View Full Version : How frugally staunch are YOU?
So many examples to use... but here's one for openers. You move into a new home (old/new home) and there isn't a clothesline, yet you want a clothesline. Do you (A), plod forward in your search for a home in hopes of finding one you like that has a clothesline, (B), suck-it-up and settle with a home without a line, or (C), put your put down and see to it that a wash-line be installed?
Another example; gardening. We have neighbours who are zealous gardeners, they are Italian (old world Italian), and although they do buy produce occasionally to supplement the fresh-grown goods they manage stow-away over the course of the year, they simple would not see to a home without a garden.
Thought it would be fun to play around with this question to see where we all sit on the issue, and just how staunch some of us really are! LOL!
Mighty Frugal
4-11-13, 3:08pm
I would buy the house and add a clothesline! Thankfully ours came with one!
I wouldn't buy a house where I would need my car to take me to anywhere I needed to go (which means I won't live in most parts of suburbs) In our house we walk
to school
to bank
to grocery
to butchers, bakers (no candlestick makers!)
restaurants-rare treat
coffee shops-even rarer treats
we have a wonderful main street with everything we need. Plus public transit pretty much at our door. I do drive to work but it is a 15 minute trip
I also wouldn't live in a McMansion-not only too expensive but too much $4 to heat/cool, etc
I generally don't shop at 'normal' grocery stores-only discount ones. If I pop into a 'normal' one for one of their loss leaders I am shocked at the number of people with carts full of overpriced food, but I guess to them convenience is more important-fair enough
I would NEVER do an expensive 'want' if I had any debt. EG-no trips to Paris if I had credit card debt. No fancy dinners out if I owed on a line of credit. For me, nothing is more fun than owing nobody!
Never own an expensive car-maybe one day a Volvo-maybe...
I don't 'waste' goods. Even as a kid, I once saw a classmate scrunch up good writing paper into balls to throw to his friend. Even back then I was shocked at the waste and disregard for paper. We don't 'waste' much in our household. Kids draw/doodle on paper that has soemthign written on one side
Tussiemussies
4-11-13, 3:26pm
I was all ready to put in a garden and a clothesline, and our garden would have to have quite a lot of fencing around it. The only thing is that our yard faces a street. I don't think anyone would mind the garden but the clothesline I am not sure.
On the other hand too, our yard is such a natural semi wooded area with a little cleared yard and it slopes down, that I am not quite sure where to put it???? Garden has to go street side which would be most people's front-lawn sice it does get the required sun and it is level. The only problem is, is that I like to put dehydrated manure into my garden and the well water is right there. They told us in order to not contaminate your water, things like dogs going to the bathroom have to be 100 feet away....ARG.....
I don't buy most books if I can get them at the library.
I don't buy paper towels, napkins or "kleenex."
I would not buy or rent a home where I could not grow things (garden) or have a clothesline. If I could not have a clothesline in the yard, I would at least have a clothes-drying rack on the back porch or deck--if impossible, it would be a deal-breaker.
I drink tap water. It's good here. I detested that about where we lived in Florida.
I keep junk mail envelopes, drive thru teller envelopes, etc. for scratch paper, lists, etc.
Use my own reusable shopping bags.
Weekly shopping at farmers market--not really super-frugal unless you are considering the local nature of it, and not contributing to the transporting of produce across x# miles.
That's all I can think of....I'm sure there's more. But it's just my way of life, not something I think about alot.
We have awesome freestanding clothing racks here in Japan and I bought a really nice one and all the accessories and clips I could want right before we moved to SoCal a couple years ago. So I could be more flexible with our apartment selection and still have what I wanted.
Near public transportation is very important to us also. I feel so much better not having to worry about a car, the gas, the repairs, the insurance, etc.
Like MightyFrugal, living near amenities makes many things so much simpler.
Would love to have a garden but I'm still just a beginner with a lot more plant deaths than survival.
ToomuchStuff
4-11-13, 6:40pm
I thought part of frugality, was the abilities to adapt, and to do things yourself?
I would try to find a way to install the clothesline, for only the cost of the line (and maybe concrete to keep some posts in), and start the garden. (I could actually and may, garden this year, since eliminating the tree problems)
If the house fits all other specs, it would seem like a waste of time and money to pass it up.
awakenedsoul
4-11-13, 10:19pm
I put up a clothesline after I bought my cottage. I also planted an orchard and garden. This is my first house. I will probably keep it forever, because I've put so much into it. I just wrote a check for my electric bill. This month it was $15.00. Last month it was $13.00. The bus stop is a block away. I can also bike anywhere I need to go. I am definitely set up very well here to live a frugal lifestyle. When I looked at other locations, I realized how expensive it would be for me to live anywhere else. It's hard to find a one bedroom, one bathroom house these days. Oh, we also have our property taxes capped here. They can only go up 2% a year...
I was homeless for a good part of last year. I refused to give up my cat, so I ran out of shelter living and stayed with friends until I saved up enough money for an apartment.
It is on a major bus line.
It is within walking distance of one of my regular gigs...on a good health-day and the weather is decent.
It is a fifteen-minute bus ride to the discount market.
There is no space for laundry equipment (probably the things I miss most), but the nearest laundromat is only a half hour bus ride. I hand wash what I can, and have drying racks and over-the-door hanging things, and I also bring lots home from the laundromat and air dry here.
There is no garden space, but my landlord said that I can plant whatever I like around the porch areas, as well as being able to have large planters on the porch.
I will probably not be able to afford to keep my car in a couple of months, so that will limit the amount of time I can spend with my daughter and all of the boys, because she does not live anywhere near even long-distant public transit. That is going to totally suck and I am dreading that day.
As for being frugally staunch, it is more than those aspects of how I am able to live. I shop at the discount markets and the dollar-type stores, only going to a regular grocery store if I absolutely have to. I have just had an extraordinarily crapalicious couple of weeks, culminating in a sucker-punch to the budget (because my ex stole all of our resources) and I went to the regular grocery and bought some truly luxurious and healthy foods to mood alter as much as possible. I did really well, given that food is my drug of choice. It is only a minor hit to my budget, but worth every single cent that I spent today on the kind of quality foods that I never buy otherwise.
I never have lights on at night, but I do use a low-wattage lamp so that I can read before falling asleep. I keep the thermostat at 52 degrees during the night, but have it set to go up to 56 during days when I am home. It is absolutely amazing how well we, cat and I, have adapted to these temperatures. The heating bills for this drafty, old Victorian are insane, even with those low temperature settings.
I do not have many clothes or linens, so I have to do laundry every week, maybe ten days if I can stay home a lot and live in jammies. That is an expense that I would love to reduce, but I am kind of stuck doing that and hand-washing as much as possible. Just cannot shave any more off of that cost.
Maybe other things, but I am kind of stupefied on the wonderful and delicious dinner I just had. Erp, but so worth it.
I think it is important to make choices that align with your values. I have been thinking a lot about this this week, as we have been riding a rollercoaster of emotions and financial projections trying to figure out where we are going to send our kids for school next year. We have now narrowed it down to four possible schools -- but I think we have pretty much ruled out one of them as not being a good fit for our DS. So that means three. We know which one we like best, based on educational philosophy, actually classroom practice, and makeup of the school population. It happens to be the most expensive. We are still trying to negotiate a discount -- our original request was rejected, which is why this week has been so rough -- but at this point I am really thinking that discount or no discount it is the one we should choose. It is going to be a real stretch for us financially (the equivalent of building a whole dry cleaners in the backyard to use Mrs. M's clothesline analogy). Is it frugal? No sane person would likely consider it to be. If this does turn out to be the long-term solution to our Beijing schooling dilemma, we are going to be sinking the equivalent of many years of college into our kids pre-university education. I will more or less be working to cover our kids school fees. But if it turns out to be too much of a strain on our household finances, I am willing to sell our apartment (which I LOVE mind you), move back to a cheaper rental in the area we lived before this (where I was not actually very happy, but I can cope) and use the profits we've made on the house to pay for their school over the next few years.
Oh, and before anyone asks why I don't just quit and homeschool the kids, I've thought of that but it doesn't work for a number of reasons, the major one being that our long-term residence here is tied to my work visa. Also I am not sure homeschooling would work for our particular mix of personalities.
I should probably also say that all of this is built on the foundation of us having a very solid net worth and a cash nest egg of roughly 3 years of household expenses (not including schooling costs). We are going to have to cut way back on what we are putting into our retirement and the kids college funds, but I ran projections in the Fidelity Retirement Income Planner and as long as DH and I both continue to work another 10 years (long enough to get DD through high school). I was surprised to see that cutting back doesn't really affect the bottom line much -- our retirement nestegg may be 10-20% less than if we kept contributing at current rates, but it will still be more than enough to fund our estimated retirement expenses at a 2-3% SWR. And at that point, we will be so used to shelling out major amounts for the kids education paying for college should be a breeze!
For me the essence of being frugal is knowing what you really value. For us, the investment in our kids education is worth it. We've looked at less expensive options and they would be seriously shortchanging our kids. YMMV.
lhamo, being in that kind of position where you can make those kind of choices and have some options is nice. Well done.
There are definitely some "deal breakers" when it comes to where & how I live. And for sure, all in line with my values:
---My home must have room to grow at least some food.
---Got to have my clothesline, Mrs M!
---I don't pay for things if I can get them for free. I don't mind waiting a bit to get them for free.
---I don't pay a lot for things if I can pay a little. I don't mind waiting, buying second hand, fixing broken things, etc. if I have time
---I want to be part of a community. I used to want to live way out in the country away from everyone - no more. I want to have the benefits of a good community around me, or the ability to form one
---I won't use credit unless there's absolutely no way around it, then I pay it off as fast as possible
---I'd rather spend a little more for good, healthy food instead of cheap junk. I think that's more frugal for me in the long run, in terms of my healthcare expenditures.
---I absolutely will not go out for multiple errands on the same day, belching fossil fuel fumes all the way. If I can't bundle them into one trip, I wait/reschedule until I can. Nothing's that critical.
Love this thread!
Wildflower
4-13-13, 3:10am
I must have a clothesline and a garden! I will not and can not do without!
Even if that means if and when we downsize more in our housing needs, and all we might have is a little patio deck - I will still garden in pots on that little deck, and if I can't put up a clothesline outside - I will string one across my living room on laundry day! :)
Nothing will keep me from any of my frugal ways, as long as I am capable of breathing. They are ingrained in me, by my parents and grandparents.... And I live this way due to necessity as well.
Wildflower
4-13-13, 3:13am
And, Jilly, I am so glad you and your cat are homeless no more!
So are we. As awful as that was, both of us are the better for it.
Tussiemussies
4-13-13, 5:37pm
So are we. As awful as that was, both of us are the better for it.
Jilly sounds so terrible what you went through. So glad that you and your cat are okay now. {{{{hugs}}}
Christine
Jilly, thanks for telling us. You give me hope for my ability to problem-solve in hard times.
Lots of fun reading everyone's replies. Thanks for that everybody. Will touch on this topic (and everyone's replies) as I have time.
Ha Ha - well you know me, the easier and faster something is, the more I'm inclined to do it. So i don't really do any of the things others have listed here as time is more valuable to me then money. So it's the gas dryer rather than the clothes line, the farmers market rather than growing my own (oh that endless weeding!!), and buying discount clothes and things that I wear/use forever rather than sewing or building, etc... Lazy Lindi would rather spend a bit more money but have more free time to enjoy my...er...well, free time :-)! But financially I still only need about $500/month for my basic expenses to live on so am pretty frugal anyways. And as a minimalist I rarely buy anything if I can find a way to get it for free. Borrow books, DVDs and CDs from library (don't even own one book or dvd anymore) and even use their free wi-fi, computers and a host of other things like that. Have free or low cost "pleasures" in life like bike riding, hiking, etc... Travel is the only thing I spend money on and even then it's low cost budget travel.
No books?
None?
What do you do if you have a reading emergency in the middle of the night?:~)
I have five books that I love reading over and over, thus avoiding such a distressing event.
Mighty Frugal. So refreshing to read that you took the time and made the effort to purchase a home situated close to and ideally to everything.
Tussiemussies. One of my dreams is to see you with a wonderful outdoor clothesline. A drying-line would make you complete.
KayLRZ. No option for a clothesline or place to dry clothes outside... a deal breaker for me, too.
Dhiana. Not only do I love the utilitarian side of wooden drying racks, I also love the look of them, too! So pleasing in an old-fashioned sense.
ToomuchStuff. Oh yes... I agree. Adapting ones own environment is a must do. Frugal creativeness, rules.
Awakenedsoul. Got to love the low electric bills, and that the bus-stop is a mere block away!
Jilly. So happy to know you are on your feet again. Sounds like you're doing everything right!
Lhamo. Your children are so lucky to have you and your husband as parents. Wishing you all the best.
Puglogic. Love your list! In fact... your list is my list in a lot of ways.
Wildflower. Out of necessity, IMO, makes for a more creative structure surrounding frugality, and, it's so much fun doing things the old-fashioned way!
Spartana. You remind me of that shirt on the rack, the one that is the brightest, and most colourful and wild! LOL! Individuality, is, IMO, a wonderful thing.
No books?
None?
What do you do if you have a reading emergency in the middle of the night?:~)
I have five books that I love reading over and over, thus avoiding such a distressing event. Nope, not a one. But I do have maps - REAL paper maps that I can dream over (did I mention I love long road trips :-)!) for those "middle of the night reading emergencies" (now THAT cracked me up! - isn't that why God invented TV :devil:). I also borrow books from the library so usually have a few around but am not much of a reader right now - and I'm sure it shows :doh:
early morning
4-17-13, 8:25pm
I need a place to hang laundry inside or out - line, rack, or hedge ;). I'm not picky, really. A place to compost and grow a few things. Access to a library. Those would be my deal-breakers, lol.
Nope, not a one. But I do have maps - REAL paper maps that I can dream over ...
Oh, what a relief!
Oh, what a relief!
Ha Ha! And I even get the maps and guide books free from AAA (I'm a member) so can remain "frugally staunch" and spend no moolah!
I need a place to hang laundry inside or out - line, rack, or hedge ;). I'm not picky, really. A place to compost and grow a few things. Access to a library. Those would be my deal-breakers, lol.Lovely!
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