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Frugal Tip: Continuing to Live a Frugal Life
As I continue to try to live a more frugal life I want to share some more ideas to help you save money and live frugally. There are dozens of inventive and useful ways to save, spend, reuse and live better for less.
When I was younger I volunteered my time with a women’s organization that held a huge yard sale each year. This group was active in numerous towns and they all came together in the spring for this large sale. I volunteered to help out in the children’s clothing department. It meant sorting through all the donations and organizing the clothes. It was a lot of work but it also meant being able to have first pick of any clothes that came in. Our two daughters were young at the time and I was able to completely outfit them for the year at a minimal cost.
Just one of the dresses I was able to pick up secondhand.
Purchasing used items is a great way to save money. Spend a Saturday morning checking your local garage sales. Spending a few hours on craigslist, ebay, freecycle or autotrader can save you thousands of dollars.
Buy in bulk. I have mentioned this before. Buying in bulk can be a great cost saving technique. This can especially be true for bulk items such as toilet paper, paper towels and detergent (if you don’t make your own). Know your prices so you can spot a sale and then stock up.
Spend some time going over your reoccurring costs. Can you give up your cable subscription? We gave up TV years ago and have never missed it. You can read the news on the internet, rent movies from Netflix, or even watch your favorite TV shows online with a website such as Hulu. There is no need for a hefty cable subscription. Go over your monthly subscriptions and start cutting where you can. Review your phone bills and your internet service provider and shop for the best plans.
Netflix, an alternative to cable.
A fun way to save some money is to set up a piggy bank. Put all your lose change in the container and don’t touch it for a year. Have that money go towards a specific goal. You will be surprised how much you can accumulate by saving small amounts of change throughout the year.
Piggy Bank
You may think living a frugal life is boring or to complicated. Take the time to learn more about frugality. There are numerous books and blogs out there devoted to saving money. Each Tuesday I share a frugal tip on my blog. Check back next week to learn more ways to save money!
“Being frugal does not mean being cheap!
It means being economical and avoiding waste.”
Catherine Pulsifer
Linked to: LearningTheFrugalLife, FrugallySustainable, TheThriftyHome, WeAreThatFamily, Thrifty101, FemineAdventures
Link to On The Home Front
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Love the hat! Now that’s styling on the cheap
That hat is really cute. I shop at flea markets and yard sales all the time. I even sell at flea markets. I also go to thrift stores. You can really find good stuff and brand name clothes if you’re into that. I saw an Oscar de Laurentis dress at a thrift store for 19.98!! The only thing wrong with it was it had a stain down the side. And it wasn’t my size!
Sue,
Isn’t it amazing what you can find at yard sales etc!
Every payday we put whatever is left from last payday (bills and change) in a large jar. We use that for Christmas shopping. We shop after season clearances. I don’t think I have ever paid full price for winter items, including boots, for my children and grandchildren. This year the grandchildren’s jackets with snow pants were $8.00 marked down from $40.00. Thrift stores and yard sales are great money savers. The only things I will not purchase used are shoes, underwear, socks and bras.
Michelle,
Great advice! I too shop after season clearance. Plus I often shop with a friend who has a 6th sense for finding incredible deals!
Thank you for linking this post to the Frugal Tuesday Tip: http://juliecache.com/2012/09/03/frugal-tuesday-tip-harvest/.html. I think we don’t have as many ‘aha’ moments once we live frugally every day, don’t you?
Julie,
True, true!
My father saves all his change in a large old mustard container(think Costco). As we are in Canada, he includes the occasional $2 coin and some $1 coins. Mostly he saves quarters, dimes and nickels. I get to roll it all before Christmas and my 2 kids get to split the money to purchase gifts for family members. There is always at least $130-140. It is amazing how just throwing change into a jar and forgetting about it adds up.
In Canada we have a site called Kijiji. It is the same idea as Craigslist. Last February I was able to buy an entire school uniform for my daughter. For $150 I got $700 worth of items. Gotta love buying secondhand.
Theresa,
That great! Amazing what you can find if you just keep your eyes open!
Nice post! I am always searching for new ways to save money. We also collect all of our change. Then when we are going to visit family out of state we use it to pay for part of the gas.
I had that exact piggy bank growing up. I wonder what happened to it!
Great tips, I highlighted your post today for Frugal Tuesday Tip. Thanks for participating!