emeraldkity4

I don't think it is a competition, but I used to enjoy a penny pinchers column in the paper ( we don't take the paper anymore )

I did score yesterday though. One of the advantages of living in a light industrial neighborhood is that a paving works is right next to where I shop. They make stepping stones, bricks etc. They often have broken pieces, seconds etc outside for others to take, so they don't have to get rid of it themselves, I suppose.

Yesterday I noticed that they had a good sized pile of irregular new bricks!
Since I am redoing my garden beds- it was great timing!

mathmom

I think we're fairly frugal with major exceptions. We've spent money on education (summer programs, distance learning) and computers. We spend more on housing so dh has a 20 minute commute to work, but our house is worth slightly less than the average house in Westchester. Dh takes all his showers at the Y, but not to save money. We don't get cable, don't like TV enough to justify the cost, but we've had DSL for a long time. We are pretty frugal with cars. We all hate buying clothes and tend to get them where they are cheap. We eat out rarely, but go to really good (and pricey) places when we do. The only money we owe is the mortgage and car loans. (Wouldn't have the car loan if my car hadn't been totaled.) A fair number of our lightbulbs are compact fluorescents.

It's always been a joke in my family that I'm the frugal one. I used to write postcards back from my travels telling my parents how little I was spending. I really did do Europe on $10 a day. (I remember being with friends and getting a reduced version of an already pretty cheap prix fixe meal.) My brothers are just the opposite. If they have money it's gone. They've been like that since they were little.

emeraldkity4

Actually while those are good ideas they aren't unusual

Take used paper from work home so kids could use the other side as scrap paper.
I don't consider that frugal- just makes sense to conserve paper.

Always bring leftovers from home as lunches
I think many people do this too- especially with microwaves in the office, it saves packing your lunch in the morning or standing in line at the cafeteria.

On business trip, I would collect every soap and shampoo from the room and bring them home

I love this. It is great when you are staying overnight and dont want to bring your big bottle of shampoo- I don't use them at home, but on trips.

Have a family member cut my hairs

LOL I have had about two professional haircuts in the last 25 years. I am just chicken to try a new stylist I would rather do it myself. My H, doesn't need his hair cut- he wears it in a ponytail, which I manage to convince him he needs trimmed ever once in a while, and my younger D, does her hair herself too!

Make sure I use the bathroom before leaving work

The way the traffic is around here, that is just common sense . Always eat when you can, sleep when you can & use the bathroom when you can!

sjmom2329

We try to use the library as much as possible. We do have a member card for Barnes & Noble, and use it more than we should.

barrons

I buy comparable generic OTC drugs and such. I also check the dates on bread, milk and the like. Otherwise we spend money like drunken sailors on leave. No kids to worry about and you can't take it with you. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

3bm103

There's a difference between being frugal and being cheap. Frugal is good and cheap is bad. But the definition of each is up to the beholder. I'd marry a frugal man, but wouldn't even date a cheap one.

sjmom2329

The definition I've heard is

frugal is when you are careful about what you spend on yourself

cheap is when you are careful about what you spend on others

oaklandmom

I've recently found freecycle.com - I needed a new shredder & posted to freecycle. Soon I had myself a used shredder. Works fine. And cost zero. I've seen people snag computers, sofas, and even laundry detergent on freecycle. I've been clearing out my house and rather than driving to goodwill, I post on freecycle. Most things have found a home. I love freecycle!

MotherOfTwo

My neighbor wanted to get rid of the stone mulch put down the previous owners of her home and replace it with shredded bark mulch. She found out it would be expensive to have the stone mulch removed and taken away, and so she advertised "free" stone mulch on craigslist and all these people soon came and removed the unwanted stone mulch.

TooRichForAid

I recycle my own kitchen scraps to go to my worm compost bin. Nothing gets thrown away except meat, etc.. It turns into black gold, great for my garden. I get coffee grin from Starbucks for free and throw in my worm compost bin. It's good for the environment all around.

I rarely buy any new book now unless my library does not have it, I make it a habit to borrow from the library, great for the environment, use less paper and storage space. I also donate back to the library books that I don't want to keep.

emeraldkity4

people are so funny- I have crap I have been holding onto for some misplaced reason that someone might need it again- but in a house that is smaller than 1000 sq ft, where we have lived for over 20 years, it was getting to the point where we couldn't get anything that was new unless we got rid of some of the old stuff.

I felt guilty putting it out for the Salvation Army, since it wasn't in great shape and I felt wasteful taking it to the dump, but I put it out on my parking strip with a free sign on it, and it was gone before I went to bed!

( now I just have to put some more out there)

simba

We just don't buy anything we don't need. The rest is automatic.

coureur

We pay off the full balance on the credit cards every month. Thus we pay $0 in credit card interest every year.

I only buy cold cereal that is on sale. I ain't paying four dollars for a box of flakes no matter how much I like them.

I use coupons only for things that I was going to buy anyway. They aren't going to trick me into buying something I didn't want by giving me a discount.

When I was in grad school I was so poor that I used to shower in the dark to save electricity. I no longer do that but I do turn off the lights, TV, computers, etc. when not in use -- something that females (W, D1 & D2) are apparently physically incapable of doing.

I don't own an SUV. I drive a little 12-year old Japanese car instead.

tanyanubin

A friend of mine from years ago was the cheapest person I've met. Her husband owned a toy company, yet she would buy videos for her daughter, pirate them, bring them back to her husband's factory to be re-shrinkwrapped, and return them to a store where they cost MORE money, so she'd actually turn a profit! When she told this to me proudly I was stunned. I asked her not to tell me things like that any more...I just couldn't be friends with her if she did....ugh.

MotherOfTwo

I wouldn't say that I am exceptionally frugal, but by buying most items when they are on sale at my grocery store, I save a tremendous amount of money. The discounts when name-brand items are on sale at my store are incredible.