Tuesday, August 20, 2013

F is for Frugal

F IS FOR FRUGAL



Do you re-use aluminum foil?
 
Do you buy generic?
 
Do you shop thrift stores and re-finish items to look like what's on the rack or on the showroom floor?
 
If you do any of these you might be FRUGAL.
 
I did not become FRUGAL until I was in my 40's.  I remember spending way too much money on items that I felt my family needed or I needed. 
 
Television commercials and ads make it so hard on parents especially--making them feel guilty if they don't spend lets say $60.00 on a pair of jeans!!
 
Don't get me wrong--I'm not cheap, if there is something we desire I will pay the full price for it but I don't want to just throw money away because it has the right "tag".
 
I purchased a book several years ago "The Tightwad Gazette", it is for the full-blown tightwad and there is a lot of things I wouldn't consider doing but there is of the ideas I put into use.
 

 
PRICE BOOK
 
 
There is one discount grocery store I like to frequent, I have listed in a notebook the items we use and the price.  It is so hard to remember what you paid for an item and this way it's on paper.
 
When I go to other stores I check their prices against my book and then if it's a better price I might purchase it.  I check sales too against my book and stock up on those items.
 
 
 
Who knows you might save so much money you can take that big vacation next year!!!
 
Linking with
 
 
 
Ann

20 comments:

Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap said...

this post made me smile :)

photowannabe said...

I'm impressed. I haven't gone quite that far but it's a great idea.
Thrift stores and repurposing are my friends.
I like your choices for the letter F.

mrsnesbitt said...

Oh most definitely! Frugal here through and through. I plan the weekly menus by going through the cupboards and listing what we have in abundance - and find recipes to match. Recently I emptied our large freezer in the garage, listed EVERYTHING which had been thrown into it - and reorganised by grouping food stuffs into carrier bags - which I then attached large luggage tags onto so I knew at a glance what we have in the freezer. I then do more food planning and use up the freezer contents.
Denise ABC Team

Reader Wil said...

Hi Kate you have a good point. We need to recycle if we can. I do it all the time. I had my furniture sandpapered and then I varnished it myself.
Thanks for your post!
Wil, ABCW Team.

Roger Owen Green said...

I think being FRUGAL is FINE, though some overdo it, I think.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Rajesh said...

Very good and thoughtful.

Photo Cache said...

Yes

Yes

Yes

I am trying to be frugal most of the time.

Ewok's ABC WEDNESDAY

SImple and Serene Living said...

I am very frugal. Thrift stores are my best friends, but when it comes to food I am very picky. xo Laura

Carver said...

The older I get the more frugal I get. Carver, ABC Wed. Team

Hildred said...

I think any child of the Depression is liable to be frugal, - not cheap but careful with money and recycling.

jeanne, backyard neighbor said...

Hi Ann, Thank you for your sweet comment on my post. Our son is a blessing to us for sure. His wife is helping her mother move so he drove 2 1/2 hours to visit us.

My computer has been giving me a fit and my husband jury rigged it tonight so I can visit. We need a new router which is on order. Sigh!

I love your thrifty and amusing post. I too learned about thriftyness(if that is a word), in my later years. I am loving the bargains I find. For too many years I was a retail stores dream. HA! Not anymore. How else can we fight the high cost of living? RE: groceries!!! smile.

Wishing you happy days,
Jeanne xo

Gerald (SK14) said...

I try not to be TOO frugal but it's hard sometimes.

Kate said...

FRUGAL is a FINE habit to establish. Kate, ABC Team

CailinMarie said...

this made me smile. I'm a 40-something mom to 6 kids. I need this book for some good ideas. I've taught my highschool aged daughter that less is more, but that often we can find good quality at the local goodwill and thrift store. She gets a kick out of wearing jeans that we bought for $1.00 at Goodwill knowing her classmates paid $60.00 for them! But it never occured to me to write down food prices. I need to try that!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I have always shopped at 2nd hand stores. I just can't stand to waste money. Like you I will buy new if that is the best use of my money.

Patty Antle said...

I have gotten into repurposing since I have been blogging and have learned how to from so many people. I think twice now about things that I wouldn't have paid any attention to before.

Suzanne said...

FRUGAL! Yes, I wish I had the discipline to do all of that. Thanks for the inspiration.

Lise said...

What a practical F post:) I am frugal, but not to the extent you are. I compare prices before shopping and hope to remember what was where when I am out...maybe I should follow your fine example and get a book!

Betsy Brock said...

I like being frugal! I love thrift stores, DIY and repurposing. Can't say I've ever reused foil, though and I don't wash out my ziplock bags like a friend of mine does. ha.

Suzy said...

A lot of people confuse frugality with being miserly. Being frugal simply means you spend wisely and sensibly. Excellent post.

Suzy at SomedaySomewhere

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