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SeaStar
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| Posted: Oct 04 2013 at 9:22am | IP Logged
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Well, we've had such a great conversation on coupons over at Becky's thread this week!
It's definitely been fun and hopefully helpful.
This week I have been thinking of fun hobbies that don't cost much.
I am sad to say that, as much as I love both, sewing and knitting can be decidedly unfrugal. Material and yarn are just costly, even with coupons and sales. *Sigh*.
However, there is one family hobby we have here that is pretty much heapo-cheapo: birding! You can do it anywhere- city, country, on vacation, in the Walmart parking lot, in the backyard. It requires no advance prep, no clean up, no admission fee and no storage. What's not to love? 
FIeld guides can be bought on the cheap used... or just use the internet.
We have a life list going here that we enjoy adding to. It is sometimes comical to see the lengths ds or dh will go to for a picture of a bird they are chasing.
Recently I found The Big Year at the library. What a fun read- totally entertaining and fascinating and fun. PLus I learned a ton more about bird watching- though I am not planing a trip to Attu
My big bargain this week was the last day of the library book sale here, when the books are sold for 50 cents a yard. Somehow the children's poetry section remained undisturbed for the week of the sale. I was able to go in on the last day and scoop up some treasures.
Dd found a book called "Outwitting Squirrels" that ds is devouring. I was able to get a nice copy of Tasha Tudor's "Take Joy" book in with my yard of books. Also a cop of "Imitation of Christ." Quite a selection for 50 cents!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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JodieLyn
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Hobby defined as something I do in my "spare time"
Acutally, I/we don't really have anything. I do crochet a bit, and yeah the cost can get nutty but when I started to mainly do dishcloths, it's not bad. They're useful, they wear out so more is good, and the cost isn't prohibitive. But I have very limited time for crocheting so it's not like I'd get through a great deal anyway.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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roomintheheart
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Frugal hobbies, hmmm . . .
I guess I read, and generally only what I can get from the library, so that's free. Walking is free, and we occasionally drive to nice trails, so that's relatively cheap, too.
Turns out I don't have many hobbies  .
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Servant2theKing
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Frugal hobby ~ origami! Youngest has recently discovered this ancient art. While we did purchase an inexpensive book/dvd/paper set, we've quickly discovered many frugal ways to do origami, especially if you recycle discarded wrappers from gum, candy, or other packaging. Lots of free resources and info online, too.
Love the birding ideas Melinda! Great book finds, too ~ especially the copies of Take Joy and Imitation Of Christ! 
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CrunchyMom
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My hobby of late has been home projects, though, I'm hoping that this Fall we can wrap up some things and settle into "life," which is still busy, of course, but perhaps leaves a few more windows than we currently have.
One frugal thing I did this week while in organizing mode was order some boxes from this site in the same size as my favorite organizing basket. With shipping, they were still less than a dollar a piece versus the $7 basket. I just cleaned out my pantry this morning, and they fit so nicely on the shelves. I just need to put the now napping baby down and grab my label maker. I really wanted uniform containers, and all of the ideas for painting or covering re-purposed boxes overwhelmed me entirely, but I actually kind of like the look of kraft paper brown and can maybe splurge on some washi tape down the road if I feel like dressing them up a bit.
It helps SO much to make things fit. It is such a pokey closet squeezed under the stairs in the basement, but now it breathes a tad
I had to buy 25, but it is a useful size (sort of close to this Ikea one but no lid). I just push the flaps down inside.
I keep ogling all the cute cubby shelves for storage, so, I'm sort of planning that, down the road, if dh builds some for me, I can use the same strategy instead of the expensive baskets I'd prefer. Maybe cover them in some grass cloth for a basket-y texture.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Betsy
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None of my hobbies are frugal.... 
However, knitting dishcloths is about the best it gets. Dishcloth cotton is only $1.50 ish and I can get 1 1/2 dishcloths out of a ball. 
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When handcrafting my work, I always pray that it will raise your heart to all that is true, modest, just, holy, lovely and good fame!
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Erin
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Reading if I limit to the library, (which I mostly do) and photography if I never develop the prints (which I don't  )
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Erin
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JodieLyn
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Oh Lindsay.. just glue some string to your brown paper "packages" and it'll make you smile when you see it 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Servant2theKing
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Betsy, cones of yarn for dishcloths yield a many cloths with no waste! I think I've made at least seven and still not used up our first cone.
Like the "brown paper packages tied up with string" idea Lindsey, and Jodie!
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Erin
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I see yarn, needles etc at the thrift shops regularly. Have you looked there?
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Erin
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Erin
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Melinda
Slightly off today's topic but as we are soul mates regards frugality, I thought you would get a kick out of knowing I've taught my children well
Ds18 has just moved into his house and he had no furniture, he rang so excited the other night. Here in Australia we have kerbside pick up, and in the big city they have it more frequently. People put out furniture and all sorts of goodies, "one man's junk is another man's treasure'. All day he had been running around snagging excellent kerbside pick up finds and had outfitted his entire house!!!
A 3 seater and 2 single seat lounge, TV cabinet (which he will use outdoors in entertainment area)outdoor entertainment setting, just missed out on dining room chairs and he picked up a lovely dining room table. He said he must of got quite a few looks carrying an 8 seater table along the city streets by himself (strong!!) His college friends were ringing him tipping him off and he was running around carrying these goodies along the streets home. All in good nick, the only brand new item he has had to buy is his bed
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Erin
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Oct 04 2013 at 7:28pm | IP Logged
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What a man! 
It would only be better- maybe even perfect- if he could use coupons.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Erin
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| Posted: Oct 04 2013 at 7:46pm | IP Logged
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SeaStar wrote:
What a man!
It would only be better- maybe even perfect- if he could use coupons. |
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btw spoke to dh yesterday, whilst we don't have coupons here in Australia we have loyalty cards. eg. I shop at Woolworths (big supermarket chain) I swipe my 'everyday rewards card' before paying, receiving (sometimes) special deals, so money off. Plus for every $ I spend it adds up to me receiving more $ to spend or other rewards. Lots of big shops and some small shops have loyalty cards. At the health food shop I receive $5 voucher to spend after I have spent a certain amount there.
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guitarnan
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We have a new challenge at our house...the shutdown. Thank Heaven, my husband is still working and being paid, but we can't buy our groceries on base right now and I must get very, very creative to keep our grocery budget on target.
So far, I've worked hard to minimize the number of stores I visit while trying to shop where prices are low. I've been fairly successful and we have discovered that the Trader Joe's pumpkin flavored cereal bars are really good!
I am also using up stuff that we have - a good idea, anyway - rather than buying a bunch of food. At the same time, I am gradually buying nonperishable items I will need for Thanksgiving and Christmas (at good prices, of course).
I thought about my hobbies - reading is pretty much free, as I use my library for almost everything I read. I play guitar - also free, as I own my guitar and all the accessories I need. Other than that, I'm pretty boring these days!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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JodieLyn
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Nancy have you seen that both Sam's Club and Costco are letting Military use their stores without a membership? Just show your military id.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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guitarnan
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Jodie, I saw the Sam's Club announcement yesterday...still trying to confirm Costco here - but we already have a Costco membership (the gas savings alone more than pay for the membership fee!).
Still, I am glad that both chains are trying to help. It's pretty difficult to get by on a junior enlisted salary.
Here are the items I always buy at Costco, because they are cheaper than anywhere else I can shop:
gasoline
bottled water (I am sadly addicted to Perrier)
cat litter
fresh ground turkey
shredded Mexican blend cheese
Chobani Greek yogurt
gummy vitamins for Dancing Daughter
enormous bottles of generic ibuprofen and cetirizine (zyrtec generic)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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SallyT
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Going hiking today, our favorite free family hobby!
Sally
PS: One of the huge draws of having Kindles/a Kindle app on my computer is the number of free/$.99 books we can acquire instantly. Most of the books we get are free; a blog I follow on Facebook frequently posts links to Kindle freebies I haven't yet run across, and I jump on those. Occasionally I will pay as much as $1.99, and it's often a great deal -- currently my 11-year-old is reading the entire Rick Brant Science Adventure Series, which is I'm not sure how many books, but it's a lot, and he adores them. We have almost all the Anne of Green Gables books, too, in a really very well done $.99 edition. Reading is a huge pastime in our house, and I love that I can feed people good books continually without having to spend much money. I haven't calculated whether the Kindles have paid for themselves yet in book savings, but I suspect that if they haven't, they're pretty close.
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Erin
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Had to come back and share that ds also picked up a washing machine from the kerbside, he said all he had to do was replace the hoses. That's my boy!
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Erin
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SallyT
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What a find, Erin!
And if we're talking about appliances, as in stoves, which could count as hobby material for those who like to cook . . . , we have an oven-range which is I don't know how many years old, but old enough that the two repairmen who have been out to look at our sprung oven door hinges have shaken their heads and said they couldn't order parts to repair it.
The first one, from Sears (I don't know why we got sent this guy from Sears, but anyway, that's who the home-warranty people sent), said, "Sears will be calling you about a replacement oven."
Uh, no. Thank you. I really like this oven-range, despite its advanced age: it's big, it has a griddle/extra burner in the middle, it works brilliantly although the clock is shot as well as the oven-door hinges . . . All the things that really matter work just fine.
So when Sears did call, I said, "Thanks but no thanks." Meanwhile, the oven door continued either to stick so that you couldn't open it, or alternatively, to fall open randomly while things were baking in it. This was exciting, but not exactly desirable. My husband took to propping it shut with an aluminum hiker-type walking stick (one of the kind that look like ski poles) and then called in a second repairman.
This guy concurred that there was no way to buy parts -- the serial number on the label under the cooktop is still readable, but the model number is totally effaced. He suggested -- and here is where things get frugal (obviously calling in two repairman isn't exactly frugal) -- going to Lowe's, buying a little hasp/hinge set, drilling a hole in the side of the oven door and another in the side of the oven, and putting on the hasp, so the door can be locked shut with a clip or bolt.
I wish we'd thought of that without having had to call two repairmen, but anyway, that's what we did. Works like a charm. I'm so happy not to have had to shop for a new oven/range (though that might have been exciting -- I've never had a new appliance, other than a dishwasher). I'm so happy not to have gotten rid of something that works well.
Now I just need replacement plastic knobs for the front, since three of the old ones have cracked off, probably due to escaping heat from the improperly-shut door . . .
I had forgotten, incidentally, that the second repairman had been out here before once, to fix our dryer when we couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Normally we fix it ourselves, often with parts sent to us gratis by a friend whose family owns an appliance-parts business, but for some reason that time we called in the repairman. Anyway, as he was leaving after delivering the oven-door-fixing advice, he glanced into our laundry room and remarked that he was glad to see that we still had that old dryer. It is old, probably from the mid-1970s, and came with the house. But it works . . .
So, there are certainly non-frugal aspects to all this. I wish we could always avoid calling repairmen! But I do have a great fondness for my old appliances, not only because they're well-made enough to be in good working order after twenty or thirty years, but because not replacing them feels so good!
Sally
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CrunchyMom
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Great story, Sally!
I love my double wall ovens that came with my house, but they were painted once in the past, and I didn't like either their painted color (looking rough at this point) or the original color (brown) with our kitchen design. I went with white appliances for what we'd replaced so far (fridge, dishwasher, and cooktop--had to special order the cheaper one with five burners that were coils, lol, apparently not many people buy these low end models Same with our *white* dishwasher). So, dh took apart the lower door to test and sprayed it with a high heat white paint. We let it cure for several days before touching it, and its been up for a few weeks now and holds up well so far! It looks so much nicer, if not high-end. I'm always flabbergasted by the number of people who chuck perfectly good appliances--not even those with broken doors and such--to get matching. Though, I like matching myself, admittedly, I'm not willing to spend so steeply to get it!
I do laugh, though, when I think of my first meeting with the son of the seller of our home. He said he thought the home was in great shape and nothing would need to be replaced for a year. But BOY after that year!!! All the appliances went into shock from being used by a widow living alone to a family of 6
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Frugal Friday 10/5...frugal hobbies
