What have you done to be frugal?

[NoOneGetsIt]

In preparation for FIRE we have done many things including:
Gave up cable watch movies from library
Stopped trash service..what little we have we take to a public dumpster
Stopped eating expensive things like meat, fish and cheese (added health benefits)
Dropped collision on auto policy (cars are old enough we self insure)
Increased deductible on homeowners ins
Heat only rooms we live in during winter
Cell phones are pay as you go
No land line phone line
Buy jeans, tshirts and sweaters at thrift store (seattle goodwill is hands down best in the country...and i've looked!)
Bought furniture off craigslist
Make our own food..sauerkraut, spag sauce etc...much cheaper than store bought
Am sure there is more WHAT ELSE DO PEOPLE DO? Would love to learn!!

 

[martyb]

None of the things on your list, except dropping the land phone line.

Gotten debt-free and stayed that way for over 4 years now.

I have kept my net pay check at essentially the same amount for the last 5 years, holding expenses as close to the same as possible, saving the rest.

 

[Dave_S]

My wife and I buy almost all of our clothing and some household items at Kohls, only when stuff is on sale and we have a 30% off coupon. Clip coupons for groceries, and again only buy stuff when it's on sale.

 

[heeyy_joe]

I don't do anything different now than I've done for the last 30 years. That's why I have enough to FIre.

 

[ERhoosier]

I don't do anything different now than I've done for the last 30 years. That's why I have enough to FIre.

Good point. For most it's a LBYM attitude. A lifestyle. DW often finds clearance bargains on clothes at retail stores, and has not changed as our finances have improved over the yrs. Still clip coupons for many things.

But must admit we sometimes have wasted $$$ by failing to look at overall value over time. Often the absolute cheapest route is more $$ over the long haul- like cheap paint

 

[tinlizzy]

But must admit we sometimes have wasted $$$ by failing to look at overall value over time. Often the absolute cheapest route is more $$ over the long haul- like cheap paint

I was just thinking that when you posted. I was looking at my very expensive 23 year old carpet that looks almost as good as new and very glad I didn't cheap out.

I did however order it wholesale (it was $30sq yd at the store and $18sq yd from the carpet mill) from Dalton GA and had it shipped to my city ($27 via Roadway) and the carpet layer picked it up from the terminal. The carpet layer also told me to order Rebond padding to extend the carpet's life. It's Stainmaster by Dupont carpet for anyone wondering.

Never making a purchase without thinking it through has been successful for me.

 

[DeborahB]

I don't do anything different now than I've done for the last 30 years. That's why I have enough to FIre.

+1

I always cooked most of our food at home so that eating out is a treat. We have inexpensive phone plans but we have a land line. We have cable. We have netflix. For several years, though, because books were needing their own room if I kept buying them - and they got expensive - I have tried to not buy books much, and use the library a lot. It's a mile from our house and I just reserve the books online and pick them up when they show up.

Doing a lot of online shopping (saves gas?) and I just decided Amazon prime was worth it - at least for a year. I'll re-evaluate then. The online shopping ends up cheaper in general.

Hey, the house & cars are paid for and we have no debt. So... I think we just always were frugal. But not to the point of changing a lot - luckily it hasn't been necessary.

 

[W2R]

Here are some ideas that have helped me in the past (although I am spending more now, intentionally).

1. Just don't buy so much stuff, period.
2. Cut recurring expenses to the bone. They'll kill your budget.
3. Buy a modest home that will be cheap and easy to maintain.
4. Do not buy a car that will not easily last 10+ years.
5. Pay off all debt, including mortgage. (Contraversial but worked for me)
6. Focus on free ways to have fun.
7. Don't pay for services you can do yourself, like haircuts and lawnmowing.
8. Challenge yourself each month to spend less than you ever have.

 

[Live And Learn]

I've always been frugal. I do eat meat and cheese but I comparison shop and stock up when its on sale. I can't remember the last time I paid full price for either one. As an example, I bought 10 turkeys at Thanksgiving. I cook them and debone them then freeze 1/2 a turkey per package. Half a turkey works for two dinners or one dinner and four lunches (family of two).

I shop for clothes at Goodwill and at after season sales (generally 50 - 70% discount).

I don't buy electronics very often - my TV is as deep as is is wide. I did buy a tablet for my 50th birthday but redeemed credit cards points to pay for it.

I have zero debt. I use my credit card for everything I can but pay in full every month. I use the points got frivolous purchases, such as the tablet.

Once I stop working the cellphone goes bye-bye (I can't wait !!!!), although I will probably get a $10 per month plan for dire needs.

I bike to where I'm going as much as possible. DH watches in awe as I unload groceries from my backpack. I'm not sure if biking to the store saves me all that much in gas but it definitely helps me stay away from unnecessary purchases!

 

[Live And Learn]

Here are some ideas that have helped me in the past (although I am spending more now, intentionally).

1. Just don't buy so much stuff, period.
2. Cut recurring expenses to the bone. They'll kill your budget.
3. Buy a modest home that will be cheap and easy to maintain.
4. Do not buy a car that will not easily last 10+ years.
5. Pay off all debt, including mortgage. (Contraversial but worked for me)
6. Focus on free ways to have fun.
7. Don't pay for services you can do yourself, like haircuts and lawnmowing.
8. Challenge yourself each month to spend less than you ever have.

I love this post !! Its perfect

 

[Bestwifeever]

....
Stopped trash service..what little we have we take to a public dumpster
....

Although we have done many of the OP's list in our lives at one time or another, we feel fortunate that we don't have to do any now.

And no way would our town let a resident cancel the town-wide contracted trash service, as a public health issue--you must live outside that kind of jurisdiction if you can just use a dumpster instead? Where do you find a public dumpster?

 

[NoOneGetsIt]

Some towns have disposal not advertised at recycling centers. Some don't. When we lived in some towns trash was part of city property taxes.

 

[obgyn65]

I have done none of the below except drop the landline. I am well compensated and have always been frugal. The key is to LBYM.

The two biggest 'traps' I have been able to avoid are : 1) avoid losing a ton of money on buying a huge house in 2000-2008. I only bought a nice condo cash 2) I have never invested in shares until very recently. Had I been invested heavily in shares in 2008, I think I would have panicked and would have sold everything, therefore would have lost significant amounts then.

Can you imagine those who bought a $1,000,000 home in 2008, now worth $300k, and who sold every share they owned in 2009? I don't think they can FIRE. Unless they make extremely good money and/or will get a huge inheritance.

In preparation for FIRE we have done many things including:
Gave up cable watch movies from library
Stopped trash service..what little we have we take to a public dumpster
Stopped eating expensive things like meat, fish and cheese (added health benefits)
Dropped collision on auto policy (cars are old enough we self insure)
Increased deductible on homeowners ins
Heat only rooms we live in during winter
Cell phones are pay as you go
No land line phone line
Buy jeans, tshirts and sweaters at thrift store (seattle goodwill is hands down best in the country...and i've looked!)
Bought furniture off craigslist
Make our own food..sauerkraut, spag sauce etc...much cheaper than store bought
Am sure there is more WHAT ELSE DO PEOPLE DO? Would love to learn!!

 

[sengsational]

Gave up cable watch movies from library
Cell phones are pay as you go
No land line phone line

Never had cable, ever. Never wanted it. Always had more cell phone than I wanted from megacorp, but the family uses tracphone. Gave up land line just recently (finally), and went with Ooma (voip).

But the BIGGEST thing I did (goes in the LBYM category) was a "mistake" or "luck" or whatever. I was moving from Atlanta just before the Olympics and didn't want to sell in the soft market (even though I would have broken-even on the house). So I rented out the house. But I didn't have a renter yet (the "luck/mistake" part), when I bought my current house. That means I couldn't qualify for as much of a house here in Charlotte. This unplanned situation was, by far, what has given me as much financial flexibility as I have now. I ended-up doubling my money on the Atlanta house, which became my kids' 529 accounts.


--Dale--

 

[jon-nyc]

I've always (well, for a long long time) been an LBYMer but my M was always high enough that my LBY stories don't usually impress.

The exceptions - I got rid of cable 20 years ago. Which meant getting rid of TV, since there was no Hulu and Netflix to replace it with. I think about how much more reading I have done in my adult life due to that one simple decision.

I also drive a very old but low mileage car. (97 Corolla, 37k miles).

 

[Amethyst]

We don't eat out.

Cutting our own hair is a bridge too far IMHO - whole family has naturally curly hair, which could easily be turned into a clown wig by untrained hands.

Amethyst

 

[foxfirev5]

Save something out of each paycheck in addition to automatic retirement amounts. Whether it's $50 or $5000 -bonuses are always saved, every paycheck for over 30 years.
After the bills are paid that has not left much for frivolous expenses.

 

[Walt34]

Spend less than income. What one spends on matters less than that spending is less than income.

 

[bondi688]

Be frugal , but don't penalize yourself.

 

[CDN_47]

We don't eat out.

Cutting our own hair is a bridge too far IMHO - whole family has naturally curly hair, which could easily be turned into a clown wig by untrained hands.

Amethyst

LOL, thanks for my first laugh today

For us, we have only recently learned how to LBYM. By that, I mean in the last 8 years or so. This was more out of shocked realization that we were quickly approaching my previous goal of FI at 55.

Best lessons for LBYM that we've learned are:

1) ignore your neighbour(s) whose last name is Jones. IMHO, cars and homes are the major reason why people can't retire early. I don't understand people's need to replace their cars every few years, and is working an extra 10 years really worth that 3rd bathroom

2) Combine entertainment activities with exercise. We recently starting hiking every weekend. Great cardio.

3) I know this is a personal choice, but we cancelled both of our cell plans (Still have a work cell).

4) Relentlessly look after your own best interests when being charged a recurring bill. Most banks, cable companies, phone companies, etc., will negotiate lower prices for your continued business.

5) We own a home with a small piece of property (50x100). But it's enough to grow a significant portion of our fruits and vegetables for the summer, fall and part of winter. This saves us a ton of money.

6) Where you have the skills, do your own renovations to your home. I'll do just about anything, except when it comes to electrical and major plumbing.

I believe we've only scratched the surface for money-saving ideas, without negatively impacting our lifestyle.

 

[JBmadera]

I love threads like this one, there is always something new to add to our FIRE toolkit. DW cuts my hair with clippers, which I love but she hates....LOL

We are starting to sell stuff via Craigslist with the help of our son since we will be downsizing from 1700sq ft to 1000sq ft (yahoo!!!)

 

[pb4uski]

.....We are starting to sell stuff via Craigslist with the help of our son since we will be downsizing from 1700sq ft to 1000sq ft (yahoo!!!)

We downsized from 3700 sf (in two homes) to our current 2000 sf home a couple years ago after having been in our main home for over 25 years. What a chore! But we did get rid of a lot of stuff via Craigslist - it was great. In some cases, the buyers help move the items out of the house and into their vehicle (freezer, file cabinets, etc.).

With respect to the rest of the thread, we too have done many of the cost cutting actions mentioned. I don't deprive us of anything but try to get a good deal in everything. And now that I'm retired, I view it as a bit of a game.

The one thing I have learned over the years that was previously mentioned is for capital expenditures to consider total ownership cost rather than just initial cost - so today we tend to look at both initial cost and quality more evenly than we did in earlier years.

 

[bondi688]

I definitely need to declutter my life, but I am always leery about conducting transaction on Craigslist.

 

[ER Eddie]

In addition to the other good ideas mentioned in the thread, I would add that tracking expenses, by itself, has been a real help to me. I write down all my expenditures on a budget sheet taped to the fridge. It forces me to pay attention. I find that I spend a lot less when I am tracking expenses closely. It becomes a sort of challenge, to see how low I can keep the numbers.

One more idea is to read books on frugality. Not only do they give you ideas, but more importantly imo, they help you to keep perspective in a culture that is always trying to sell you something. Being frugal is essentially counter-cultural, and it helps to be reminded of its importance.

 

[Dave_S]

My wife and I have been very frugal since we got married 23 years ago, and she was even before that. We live a low consumption lifestyle as described in the book "The Millionaire Next Door". In some cases we take things to the extreme, like recycling (re-using) past Valentines Day and Anniversary Cards from our first 10 years together. We always shop for a deal and we buy nice, high quality items when we need them. Hardly ever buy anything in retail stores these days as you can usually find a better price online or used on Craigslist.