Frugal Living - how are you managing?

Marie5656 said:
I live in a rent subsidized senior apartment bldg. I have SNAP for food, HEAP for heat and electric. I do not buy a lot of clothing....hey, retired, where do I have to go? Just watch my spending
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Me also. I plan ahead for anything I have to buy until I have the cash for it. Not having a vehicle is helpful for me also.
 

I knew you were struggling over there but I guess I did not appreciate the full magnitude of what is happening. At least here, we can move to cheaper areas of the country if needed. The one thing I think is more families can live together to keep going when there is no other option. That is often the way in many countries.
 
hollydolly said:
yes..many of us know this..but knowig it isn't going to help us find the money for the bills, when the govt will not entertain the idea of fracking..
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Too bad, if y'all are unwilling to exploit your own resources its not a good thing, not surprising it has lead to shortages. Of course the government is to blame, but ultimately its the voters. Politicians do what they believe is most likely to get them reelected and stay in office. On issues like this that very often is not necessarily the will of the majority. If a minority voting block votes one way on an issue, but the majority is not as interested politicians go with that minority. Such is the way a lot of things go.

I spent my whole career as an environmental engineer, mostly working in the oil industry, and am a strong supporter of protecting the environment. However I see too much nonsense spouted in the name of the environment, this is one. Fracking has caused some problems in the past, and we have learned from those. Today's fracking is pretty safe, not 100%, but as safe and any energy source gets. Same story with a lot of new industrial processes.

Do you have people speaking out on this? That would help get the government to move. Problem is if y'all changed the laws today and allowed fracking it would take about 5 years for the wells to be drilled, fracked, and brought online, couldn't be done overnight. Not fast enough for this short term crisis, but it would reduce the chances of this happening again. Best way to end your dependence on unreliable sources, like Russia. It would also keep more of your money at home, sending less of it to unstable governments...
 

Well, we finally had to get new HVAC units (2 big ones). Can't complain, as the old units had lasted 38 years with minor repairs. Good news is our electric bill in this horribly hot 4 month summer has gone
down over $100 a month. Sometimes dated equipment uses more juice. Of course it will take years to
make up for the cost of the new units but its nice is saving us some bucks...hoping for the same thing this winter.

Suggest everyone replace all their light bulbs with low voltage LEDs. Hub is a retired electrical engineer and that was the first thing he did around the house and outside - lights in the front and back. They are amazing economical - we have a very large house and in the months where we don't use heating or A/C our bills are only around $75 to $80 bucks or so. Can't beat it as we leave things like hallway desk lights and outside lights on 24/7. He refuses to live in a house where its darker than a dungeon...especially in winter. No way to live if you can help it.
 
hollydolly said:
It's been an ongoing debate for years... people vote in Politicians who promise to fulfil voters needs, and then renege on them ..

There was a point where we were going ahead with the fracking but it all stopped in 2019 when they found that fracking was causing Earthquakes..
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Understand the problem with politicians, I think that one is universal!

As to the earthquakes and fracking that is making mountains out of molehills. While there is a kernel of truth to it, it is pretty well understood and a minor problem at best. Fracking is just too weak a force to induce major earthquakes, and again we do know how to minimize that risk. Other things we do, like injection of wastewater to the ground causes more of these minor earthquakes but that doesn't seem to worry anyone. See https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/does-fracking-cause-earthquakes

One example is the reinjection of produced water. When oil is extracted far more water comes up than oil, and that water is pretty contaminated. It needs safe disposal and a common approach is simply to reinject it. That introduces a lot more force and contaminated fluids than fracking, and probably causes more earthquakes. Y'all do a lot of it without much concern https://assets.publishing.service.g...on_to_deep_geological_formations_-_report.pdf

Don't mean to pick on you, in the US we do as many irrational things with respect to the environment and public policy. However, here I can see a pretty direct link to your current gas shortage. Hopefully your press and politicians are talking about this, would be best if it were better understood.
 
Blessed said:
I knew you were struggling over there but I guess I did not appreciate the full magnitude of what is happening. At least here, we can move to cheaper areas of the country if needed. The one thing I think is more families can live together to keep going when there is no other option. That is often the way in many countries.
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Better be careful. That is beginning to sound like communism. Maybe a better word would be communalism.? :)
 
Sounds like people are being very creative in being economical! My 22 year old Subaru Outback gets low gas mileage but not worth spending hundreds at a garage to save $1here and there.So I’ve tried to reduce driving. If I have certain errands to to I try to do them at the closest places, and try to group them in one trip away from home.
Not buying luxury items like for example,Canadian or New England maple syrup at>$7 a bottle, substituting much cheaper dark brown sugar for the hot cereal etc.
Overall,just trying to be thrifty but sometimes it happens that the higher priced item may be actual better for whatever than cheaper store .
I grew up during WWII in a very thrifty home. Family wasn’t hard up for money but had those Yankee penny pincher habits. My SS raise wasn’t enough cover the 18% rent raise I got on Feb.
 
dseag2 said:
I used my Chase Freedom card to pay for everything, including utility bills. I just redeemed my points for $200 worth of Kroger grocery gift cards.

Our electric bill is reasonable, even during 2 months of triple digit temperatures, because we had our windows replaced a few years ago. I'm glad I spent the money when I was working so I can enjoy the savings in retirement.
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Hi @dseag2, it's interesting what you said about your Chase Freedom card paying for everything. Is this a rewards program? I earn reward points on my credit card that I choose to put back into the next bill. They can also give me the credit as a money card.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I would be leery of spending money to save money.

Take a look at the window insulation kits and compare the cost to the potential savings.

It may be cheaper to turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.

My biggest money saving tips involve things that I don’t choose to do.

I don’t pay for cable television.

I don’t spend money on coffee or other refreshments when I’m out running errands.

I try not to purchase many cleaning products or disposable items.

Saving money will be different for each of us. Do the things that have value and purpose in your life and eliminate the things that don’t.

Good luck!
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@Aunt Bea, thanks for the tips! I agree with you about spending money to save money - so I will rethink the window kits. I did up the thermostat on my a/c to 74 (was 71-72 before) now that it's getting cooler and turned on ceiling fans instead. I also don't pay for cable tv. Use youtube a lot and free Pluto.tv on my computer (thanks to a SF member who mentioned it). As to disposable items, can't negotiate toilet paper 😁.
 
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Blessed said:
I am excited for fall and winter, I like it cold so I don't use the heater that much. I just take bath towels, roll them up and put in the window sill to block any drafts and keep heat from going out the window. I do laundry in cold water. When I shower, get in, get wet. Turn off the water, lather up, shave my legs. Turn water back on wash and condition hair while I am rinsing off.

If I am not in the room, everything is turned off. I don't use the lights unless I am cooking or reading. I have chronic migraines so I like the darkness. I don't open the draps summer or winter unless company comes.

I am all about it @hollydolly. I do the same, I buy in bulk at the lowest price, freeze. If you don't know what you can freeze, google it. I buy block cheese and shredded for freezing. I also keep a good stock of canned goods, I buy a lot during the holidays for the next year, this would include broths, canned fruits, cereals, breakfast meats, chocolate in all forms. If you don't cook, learn and if you are physically able, it is the best thing you can do.

I keep a large pantry of dry goods, pasta, flour corn meal, sugar, brown and powered sugars, yeast, rice, beans. I have a stand mixer that I use, for breads, cookies and cakes.

Make sure you keep a good variety of spices on hand, don't over invest,
some of them can be pricey.
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Thanks, @Blessed! I will be coming back to read these over and over again. I like the idea of the bath towel and the window sill! Last year, our neighbor behind our house cut her tall trees down (after one of them fell into my back yard) and the winter was exceedingly brutal as we got the cold wind that the trees used to protect us from - and unfortunately the winter bills were very high. I also like the large pantry idea.
 
Lawrence00 said:
No restaurant visits for 2 years. Am avoiding carbs right now, but quinoa added to just an off the shelf plain label soup is a cheap dinner. Also, rice and beans are a complete protein.
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@Lawrence, I think the restaurant visits is an excellent idea! After my husband passed away, I didn't want to cook (cooking was associated with him!) so we ate out a lot. Then I started cooking again. Now, years later, I rarely eat out at restaurants except for a special occasion (birthday, etc).
 
HoneyNut said:
I put those on my living room windows one winter in my house and literally saved 50% of my electric bill every single month. But I think it was because there was some sneaky air leak at one of the windows -- probably properly caulking around all the windows would have been better, but I'm not at all handy.
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I'm glad those window kits helped, @HoneyNut. I noticed the caulking around the outside of my windows is breaking up after 3 years (20 year warranty!) and am thinking to buy more of the same stuff to caulk again, but can't do the upstairs floor, just the first floor.
 
hollydolly said:
Another thing I got a few months ago was nightlights.. which plug into the sockets at the top and bottom of my stairs.. they come on when they detect movement.. and stay on for about 30 seconds, enough time to get up and downstairs .... also saves having to put the main lights on when I get up in the night..
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I think that's an excellent idea, @hollydolly!
 
hollydolly said:
Buy in bulk where possible.. it's almost always cheaper... Batch cook..and freeze food..in single or double portions.. ..

Buy frozen veggies rather than fresh. Frozen are better for you, because they retain more vitamins.. and of course there's no waste, and you have them on hand whenever you need them
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Thanks for the tips! I heard about the frozen foods. Do you think it's good to invest in an extra freezer and store frozen foods? My sister has one, but she has a large family.
 
Gary O' said:
If you own your house;
Insulate

Food:
Bulk, canned, frozen
Garden....big time (if you can)

Most everybody can do this;
Eat at home
...and when you do, finish those leftovers

Nothing much more expensive than;
driving to the store
buying the food
driving it home
putting it in the fridge
eating half of it
putting the rest back in the fridge
throwing that away a week later

Oh, and if you can;
Hang yer clothes on the line
Dryer time is expen$ive
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Great tips @Gary O'! I read somewhere once about a guy who insulated his home so much that he didn't need to use any a/c or heating during the seasons and was even able to grow a banana tree in his house. Can't remember his name, though. That always fascinated me. I think he used these thick concrete blocks for his home. Gardening is a wonderful idea as well, and eating at home has become my way of life once more.
 
I never liked using paper towels (found them wasteful) and used to tear off just enough for what I needed. I would tear off just a corner to wipe a tiny spill. Then I realized I had a LOT of microfiber cloths that I used for windows and other cleaning. I now use them instead of paper towels. I hand wash them after soaking them in an old Tupperware container and hang them in the shower to dry.

During the pandemic toilet paper was expensive and hard to get at times. I bought a handheld portable bidet from Amazon and reduced TP use immensely.
I continued this practice, and only buy TP to stock up when I find a bargain.

I have stopped going out to restaurants and very much limit ordering delivery.
When my cable bill reached $288/mo, I cancelled it and now have a $25 antenna for live local news, and Netflix and free Hulu along with $74 month internet . It is more than enough for me and a big $$ savings.

I batch cook and freeze. I love soup, and always have portion size containers stacked up in the freezer, labeled and dated.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
The use of heavy curtains is a good idea.
~If you eat meat, eat less and incorporate it into casseroles or make it the side dish rather than main dish. I hardly ever eat meat anymore.

~Unplug your device chargers and any appliance that you can when they are not in use if it's not a hassle. Or turn off the power strips they are plugged into. I can do this with my microwave, the power strip my NuWave oven, electric dryer and countertop dishwasher are plugged into and sometimes do it with my T.V. Charging plugs/cables use what is called "phantom electricity" even when nothing is charging. HDTVs pull a lot. The first year I started unplugging, I saved close to $200.

~Shop sales and stock up when you find great prices (exception is fresh produce, unless they are freeze-able items). It helps to know the sales cycles. Also consider buying in bulk if you can. This can be done via wholesale clubs (Costco, BJs..I heard Sam's is expensive), Walmart and Amazon. DollarTree.com requires bulk buying (cases with 6 - 12 units, according to the item), which I gladly do for items I use regularly. After all, each unit is only $1.25.

~Make full use of reward credit cards, if you are inclined to use credit cards at all. I have several and admittedly although I have to note which ones to use where, it's payed off. My notepad app has my list of which cards are paying 5%, 3% and 2% and during which months. So far this year I've gotten back $1,138 in cash back rewards and bonuses. Banks are now rewarding people to open charge accounts with them. I put all except my utilities and carrying charges (aka HOA fees) on my credit cards (because their fees are ridiculous). Doing this doesn't cost me anything since I pay my balances in full each month. Besides my bank and credit union wouldn't pay me to write checks or pay online using my checking account.

~Shop thrift/consignment shops. I've gotten unbelievable bargains on designer clothes and coats from my favorite one.

~If you regularly shop online, consider using Rakuten which will mail you checks once you've reached the $5 rebate due mark. I've been using it for years back when it was Ebates. I've gotten my checks when due me. Rakuten does not take your credit card information but simply connects you to the retailer that's offering various percentages off. If you are interested in using Rakuten, please let me know and I'll PM you my referral code. When you use my referral code and spend $25 (on the sites of whatever retailers you choose) we both get bonuses.
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Thanks, @OneEyedDiva! Great tips! I don't eat meat that much anyway. I also like to shop sales (buy 1 get 1 free are my favorites). I will also check into Rakuten.
 
palides2021 said:
Thanks for the tips! I heard about the frozen foods. Do you think it's good to invest in an extra freezer and store frozen foods? My sister has one, but she has a large family.
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I don't have a large freezer like I did when my husband was still here, and the son with his friends. Now I have two fridges. One in the kitchen, one in the laundry room. Works well for me!
 

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