frugalfabrics

I'm the queen of frugalness...
No cable, no internet, basic cell phone, no home phone, get books and magazines from the library, use McD's free wi-fi or anyother freebie wi-fi. Share ride to work, bag lunch (eat half for breakfast and half for lunch), buy lunchmeat from the deli between 7and8pm because it's half off at that time.

I just broke down and bought an air conditioner because it got up to 116 degrees today, but prior to that I was only using a fan.

Oh, and I shop for clothes, shoes, etc at the goodwill or 2nd hand store.

Sell fabric, in order to buy different fabric.

quiltpd

JadeD - I agree. Very few things I buy ever have coupons. Do use coupons for detergent, paper towels, kleenex, but never find any coupons for milk or produce,

Lakelady

Cook with a Crock Pot. Use less meat by adding pasta. Spaghetti is a good one and I never buy the sauce. I make mine using tomato sauce and Italian Seasoning. The seasoning I use is the one you can buy for fifty cents at Wal-Mart, add garlic salt and what ever else you like. Three way Chili is another, if you like beans cook some to add to your Chili. Pork can be cooked in a Crock Pot with mushroom soup and served over noodles. Which brings to mind Chicken and noodles. Noodles are not hard to make. Then there's Goolosh. I also wash and reuse ziplock bags unless I've had meat in them and I reuse bread sacks. The bread sacks are so long I grab the scissors (not my good scissors) and cut them off. Off the subject of food I let my car coast to stop signs or down hills when the traffic allows.

Pat G

Turn lights off except for the room you're in.

Make sure you have a full load before running the dishwasher or laundry washer.

I heard recently how here in Western Washington, that because our water is so soft already, we all use way more soap & detergents than we need.

Since it's just me now, I use a toaster oven instead of heating up a big oven.

Gelswood

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without!

Lynnc

For entertainment check for a theater that needs volunteer ushers. My husband and I see a lot more plays that way.
Use your Tupperware to keep leftovers in. If you freeze leftover it's great on hot days.

incoming2me

I don't know if this considered frugal or not... but it works well for us!

DH now commutes 1 to 1.5 hours each way to work depending on traffic.
(Gotta love Houston rush hour!)
We both drive Dodge Ram trucks. Mine is a 2010 his was 2005.

Gas prices are crazy... I drive MAYBE 15-20 miles a week as a SAHM, however, DH's truck was eating our lunch at 14 MPG.

Even though his truck was paid off.. it was nearing 150,000 miles.
We could see that expensive repairs/maintenance/tires would be in the very near future on top of the gas $$$.

We traded it in on a 2011 Ford Fiesta - 38 MPG!
(I was surprised at how well equipped it is.. I was expecting a go-cart.)
So... even though we now have a $200 car note (@ 2.6%) where we had NO car note...
after gassing the new car up a couple of times a week, we're ahead almost $200 a month.
... and don't have to look at ANY repair costs!
That extra $200 a month is paying off other bills that have a MUCH higher interest rate.
Eventually, that extra $200 will be fed back into the car note until it too is paid off.

plainpat

I've enjoyed this thread.Because I came from poor circumstances....most tips are a way of life.
My Grma used to wash white butcher paper that meat came in & make books for Grkids to color in.She also kept a pot of soup on a back burner.She'd add leftover broth & veggies .That soup seemed to always be there.Making do was the only way...as they had 7kids to feed.

I've always had a clothesline & hang clothes 6-7mos a yr.In a grocery,I seldom pay full price for anything.Shop sales & stock up.Keep enough basics that you don't need to run to grocery....where it's so easy to spend more than planned.It's just as easy to cook a large pan of whatever,as it is to cook a small pot of food....giving you leftovers for another day.

Keep a zip lock bag in the freezer for left over veggies & broth.That will make a nice pot of soup.Cut back on portions of $$$ food.

It's the nickels & dimes that add up to dollars & many of us just don't realize how fast it goes.My SIL kept a money record for several mos & was shocked to see how much coffee drinks,lunches out etc added up.

deedum

I stop and pick up pennies on the sidewalk, my dh laughs at me. I drop them in my grandson's bank. I need the exercise anyway.
People forget that pennies add up. It is the little things we don't always see.
We joined netflix again, we just don't go to movies, and you can put netflix on hold for several months for no chg if youlike

katiebear1

Yeah, I do all that and I still can't seem to be able to put much in savings. Problem is EVERYTHING is going up and NO ONE is a getting a raise. (Except for polititions)