Anything frugal you gave up but came back to?

**lvngwell** · 03-23-2009, 07:10 PM

I have to say, I recently relaized that I actually enjoyed hanging my laundry outside to dry. I started it up again now that we have the yard to do it in. I am looking forward to the electric bill going down a bit too! I mean, it is Texas for heavens sake - there is not many days here that I wont be able to hang laundry!

I gave it up originally because we had temporarily moved to a questionable neigborhood where towels and sheets would disappear from the line!!

I kept wating to see them hanging out on someone elses line bit never caught anyone!!!

**Debbie-cat** · 03-23-2009, 07:13 PM

I haven't given up anything that I came back to. I have loved everything that I have tried and won't give them up. I do have to say though that I don't wash baggies anymore because I don't use them anymore. I have gone to plastic containers from food (yogurt, sour cream, etc).

**cab54** · 03-23-2009, 10:08 PM

I've given up couponing a couple of times. The frustration is not finding the brands you have the coupon for, having to run all over town to match coupons + sales, The extra work and time standing in line (with people behind me, getting angry, LOL!) .....Things like that.

But then I realize that that $1.00 off is just as good in MY pocket as it is in theirs, and I use them anyway.

**2ndGenGranola** · 03-24-2009, 05:42 AM

I gave up "no poo" then came back to it. ("No poo" is using baking soda for shampoo instead of manufactured shampoo - I use a diluted vinegar rinse to balance the pH. I add a touch of olive oil with my "no poo" because of my dry hair) My hair is much cleaner and healthier when using "no poo".

**peanut** · 03-24-2009, 12:53 PM

Hang drying clothes for me too. But only because I got out of the habit when I broke my foot a couple years ago. Took me awhile to get back into it.

I go through phases of being really frugal and being really decadent. I guess the biggest 'yo-yo' in my life would be dining out. Sometimes we do it a lot. Sometimes we prefer to eat in. Right now we're on an eat-in phase. But when we do errands I notice we've taken to having tea or something out. Not a big expense, but still one we didn't have for a long time. The eating out one is the one I need to keep watch over.

**Must-Stash** · 03-25-2009, 03:12 AM

We've given up many things in the last 3 months that I worried about regretting deeply. Satellite TV for one, Don't miss it. Cell phones are actually a relief to have out of our lives. Taking my small dog to the groomer's at the vet because he's a special needs case and required an injection before they could work on him due to an arthritiic hip. He is so much more relaxed having DH and I work on him at home that it's not been a problem at all, so far. We gave up trash pickup because we are able ot burn, keep a compost pile and recycle so much that we have only a very small bag every 3 or 4 weeks. That we send home with DD when she picks up DGD after her guitar lesson.

The big pain for us is the dial up. In our rural area I log on anywhere from 19,000 something to no more than 24,000 other times. One time DH said he got logged on at a speed of 12,000 something. Add to that the constant microsoft and security downloads and I'm often waiting minutes for one page to change to another. AT&T has sent us some stuff claiming they offer high speed for the first time in our area. We just may justdrop dial up in order to save our sanity.

**NewLeaf** · 03-25-2009, 07:42 AM

I had quit going to the salvage grocery store for awhile. I was tired of running to three stores. Now I am going back on a regular basis. It is a great place to stock up on some things.

I just started back with the SHARE program too.

**Spirit Deer** · 03-25-2009, 09:16 AM

Baking bread. I guess I got out of the habit when we were a family of ten and there was a really, really cheap baked goods outlet nearby. The kids always had toast for breakfast and we went through bread like you wouldn't believe. Now I'm getting back into it because it's gotten so expensive and like so many other groceries, the quality has gotten so bad over the past ten years it's just not worth it to buy anymore.

I'm going back to hanging clothes on the lines more than I do now, if I can figure out where to put the clotheslines.

We're going to try gardening again this year too and building a new square foot garden. We haven't been very successful in the past but we'll try again.

Must-stash, IMO if you can get rid of dial-up, it's worth the cost. We were in the same situation as you and couldn't get DSL where we lived. Then we could so we did, and it's amazing not to have to waste so much of our lives waiting for stuff to load. We can also use our phones, and can have more than one computer online at the same time too. We can watch videos, TV shows, news reports, etc, online too. We can multi-task with more than one session running at the same time. People can send us e mails with pictures in them, and we can also send pictures. There's no going back, believe me. If you can afford to do it, don't wait. You won't regret it.

**PplAmanda** · 03-26-2009, 01:27 AM

Paper towls. I stopped using paper towels for a while b/c I hated disposing of money. DH used half a roll for a simple job and refused to use the kitchen towels. But paper towels are cheaper then a divorce lawyer, so we are using them again

**Spirit Deer** · 03-26-2009, 08:04 AM

I'm going back to making dog biscuits instead of buying them. We'll save a little money, but more importantly, we'll be feeding them fewer additives and questionable ingredients in the form of stale boughten biscuits.

**lisetterenee** · 03-27-2009, 07:47 AM

Coupons. I used to do coupons before my first daughter was born, but decided I didn't save enough to make the time for it after the fact. Now, I am doing it again, and I make my goal to save an hour's worth of wages a week (on a $50.00 a week budget.) That way I KNOW it's worth my time.

**lvngwell** · 04-03-2009, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by peanut

Hang drying clothes for me too. But only because I got out of the habit when I broke my foot a couple years ago. Took me awhile to get back into it.

I go through phases of being really frugal and being really decadent. I guess the biggest 'yo-yo' in my life would be dining out. Sometimes we do it a lot. Sometimes we prefer to eat in. Right now we're on an eat-in phase. But when we do errands I notice we've taken to having tea or something out. Not a big expense, but still one we didn't have for a long time. The eating out one is the one I need to keep watch over.

OH EATING OUT CAN BE MY WORST THING TOO!!!!!