Frugality! What cost-saving measures do you employ in your daily life? Lets hear your ideas for stretching a shrinking dollar.

Some ideas from myself to get the ball rolling:
- I motorcycle to work to save on gas
- Bought a foreclosed house
- Get tons of stuff on Craigslist/Freecycle
- I always sort through the stuff people throw away after remodeling (I _highly_ recommend this, even if you're not going to keep what you find, like an old microwave or oven, donate it to Habitat for Humanity Re-store and write it off on your taxes.)
- Keep the thermostat low and close off the vents and doors in rooms that aren't currently being used
- Air-dry clothes (this saves a lot more money then you'd think at first, clothes last longer and the energy bill is MUCH lower)
- Only buy ancient used cars/motorcycles (All my vehicles have historic tags except one of my motorcycles)
- Buy almost all my tools used or harbor freight
- Cut my own hair
- Use a straightedge so I don't have to buy razors
- When I visit my dad in WV, I buy as much as possible at Wal-Mart over there
- Replaced all the bulbs in my house with CFLs
- Don't buy processed or pre-prepared foods
- Old clothes are either mended or turned into rags

I could keep going if you want, but lets hear some ideas from you guys.

Harbor Freight +1, but I do end up dropping a good dime from time to time...

Try to bundle your internet/TV/phone, usually good for savings. We save $30/month.

Buy stuff on sale. When looking for NEW clothes, Kohl's and Old Navy always have sales.

I do a lot, but don't think about it. I just keep all my clothes. New clothes eventually turn into winter shop clothes, then summer shop clothes and then rags, and then shop clothes again.

Don't go to bars. Shit's expensive.

Try to bundle your internet/TV/phone, usually good for savings. We save $30/month.

You can save even more by not having a TV/Phone :P

You can save even more by not having a TV/Phone :P

If you're gay.

Nope. We don't watch TV a lot, we're too busy with . . . other things. we're on the $6 a month plan from Netflix tho, we watch movies every so often.

And we don't have a land line, just cellphones.

I got rid of cable internet and switched to DSL and to ATT -saving over 60 bucks a month on that

I ride the motorcycle to work when it is raining or too hot to bicycle - cycle cost me 50 bucks!! and gets 60-70 mpg.

Ride the bicycle as many days as possible

heat is set at 63 in the house in the winter -also put plastic on windows

never pay retail for anything!!!

switched most lights to CFLs

paid 1500 for a civic 4 years ago and besides gas I think I have put 350 bucks into it 30-40mpg

pack my lunch everyday

goto the freebie forum on slickdeals.net

dumpster diving or pick up things off the road ie bungees - trade what you don't need for other things

I also do a lot of bartering. Mostly giving computer help for other help or shit they don't want

I know a lot of people that know someone so you can get deals or services for cheap. It is all about the networking!!!

I gotta get my bicycle to my aunt's, so I can ride it to class every couple days I'm there.

I eat a lot of salad, too. Shit's filling and cheap. BUt when I'm at class, I usually end up eating fast food. :(

I work out in the free gym at school.

I also do a lot of batering. Mostly giving computer help

Masturbatering?

I'm going to make sandals out of used tires, this summer.

I don't smoke.

Rarely drink.

Don't speed (enough to get pulled over).

Stay with family as often as possible.

Carpool when I can.

I don't drive boatmobiles (Crown vics, etc...).

I fixxed it should have been bartering

I know, but I had to give y aa little crap for it.

Eat lots of chicken too, it's always cheap and comes with the side affect of being pretty good for you.

Sam's Club membership, also.

I've been trying to keep my stereotypes in check god damn it. Tofu, why did you have to start a thread about hoarding pennies?

I see where you guys are coming from, but lmfao at some of those things.

Air drying clothes? cutting own hair?

:roll:

I've got quite a few Jewish friends who suck with money.

But it's amusing that you act like it's such a pain :P

Hair cutting isn't rocket science, look who usually does it these days :P We learned how to cut hair pretty quick.

Thats saving, what $15 a month per person, not counting "tips?" Not counting the time wasted and gas to get to the barber. More if you count my wife, do you have any idea how much it costs to have her hair done? (Her hair is like half her body weight)

And whats so horrid about air drying clothes? Cost per load in energy is around $1.50 or $3, and if you have a lot of laundry (we do) you save a fortune on your electric bill. And what are we missing out on? Air dried clothes last longer too.

Around here clothes lines are very common

I pay a lot less then 15 to get my hair cut from the same barber who cut my grandpa's hair back in the day....I think he is 73 and makes more then any of us on here per hour.

Air dried clothes feel like shit imop.

And I know a few guys who cut their own hair and they most certainly look like shit.

Creating a whole bunch of unnecessary work for myself is not worth an extra $100 a month to me.

I'm reading a ben franklin bio at the moment though, the amount of time and ink that man wasted thinking and writing about the merits of industry, virtue and frugality is simply staggering. He proclaimed those three things to be the most realistic and practical way of worshiping god.

So should I stop spending the 350 bucks an hour on whores?

So should I stop spending the 350 bucks an hour on whores?


Negative.

OK. Good. Client Number 10 over and out.

Around here clothes lines are very common

I pay a lot less then 15 to get my hair cut from the same barber who cut my grandpa's hair back in the day....I think he is 73 and makes more then any of us on here per hour.

Word on the lines.

As for a hair cut, I get a $9 haircut every six months. money saved.

whores are good

Air dried clothes feel like shit imop.

Then you're doing it wrong :D

And I know a few guys who cut their own hair and they most certainly look like shit.

I know some people who went to professionals and got some crappy cuts too. Your point? :P

I changed my mind, good beer is too hard to not buy.

is that ALL people I know who cut their own hair look like shit.

Then you're doing it wrong :D



please explain, how do you get it so that your cloths aren't stiff or "crispy"? Fabric Softener, lots of it?

+1 on the packing lunch thing.

What about the rest of you guys? What temp do you have your heaters at during the winter? I keep mine at 62-65

please explain, how do you get it so that your cloths aren't stiff or "crispy"? Fabric Softener, lots of it?


Years in the desert toughen the skin and you don't notice. :)

Theres lots of ways, but the two easiest are:
1) Hang the clothes on a windy day (And hang them right)
2) Toss them in the drier just on tumble dry (no heat) for the last 5 minutes. I like this method because it still takes the lint out of linty clothes

I think it also depends on your water.

I once hung a towel wrong and let it just air dry on an overcast, not windy at all day. It was like a piece of cardboard.

Theres lots of ways, but the two easiest are:
1) Hang the clothes on a windy day (And hang them right)
2) Toss them in the drier just on tumble dry (no heat) for the last 5 minutes. I like this method because it still takes the lint out of linty clothes

I think it also depends on your water.

I once hung a towel wrong and let it just air dry on an overcast, not windy at all day. It was like a piece of cardboard.

So to "do it right" you wait for a windy day to do laundry or stand around waiting until they're almost dry and then put them in the drier?

LOL saving money sounds like a major pain in the ass.

Saving money IS a pain in the ass!

If you really want to save coin, build a hay bail house and live off the grid, like a dirty fucking hippy.

So to "do it right" you wait for a windy day to do laundry or stand around waiting until they're almost dry and then put them in the drier?

LOL saving money sounds like a major pain in the ass.

Maybe for you. I don't see why you're so offended by it to make a case like this :P Maybe it's not the right thing for YOU to do to save a buck, but it certainly works for us.

Perhaps I live in a different climate then you do, and perhaps my water is different?

What we do is we just have a line just outside the house, and it's been just windy enough every single day that we've had to do laundry that it dries just right.

For the amount you guys are talking about saving, it's not worth it.

Yeah, I know, it all adds up. Blah.

Maybe for you. I don't see why you're so offended by it to make a case like this :P Maybe it's not the right thing for YOU to do to save a buck, but it certainly works for us.

Perhaps I live in a different climate then you do, and perhaps my water is different?

What we do is we just have a line just outside the house, and it's been just windy enough every single day that we've had to do laundry that it dries just right.

Not offended man. just not for me.:bigthumb:

Dude, Jason.... are you a poor hippy?

Does the wife not work?

Once she has the kid, you gonna get a TV?

Hanging the laundry saves us around $30+ a month, for almost no effort. You would be amazed at how much energy an electric drier sucks down just to do one load.

It does add up, to some pretty major bonuses.

- My wife doesn't have to work
- I can work at a moderately paying but very fun, relaxed, and secure job
- I have no debt except the mortgage (and thats really low)
- We have enough savings for emergencies and indulgences every so often (good ones, like a romantic dinner out, or a new motorcycle, etc)
- It feels great, cutting out waste and inefficiencies is one of my favorite things, I'll do it on all my designs; code, machines, cars, house, finances, etc.

And biblically, we are called to be good stewards of what we are put in charge of.

And we HAVE a TV, just not cable :P

So she just sits at home, watches soaps, and eats bon bons?

So she just sits at home, watches soaps, and eats bon bons?


Gotta have someone wait for the clothes to be almost dry.

Motorcycles generally aren't money savers, what with new tires every 5k miles, more maintanence needed, and the general suckiness of riding one on a crappy day.

But they're still worth it!

You can save even more by not having a TV/Phone :PYep, i'm still on broadcast TV... I watch maybe 5hrs of TV a week, mostly news in the evenings. I'll catch family guy when I can, but I haven't seen an ep of that in over a month. Phone I pay $15/mo for, my mobile, my only. Internet at my place is about $40/mo, but it's a good connection and I use it almost all the time (when i'm at my place and my server when i'm at work).

Considering a two-wheeler.... truck isn't exactly great on gas, but it does the job.

Programmable thermostat, highest it's set at is 62°F right now, and that's only between 0730-0830. Nice waking up to a warm place... warms up to 61°F in the evenings after work, rest of the time it's at 56°F.

All lights are CFL except the bathroom and a dimmer on the dining room table.

My windows are newer, water heater and furnace are <6mo old. Weather stripping on front door.

I eat like shit... lots of soup and microwaveable stuff... pack a lunch to work, take advantage of the free sodas at the office... but i do eat fast food way too often.

Never use the dishwasher... just do dishes by hand. I don't make enough dirty dishes to even warrant using the dishwasher.

I do need to get a new washer/dryer... the ones i have are old. The washer has tried to escape several times.

This snowmobiling habit is killing me though :( I gotta quit wreckin things.

Motorcycles generally aren't money savers, what with new tires every 5k miles, more maintanence needed, and the general suckiness of riding one on a crappy day.

But they're still worth it!

Ultra hard touring tires on standard bikes last a lot longer than that.

I'll square off a rear in about 3k on my gixxer :(

Yeah, I was thinking about hobbies.

I have NONE. Saves me a decent amount of money.

I have over 4k on the new rear tire I bought last year for 45 bucks for my cycle. Besides the new stator and the original purchase price of 50 bucks it costs next to nothing to maintain. Sort of like my Honda

So she just sits at home, watches soaps, and eats bon bons?

Nope :P

When I'm at work, she's usually cleaning, being barefoot and pregnant, reading, hanging out with friends, etc.

She cooks three meals a day :D

It's her dream, who am I to argue? :)

Gotta have someone wait for the clothes to be almost dry.

Thats like saying you stand and wait next to the drier all day :P
I've seriously spent more time arguing with you about it then actually doing the wash.

Motorcycles generally aren't money savers, what with new tires every 5k miles, more maintanence needed, and the general suckiness of riding one on a crappy day.

But they're still worth it!

Depends on the cycle :P I think the worst part of the extra bike "maitanence" is the valve adjustment, and that's really not that bad on most bikes (if you do it yourself).

As far as tools go:

-Stay away from the rip-off tool trucks that come around once a week or so. All you are doing is paying their truck payments with jacked up prices. Hit their online sites instead.

Or even better........

-The magic money saver for me is to hit the pawn shops and buy broken or old Snap-on, Craftsman, Mac, or whateverexpensivebrandname tools for less than a buck and then turn them in for new ones at Sears or wherever. Thousands of bucks saved every year on tools just by getting them that way.

Whenever a statement from the bank comes I just take a look at it and add up all my needless expenses and then tell myself to cut back for that next month. It works pretty well for about 20 minutes or until I go out again.

Find richer bitches to support your habits.

Nope :P

When I'm at work, she's usually cleaning, being barefoot and pregnant, reading, hanging out with friends, etc.

She cooks three meals a day :D

It's her dream, who am I to argue? :)



Thats like saying you stand and wait next to the drier all day :P
I've seriously spent more time arguing with you about it then actually doing the wash.

I like being barefoot, also... I call myself the barefoot mechanic. lol

Oh yeah, and air drying clothes is a great time saver, because you don't have to iron them :D

yer wife sounds awesome. seriously tofu :)

My wife is awesome.

I had no clue any one woman could be this awesome :D

not as awesome as mine ;)

haha ive seen Tofuball's haircut... i recommend going to the barber. as for me i dont really spend money on anything. brewing my own beer has basically eliminated my bar bill. i guess sushi is my only indulgence.

Bahaha

The last time you saw me was so long ago, that was before I cut my own hair :P

We make our own sushi here too :D

Aaaand this one is for 'Vert

http://www.punny.org/wp-content/images/200803/00005_refund_pie_chart.png

Fucking right. lol.

I used to be a cheap ass, but I discovered something:

The more money I spend, the more seems to come my way. Get a good job, work hard and don't worry about penny pinching: You'll end up having more money, more/nicer shit and be happier too.