereal and maybe a half a sub sandwich and we're good for the day. (And still 'average' weight).

We have switched from getting dvd's/videos from the store and paying late fees to ordering them directly onto the tv using Netflix and our Wii.

Bundled the phone, computer, and tv and only get the 2nd tier of cable and none of the premium channels. Don't go to the movies, just the cancer center. Daughter works and pays for her movies and goes with her friends or BF.

I quit my social clubs, too. Blogging online here at BYC is good and helpful and I'm trying to sell off stuff on craigslist. You get more for it than at a garage sale.

We don't buy books, order them from the library, even the ebooks online from the library.

Still driving too much. We are offloading the big house in town and looking to downsize into a mobile home so we will have extra funds to help pay for daughter's college.

Cheers all and happy frugality!

 

[Wifezilla]

who is dave ramsey and how can i find out more

http://www.daveramsey.com/home/​