Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Wifezilla]

Hope you don't think this is a silly question, but around here the Amish dry their clothes outside in the winter, too. Do the clothes completely dry or just freeze and don't dry all the way?

Not silly at all. My mom hung out clothes in the winter. We called it freeze drying

Winter air is pretty low in humidity so the clothes will dry even when frozen.​

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Not silly at all. My mom hung out clothes in the winter. We called it freeze drying

Winter air is pretty low in humidity so the clothes will dry even when frozen.

I wondered that too! But how can they be dry if they have ice on them??

 

[BarefootMom]

mom remembers having to BREAK their jeans... lol She said she would let them dry as much as they could, and then bring them in by the fire to finish drying.

 

[watchdogps]

I buy the gallon jugs of shampoo and conditioner at the beauty supply stores. Got some yesterday - shampoo was o sale for $3.co.99, and conditioner for $9.
I know pampering ourselves is often the first thing to go, but I do allow myself some vanity and go to the local cosmetology school to get my brows waxed ($6) and my hair trimmed ($6) every other month. Some people are nervous about students ding this stuff, but I've actually had BETTER service at the school than at salons. These people are being graded, and often a teacher is looking over their shoulder anyway.

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

Quote:
I LOVE the schools!!! Give me a new student, PLEASE. It's cheaper AND there is a teacher standing there AND they do EXACTLY what I request. I say 1 inch off, I get it measured and only 1 inch cut, often slightly less than that. I go to a "professional" who charges 10 times the amount, and they think 1 inch means cut off half my hair and style it how they want, not how I want, nor what looks good if I don't spend 8 hours fixing it.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
That's a great idea!
I was thinking of getting together with neighbors and friends here where we live and buy food stuffs in bulk. There is a shop here that supplies the local shops and their bulk prices are very good. I was thinking if we buy items like sugar or coffee, which we all buy, we can all save a lot of money: the mark up the shops add. Do you have a supplier like that in your area? Or maybe you could get those items on line as well? If a few families buy together you don't have to worry about storage

What are some of the websites? I would love to do this too.

 

[BarefootMom]

I haven't bought deodarant for over a year I get it free or SUPER Cheap. Degree will often have a $1 or a $0.75 off coupon in the paper and the travel sized ones are usually $0.97 or $1.00 at Dollar General or Walmart. I have over 30 in my stash now.

Same for shampoo- I use the coupons and if I can't find any coupons and I am out I will use ACV and Basking Soda. http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-Your-Hair-Without-Shampoo

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

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The shampoo link - Conditioner washing is GREAT for curly hair. But yeah, I use a TON of conditioner. However, Suave Tropical Coconut, often $1 at the Dollar Store or 0.97 at Wal-mart is amazing for my hair.

If you do use Baking Soda however, you do need to follow with an ACV rinse. Baking soda is too aklaline for your scalp, need to restore the acid level, thus the ACV.

If you are curly, rinse the conditioner out, THEN put in a mix of half water, half conditioner and don't rinse that out. No other leave-ins usually. Aloe-vera gel helps instead of the normal gel that builds up.

Then, for curly hair, LEAVE IT ALONE! Don't brush it, don't fuss with it, just let it be. The more you fuss, the more it frizzes.

I just cut my very curly hair from almost knees to right below my butt. Done that method for 15 years now, and I'm pretty darn happy with my hair.

 

[mothrhen]

Quote:
I completely agree about the humidity in the winter, it helps so much because the air is usually so dry inside the house. We got rid of our dryer about 3 years ago and I will never go back to using one. Here in Texas we're on our 79th day this year with over 100+ degree temps. The clothes dry outside in half the time they take in the dryer and it's free!

My dryer broke about 6 months ago and even though the part is cheap and a pretty quick fix, I've enjoyed not heating up the house in the summer and the reduction in the utility bill. I was wondering about the winter though. Also, the clothes, more so the towels come off the line so stiff (but smelling great!). Do you then iron them to make them softer?

Also, I'd like to say that surviving Irene was a real eye opener for me. I realized what I could actually live without. Especially TV. I would leave 2 TVs running 24 hours a day (I know, cringe) for the DOGS! I DID NOT enjoy throwing out the entire contents of my fridge and freezer!! However, now I know exactly what is in those and when it was bought. Before, it was so packed we would only eat what was accessable from the outside. Now I'm buying what's on sale and split it up for planned meals. I was like the woman on the TV commercial that was at the butcher and said "I'll take 6lbs of beef but only wrap up 4, I'll just be throwing the rest away"! Not that I have extra money to burn. I was just that unorganized. I love this thread and have been learning so much. Thanks everyone for sharing your ideas. It's getting tougher and tougher just to survive and the future doesn't look much (or any) brighter. Every little bit helps. Thanks again!

 

[toochicky]

I'm obsessed with being Frugal. My fiance had his contract ended abruptly without notice about 6 months ago. Luckily, due to the fact that I love doing our budget, and I work in accounting..We were OK but it did spin things into a new perspective. He got a new job and we learned to adjust our lifestyle even tighter than before.

The biggest thing with living Frugal is the social aspects. My friends have no budgeting skills whatsoever.. but I figure that's leftovers from being at college (College is where most people learn either great skills or horrible spending habits). Its hard to hang out with a group and for some reason, spending always comes up. Its either spending money on food, luxury items or some wild road trip.

Sometimes I get the feeling they look down on us like we are poor, because we openly discuss our spending before we do it, such as "Do we really need this? We can't afford this. Its really not worth the cost." etc. The big thing is we don't use our 1 credit card for anything anymore. We only keep it because we are buying property. I don't believe in buying something unless I have the cash to do it.

It tough being frugal but when I see the numbers on paper.. I get a sense of pride and honor.