I Still Wear Shirts That Have Holes In Them

This is great. I love Ebates and using coupons. The meal planning gets me though. Definitely something i want to work on more in the new year because it gets pricy and adds up quickly.

I churn credit cards too for the bonus, specifically travel cards for airline miles and hotel points so we can travel cheaply. My husband and I have free Southwest flights through the end of 2017 and we didn’t pay a dime out of pocket to get them other than charging our regular expenses on the cards. I know churning credit cards is a little controversial in the PF world, so I’m glad to see another blogger also do so responsibly!

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone saying you shouldn’t be allowed to use coupons lol. That’s a new one. I think some people assume frugality is some kind of end goal and not a way of life.

I always love your perspective. A wise, and wealthy, person once told me that “People who live like they have money, won’t have it for very long.” There shouldn’t ever be limitations on people who can and cannot use discounts!

Most of the clothes that I wear are older, and the ones I get new are nearly always on sale! The only reason I don’t wear shirts that have holes is because I fix the holes! Nearly every rip, tear or hole in a piece of clothing can be repaired.

I think such people haven’t really come to the understanding that the surest path to having some bank is to…keep as much of what you ordinarily bring in, in YOUR bank account as you can. Not transfer it to someone else’s.

I don’t really think in terms of being frugal but I think about value. Trying to spend only where it brings me value, and to get the best value there that I can.

We typically take $20+ off our grocery bill each week through store specials + coupons. We actually find it challenging to find coupons we’d use because we don’t buy a lot of processed foods. Still, we manage to work those deals.

I have a few expensive pieces of clothing to “put on appearances” at the office, but most of the time I work at home. My idea of clothing staples are hoodies and sweatpants, which I can get for $10-15 new (I do have a bias in that I don’t like wearing used clothes.) I wear everything out until it’s too honey to be decent in public.

I’ve learned that although not being wasteful can be learned, it’s a lot easier to apply and maintain that philosophy if it’s ingrained in your personality. I always have to correct people that view my frugality as being cheap, when in truth the engineer in me values efficiency. Money should be applied efficiently no matter how much you have. It’s definitely possible to take it to an extreme, and you have to balance enjoying life against being too restrictive, but you should never lose sight of the value of money. I have no issues spending a bunch of money on travel or another type of experience, because that’s what I value, the key is to establish a lifestyle metric and stick to it.

This is great! It reminds me of the founder of the clothing line Patagonia (makers of $400 jackets) who always says “We want our customers to realize that things get better with time. If something breaks you fix it. You don’t throw it away and buy a new one.”

I always use discount gift cards. In 2016 alone I saved $1,000 on eating out, gas,and big purchases.

Cheers!

I am a firm believer in purchasing secondhand and diy wherever I can – household cleaning supplies, hair products, etc. I did it when I had more money, I’m doing it now in the rough patch I’m in, and I will do it when I’m out. It’s not just frugality: I know most things are wants and not needs, and that it’s kinder to the environment to use what we already have.

Thanks for this. I’ve been so discouraged today. This boosted my spirits.

I shop at my grocery store online so I can save what items I normally buy to a list and watch for them to go on sale. Most of my items never have coupons because I buy generic or shop the perimeter of the store.

Also when I do this, I pick up my order at the store and don’t even have to go in and it’s free!