Post by Connie on Mar 12, 2005 21:21:50 GMT -5
I am a very frugal person, I don't wash out baggies or save used tea bags and I have a lot of nice things but I don't spend a lot of money to have them. The best thing I ever did for frugal living was yard sales. I was just out in my backyard and thinking about this. We have a backyard with a trampoline ($25.00), a wooden swingset (free), three different sizes of little tyke climb and play slides ($10, free, $5), a little tykes playhouse ($15.00), little tykes boat pool/sandbox (free) and an assortment of rocking toys, bikes, etc. All from yardsales and friends. Yard sales are great. Today I bought a beautiful wooden kids kitchen cabinet type thing, a whole box of kitchen play things, box included for $10. You can find tons of really nice clothes, toys, furniture etc for great prices. The key is knowing what you are looking for and not being afraid to grab a bargain when you see it. You also have to have patience. Today I actually went out looking for an upright freezer and I don't want to pay more than $50 for it. I didn't find it but I will keep looking and I will find it eventually.
The second key to frugal living is buying in bulk. I used to spend about $500 a month on groceries for a family of five, this is down to about $300 a month and that includes laundry soap, garbage bags, shampoo etc. Again, don't be afraid of the bargains. The first thing you hear a lot is to take a shopping list and stick to it. I never do this... If I find haburger for .99 a pound and it is not on my list, you better believe I am going to buy at least 10lbs. Even if you are shopping at Wal Mart and not Costco you can still buy in bulk, you need one can of chili and it is on sale for .45 cents a can? Buy ten cans. It does take a while to get to a point where you can do this on a limited budget, but if you stock up a few things every month it doesn't take long before you are shoppign for just a few things at a time and savign a LOT of money.
Connie
The second key to frugal living is buying in bulk. I used to spend about $500 a month on groceries for a family of five, this is down to about $300 a month and that includes laundry soap, garbage bags, shampoo etc. Again, don't be afraid of the bargains. The first thing you hear a lot is to take a shopping list and stick to it. I never do this... If I find haburger for .99 a pound and it is not on my list, you better believe I am going to buy at least 10lbs. Even if you are shopping at Wal Mart and not Costco you can still buy in bulk, you need one can of chili and it is on sale for .45 cents a can? Buy ten cans. It does take a while to get to a point where you can do this on a limited budget, but if you stock up a few things every month it doesn't take long before you are shoppign for just a few things at a time and savign a LOT of money.
Connie