That Frugal Thing You Do

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Scooter57
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Scooter57 »

I buy inexpensive but high quality cars that get top mileage. I've been doing that since I bought my first car in the 1970s.

After I inherited my windfall, someone asked me, "Now that you have all that money, what kind of new car did you buy?" The answer was, "A shiny new Civic." I sprang for the sunroof this time and I bought the coupe because a) my kids are all grown up and I will never again have to cart anyone around in the back seat and b) it looked so sporty, I couldn't resist. But with the trade they gave me for my beat up 7 year old Civic that needed body work I paid only $17K to drive it off the lot. I bought it for cash, as I have every car I've bought since 1980.

I'll buy a "luxury" car the day they sell one that a)comes with a bumper to bumper 20 year warranty, b) gives me the right to use an upgraded, exclusive luxury highway system that spans the nation and never has heavy traffic and c) comes with a legislative waiver allowing me to drive 20 miles over the speed limit at all times. As long as I have to drive on the same roads at the same speed as cheaper cars in a vehicle that deteriorates at the same rate, I'm fine with my Civic, (which I am heartily enjoying.)

I figure over the years I've saved at least $50K on the price of my cars purchases and another $30K on the interest I didn't pay for a model I couldn't have afforded to buy for cash. Compound those savings since the 1980s and it works out to somewhere between $100K and $200K.
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Boglenaut
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Boglenaut »

Scooter57 wrote: "A shiny new Civic."
The Civic I mentioned in my original post was totaled a couple months ago when someone ran a red light. It was almost 11 years old and had about 83K miles (mostly city). The timing belt was changed about 8 months previous and tires were a good set 16 months old.

The insurance company gave us 49% of what we paid, plus sales tax. So we paid about $625/year for the car, plus reasonable insurance, gas, maintenance.

We bought another Civic.
HIinvestor
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by HIinvestor »

The best and most frugal thing H and I do is stay healthy and happily married to one another. Divorce and poor health are very expensive and tough in many ways.
acejacksingh
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by acejacksingh »

1) Brew my own coffee
2) Usually pack a lunch / only eat out weekends
3) Only buy clothes once a year always at the Outlets
4) Wash my own car (mostly because it's smoothing)
5) Use the printers at work for personal use

Those would be the big ones :mrgreen:
Maverick3320
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Maverick3320 »

I'm not sure if this counts, but possibly the most "frugal" thing I've ever done is choosing to go into the military.

1) Free undergraduate tuition at a good school ($40,000)
2) Approximately 1/2 of my grad school paid ($30,000)
3) Room & board stipend during college ($20,000)
4) GI Bill during college ($40,000)
5) Free travel - Several countries, numerous states
6) Cheap clothing - I wear the same thing every day!
7) Cheap haircuts
8) Military discounts - amazing how many places have them; some places will say that don't have them, and then just give a 10 or 15% discount anyway
9) Free lunch - a lot of us have actually stopped going out in public for lunch because so many of our meals were being bought by other people. It's really hard to say no to someone offering to pay for your food without looking like a jerk, or when they silently pay for your meal and you don't find out until you are ready to leave
10) tax free housing and food allowance (adds up)
11) when we are out training for days at a time in the middle of nowhere, I put no miles on my car, and food is free
12) free healthcare (of varying quality...)

EDIT: No idea how I forgot this one, but also access to the TSP...possibly the perk that will save me the most $$$ in the long run.

Hopefully this doesn't sound like a recruiting pitch - there are some definite downsides, too.
2Birds1Stone
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Location: New York

Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

1) Live in a nice 1 bedroom basement apartment 15 minutes from work in HCOL area ($1100 includes all utilities, maintenance, internet)
2) Drive a 2004 Nissan Sentra with 65k miles on it, Purchased with 13K for $7k 4+ years ago. Will do so till it stops being reliable.
3) Pack lunch to work
4) Do a lot of happy hours, groupon dining, have friends over for BBQ's/Potlucks vs expensive meals out.
5) Buy things I consume regularly in bulk.
6) Repair high quality clothing vs replacing every time something tears
7) Do a lot of motorcycle touring, camping, travel visiting family/friends vs super expensive international vacations
8) Buzz my hair/face with a $20 foil for the past 5 years
9) Get to the Long Island beaches prior to 8:30 AM saving $15 on parking every single time
10) Enjoy hiking, mountain biking, running, swimming etc as leisure activities
11) Never pay interest on anything.

As a result I save 50% of my take home pay absolutely effortlessly. Anytime a purchase or occasion comes up to spend significant cash to enrich/enhance my life I don't have to wonder if I can afford it.
ShenziNation

Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by ShenziNation »

Most frugal thing I did was to marry an equally frugal wife. Educated, independent, smart, motivated, and a great cook. It's a team effort.
Other frugal things come from hangin' out at BogleHeads, MrMoneyMustache, and FatWalletFinance forums.
Finally, resisting the urge to buy shiny, new, depreciating metal and let the two 9 year old Hondas display their amazing powers of reliability.
:sharebeer

ETA that I listed frugal things we do at a macro level. I didn't want to detail the numerous things we do since many BogleHeads share many of the same virtues.
syyskuu09
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Re:

Post by syyskuu09 »

SpringMan wrote:I still have a Fidelity Spartan Intl Index fund with expense ratio of .07 (FSIVX). Looking at the current value which is mid 5 figures and considering it started out in the low 6 figures, I don't know if this qualifies as frugal. To make matters worse, it resides in a Roth IRA so no TLH is allowed.
What's wrong with this fund? I'm young (only been investing for 2 years) and this is the only international fund in my company 401k. Should I drop it?
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Go Blue 99
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Go Blue 99 »

One frugal action I've made was moving from a HCOL city to a MCOL city. Even though I love and miss my hometown, I had decided that I didn't want to live in an area where owning a nice single family home was going to be difficult.
investor1
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by investor1 »

I use a pay per usage based cell phone provider and VoIP services along with Google Voice for texting and am on WiFi whenever I am home or at work. These things keep my usage low, and my cell phone bill is around $22/month.

I go to a gym that costs $10/month.

I've been brown bagging my lunches more lately, but I need to do a better job of this.

I use a cash back credit card and shop around for good deals on the things I buy regularly.

I utilize all of the tax advantaged space that I can afford to with low cost, heavily diversified mutual funds that track their market's average :)

I also don't tend to buy things other than food, experiences, and assets.
ddurrett896
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by ddurrett896 »

Use Entertainment Book coupons or Groupons/Living Social deals for majority of my dining out.

Especially when I go on a trip, I buy an Entertainment book for that city and use it since I'm having to eat out anyway!
nbseer
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by nbseer »

Only eat out at lunchtime, take half home for dinner.

Planet Fitness gym, $10/month.

2 cars, 2000 Mazda protege 164,000 miles, 2003 Chevy Cavalier.. paid cash for both.

Buy store brands at Shoprite, buy whatever is on sale, clip coupons

Use cash-back credit cards for everything, almost never use cash

Only fly (rarely) if I can use miles obtained through signing up for airline credit cards
crit
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by crit »

Much covered above, but it occurred to me this weekend that I do save $$ by being handy. I can do a lot of basic bike and car maintenance, basic home repairs myself.

The energy audit we recently got proposed to swap out our 24 recessed lights with LEDs, for ~$50/can. This is a 100% markup on the cost of the retrofit cans available (~$20/can), and I'm more than capable of doing that myself. I've tiled several backsplashes (our most recent was fancy glass, with lots of labor -- the tile cost us $1200, and I'd bet that the job done by a pro would exceed $5k), replaced lamps on the car, moved electric outlets, changed air filters in car and home, installed faucets. These are medium-simple things, but when you're paying someone on average $50/hr to do it, that adds up far faster than daily coffee, never mind the time-cost of finding someone and making appointments.

Oh, and eloping (priceless, in terms of the aggravation avoided).
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FuyuKei
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Location: San Jose, CA

Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by FuyuKei »

We chose to not have kids. :wink:
protagonist
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by protagonist »

So, what's the frugal thing you do?


Stay single.
Have you been doing it since before the recession?
Unfortunately, no.
wesgreen
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by wesgreen »

Free phone/sms service and data from Ringplus (see the Fatwallet and Slickdeals threads).
mikefixac
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by mikefixac »

[OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]
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JonnyDVM
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Re: Re:

Post by JonnyDVM »

syyskuu09 wrote:
SpringMan wrote:I still have a Fidelity Spartan Intl Index fund with expense ratio of .07 (FSIVX). Looking at the current value which is mid 5 figures and considering it started out in the low 6 figures, I don't know if this qualifies as frugal. To make matters worse, it resides in a Roth IRA so no TLH is allowed.
What's wrong with this fund? I'm young (only been investing for 2 years) and this is the only international fund in my company 401k. Should I drop it?
Nope. Now is the time to buy it.
I’d trade it all for a little more | -C Montgomery Burns
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JonnyDVM
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by JonnyDVM »

mikefixac wrote:[OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]
Immediate visual from the description and that's really gross :P

The most frugal thing we do is probably staying in a much smaller house than we can afford for a few extra years to help pay off debt.
I’d trade it all for a little more | -C Montgomery Burns
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Fieldsy1024
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Fieldsy1024 »

Basically try to go cheap on things I NEED. Things I WANT, I want quality.

The best thing I've done was bought a 2012 Mazda3 and sold 2003 Ford Crown Vic. The gas savings is amazing and I think it is fun to drive.
Atilla
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Atilla »

During the week - breakfast, lunch, snacks & dinner are all home made. We use so many dishes and plastic leftover buckets the dishwasher gets run every 48 hours for just 3 people.

Grocery shopping is done at the dirt cheapest place in town. Great selection but nothing fancy.

Foxbrook Chardonnay is very decent and 3 bottles for $10 at the liquor store.

We buy bottled Dasani water but reuse the bottles until they get a little nasty before buying another case.

And when the radiator in the Hummer started leaking I bought a new radiator off the Internet and installed it myself.
gvsucavie03
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by gvsucavie03 »

I'm chuckling reading the last 2 posts... One is a car upgrade to save on gas, the other is frugal shopper with a Hummer. There is no way on earth the Mazda's expense is off-set by the gas savings and any grocery shopping short of purely buying Ramen noodles can off-set a Hummer! I think we have some mental accounting going on to some extent...

I could be wrong without the numbers, but it seems a little off...
rn_tts
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by rn_tts »

1. Bring my own breakfast/lunch meals to work every day instead of buying from the cafeteria.
2. Drink coffee at work.
3. I only buy clothes when they are on sale and I have a coupon for an additional discount off.
4. Purchased my 2008 Mazda3 brand new, still driving it today and will drive it until it dies. Great mileage.
5. Buy snacks for my kids at Publix when the snacks are buy one get one free, plus I use coupons for the items to further reduce the prices.
6. Cancelled cable. We stream shows/movies from Netflix and the internet.
7. Borrow books from the public library instead of buying from Barnes and Noble.
8. We eat out 1-2 times per month. We do a lot of cooking at home.
9. I find free activities to do with my kids such as Lowe's Build and Grow workshops.
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Fieldsy1024
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Fieldsy1024 »

gvsucavie03 wrote:I'm chuckling reading the last 2 posts... One is a car upgrade to save on gas, the other is frugal shopper with a Hummer. There is no way on earth the Mazda's expense is off-set by the gas savings and any grocery shopping short of purely buying Ramen noodles can off-set a Hummer! I think we have some mental accounting going on to some extent...

I could be wrong without the numbers, but it seems a little off...

My Crown Vic liked to eat up gas. It was 10 years old when I bought my Mazda. About 5 things went wrong with the car in the past year/year and a half. I had a feeling that if I kept paying for repairs and gas would off set spending about 30 bucks a month on gas.

I also like driving the Mazda3. This has nothing to do with money, just enjoyment of something. Each month I probably save 40-50 bucks on gas. Id estimate about 300-500 per year from 2012 on. Do the math and get back to me.

Keep on chuckling though :)
stoptothink
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by stoptothink »

Fieldsy1024 wrote:
gvsucavie03 wrote:I'm chuckling reading the last 2 posts... One is a car upgrade to save on gas, the other is frugal shopper with a Hummer. There is no way on earth the Mazda's expense is off-set by the gas savings and any grocery shopping short of purely buying Ramen noodles can off-set a Hummer! I think we have some mental accounting going on to some extent...

I could be wrong without the numbers, but it seems a little off...
I also like driving the Mazda3. This has nothing to do with money, just enjoyment of something. Each month I probably save 40-50 bucks on gas. Id estimate about 300-500 per year from 2012 on. Do the math and get back to me.
I've done the math, and I am still chuckling. Let's also mention that the crown victoria is literally the cheapest car to insure (I know, I owned one until a month ago - and I hated it as well). The gas/insurance is a wash. Great that you love your car, that it is economical and reliable, and nobody is going to try to tell you it was a bad decision, but you can't twist the numbers to make it appear like it was cheaper than your previous vehicle.
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Fieldsy1024
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Fieldsy1024 »

That car was so hard to sell

The Mazda3 will be much easier.

Also being Frugal is doing what you want while saving on others. What sort of math did you do, just curious

Do you know how much I paid for my Mazda? The condition of my Vic? The options I got in my Mazda.
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ray.james
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by ray.james »

After starting to use mint, I have come to realize how much eating out costs. Brownbagging and sharing a meal with wife(food portions here are crazy) when going out seem to work well.

Recently I have found buying gift cards is a good deal. I am doing this for regular items. 10% off exxon with ebay bucks and cashback gives almost 15% off gas expense. Much higher discounts with Apparel and common purchase areas one frequent like home depot/target.

I have also realized alternating between Costco and regular grocery store saves a lot than visiting both every week! This is much more behavioral.
When in doubt, http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=79939
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Fieldsy1024
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Fieldsy1024 »

fatlittlepig wrote:i cut my own hair- and yep it do look good

My dad and I have been for 16 years now. We got pretty damn good at it lol.
stoptothink
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by stoptothink »

Fieldsy1024 wrote:That car was so hard to sell

The Mazda3 will be much easier.

Also being Frugal is doing what you want while saving on others. What sort of math did you do, just curious

Do you know how much I paid for my Mazda? The condition of my Vic? The options I got in my Mazda.
None of these things are relevant, you tried to say that your current car costs less citing the increase in gas efficiency. At current gas prices, you would have to drive the car for several decades to make up for the difference (and you have said previously you drive VERY little)...that is totally disregarding the difference in insurance costs (and registration) which likely cancels that out. Nobody is saying you made a bad decision, I likely would have done the same thing, but you framed it odd; baring very expensive repairs, it is almost always the more "frugal" thing to keep the jalopy.
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Fieldsy1024
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Fieldsy1024 »

stoptothink wrote:
Fieldsy1024 wrote:That car was so hard to sell

The Mazda3 will be much easier.

Also being Frugal is doing what you want while saving on others. What sort of math did you do, just curious

Do you know how much I paid for my Mazda? The condition of my Vic? The options I got in my Mazda.
None of these things are relevant, you tried to say that your current car costs less citing the increase in gas efficiency. At current gas prices, you would have to drive the car for several decades to make up for the difference (and you have said previously you drive VERY little)...that is totally disregarding the difference in insurance costs (and registration) which likely cancels that out. Nobody is saying you made a bad decision, I likely would have done the same thing, but you framed it odd; baring very expensive repairs, it is almost always the more "frugal" thing to keep the jalopy.
What if I got a hell of a deal on my new car, and the condition of my Crown Vic was starting to fall apart....which it seemed like doing?

Either way, Frugal or not, I think I made the smart decision.
hudson
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by hudson »

I use cash back credit cards. I used a 1.5% cash back card for a $4 sandwich and will get back 6 cents...already taxed.
I comparison shop to get the lowest price per unit...like for coffee creamer or trash bags.
I always use Lowes credit cards to get 5% off at the register.
I negotiate vehicle purchases to get the best price available within 100 miles.
For other large items, I'll shop around on the internet to find the best deal...maybe use http://www.camelcamelcamel.com. (CCC)I might put an item on Amazon's wish list...then wait and watch. I might "spreadsheet" all of the information on an item and let it simmer for years before making a decision.
There was a vacuum cleaner that I wanted. I put it on CCC with a lowball price and forgot about it. A year later the price dropped $50. CCC emailed me and I bought it.
Bogleheads is an extremely useful tool for frugal living. I need to send in a contribution. I use the Boglehead's Amazon link. http://www.amazon.com/s/?search-alias=a ... Bogleheads (Done)
I wonder if I'm doing my share to support this website?
If I had to stand back and look at myself, I would say that I'm penny wise but pound foolish.
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Elsebet
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Elsebet »

I don't do anything unusual.

1. Buy clothes at the thrift store and household stuff used on local FB buy/sell groups or Craigslist.
2. Buy new cars, take care of them, and keep them for 15+ years. I'm 39 and just this year looking at replacing the 2001 Celica I bought as a college graduation gift to myself.
3. Almost all meals are homemade; we go out for dinner at an affordable place once a weekend. Order the occasional pizza, maybe once a quarter.
4. Buy my own teabags/honey for tea in the morning. People with Starbucks in their hand every morning just lets me know they waste $20 a week at least, not that they are cool. I see the same people at my grocery store.
5. For things I expect to last years, I spent money for quality (house, cars, mattress, furniture, tools, etc).
6. Automatic savings deposits!
"...the man who adapts himself to his slender means and makes himself wealthy on a little sum, is the truly rich man..." ~Seneca
stoptothink
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by stoptothink »

Fieldsy1024 wrote:
stoptothink wrote:
Fieldsy1024 wrote:That car was so hard to sell

The Mazda3 will be much easier.

Also being Frugal is doing what you want while saving on others. What sort of math did you do, just curious

Do you know how much I paid for my Mazda? The condition of my Vic? The options I got in my Mazda.
None of these things are relevant, you tried to say that your current car costs less citing the increase in gas efficiency. At current gas prices, you would have to drive the car for several decades to make up for the difference (and you have said previously you drive VERY little)...that is totally disregarding the difference in insurance costs (and registration) which likely cancels that out. Nobody is saying you made a bad decision, I likely would have done the same thing, but you framed it odd; baring very expensive repairs, it is almost always the more "frugal" thing to keep the jalopy.
What if I got a hell of a deal on my new car, and the condition of my Crown Vic was starting to fall apart....which it seemed like doing?

Either way, Frugal or not, I think I made the smart decision.
You've mentioned how much (well, how little) you drive, how much you spent on the car, and how much you love your car in several threads; not difficult to check your post history. I agree with you for the most part, except for the idea that buying a new car was "that frugal thing you do; no matter how you twist the numbers, it didn't save you money. AND that is perfectly OK, nobody wants to drive a beat-up crown vic (again, I know, I had one). I and another poster just found it odd that was your response to the question.
LadyIJ
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Re:

Post by LadyIJ »

Stonebr wrote:1) 3) Paying for WSJ subscription with frequent flyer miles that are about to expire.
Thanks, I've had some I couldn't use (and they make it so hard to use the miles - no direct flights, etc!" I just got the WSJ for 39 weeks :) !!
boglegirl
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by boglegirl »

For 2016 I decided to:

1. Wash my car myself, instead of paying $15 each time

2. Wash the dog myself, instead of paying $21 each time.

I really dislike both of those jobs. :annoyed Luckily it has been raining periodically since the first of the year, so I haven't really had to worry about the car washing. :D
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Fieldsy1024
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Fieldsy1024 »

Buy clothes on sale
Cutting my own lawn - I kind of shake my head at people who are younger and healthy who pay for this
Cutting my own hair - 16 years, I have cut many peoples hair now lol
Washing my own car
Detailing my own car
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dm200
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by dm200 »

Little things add up ..

My wife and I go to considerable effort to make best use of our Kaiser Medicare plan:

1. Communicate first, unless urgent or emergency, by email with Physicians. Can send photos with email. No charge for such email assistance.

2. get prescription refills usually 90 days by US mail (less expensive and no trip to pharmacy)

3. Make sure Physicians look at tests already done - so no unnecessary repeats are needed.

4, Since our plan, for some matters, charges one fee per visit - Ophthalmology/Optometry tests (such as OCT) are not charged for when done at same appointment.

5. Use "Urgent Care" whenever possible vs Emergency Room
jharkin
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by jharkin »

My "frugal thing" is to DIY as much as I can. We are at an income level where many of my work peers will hire out lawn care, remodelling, etc. I dont.

I mow my lawn.
I do all my own maintenance/repair on the yard equipment.
All the garden working including mulching, etc we do ourselves.
If a storm knocks down a tree or large branches - unless we are talking about taking down a whole standing tree I get out the chainsaw and logsplitter and make firewood out of it.
If I run low on firewood, I take my pickup to the town dump and get free wood from the log pile :)
I have a wood stove and burn that firewood to supplement heat.
I do my own annual cleanings on the stove and I sweep my own chimney.
I also do the annual checkover of hte heating equipment, flushing hte water heater etc myself (its gas. I would hire out if it was oil because that requires specialized tools - combustion analyser etc)
Minor interior renovations including all painting, some light plumbing and most electrical I do myself.
When we moved in I wanted the house wired for Ethernet, so I bought the tools and learned how to self install.
I do most of the car maintenance, including all scheduled, brake jobs etc. I only hire out big jobs that require specialty tools/expertise like a timing belt change.

In the 9 years we have owned the house, all the above has easily saved mid-5 figures of expenses.... Of course if I valued the time same as my day job that calculus might change.... but my day job is salaried not hourly so its not like I could spend that time in the office longer and earn more.


Other than the above we do what many on here do - buy Honda/Toyota and keep them 10 years, brown bag lunch, play the credit card points game, etc...
moshe
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by moshe »

Things we do to try and be as efficient as possible with our disposal income:

1) Brown bag lunch as much as possible
2) Buy Toyota's and run them until the ongoing repairs start to cost more than the book value of the car itself.
3) Do our own yard work, we bought a good quality lawn mover after the one my FIL gave us died.
4) Bought a good large snow blower 17 years ago. Has paid for itself many many times over plus I get to control when I want to get out not when (or if) the snow plow shows up. Tune it up every few years.
5) Pay cash for many under $50 items/events . This causes me to think twice before dusting the cobwebs off my wallet.
6) Eat out once a weekend at most. Limited to food we cannot prepare well at home and less than $50 for two. If we want a wine, beer or a scotch i will drink it at home with family and friends unless we are getting some discount on the meal.
7) Limit the cost of the wine we buy for home consumption to under $6 per bottle. Think Yellow Tail. In fact, we travel once a month to a specific market to buy the meat we prefer that also sells YT $.50 cheaper per bottle than anyone else.
8) Attend AAA baseball games, free parking, etc rather than pay through the nose for big market tickets and parking.
9) Attend live music performances only when free or very reasonably priced.
10) Books, movies, etc. Library only. If they don't have it we wait.
11) Stay married to my DW who was kind enough to say yes a few years back.
12) Taught our kids to think responsibly, save, defer gratification and not to expect day to day support from us after graduating from college. Move home for a gap year before graduate/med school? Welcome. Get a job and pay rent.
13) DW does my haircut. I do NOT do hers for obvious reasons :-)
14) Clean our own house.
15) Do our own basic home repairs, simple painting jobs, and IT self-support.
16) Self-directed vacations. Stay in B&B's. Fun, reasonable price and have met great people. Buy food in local markets and make our own picnic lunches most days.
17) Manage our own portfolio using low cost index funds. No expensive AUM fees for us.

~Moshe
Last edited by moshe on Mon May 07, 2018 8:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My money has no emotions. ~Moshe | | I'm the world's greatest expert on my own opinion. ~Bruce Williams
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dm200
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by dm200 »

2) Buy Toyota's and run them until the ongoing repairs start to cost more than the book value of the car itself.
just started doing this 3 years ago - older, used ones
Caduceus
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Caduceus »

I don't stress too much over the small things but I keep an eye on the big things. I live in a small apartment and I don't own a car. Those two decisions completely overwhelm any other smaller spending decisions I might make. Larger houses means more property tax, more maintenance, more capital tied up in housing expense when it could be invested, etc. Having no car also means no insurance costs, no depreciation, no maintenance, and you are forced to walk or take public transportation, which is a plus in terms of exercising.

I also think very hard about recurring expenses and subscriptions, so I have none. That means no cellphone plan as I only use prepaid. But that's about it.
Cycle
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Cycle »

Installed two pre-charged mini split AC systems in our air duct free duplex. No more window AC units. Saved $7k doing it myself.
Never look back unless you are planning to go that way
Cycle
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Cycle »

Caduceus wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 12:15 pm I don't stress too much over the small things but I keep an eye on the big things. I live in a small apartment and I don't own a car. Those two decisions completely overwhelm any other smaller spending decisions I might make. Larger houses means more property tax, more maintenance, more capital tied up in housing expense when it could be invested, etc. Having no car also means no insurance costs, no depreciation, no maintenance, and you are forced to walk or take public transportation, which is a plus in terms of exercising.

I also think very hard about recurring expenses and subscriptions, so I have none. That means no cellphone plan as I only use prepaid. But that's about it.
We have 1 car for two people who work in the suburbs. By far my biggest savings hack was selling my car. I bike 3.5 miles to downtown everyday year round and take a 20 minute express bus to work. On big snow days I hop on the bus at the bus stop in front of my house.

I buy my bus fare pre tax thru wageworks
Never look back unless you are planning to go that way
ying_yang
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by ying_yang »

Live with the in laws! Mother father sister brother in law!

Me and wife both in thirties in VHCOL area..
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dm200
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Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by dm200 »

ying_yang wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 7:08 pm Live with the in laws! Mother father sister brother in law!

Me and wife both in thirties in VHCOL area..
Glad it is working out -- not for everyone, though ..:)
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VictoriaF
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Location: Black Swan Lake

Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by VictoriaF »

I have just spent a week at a seminar, for which I traveled and stayed at a hotel that had no grocery stores within walking distance. The organizers have provided two dinners but no other meals or snacks. I have also declined the snacks offered on my flights there and back.

I have brought with me some food from home, and my total meals cost for the week was $0. It helps that I am now practicing intermittent fasting.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
Dday123
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:35 am

Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Dday123 »

Here is my frugal list:

1. Mow my own grass, racking, etc and have been since day 1. I'm 55 and I figure that has saved me at least $55k over the years without accounting for interest.

2. Shop at Costco for bulk items and generally buy what they have on sale when possible. We like to eat out, so buy restaurant gift cards for $75-80 for a $100 gift card. PF Changs, El Tiempo (Houston Chain), Schlotzsky's, etc. PF Changs has generous frequent guest program with free entrees or appetizers on regular basis.

3. Shop for close by going directly to clearance rack (major dept stores), outlet malls or TJ Maxx type stores.

4. Buy favorite jeans, khaki's, running shoes,etc when I find them on sale and don't wait until absolutely needed.

5. Follow clothes washing guidelines religiously and avoid using clothes dryer when possible to preserve new condition of clothes.

6. Grocery shopping at 3-4 stores each week and buy what they have on sale. I can get to all stores at one major intersection near the house. Also every grocery store has a clearance section and you would be surprised how many bargains there are because of a dented can or store has overstocked an item.

7. Dropped cable, land line, etc over the last several years and just have a really fast internet connection for streaming. Buy a Roku and hookup to Sling TV.

8. Own each vehicle a minimum of 10 years.

9. Search for cheaper utility provider every 2-3 years. Search for more price competitive home/auto insurance provider every 2-3 years, if not every year.

10. Swap out dog sitting when we go out of town with our neighbors who have a similar house dog as ours.
Doroghazi
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 9:56 am
Location: Columbia, MO

Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by Doroghazi »

My grandmother's favorite saying (in Hungarian) was "If somebody wants to give you something take it, if they want to hit you, run". i know it in 5 languages. You can't be any more frugal than getting something for free. If somebody wants to give you something, take it!!
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dm200
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Location: Washington DC area

Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by dm200 »

Decades ago, when child(ren) were young, we joined a neighborhood babysitting coop. Using a "scrip" system (actually the old IBM cards - with stamp) a parent would sit for your child(ren) and one of us would sit for others. As a result, we spend almost nothing on babysitters during those years - and my wife and I could get out evenings.
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220volt
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Location: USA

Re: That Frugal Thing You Do

Post by 220volt »

Crockpot cooking. Healthy and simple for under $1/meal. Savings = thousands of dollars a year.

Note: I personally don't consider saving on something I don't need in the first place as being frugal. I.e mowing my own lawn, saving on fitness membership, brewing my own coffee etc...It would be like saying "I saved $1,000/month by not owning a BMW".
"If I had only followed the advice of financial analysts in 2008, I'd have a million dollars today, provided I started with a hundred million dollars" - Jon Stewart
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