LBYM Question

[Dash man]

One other idea is to first check if prescriptions are for branded generics, ask for a change to the generic. Second because generics are cheaper, and also have had their phase 4 trial period (essentially the period of time the drug was under patent protection) the larger group should have found most problems. Tell the physician you want generics if possible.

I thought most insurance plans automatically switched you to a generic unless the doctor specifically requests the brand name. The only brand medications I get are for drugs where a generic isn't available.

 

[kcowan]

drink 2 buck chuck wine rather than Chateau St Michelle. Until then we will stay the course and enjoy our retirement.

I thought 2 buck chuck was a transient phenomenon when there was a glut of grapes? Did I miss something?

 

[kcowan]

* Give up alcohol except for special occasions
* Cut your own grass, clean your own house, wash your own windows.
* Just say no to financial management services.
* Groom your own critter.

We consider a fine bottle of wine our reward for making it.
We outsource that stuff because it is work.
Agree about financial robbers.
Grooming your pet is a joy in itself.

 

[Major Tom]

I thought 2 buck chuck was a transient phenomenon when there was a glut of grapes? Did I miss something?

2 Buck Chuck has been going for well over 10 years now, although it's no longer 2 bucks. Here in CA, it went up to $2.49, and is now the shockingly high price of $2.99. I just picked up a bottle for when my SO comes over tomorrow, along with a 6-pack of Simpler Times lager. We're a couple of cheap drunks

The Mystery of Charles Shaw, Better Known As Two Buck Chuck

 

[Fedup]

My husband used to drink Charles Shaw when it was one buck chuck. We definitely was frugal when frugal wasn't cool, well at least in the wine department.

 

[kimmsa]

I drink the $3 water like Pelegrino. My kids always order it, so my husband and I decide why should we underspend them. Heck we always foot the bill.

I have a rule with my daughter, anything she orders that is greater than mine, she pays the difference. It gets her thinking.

 

[grasshopper]

One serving Wholly guacamole tubs when going to Chipotle.
We always have our SS water bottles filled with our pure well water.
Take showers one after another, to save hot water (don't know if it works, but we rub our naked bodies together on the exchange.

 

[Amethyst]

You didn't specify but I assume the other shower-er is your S.O.

(Why don't you just shower together?)

Take showers one after another, to save hot water (don't know if it works, but we rub our naked bodies together on the exchange.

 

[COcheesehead]

2 Buck Chuck has been going for well over 10 years now, although it's no longer 2 bucks. Here in CA, it went up to $2.49, and is now the shockingly high price of $2.99. I just picked up a bottle for when my SO comes over tomorrow, along with a 6-pack of Simpler Times lager. We're a couple of cheap drunks

The Mystery of Charles Shaw, Better Known As Two Buck Chuck

Google Bronco wine company sometime, the maker of the "Chuck". Lots of interesting things involving that company, including selling wine that isn't what they say.

 

[meierlde]

I thought most insurance plans automatically switched you to a generic unless the doctor specifically requests the brand name. The only brand medications I get are for drugs where a generic isn't available.

It depends on how the physician writes the prescription. A branded generic is a generic that is sold as a brand name it seems at the time my plan did not make the automatic switch. So check at a minimum, and also check the lists like Walmarts and Costcos for the $4 a month $10 for three months. (it turned out thru walmart the some pills were cheaper than the copay thru the PBM's mail order pharmacy.

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, we don't use dryer sheets either, and we only use fabric softener on the towels.

 

[Fedup]

Google Bronco wine company sometime, the maker of the "Chuck". Lots of interesting things involving that company, including selling wine that isn't what they say.

I think they use a lot of chemical. Most wine makers do now. I read that in Wired magazine.

 

[medved]

This is an interesting thread in part because it shows how different people value different things. When I read through the ideas I think in some cases "wow that's a great idea" and in others "I would only do that if I were living in poverty."

 

[Scuba]

Being frugal or LBYM doesn't necessarily mean a spartan lifestyle, not being able to travel or not having the money to afford nice things. I think many here simply like to bargain hunt and live well without spending as much as other people do for the same goods and services. A customer with a Groupon for a nice restaurant has the same experience as a person paying full price. Or someone can enjoy a trip on frequent flyer points as much as another traveler paying full price.

I just checked some of the deals on Groupon and one was a wine country limo wine tour marked down from $1,150 to $329. Another was a $800 meal at a fancy San Francisco restaurant for $280. One of my best bargains last year was going to a $300 wine and food tasting event at a fancy venue last year for $40 on seat filler tickets.

YMMV. DH refuses to buy Groupons any more. I think they're great if you buy them for something you regularly do and can just do it for less with the Groupon. However we got caught out one too many times feeling we "had to" go somewhere or do something we really didn't want to do at the time because we had a Groupon that was about to expire.

We have also found that we aren't big on happy hours. They sounded like a good deal until we realized at most places, you're restricted to house wine or well drinks and a limited selection of mostly high carb menu items.

We do try to share entrees or take leftovers home - really helps with weight management, as does eating at home vs out and cutting down on drinking alcoholic beverages. Always a balance, juggling having a good time vs managing weight and spending.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

YMMV. DH refuses to buy Groupons any more. I think they're great if you buy them for something you regularly do and can just do it for less with the Groupon. However we got caught out one too many times feeling we "had to" go somewhere or do something we really didn't want to do at the time because we had a Groupon that was about to expire.

We have also found that we aren't big on happy hours. They sounded like a good deal until we realized at most places, you're restricted to house wine or well drinks and a limited selection of mostly high carb menu items.

We do try to share entrees or take leftovers home - really helps with weight management, as does eating at home vs out and cutting down on drinking alcoholic beverages. Always a balance, juggling having a good time vs managing weight and spending.

Groupon was just one example, and Groupon offers discounts on many goods and services besides restaurants gift certificates like concert tickets, winery passports and travel specials. My point in the earlier post was being frugal and enjoying some of the finer things in life are not mutually exclusive.

 

[audreyh1]

YMMV. DH refuses to buy Groupons any more. I think they're great if you buy them for something you regularly do and can just do it for less with the Groupon. However we got caught out one too many times feeling we "had to" go somewhere or do something we really didn't want to do at the time because we had a Groupon that was about to expire.

We have also found that we aren't big on happy hours. They sounded like a good deal until we realized at most places, you're restricted to house wine or well drinks and a limited selection of mostly high carb menu items.

We do try to share entrees or take leftovers home - really helps with weight management, as does eating at home vs out and cutting down on drinking alcoholic beverages. Always a balance, juggling having a good time vs managing weight and spending.

Interesting - yeah, I'm always cautious of such "deals" and only accept them if it's something I planned to do or buy anyway.

It's interesting reading about Groupon and merchants who regret getting involved because they almost never get repeat business from the Groupon customers and they can be overwhelmed by them. Such added volume costs rather than pays and can squeeze out regular paying customers who give return business. Definitely a mine field.

 

[GTFan]

I forgot to mention that 2 years ago I learned how to cut my own hair. No more waiting around for a hairdresser Since I wear my hair up 95% of the time even if I mess up the cut nobody can tell.

Been cutting mine with a Flowbee for over 25 years now, yeah don't laugh it works great if you have a simple haircut. Paid for itself in the first year.

 

[kcowan]

(Why don't you just shower together?)

That takes much longer and wastes water...

 

[Another Reader]

I order up anything I want, I fear no restaurant -

I fear a LOT of restaurants. A new pho place opened here recently. I noticed two large box trucks in the parking lot the owners use to store stuff that won't fit in the restaurant. Neither truck is refrigerated. They store boxes of bagged pork in one of the trucks. Several times a day they roll out a gray garbage can and dump a couple of boxes of the bags of pork butt into the can and roll them back in. Calls to the County health department have not resulted in any changes. The owners were "warned." Won't be eating there.

 

[Chuckanut]

I have found that the coupons I get in the mail or stuffed into the local community paper have deals nearly as good as Groupon and I don't have to front any money, and deal with lost value due to expiration dates.

 

[NW-Bound]

I fear a LOT of restaurants...

I did not watch much TV (actually none for the last few years), and only learned of Gordon Ramsay and his restaurant TV series from this forum.

Watched a few of his episodes on youtube. The restaurants covered in the series had kitchens that were filthy beyond belief.

 

[NW-Bound]

2 Buck Chuck has been going for well over 10 years now, although it's no longer 2 bucks. Here in CA, it went up to $2.49, and is now the shockingly high price of $2.99. I just picked up a bottle for when my SO comes over tomorrow, along with a 6-pack of Simpler Times lager. We're a couple of cheap drunks

The Mystery of Charles Shaw, Better Known As Two Buck Chuck

There is overproduction of wine all over the world. In France, this wine glut phenomenon was called "lac du vin" (wine lake). The EU helped out the vintners by buying their wine for pennies a liter, and distilling it to make ethanol. Pretty sad. A paper reported that even the famous French actor Depardieu was not able to sell anything from his wine real estate a few years ago.

 

[euro]

I agree we stayed at a hotel in Switzerland whose TP had the feeling of newsprint
Fortunately there was a market nearby, and with rudimentary German and a lot of sign language, I got some real soft TP

Reminds me of my childhood. We were not dirt-poor (though definitely blue collar), but we LITERALLY used newsprint as toilet paper.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I have found that the coupons I get in the mail or stuffed into the local community paper have deals nearly as good as Groupon and I don't have to front any money, and deal with lost value due to expiration dates.

We use coupons, Entertainment coupons and Restaurant.com certificates, too, and not just Groupons, and I agree all the others do not require any upfront money. I still add Groupons to the mix, though as we go out to eat a couple of times a week and Groupon often has some unique choices not available with coupons or the other deal sites.

These days Groupon lets customers keep at least the value they paid so customers are never out that for most goods and services. (I'm not sure what happens for one of type events like concert tickets.) Also in my experience, at least for restaurants, they have always let me extend the expiration dates or let me turn in expired Groupons for Groupon bucks to use for a different Groupon. I know the keeping the value paid never expiring is official policy. I don't know if the letting customers extend or exchange expired Groupons is available to everyone or they just let me to it because I'm a frequent customer.

 

[mystang52]

If ever there was a thread where "YMMV," this is it. I won't throw out money, so will look for a sale on an item I intend to buy anyway. But I eat out for breakfast nearly every day - not a major cost as it's almost always just a bagel and coffee. And, DW and I eat out for dinner a couple of times a week; we enjoy it but don't eat lavishly (mainly because neither of us eats large portions of anything).
Re: Groupon I have "successfully" used them for things I would buy anyway. Just the other day I got a $10 Dunkin Donuts coffee voucher for $5. Since I buy my coffee there anyway, may as well save the $5.
Of course, recently I increased my discretionary spending. I resumed playing an old passion of mine - Bridge. I'm re-addicted, and now playing 3 times a week, at $15/session. Yikes, that's $180/month, but it's one of my hobbies, I can afford it, so I see it as money reasonably spent. Like I said, YMMV.