So, how frugal are you? (I am intermittently "not at all" followed by almost obsessive periods)

[hlthe2b]

Right now, collective guilt over climate change, waste (especially food) and past years of "materialism" have me in a more conscious period.

My most extreme example? When I came across a vacuum-packed package of expensive imported Italian ground coffee I'd long since thought was "lost." I found it in a box from a prior move in my cool basement. Admittedly it had to be at least four years old, but never exposed to air or heat, so.... what do I do?

Figuring cold-brewed coffee would be the most "forgiving" I let it brew for 18 hours in the refrigerator with about 20% new coffee, figuring it if were not drinkable, no real loss, right?

Well, it was on the stale side, but iced with a bit of cream, it really wasn't bad at all and so far, it hasn't killed me. Most importantly, the caffeine appeared unaffected.


So, what's the most frugal thing you've done lately?

[Liberty Belle]

1. Growing a lot of my own food, and being a frugal bargain shopper.

My favorite recent bargain:

Having gained a bit of weight, my fingers have gone up in size and old rings no longer fit.

I saw two beautiful rings at Macy's but couldn't afford the $120 price tag. Eventually by combiningg sale prices, coupons and "Macy's money" ie a gift certificate given in appreciate for past shopping there for Mother's Day, I managed to buy both rings for a grand total of $5.95.

I couldn't have even paid to size up one ring for that price. Guilt-free indulgence.

[hlthe2b]

2. those kind of bargains that you actually "work" for, are the best.

Last edited Mon Jul 22, 2019, 05:15 PM - Edit history (1)

[True Blue American]

3. Am the worlds biggest bargain hunter.

Combine,digital, on sale.

[True Blue American]

4. Good deal!

I love those.

[hunter]

5. I personally boycott everything with few exceptions, mostly food related.

New cars are probably my biggest boycott item. I bought a new car once in the 'eighties when I was young and foolish and full of myself but I won't do that again. I'm a fairly good mechanic so gasoline-miser cars with a hundred thousand miles or more on the odometer, costing less than a thousand dollars, don't scare me.

I could probably live without coffee, but I don't. I buy fair trade organic coffee but I harbor no illusions that I'm saving the world that way.

Lately I wasn't able to convince my wife we didn't need a new refrigerator when our old refrigerator died, the one we bought a few years after we were married. I occasionally lived without refrigerators as a child and young adult, and it really wasn't any big deal to me not to have a refrigerator, just different. The dogs and chickens and compost heap will happily accept leftovers, and there's nobody forcing anyone to buy food that has to be refrigerated.

I'm a rice and beans kind of guy.

If you have rice in the cupboard you can cook with whatever other food you find and never go hungry, literally food found in dumpsters or edible weeds. If you have olive oil too you are probably eating better than royalty.

(In my darkest days I used to recover little tubs of taco sauce from the Taco Bell dumpster to season my rice.)

Rice and olive oil are my two food cupboard necessities.

My 20th century limit for computers was $300.

In the 21st century my limit for computers is $100. I live in a place where people discard three year old computers as electronic waste. When I install Linux on such a discarded computer it's better than any brand new thousand dollar Windows or Apple computer.

I don't have cable or satellite television. I do have an inexpensive DSL connection and the lowest cost Netflix.

My cell phone is less than $10 a month.

[hlthe2b]

6. Agree on the food issues... My tastes are quite simple now adays.

But, I think you get the frugal award! I'll take some notes, though.

[hunter]

7. The dumpster diving for food years of my life sucked. Don't do that.

Some of my childhood was like that too.

My parents praised by their religious and cultural traditions had more children than they could comfortably support.

Frugal skills hard won.

In my early teens my parents, who are artists, decided it would be wonderful to live in Spain. Unfortunately Franco was still in charge and the day came when we had to pack up the car and leave for France in the middle of the night. My mom had told one of Franco's men exactly what she thought of him. It's possible he never did find his balls again.

Soon after we were living as indigent Americans in a French public park, scrapping for food. The local people were so distraught they bought us ferry tickets to England, possibly because none of us spoke anything close to French.

My grandparents eventually teamed up and brought us all back to California, but with strings attached. Pan Am tickets and a used Chrysler station wagon bought via Western Union in New Jersey.

Strings my parents ignored, just as I later ignored my parent's strings in my own misadventures.

My children ignore the strings too but they're not yet telling the stories.

[hlthe2b]

8. No... I'd not want to have to do that, but eating less costly, yet healthy food works for me.

And I feel really good when I go several weeks without a scrap of food waste.

Sounds like you had quite the upbringing... Lessons for us all.

[Generic Brad]

9. Bought perennials that were headed for the dumpster

They were extremely distressed and looked like cousins of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. But they are perennials. They will come back.
For $13.50 we got six large plants. Among them we got two flowering trees that cost $1.50 each.

After two weeks of rehab, we transplanted them on Saturday. All of them are flowering again and have attracted bees and a steady stream of hummingbirds. When the neighbors ask me what kind of plants they are, I tell them they are dumpster rescues.

[smirkymonkey]

10. Unfortunately, I am not very frugal at all.

I try, but I like my creature comforts and conveniences. I don't buy a lot of big ticket items and I don't go shopping for things like clothes, shoes, jewelry very often - maybe a few things in the cool season and a few things in the warm season - but I like the little luxuries like taking an Uber when I'm running late or the weather is bad, or buying tea or coffee at a cafe, buying good food, using AC when it's hot and every once in a blue moon having someone to come clean my apartment.

I don't really eat breakfast, and during the week, dinner can be hummus and celery or cheese and crackers, so I sacrifice other things to allow myself to splurge in other areas. I do make my own iced tea and refill my own water bottles (I fill them halfway and freeze and then fill them w/ water to take them to go so they stay cold for a long time), so I save a lot there. I'm also a pretty good cook and can do a lot with rice, pasta, veggies and beans/lentils if I need to skimp. I guess it's a trade off.