Are You Frugal?

JonSR77 said:
Well, yes. But we still eat a lot of canned food and frozen food. The money is just not there to do otherwise. I try to keep fresh fruit and salad fixings here...but generally, our diet would be a lot healthier if we weren't living paycheck to paycheck.
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I keep canned goods here in case but when it comes to vegetables and some fruits, I mostly use frozen. I do love Chef Boy Ar Dee ravioli on occasion and use canned kidney beans to make chili...maybe twice a month. I do have frozen spinach-mozzarella ravioli as well which I'll make more often than the canned ravioli. Just have to add some pasta sauce, which, BTW has more sodium than one would think from the taste.
 

I'm a spender and so is my spouse. But he is frugal when it comes to certain clothing items - not all, which is odd! - while I confess to washing plastic food storage bags to reuse them a couple of times before adding them to the recycling bag.

When we travel - which we haven't done much of in the last 2 yrs, not surprisingly - I don't often spend on high-end hotels. Not because I don't like them, but because they usually are costly as they have amenities we don't use, such as swimming pools, tennis courts, massages, and pre-dinner 'guest Happy Hour' stuff.

Doesn't interest us - we're all about the food when we travel, LOL. I'm thinking we'll visit LVegas in the off-season this year, just so I can dine at Joel Robuchon a couple of times. Foie gras, here we come.......! 😋
 
I generally live well below my means so in that way I suppose I could be called frugal. On the other hand, I don't clip coupons nor do I put a great deal of effort into chasing bargains.

At this point in my life, I neither want nor need much so consequently I actually spend little; except for the taxes my loving government (at all levels) seems to take delight in increasing yearly.
 
Well, I don't buy "stuff" I don't need anymore and I hate getting ripped off. However, when it comes to travel I don't mind spending 8 or $10,000 on a great holiday. I figured that I'm not going to be around forever and I really hate to think of the smiles on the faces of my kids when they see a copy of the will. I believe we should spend it when we are able to do it. My older brother died and they found $5,800 stuffed in his chesterfield in cash. His nephews got about $360,000. When he lived he was too cheap to get a haircut or go for coffee with the other old timers. He said the coffee was too expensive. For sure, I'm not going to follow his crazy way of thinking.
 
When I was working, I never paid any attention to coupons or savings opportunities. Now that I'm retired, I consistently look at my grocery receipts to see how many points I have earned. A couple of our local grocery stores have gas stations and I fill up there when I've earned enough rewards points for a discount.

Prior to retirement, my credit card of choice earned me airline points because I traveled all the time on business. I now use a credit card that pays me back. I put everything possible on that credit card (utility bills, car insurance, etc.) I just ordered off Amazon and my $90 purchase was free due to the points.

I am cheap these days!
 
MickaC said:
Have always been a wise shopper......price check, sales.
Saving, yes.
If there was something i really wanted, i waited, sometimes got a good deal, sometimes, didn't, so i didn't get it.
I make sure there is always money to keep up repairs and maintenance on my house......have been thinking a lot about the cost of maintenance of my place being just me here.....I really don't need this big house, or this huge yard.
I try to shop wisely on groceries, but it seems sometimes expensive for just one.
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"If there was something i really wanted, i waited, sometimes got a good deal, sometimes, didn't, so i didn't get it." This reminds me of when decades ago 16 Plus had this wool herringbone maxi coat I wanted. I'd swing by from work to see if it was marked down yet. After doing this about 3 times, I wound up getting it at half price (from $160 to $80). I had that coat for decades until the lining could no longer be fixed. A couple of years ago, I found a similar coat at my favorite thrift, consignment shop for $5!

Since you feel your house is too big now and you're concerned about it's upkeep, are you considering moving? If so, would you look for a condo or senior living community?
 
dseag2 said:
When I was working, I never paid any attention to coupons or savings opportunities. Now that I'm retired, I consistently look at my grocery receipts to see how many points I have earned. A couple of our local grocery stores have gas stations and I fill up there when I've earned enough rewards points for a discount.

Prior to retirement, my credit card of choice earned me airline points because I traveled all the time on business. I now use a credit card that pays me back. I put everything possible on that credit card (utility bills, car insurance, etc.) I just ordered off Amazon and my $90 purchase was free due to the points.

I am cheap these days!
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I doubt you are cheap my friend, but have excelled at being frugal. 🤑 It's very smart to put everything possible on your reward cards. I do the same thing. The only thing that doesn't go on are my carrying charges (co-op speak for HOA fees) and electric bill because their fees for doing so are too hefty. I have two cards that pay 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories...Chase Freedom and Discover. Then I have Citibank which consistently pays 2% and Chase Freedom Unlimited (normally 1.5% cashback) which has bonus categories until 2025 for Lyfts (5%) and restaurants (3%). As of this month, I will have earned $729 so far this year; $200 of that for opening an American Express card through my brokerage. I stopped using the regular AmEx card because of it's cash back policy. These cash back rewards beat saving account rates, that's for sure. I keep track of which card to use for what, when..using my notepad app. The April - June category for Chase Amazon is 3% back on groceries. And Amazon Synchrony is always 5% at Amazon. Whew! :D

@Teacher Terry Sounds like you have an exciting trip coming up. Safe travels and enjoy!

@Lethe200 I get incredible deals being a timeshare owner. I get one week "free" (really it's prepaid) annually, in a one bedroom suite with kitchenette, which I no longer need since my husband passed. But it will continue for my son, then his heirs, who will inherit the timeshare (which is paid in full). Other times I'll book studio suites, also with kitchenette for $49 - $58 a night, including taxes, at my oceanfront home resort in Atlantic City. If I want to go elsewhere, the RCI exchange club membership has deals, as low as $289 for a week. RCI is affiliated with thousands of nice resort hotels, stateside and abroad, including Wyndhams, Hiltons and Marriotts. It's great that you know how to travel and hopefully will be able to do so soon.
 
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Teacher Terry said:
I am frugal but spend on things that are important to me. I am going to Ireland for 11 days in June and the tour cost 4600 but it includes everything.
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I am a little envious. I hope you have a great time. Ireland is one of my favourite places and I have spent a lot of time there over the years, (y)
 
Packerjohn said:
Well, I don't buy "stuff" I don't need anymore and I hate getting ripped off. However, when it comes to travel I don't mind spending 8 or $10,000 on a great holiday. I figured that I'm not going to be around forever and I really hate to think of the smiles on the faces of my kids when they see a copy of the will. I believe we should spend it when we are able to do it. My older brother died and they found $5,800 stuffed in his chesterfield in cash. His nephews got about $360,000. When he lived he was too cheap to get a haircut or go for coffee with the other old timers. He said the coffee was too expensive. For sure, I'm not going to follow his crazy way of thinking.
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I'm with you when it comes to travel. It's something I truly enjoy. My father and one of my siblings died in their 50s. Nothing is promised to us. So I'd like to do some things while i can.

As to being frugal, I guess I am but I think it's more that I'm deliberate. I keep a detailed budget on an Excel spreadsheet so I'm aware of my financial obligations and my income which really helps me make better financial decisions when I want to spend money for something not in my budget.

I've made some cuts such as eliminating cable (reduced my monthly bill by $100), combining trips so I only drive once or twice a week and all of it is local, turning off the air conditioning on nice days (when temps are in the 70s) and cooking all of my meals at home (only eating out 1x/mth when I meet with a group of friends). I don't have a monthly water or sewer bill because I have a well and septic BUT the well pump just needed to be replaced last month ($3500) and the septic distribution box and pipes are going to be replaced next month ($13,500). Unexpected, yes. But I'd rather have this done now while the weather is nice than when the bitter winds of winter blow and the ground is frozen over with ice and snow. At first blush, shelling out $17,000 for repairs might be painful however I'm actually grateful to God for all of this. These repairs will prevent headaches and bigger problems in the future.
 


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