Year after year, my husband says "don't spend any money" and I make lists of things we "need" and then go about getting them. Next, I sell a bunch of what I call JUNK at garage sales every so often. See a pattern here?
Here I am at home, between jobs, 57 years old and looking for ways to save money. I am one of the fortunate ones; I have had a small amount saved against this possibility.
As a single mother, money can get very tight at times. I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck so I knew things had to change.
I usually use coupons at the grocery stores and also buy their saving specials. When I get home I put the money I saved in my savings account...
An easy way to keep track of how much you are saving is to hold onto your store receipts. Major grocery stores show how much you save by using their customer card, plus you will have all the subtractions from coupon savings.
I've lived on my own for the last 7 months, and having been around the world, and having attended a community college, I wasn't the least bit frugal with my spending habits!
A few years ago, I was out a job from my third oil company layoff, and decided to move from Houston to Galveston to get away from big city blues. That saved me a lot right there - moving to a smaller city, only an hour away!
I use coupons when I go to the store the money that I save off my coupon I put back and save. When I get up enough I will use it and go out to eat somewhere that I like or buy myself something I don't regret it because its money I would have spent anyways.
I'm an old lady now, but I guess my upbringing is what led me to always be inventive and saving. Dollar bills did not multiply without a lot of making do and doing without!
As a teacher, off for the summer, I am especially focused on frugality. This is a time for me to review where my money has gone and why.
I have always tried to live a frugal lifestyle. Sometimes that frugality was a matter of choice and sometimes living frugally was a necessity rather than an option. This year has been one where frugality was a necessity, not just for me but for many people.
My husband is a penny pincher and that is great. He has helped our family pay off our house in 3 years. The trick is paying separate to the principal and the amount will drop fast.
We started our married life with only one electric fry pan, that we cooked EVERYTHING in. When we got an apartment, I started going to tag sales. Just about everything we had we got at them.
In the difficult financial times that many of us have found ourselves in over the past few years, giving up two well paid and secure jobs to take up one reasonably paid one in a new start up company in another country may seem a pretty strange proposition to put forward.
When I look at some of the great pleasures of my life, I find that most of them are free - or very nearly so.
I have been honing my frugal skills every since I left college, years ago. My first frugal research started with an old book entitled "How to Save on Everything", written in the late 40s.
Remember the satisfaction you felt at being able to extract that last bit of toothpaste or shampoo or cold cream? Remember how long it took? Each day you thought there couldn't possibly be anything left in that tube, bottle, or jar, but there always was.
