Anyone here not really frugal?

I think A.T. hit it right ..


My time is sometimes worth more than my money and other times my money is worth more than my time.


Sums up my feelings exactly !!

Triff ..

The richest people I know...multi-millionaires....are also the most miserly, skin-flints I know.

__________________
This is the government the Founding Fathers warned us about.....

I'm considered extremely frugal by most people I know, but not very frugal compared to many people here. We certainly make enough to buy pretty much anything we want and not worry about it, but we love saving and hate to part with a dollar. Example: I take the bus to work (frugal, good for the environment), but I forgot to pick up my October bus pass last week (pre-tax dollars for transportation costs), so on Monday I got a ride in with DH 2 hours earlier than I usually come to work. When I got in a coworker said, wow, you must be working on something big to be here at this hour! When I explained to him that I did it to save $1.75 on bus fare, he said, "that's the [hisenthlay] I know!"

Exceptions: sometimes it's worth it to us to spend more to get more environmentally sound products. We are also trying to implement AT Hagan's strategy, though, too. Sometimes our time is more valuable to us than the money we would save by doing something ourselves, or doing something the frugal way, which I have a hard time accepting, but it's a balancing act. For instance, we just paid to have a fence installed, because it was a physically taxing project when we didn't have a lot of time or energy to spare, and the cost of installation wasn't really that much over the material cost. On the other hand, we just installed a wood floor in our house ourselves, because we thought it would be fun and the installation costs were a lot on top of the materials cost. We're also now furnishing that space we put the flooring in, but we're doing it mostly by selling the old stuff on craigslist, and replacing it with new-to-us furniture (much of it antique) from craigslist.

__________________
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb.. And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.. They shall not hurt nor destroy In all my holy mountain For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

I'm in between.

Angie

__________________
"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

I'm not as frugal as my husband. I like to splurge on a matinee movie or a fancy coffee or a pastry from a bakeshop every now and then. I figure, I buy thrift store clothes, cook at home, cut my own hair, and never get a big vacation, so a little indulgence every now and then makes an ordinary day seem special.

Yesterday, I had to wait 20 minutes between work and picking my son up at school, so I spent $1.60 on an iced coffee at McDonalds. My son saw the cup, looked at me wide-eyed and said, "You aren't going to tell DAD about that, are you?"

__________________
Melissa
Reformed hoyden. Please forgive me if I relapse.

I try really hard to do what I can to keep us frugal. I really do.
I cook from scratch, I make anything I can. But being 50 and raising a baby makes it harder than I remember. I am spoilt. I can not make myself do cloth diapers.(more wash, more dryer). And I am a stickler on buying new shoes for his developing feet(17.00 for shoes this week)
But DH and I wear clothes from yard sales,thrift stores and freecycle. I do get baby things from there also.
We use rags/newspaper for clean up(neighbor gives me paper) instead of paper towels.
I make my soap/cleaning products.More for health reasons than money....
I do a mini garden now that it is just the 3 of us. (I will plant bigger as boy grows) I have food stocked in the freezer, pantry, and canned/dryed.
I shop once a month(SS) and we keep windows open,wear heaver clothes in winter.
We only go out to eat when invited by a family member(they pay). But there are times I would just love to chunk the budget and have a huge spending spree................

I have no debt. I did buy a home 26 year ago, but it's long paid off, as is my vacation home. As are my cars. As is my RV. And my children's college educations. I worked hard when I was young, and invested when the market was hopping, instead of being out partying like my peers. I bought microsoft, nike, and intel back when they were very, very low priced stocks. I sold them before they tanked. I was able to stay home and raise my children. My thrifty parents taught their children well. We had everything we wanted as kids, but we had been raised to be careful about what we wanted. There are still numerous ways to make money in today's market, but people are more unwilling to take risks as they age. You have to have it to invest it. I know many, many people who live like I do, and none of them are "in debt to their eyeballs", thats an incorrect assumption of those who are living as "have nots". Living below your means, if it means you're living like an animal, isn't much to brag about. I've lived on low budget foods and in dingy little homes - when I was younger and saving every dime - and nobody can tell me they're happier living in poverty than I am living the way I do. I sleep like a baby every night, and smile my way through every day. I don't make judgments about my neighbors that are living in conditions less affluent than I - its none of my business. I certainly wish they'd do the same for me. It's tiresome to see them give me the finger because I'm driving a new car (that is certainly better for the environment than their 20 year old nissan with the black smoke pouring out of it) or hearing through the grapevine about how they belittle (envy?) the "toys" I have. Funny they never gossip about the 20 hours a week I volunteer at various organizations, and they're sure here with their hands out every time my little town is going about a fund raiser.

I really hate to shop...like at malls...so the internet was made for me and Amazon can really hurt my budget! Library holds are great but some books I gotta buy! And we really only like good coffee beans to grind so we could be more frugal. But in all other things we are mighty frugal, rarely eat out, do everything we can ourselves so I don't worry too much.If it is hot the air is on,period. Asthma and high humidity don't mix. One good thing about wood heat...when you are cold you can just throw on an extra log and not worry about the bill!!!!! DEE

I'm frugal unless I have money.
I'm a good saver, but lay a large chunk of cash on me at once and watch me go.

__________________
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
______________________________________________

Enforced tolerance is oppression

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I don't consider myself to be frugal, but I don't waste money. I consider my time to be very valuable, therefore I never clip coupons or shop around for the best deal. I guess I have more money than free time, but I'm definately not rich.

My wife is more frugal than I am. She cooks most meals from scratch, she bakes most of our bread (when she has time).

We have occasional spasms of non-frugality, when we just seem to spend, spend, spend.

We say we're going to learn from the last time it happened, but we don't.

Thankfully, we're fairly debt free and during those sprees we just tend to put less into saving or spend some of that savings.

Unfortunately, we're on one of those binges now.

frugal in my own way....

where do I spend/waste $$??

I run the a/c.... I do not do heat well.

I buy 1-2lbs of GOOD coffee per month to mix with the cheap stuff for treats.

I buy good books & movies. I do NOT do libraries for a variety of reasons. But I do shop used & deals for them.

I combine the grandparents $$ to buy GOOD long lasting toys & gifts for the dc. Hmmm since we still have toys from our 21 & 25yo... I guess that IS frugal :lol

I buy the school books that work well FOR US vs something just because it is free or cheap... and in honor of my time being valuable I BUY the worktext vs making copies (where it is legal to make copies).

OH... I buy snap pocket cloth diapers vs prefolds & rubber pants...

I do not limit my printing.... so ink I am not frugal with.

__________________
Lynn

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
— P.J. O'Rourke

OH a gift example here....

My 12 & 14 yo boys are getting a knex musical ferris wheel as a COMBINED gift from both my mom AND my grandpa so even then we are not talking lots of stuff... just something big to us... vs a bunch of little junk.

__________________
Lynn

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
— P.J. O'Rourke

I used to be ultra-frugal. Too frugal. I wasn't taking care of myself. I wasn't buying any new clothes, I wouldn't spend money on hair conditioner, fabric softener for the laundry, necessary furniture, etc. because I could get by without it. I was unhappy.

I decided that I would spend more.

Now I have nice clothes and I'm still working on my furniture situation. I buy on sale, or second hand still, make my own curtains, etc. My home is beautiful and I'm happy and still considered frugal by most people.

Moderation in all things,

RedTartan

__________________


www.redtartanwoolies.blogspot.com

Etsy Shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/RedTartanWoolies?ref=si_shop
Currently have Icelandic roving & (for a limited time) 100% Suri Alpaca roving.

I'm pretty frugal but every once in a while, I just get tired of pinching every penny and making do. Sometimes I do tend to say, "the heck with it" and splurge. Usually though, it's to take a short trip or take the whole family out to dinner, etc.

I think for me, it's more about having little entertainment due to my disabilities. We can't do what most people would do for fun (like take walks, go to ballgames, camp, etc.). Sometimes I just want to go out to play and make some memories while doing it!

Oh yes, I'm also terrible about the heat and air conditioning! Especially about being hot. I turn into a wild woman when I'm overheated. My mother told me I was the same way even as an infant. But as I grow older, the cold just chills me right to the bones and I start hurting really bad. I'm one of these people who are only "just right" if I'm with a 3 degrees radius or so....LOL.

__________________
"Challenges are what make life interesting -- overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."

My husband plays drums in a band, so about once a month or so, we spend an evening at a bar. I have trouble not allowing myself a couple of drinks. I can spend $20 easily in a bar on a night he plays. Then we get to feeling a little hungry and spend another $25-$30 at a restaurant. So that can get to be a pretty expensive evening.

My other downfall is Amazon.com. I can't buy just one book. If I am ordering a book, I have to buy enough to get free shipping because I don't like throwing away my money on shipping when I can get another book. So my once a month Amazon orders always turn into $30.

I also have a lot of trouble saying no to my husband, so when we go to Menards to buy stuff to work on the house, that always ends up in $100 or more.

*edited for spelling

My husband says I am "Tight as a banjo string" and he is becoming more frugal the longer he lives with me. I do spend more than I have to---when it comes to gifts and oddly, tires. We drive paid for but old autos. When we recently put tires on the family van, I spent $150 more then required.

thats what I do. I am a sucker for pizza. I do keep lights turned off, and I do things with manual labor instead of fireing up an engine sometimes.

I sure love pizza though. I eat it a few times per week

__________________
http://lownfamilymaplesyrup.com/ max@lownfamilymaplesyrup.com
Professional Tool. 1220 Woodmere Ave,Traverse City, MI. 49686. 231-941-8003. http://professionaltool.com/

It depends. Right now, I have to work a full time job and a part time job, in addition to taking care of the animals and people. Until that changes, I'm semi frugal. If the time spent to be frugal on something costs more than the cash, then I really have to think about it. I used to be really frugal and I miss it. Hopefully soon....

__________________
" It's better to ride even if you get thrown, than to wind up just wishin' ya had."

Chris Ledoux

We veer wildly between the two. All bills are paid on time and the remainder is divided by days in the pay period. That is what I have to spend. I only have one credit card, and there are purchases on it.

I cook at home a lot, but if I am tired or running late, we eat take out if there isn't anything frozen. But then again, sometimes we make do with sandwiches or salads. It just depends.

We buy a lot of second hand clothes and things at closeout stores, actually that is an area we are all three really good about.

Don't run a/c much, although we did buy two window units (used) this summer, and put the smaller one in. Don't run much heat, but will if it gets uncomfortably cold, (rare in Texas). I am a fanatic for turning off lights and devices, but that is more about not wasting energy than money. Ditto water.

I think it probably costs me more to grow vegies sometimes than it would to just buy them, but it is a source of relaxation and enjoyment for me. I do spend more at the store on organic produce and dairy, than I would on generic regular brands. But then again, I buy things like rice and flour from bulk bins, so probably don't spend as much? Not sure, really! Don't care!

The main thing I am extravagant about is probably books, but I do look for used copies or ones on sale. I own an astonishing number of books, books on tapes, music CD's and movies.

We are not rich by any means, yet seem to make ends meet, keep everything paid for and repaired, etc. I do do a lot of my own repairs whenever I can, or sometimes just do without what breaks! I've often found that that option is not at all painful.

But I am guilty of occasional Starbucks runs for sure.

hollym

__________________
"Be Kind...for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle"

Philo of Alexandria