Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Thunderlilies]

I love living a frugal lifestyle! I'm always on the look for more ways to save.

For now we save by not having cell phones, not having cable (or netflix, or hulu - no tv at all), only one computer in the house (a clunky old desk top that drives me nuts sometimes), and we have an internet phone (Ooma - that we pay just under $4 a month for).

We buy used and pay cash (cars, clothes, furniture, etc) . We do our own fixing up (car repairs, house repairs, etc). I cook practically everything from scratch (so, crackers, biscuits, muffins, cookies, cakes, etc). I haven't figured out pasta yet... but it's something I'd like to try!

We also grow and put away as much food as we can of our own. I didn't grow up canning so it's still something I'm learning to enjoy

I like the idea behind preserving your own harvest, but... boy, it's hard work! As for the gardening part, that's one of my favorite hobbies, so I do enjoy that part.

We buy groceries at discount stores and have saved a bundle by doing that! For our family of 7 people we can get a ton of veggies and fruits and other necessities for around $90 a week. I'm still amazed by that.

We shop at Aldis, local discount stores (the one here is called Penny Pinchers) and sometimes at a local discount bread store (where they sell organic breads for .59 a loaf because they are close to the expiration date, but still good!)

Another thing we do is always ask for discounts (for internet services, medical bills, car insurance, and so forth.) It never hurts to ask. And I always shop around to find the best price.

This system has worked very well for us as we are able to live comfortably on just one modest income and still be able to invest, take family vacations, build a house, etc...

I blog about some of those things at http://thenaturalhomestead.blogspot.com/ under the $100 a week link. There's a lot of family stories in there, too, so you might have to skip around

 

[nayeli]

I have a pay as you go cell. I pay 100 dollars a year and probably use about 80 percent of it. I use it to let family know where I am...

I worked in technology for a major cellphone manufacturing corporation and never had a cell. We are talking from Brick to Satellite.... And I remember when you had to extend an antenna to improve the reception.

I cant even go cellular at my house... No reception... something to do with HUGE BOULDERS... LOL.

So internet for me will be Satellite.

deb

I just spend $500 to pre pay my phone for the rest of the year... at $50 a month. Who do you use for your cell phone?

 

[nayeli]

I have a pay as you go cell phone also. I spend about $10 a month. DH has an expensive smart phone. I get good reception, but he doesn't

Which company do you use for your cell phone and do you just have talk or text/internet also?

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Its a prepay... as well. I am the only one to use the phone... Oh... um Verison. its the only one that will work at my house. You have to be in the middle of the driveway at the top of the hill and lean out the car at about five degrees and if you make a connection DO NOT MOVE.... LOL. My house is bordered on one side with HUGE iron filled granite boulders that cause them to be pinkish. and on the otherside is Mexico.

Driveway facing north All cell service it north west about five miles from those rocks.

facing south and Mexico the far hills are Mexico. the border is two miles as the crow flies from where I am standing


deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Which company do you use for your cell phone and do you just have talk or text/internet also?

I use it for talk only. Its internet capable but Id have to pay for the service. we can pay for service using the internet on the phone but my son has to do it... He has the very same phone but he uses it almost soley for text.

He chose the plan where he pays only for the first call which is two dollars. after that all calls that day are free. he pays for every text. appx 15 cents each he says. Not a big texter here or even caller.

This house is under three High power power lines .... The only place we can make a call is about half a block down the street. Texts make it through fine though.

deb

 

[nayeli]

I use it for talk only. Its internet capable but Id have to pay for the service. we can pay for service using the internet on the phone but my son has to do it... He has the very same phone but he uses it almost soley for text.

He chose the plan where he pays only for the first call which is two dollars. after that all calls that day are free. he pays for every text. appx 15 cents each he says. Not a big texter here or even caller.

This house is under three High power power lines .... The only place we can make a call is about half a block down the street. Texts make it through fine though.

deb

Yikes! I currently use my telephone for volunteer work but am looking at an internet based home phone for that.... other than for that I rarely call and don't text all that much either. I use my phone for maps... it just seems like I'm not using it all that much to be paying $50 a month!

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I just bought a cheepo phone from Verison and the service according to my needs. I pay flat 100 dollars for the year. My calls are less than 30 seconds to a minute. last year I only used 75 dollars worth. Just emergency use for different stuff like OMG i have a flat Or to tell family where I am... I am not much of a phone talker. Oh and the phone is probably four or five years old so old technology.

There are a bizzillian plans out ther just through Verison. Which is the best provider for this area strongest signal.

I just surfed through the website and cant find the plans either of us have here...

sorry.

deb

 

[Outpost JWB]

Which company do you use for your cell phone and do you just have talk or text/internet also?

Mine is a prepay. I buy iwireless cards. Phone is a Kyocera. I have had issues with it. They said they cannot change the caller id name because the telephone # used to belong to someone else.....???? But I didn't pick my number. Makes no sense to me, but it doesn't matter anymore. I use mine for text a lot as we have grown children that text us a lot. I also use for talk. I get 100 talk or text for the $10.00 card, I just don't use it all that much. A few texts a day. I also get free minutes with my Kroger points when I grocery shop there. It helps.​

 

[nayeli]

Mine is a prepay. I buy iwireless cards. Phone is a Kyocera. I have had issues with it. They said they cannot change the caller id name because the telephone # used to belong to someone else.....???? But I didn't pick my number. Makes no sense to me, but it doesn't matter anymore. I use mine for text a lot as we have grown children that text us a lot. I also use for talk. I get 100 talk or text for the $10.00 card, I just don't use it all that much. A few texts a day. I also get free minutes with my Kroger points when I grocery shop there. It helps.​

How is your service and where do you live, if you don't mind me asking.

 

[Arielle]

I love living a frugal lifestyle! I'm always on the look for more ways to save.

For now we save by not having cell phones, not having cable (or netflix, or hulu - no tv at all), only one computer in the house (a clunky old desk top that drives me nuts sometimes), and we have an internet phone (Ooma - that we pay just under $4 a month for).

We buy used and pay cash (cars, clothes, furniture, etc) . We do our own fixing up (car repairs, house repairs, etc). I cook practically everything from scratch (so, crackers, biscuits, muffins, cookies, cakes, etc). I haven't figured out pasta yet... but it's something I'd like to try!

We also grow and put away as much food as we can of our own. I didn't grow up canning so it's still something I'm learning to enjoy

I like the idea behind preserving your own harvest, but... boy, it's hard work! As for the gardening part, that's one of my favorite hobbies, so I do enjoy that part.

We buy groceries at discount stores and have saved a bundle by doing that! For our family of 7 people we can get a ton of veggies and fruits and other necessities for around $90 a week. I'm still amazed by that.

We shop at Aldis, local discount stores (the one here is called Penny Pinchers) and sometimes at a local discount bread store (where they sell organic breads for .59 a loaf because they are close to the expiration date, but still good!)

Another thing we do is always ask for discounts (for internet services, medical bills, car insurance, and so forth.) It never hurts to ask. And I always shop around to find the best price.

This system has worked very well for us as we are able to live comfortably on just one modest income and still be able to invest, take family vacations, build a house, etc...

I blog about some of those things at http://thenaturalhomestead.blogspot.com/ under the $100 a week link. There's a lot of family stories in there, too, so you might have to skip around

Welcome to BYC!!! THank you for sharing your methods. ALways something to learn.

Quote:
I just bought a cheepo phone from Verison and the service according to my needs. I pay flat 100 dollars for the year. My calls are less than 30 seconds to a minute. last year I only used 75 dollars worth. Just emergency use for different stuff like OMG i have a flat Or to tell family where I am... I am not much of a phone talker. Oh and the phone is probably four or five years old so old technology.

There are a bizzillian plans out ther just through Verison. Which is the best provider for this area strongest signal.

I just surfed through the website and cant find the plans either of us have here...

sorry.

deb

Verizon has the best signalhere too. My other service( first cell phone) is comparable to the service you describe above. lol I needed a little more reliablility to reduce my frustration, and save time. Walking around for 5 minutes and still not getting a signal is very frustrating. THough I keep that phone for emergencies as it uses far less power to run.