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Thread: 100 Frugal Habits

  1. #1
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    100 Frugal Habits

    I was surprised to peruse this list and see that I/we have been doing 90% of these things as course of habit for years.
    How about you?

  2. #2
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkytoe View Post
    I was surprised to peruse this list and see that I/we have been doing 90% of these things as course of habit for years.
    How about you?
    Good list for review.
    I agree about most of the ideas are great and part of my routine.

    Some are harder to do or justify. I rarely find refurbished items are that much cheaper and they also lack the warranty for a new version that is doubled when purchased with my credit card. I rarely have success shopping for used clothes and buy so few new clothes anyway.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    I get a 53% at this moment in my life.

    I get about a 75% over the course of my lifetime.

    Obviously my high paying but time consuming job has lowered my free time and impeded some of these activities.

    But I prefer things like they are now - I was poor and in debt when I hit 75%.

    When I retire I expect to go back to 75% just because of the extra free time.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    I am at about 50%. I try to do the things that have the most impact like washing our clothes in cold water except for towels and sheets.

  5. #5
    Tea
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    Interesting list. I made up my own scoring system with four categories and actually went over it item by item putting hash-marks on a piece of paper. My results were as follows:

    Always do: 50
    Doesn't apply, but in a good way: 26
    Mostly/sometimes do: 16
    Never do: 8

    The first category is self explanatory, although there were several items where I actually do a more frugal version, like yes a save scraps for making stock, so I marked that as an always, but I don't actually buy chicken - I am making stock from free venison, since that's the only meat I eat.

    The second is for things like "Turn down the AC" (I don't have AC to turn down) or that relate to children which I don't have, or ways to save money on activities I don't engage in in the first place. (I think those could basically be combined in to a total of 76% frugal, but separating them made going over the list less confusing somehow.)

    The third, "mostly/sometimes" category was primarily things like using rags instead of paper towels, which for me is an always for kitchen use and general household cleaning, but I pet sit for ill or special needs dogs, and do some animal rescue as well, so if I'm cleaning up certain types of messes from an animal who isn't even mine, I don't really want to have to wash it out of a rag. . . Also for things like LED light-bulbs, which I've done for all the lights that get a lot of use, but not for lights in spare rooms or for lamps that are rarely turned on. I actually think that on that I am being frugal - as rarely as they are used, it wouldn't really make sense. Still, there were also a few things in that category that I could be better about than I am.

    Most of my "never" answers were in the shopping category, and some were things I didn't even know what meant. I don't shop a lot, and buy everything but groceries used, so it is possible that some of the things I answered "never" to without really knowing what they were, should actually have gone in my "doesn't apply, but in a good way" category instead. I just wasn't sure. The only definitely non-frugal thing I do from this list is buying salad dressing. When I was growing up, my family couldn't afford store-bought salad dressing, and always made oil and vinegar dressing. It was okay, but it seemed like no matter what herbs we put in it it always tasted the same. Now that I have the luxury, I like trying new and different store-bought dressings. My only rule is, we have to use it up completely before opening a new kind.

  6. #6
    Yppej
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    Has anyone used a depiller?

  7. #7
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    I didn't count up what I do and what does not apply. I'm doing all I'm going apply to my life right now and many have been habits for more than 20 years

    And aren't there always exceptions when the clock is ticking?
    I couldn't find jeans or slacks at the thrift stores 2w ago and mine are beyond presentable. I've been checking the thrift stores for a few months now. Sooooo, I had to shop (hate shopping), I got 2 new jeans and 2 black slacks for $54 so I was beyond thrilled! I had a professional meeting out-of-town and these became a must. AND, i'm set for 1-2 years! And I splurged on a new top for $11....I enjoyed wearing a 100% new outfit for the first time in who knows how long?

    I too love salad dressing roulette. I'm currently in love with the yogurt based dressings.

    If I had to take a wild guess, i'm likely 60% (no kids here so that could make it higher).

  8. #8
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yppej View Post
    Has anyone used a depiller?
    I have one and when an old favourite sweatshirt or fleecy top needed some refreshing, the depiller worked very well. I think that fleece-type tops have improved a great deal so things don't pill as much.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yppej View Post
    Has anyone used a depiller?
    Have used on sweaters that have lumps.... works well.

  10. #10
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Are women's clothes fundamentally different somehow? I read the depiller suggestion and couldn't think of any time in my life where I had a piece of clothing that would have benefitted from such a device.

    If I were going to try and save by extending the life of my clothing I'd probably get the most bang for the buck by darning my socks and underwear. But in reality I have zero interest in taking that on as a project. I'd rather expend my limited life energy elsewhere.

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