Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
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Subject Topic: The blessings of frugality... Post ReplyPost New Topic
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SeaStar
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Posted: July 30 2013 at 3:03pm | IP Logged Quote SeaStar

Inspired by this thread I decided to go ahead and start a new thread on frugality.

I know there are old threads on this topic, but sometimes it's fun to make a fresh start and glean new ideas.

So... I find that at times I am really good and enjoy being frugal and saving money. Other times I find myself sliding down a slippery slope of spending.    I find being frugal takes some time and planning, and my energy level for that goes up and down.

I went to the library today and found that a slew of new books on frugal living have been published since 2010. I always find these books inspiring, so I checked put several. It's been awhile since I read about this topic.

In the meantime, I thought I would get this thread rolling by listing a few of my favorite frugal strategies:

1. Thrift store clothing. I have scored some amazing items lately for $1 or less. Totally worth the time it takes. Downside: it is very hit or miss

2. Sewing: I love to sew and have a lot of fabric to use up.
I have challenged myself to make as many items as I can (also to repair/repurpose ) without buying more fabric. I found a really easy pillowcase tutorial on youtube that I am using to make fun pillowcases for Christmas gifts. I plan to pair these with a good book (it's fun to read in bed, right?)... from my next favorite place:

3. Amazon's bargain book bin!
This is like an online thrift store. You have to have time and patience to wade through it all. I go to bargain books: childrens: activities/games and start hunting.

The other day I found a 3-d animal puzzle that comes with 3-d glasses for $2.19 and Prime eligible. Fun! I could buy it and have it shipped anywhere for under $3. That is frugal, and my dd will love it.

Today I found a marshmallow shooter/book set for about $4.50... $17.95
at Barnes and Noble. Also Prime eligible. I have a couple of boy birthdays coming up, so I ordered two. One stop shopping from home

Again, the bargain book section is not for the faint of heart. There are pages and pages and the bargains tend to hide out. It's a good activity for those days when you wake up at 5 AM and can't get back to sleep.

And since this post is now too long, I am stopping. Please add your own ideas!


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pumpkinmom
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Posted: July 30 2013 at 3:24pm | IP Logged Quote pumpkinmom

I'm glad to see this thread and plan to follow it. I'm really down on being frugal lately! The world has beaten me up on this topic. I think it is the area that we live. Things would be different if we lived some place else (I sure hope!). Income is low here, but the cost of living is low. Yet, we don't have access to things that make living frugal practical. And the low income is a lot lower than the low cost of living. It's just not balanced. It's a very weird situation! I've had this talk with local people and they understand this but we have a hard time explaining it.

I just need to be refreshed and inspired! I really would like to move but I've been voted out 3-1 on that topic.

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JodieLyn
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Posted: July 30 2013 at 3:46pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

Cassie, depending on where you are and what you have access to, Frugal doesn't mean buying second hand.. it could mean keeping a list and watching for sales of new items in stores or online.

I look for used here but the pickings are slim (I need to start hitting the yard sales now that I'm not gone for swim meets every weekend). So I also watch for sales and know where to look online. I may find someone (my sister) who's willing to watch for things we need in thrift shops out of town and even if I pay shipping for it, some things may still be cheaper than buying online on sale.

Another thing is to keep lists of items for gifts.. items you want to purchase so that you'll know what you're looking for.. AND of items purchased (add in where you've hidden it and you won't have to worry about finding it again) that way you don't overshop for one person and get nothing for another.. and you've got ideas of gifts sot hat when you see it you know who might want it.

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SeaStar
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Posted: July 30 2013 at 6:40pm | IP Logged Quote SeaStar

JodieLyn wrote:


Another thing is to keep lists of items for gifts.. items you want to purchase so that you'll know what you're looking for.. AND of items purchased (add in where you've hidden it and you won't have to worry about finding it again) that way you don't overshop for one person and get nothing for another.. and you've got ideas of gifts sot hat when you see it you know who might want it.


Oh, yes- I definitely second the gift notebook. I keep one running with a page for each person- things stashed, gift ideas, what I wind up giving them.
This helps enormously with out of town gifts to cousins and family.

I do find that gift giving is one of my biggest recurring expenses. Dh and I both have large extended families, and even with cutting back (adults don't exchange gifts, etc), there are always new babies, graduations, sacraments, etc.

These are delightful occasions, though, so i always have an eye out for sales on nice gift items.

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Erin
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Posted: July 31 2013 at 3:29pm | IP Logged Quote Erin

Recently I took a good look at our 'guaranteed expenses', the ones that you are going to have no matter what. I looked at ways to reduce those expenses.

Sharing some tips:

Mortgages- Obviously the more you can reduce your principle the less interest you pay. But what about your interest rate, you might consider locking in some of your interest to a fixed rate.

Insurances- Do you need all the variety of insurances you have? Okay, are you getting the best deal for your dollar? Ring around get other quotes, and read the fine print, check that your insurance covers what you think it does.
A few years ago here in Australia many home -owners were devastated by the Brisbane floods, some devastated again when they discovered their insurance didn't cover floods.

Electricity/Gas - Ring around and get a competitive price. Electricity and gas have risen hugely here in Australia and set to rise even further!! By ringing around for competitive prices I reduced our bill by 15% (with the increase I'm breaking even )

Phone- Also ring around for competitive pricing, explain your needs and ask what the best deal for you is they can do.

Car Expenses - Just how many cars do you need? Do you need a car at all? (I know families who survive without) Don't buy the newest model, and do you really need to upgrade? Should you buy a more fuel efficient model (we did and reduced our costs drastically) Regularly maintain your car, can you do it yourself? Are you buying the most efficient fuel? (not necessarily the cheapest)

Okay back later to share my thoughts on clothes and frugality.

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Posted: July 31 2013 at 4:07pm | IP Logged Quote pumpkinmom

Erin, in the states we don't get to pick our electric, gas, or phone companies. Cell phones yes, but land lines no. I'm not on the city gas lines so we do get to pick that. We don't own our own tank though and it's a pain to switch but we did two years ago because of the savings.

I have been putting off checking around for insurance prices. I know we aren't paying WAY too much (compared to what friends are paying). This is the last avenue I haven't looked into to saving money.

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Erin
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Posted: July 31 2013 at 4:22pm | IP Logged Quote Erin

Cassie

Wow!! Didn't know that. Though just shared your post with dh, he reminded me we didn't have choices here either until 15yrs ago. then they introduced privatisation of the phone and later electricity and gas. Though the power poles and wires don;t have competition which is why our electricity is so high. Overall though the competitive prices have worked very well.

Always love learning differences.

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knowloveserve
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Posted: July 31 2013 at 4:36pm | IP Logged Quote knowloveserve

I've discovered the easiest summer skirt in the world to make and this is saving me lots of money. Shop the XL t-shirts at a thrift store, and I've got a $2 skirt that is uber-comfy.


Also with gift giving... I've been REALLY frugal this summer with our huge network also. I draw or print a pretty card and offer a spiritual bouquet to the recipient. Usually just a note saying a Rosary and a Holy Hour were being offered for their intentions. One dear friend going through a hard time recieved a "dozen roses":

1 rosary
1 Holy Hour
1 Mass
1 Divine Mercy Novena
1 Angelus
1 Novena to her patron saint
1 sleepless night
1 load of laundry
1 sink full of dishes
1 dirty diaper
1 headache
1 bathroom cleaning

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Posted: July 31 2013 at 7:17pm | IP Logged Quote pumpkinmom

Erin wrote:
Cassie

Wow!! Didn't know that. Though just shared your post with dh, he reminded me we didn't have choices here either until 15yrs ago. then they introduced privatisation of the phone and later electricity and gas. Though the power poles and wires don;t have competition which is why our electricity is so high. Overall though the competitive prices have worked very well.

Always love learning differences.


I'm not completely sure how it all works and it may vary in other states too. I do know you get more choices when you live out of city limits. I don't get to pick my trash service either, but it only cost $13 a month. We are getting curb side recycling soon which I'm excited about (and the price is the same).

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SeaStar
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Posted: Aug 01 2013 at 6:33am | IP Logged Quote SeaStar

knowloveserve wrote:
I've discovered the easiest summer skirt in the world to make and this is saving me lots of money. Shop the XL t-shirts at a thrift store, and I've got a $2 skirt that is uber-comfy.


Also with gift giving... I've been REALLY frugal this summer with our huge network also. I draw or print a pretty card and offer a spiritual bouquet to the recipient. Usually just a note saying a Rosary and a Holy Hour were being offered for their intentions. One dear friend going through a hard time recieved a "dozen roses":

1 rosary
1 Holy Hour
1 Mass
1 Divine Mercy Novena
1 Angelus
1 Novena to her patron saint
1 sleepless night
1 load of laundry
1 sink full of dishes
1 dirty diaper
1 headache
1 bathroom cleaning


This is such a great idea! I could even have my kids help make the cards- they like to do that. Often I will have a mass said as a gift for birthdays, etc (cost is about $10 per mass here). Do you have a favorite site that you use to print the cards? Love the skirt idea, too- definitely I am going to try that .

Right now I am thinking ahead to this fall and Halloween. My neighborhood is big on trick or treating, so I am looking for candy on sale. I have never been able to find a reliable source for good deals on candy- even buying in bulk at Costco seems expensive to me.

A friend of mine gave me a costume tip for buying costumes (which we try never to do, but still a great idea if you buy them):

She takes her kids to Party City (or similar store) in October and they look at all the costumes and pick their top three. Then she goes back alone on Halloween Day when the costumes are 50% or more marked down and buys one on their list for each kid (she has two).

This summer I needed an Indian costume for VBS and it was slim pickings.
The available costumes locally might have done for an Indian cocktail waitress, but not for me- plus they started at $40. And no luck at the thrift stores.

Buying fabric and a pattern and Indian-looking trim was going to add up, so I resorted to Ebay. I got a really nice one, new, for way under what I would have spent sewing my own. Shipping was free. So that is another thing to try...



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Posted: Aug 02 2013 at 4:05pm | IP Logged Quote Erin

Frugality regards clothing is a way I've really helped our family's budget. This sentence from "Who Gets the Drumstick by Helen Beardsley" really resonates with me, in fact I shopped this way long before I had a large family.

Quote:
We soon came to realise that this was the key to our shopping problem. Instead of doing as other families did, buying generally what there was an immediate foreseeable need for, we found that by buying more than we needed we could save an enormous amount of money in the long run......time after time we saved money by buying shirts, socks, underwear, blouses - anything that was on special sale. This also applied to food.


1.I buy when sales are on, in particular the end of season sales. This is when clothes are very cheap. I buy in a larger size for the next season, and even sizes in between if I have a group of the same gender. I don't buy too far ahead if there is a big age spread between genders (clothes date and elastic expires)

2. I shop around and compare prices, but I also consider quality. Whilst the bulk of my clothes shopping is not brand new when I do buy new I consider quality and won't buy cheap and nasty. This way clothes will last at least two children, if I'm lucky three.

3. We have always been blessed to receive bags of second hand clothes from others. We are so grateful for this, and in turn try to be generous to others.

4.Op-shops(thrift) are my favourite places to shop. I find if I'm selective about quality and style I can dress my children (and myself) very well. It astounds me how I've been able to find high quality designer labels.

5.Recently I've also begun to look at op-shop clothes (and gifted and sale) slightly differently. I've also begun to 'upcycle' (new 'in' word) clothes. This means whereas before I might have not purchased something because it wasn't quite what I liked, I'm finding with a little alteration (or a larger alteration) it can become perfect.

6.Whilst op-shop prices are quite reasonable they are even cheaper on their sale days.

7.I used to sew alot in my early married life but fabrics became very expensive. Lately I've been looking at op-shops for remnants and even used sheets, pillowcases etc as fabric.

8. Shoes can be one of our priciest items to buy. Whilst I've always tried to buy on sales (buy one get one half price), I will now often grab the really marked down price if I know they are the style liked and will fit someone eventually. Whilst buying second hand shoes might not be to everyone's taste I also keep an eye out in the op-shops, by being selective I have often found brand new, barely used shoes. I won't just buy size fits now but look ahead there too.

9.I always store clothes and shoes for our children, having a mix of ages and genders this has been an extreme saving for us.

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Posted: Aug 02 2013 at 4:25pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

Thanks Erin.. I do a lot with clothes and buying off season but more info is always helpful (so nice to read what it is that I do "by the seat of my pants")

AND you've reminded me that I better check winter coats while it's still the "off season"     

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Posted: Aug 02 2013 at 4:29pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

Oh and when searching for "fabric" if you have small kids... women's skirts and men's larger shirts often have enough fabric to make tops and dresses and jumpers (ummm that would be the dresses that need a top under them).. men's (or women's pants can also be cut down into smaller sized pants.. literally remade by taking them apart and using the same piece to cut the smaller piece out of.

I'm getting good at this looking for more expensive natural fabrics for reenactment. Wool pants or skirts can often be gotten fairly cheaply and remade into period correct item.

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Posted: Aug 03 2013 at 10:53am | IP Logged Quote pumpkinmom

Clothes are hard for me. I use to buy clothes for the next year at the end of the season (on clearance), but the budget gets tighter and tighter and I stopped doing that. Now I'm buying when needed and paying full price. It's an ugly cycle! Erin, thank you for reminding me about this. I got a pair of shoes (athletic style) for $9 the other day and quite proud of myself! Of course they were a size too small for the one I bought them for but they will save for the youngest. I bought my oldest all new shoes in April because he outgrew everything. He has gone up another size and a half in three months! Now he is the same size as Dad and got some hand me downs, so I got lucky and only had to get one pair.

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Posted: Aug 06 2013 at 7:01pm | IP Logged Quote Christine

Consumer Reports shared that getting checks through costcochecks.com (need to be a Costco member) is a better deal than getting checks through your bank's designated check provider. I saved over $20 taking CR's advice.

Entering the promo code "BUNDLE" currently saves an additional 25%. You can also choose free shipping.

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Posted: Aug 07 2013 at 5:52pm | IP Logged Quote DianaC

Can anyone share their experiences with price shopping for mobile phone service as well as internet/cable service? We've had the same internet/cable/landline bundled service for over 12 years and had a reasonable price until about 18 months ago. Since then, the price has climbed about $50 per month. Also, we've had the some mobile phone service, but it seems that it too has climbed quickly. Where should we look? What should we look for?
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Posted: Aug 07 2013 at 8:26pm | IP Logged Quote guitarnan

We have pay as you go Virgin Mobile phones. There are pros and cons to this service. It's pretty inexpensive ($35 for unlimited texting and 400 minutes of talking, which we never use up, per phone) but you have to buy the phone outright. Sometimes we have poor coverage in (mostly rural, but also at our house!) areas where Verizon does work. This is because Virgin Mobile has agreements with several other providers and piggybacks on their service. Also, VM is only usable in the USA, nowhere else.

(Side note: Our poor house reception has to do with our proximity to an airport, as well as our local geography, which apparently further impedes cell phone reception...your results may vary. Everyone with cell phones has trouble with them at my house.)

So, on the whole, we've been very happy with VM. You can't beat $35 per month...even if you average in the (high) cost of a smartphone over a year or two, it's still a cost savings.



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