Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Arielle]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arielle

Went to talk to a friend about starting a small garden. SHe just needs some direction, support and a 4 x 4 plot made up for her. Hoping that I can get her hooked on gardening. . . . its frugal food!!

I do hope you didn't end up digging it for her. I did the same for a friend a few years ago. She stood back and watched while I hand dug the whole thing for her, claiming that she wasn't smart enough to dig... And on it went, while I patiently explained how to plant seeds, then planted them for her b/c she wasn't smart enough. Then... the same thing with the tomato plants, and the fertilizer... all with a woman who has a master's degree! I bumped into her last summer, and she asked if I was going to come out and help her plant a garden. No thanks. I'm too busy every day for that!

I'm only about a week behind on this thread ...
As everyone seems to be anti- credit card, I just wanted to add my 2-cents. Credit cards have protections that Debit Cards do not. Personally, DH and I will not use debit-cards. Well, we have one but that is our Health Savings Account, it is the only option and is only used at the doctors office. If someone gets your Debit Card info and makes charges, the money comes right out of your bank account and is gone; the bank will not follow up on a fraudulent charge, you are on your own to solve the issue and get a refund. If you write a check on that account expecting the money to be there, then you have returned check fees and/or overdraft fees. If the bank does get involved, it may put a hold on your account as it tries to solve the issue, leaving you without access to any of the money you have in your account. If someone gets your credit card info and makes fraudulent charges, your credit card company is obligated by the Fair Credit Billing Act to remove any disputed charges from your account until the matter is resolved and no charges are paid until you "verify" them, usually by paying the statement.

We shopped around and found a credit card that has strong protections and good bonuses. If fact, if we are traveling out of state and try to use our card we will get a call from the company checking to make sure that it is us and the card was not stolen. We get points for every charge we make and can use those points for cash back or travel. We have used those travel points for airline tickets and hotel rooms. One year, we cashed points out and got $200 to use for Christmas gifts, another time we used the travel points and had to pay a total of $50 for flying both of us to a different state for a friends wedding and staying in a hotel for the weekend.

We are careful about what we spend and we pay off our credit card in-full every month. But, with a credit card, we have the option to carry a balance for a month or so if an emergency were to come up. It has happened to us once in 17-years of marriage. And now that I am unemployed, we have limited our spending to make sure that we can afford to pay the card off every month.

The key is to live within your means.

Love the way you think. I can see where I went wrong with a CC and my only answer right now is to not have one. Trying to build an emergency fund as an option instead.

As for dumping the CC-- I hated that I was not in controll-- the CC company kept giving me the run around which was very very frustrating. They would NOT listen to what I wanted as a customer. GrrrrTo access our bank account, our bank switched from a bank card to a MC debit card. We did not have a choice.

I'm ready to put all my money under a mattress. I need to go talk to my uncle as he is in banking for advice!!

 

[weezilgirl]

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cup-S...17&sr=8-1&keywords=12+cup+stovetop+percolator


There are several.

 

[DennisK]

I'm only about a week behind on this thread ...
As everyone seems to be anti- credit card, I just wanted to add my 2-cents. Credit cards have protections that Debit Cards do not. Personally, DH and I will not use debit-cards. Well, we have one but that is our Health Savings Account, it is the only option and is only used at the doctors office. If someone gets your Debit Card info and makes charges, the money comes right out of your bank account and is gone; the bank will not follow up on a fraudulent charge, you are on your own to solve the issue and get a refund. If you write a check on that account expecting the money to be there, then you have returned check fees and/or overdraft fees. If the bank does get involved, it may put a hold on your account as it tries to solve the issue, leaving you without access to any of the money you have in your account. If someone gets your credit card info and makes fraudulent charges, your credit card company is obligated by the Fair Credit Billing Act to remove any disputed charges from your account until the matter is resolved and no charges are paid until you "verify" them, usually by paying the statement.

We shopped around and found a credit card that has strong protections and good bonuses. If fact, if we are traveling out of state and try to use our card we will get a call from the company checking to make sure that it is us and the card was not stolen. We get points for every charge we make and can use those points for cash back or travel. We have used those travel points for airline tickets and hotel rooms. One year, we cashed points out and got $200 to use for Christmas gifts, another time we used the travel points and had to pay a total of $50 for flying both of us to a different state for a friends wedding and staying in a hotel for the weekend.

We are careful about what we spend and we pay off our credit card in-full every month. But, with a credit card, we have the option to carry a balance for a month or so if an emergency were to come up. It has happened to us once in 17-years of marriage. And now that I am unemployed, we have limited our spending to make sure that we can afford to pay the card off every month.

The key is to live within your means.

All I have is a debit card. I use it for all kinds of things like car rental – etc. I never tried to reserve a hotel room with it, yet, but I don't suspect I'll have much trouble. I've had a few fraudulent uses of my debit card, but the bank replaced the lost amount with no problems. They have also called me when they detected a change in my spending pattern. I think that the only thing different between my DC and a regular CC is that my legitimate purchases are nonreturnable – other than what the store and I agree to do. I have to be sure of my purchases, and with whom I do business. What I like about it is that I don't end up owing anyone, other than myself, money. Life is a lot simpler, more relaxing, and I am in better control of my finances. Credit Cards charge retailers a percentage for every use which is inflationary in nature. A number of gas stations in my area have two prices for their gas: A lower price for cash and debit card payment and a higher price for credit card use. But to be honest, I am retired and I no longer do any globe trotting. If I had a business, credit would be a necessity, but for just my personal finances, a debit card does me just fine.

 

[gevshiba]

I'm only about a week behind on this thread ...
As everyone seems to be anti- credit card, I just wanted to add my 2-cents. Credit cards have protections that Debit Cards do not. Personally, DH and I will not use debit-cards. Well, we have one but that is our Health Savings Account, it is the only option and is only used at the doctors office. If someone gets your Debit Card info and makes charges, the money comes right out of your bank account and is gone; the bank will not follow up on a fraudulent charge, you are on your own to solve the issue and get a refund. If you write a check on that account expecting the money to be there, then you have returned check fees and/or overdraft fees. If the bank does get involved, it may put a hold on your account as it tries to solve the issue, leaving you without access to any of the money you have in your account. If someone gets your credit card info and makes fraudulent charges, your credit card company is obligated by the Fair Credit Billing Act to remove any disputed charges from your account until the matter is resolved and no charges are paid until you "verify" them, usually by paying the statement.

We shopped around and found a credit card that has strong protections and good bonuses. If fact, if we are traveling out of state and try to use our card we will get a call from the company checking to make sure that it is us and the card was not stolen. We get points for every charge we make and can use those points for cash back or travel. We have used those travel points for airline tickets and hotel rooms. One year, we cashed points out and got $200 to use for Christmas gifts, another time we used the travel points and had to pay a total of $50 for flying both of us to a different state for a friends wedding and staying in a hotel for the weekend.

We are careful about what we spend and we pay off our credit card in-full every month. But, with a credit card, we have the option to carry a balance for a month or so if an emergency were to come up. It has happened to us once in 17-years of marriage. And now that I am unemployed, we have limited our spending to make sure that we can afford to pay the card off every month.

The key is to live within your means.

My and several people I know, debit cards recently had fraudulent charges. I had no problem disputing it and getting the money returned to my account. I've had (and am still having) identity theft. They had over $8000 worth of credit card debt in my name. I was able to prove fraud because I had never owned a credit card. That's the only reason I wasn't responsible for the charges, so they told me. They won't go after the crooks unless the charges are over $10,000, but they'll make you, the victim, pay it back if you can't prove fraud. I don't think anything is safe unless you pay cash for everything. Sorry, I get worked up over this.

 

[appps]

We use only a debit card for online purchases but we do it a little differently. We have a seperate bank account which we keep zero money in with the debit card attached to it. Whenever we need to make an online or over the phone purchase we simply transfer the required amount into the card and then make the purchase,giving us within about 30 seconds a zero balance again.

Even if somebody gets our card or bank account details they can't run up any extra purchase or take money out as it's an empty account with no credit facility. If you try and make a purchase without there being money in the account it's declined so they can't make fraudulent purchases with it.

 

[Arielle]

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cup-S...17&sr=8-1&keywords=12+cup+stovetop+percolator


There are several.

Better than a mattress????? I can only imagine filling the wrong coffee pot, as my regular one looks almost EXACTLY like this one. Would need to hang up the wet bill using clothes pins on a clothes line.

We use only a debit card for online purchases but we do it a little differently. We have a seperate bank account which we keep zero money in with the debit card attached to it. Whenever we need to make an online or over the phone purchase we simply transfer the required amount into the card and then make the purchase,giving us within about 30 seconds a zero balance again.

Even if somebody gets our card or bank account details they can't run up any extra purchase or take money out as it's an empty account with no credit facility. If you try and make a purchase without there being money in the account it's declined so they can't make fraudulent purchases with it.

WONDERFUL method!!!Time to open another account me thinks!!!

 

[wyoDreamer]

Its all about being able to manage your money, what works for one may not work for someone else. Our situation works because DH stays on top of all our financial dealings. If it were just me, I may have to do things differently.
It is always a good idea to shop for the best bank/credit union for your own needs. For us, a big national bank has been the best option because we need the ability to hit the bank across the US as we traveled. When we were younger and didn't need the accessibility, a local credit union had the best programs for us. We were hoping to find a local credit union now that we have moved, but there don't seem to be any that have the programs that we want...

 

[lazy gardener]

I agree, financial management is not a one size fits all.

 

[weezilgirl]

I have no idea what the mattress and clothes line response is about.

 

[perchie.girl]

I have no idea what the mattress and clothes line response is about.

used to be people would hide their money in a mattress because they didn't trust banks. Or hide money in the coffee pot.... The clothesline has to do with drying the money after trying to make a pot of coffee.

deb