What strategies do you use to save money that others might not?

[Judi Dial]

One of my best ones is to buy mostly solid color clothing. I started this years ago when I read in a "manage your wardrobe" book that colors go out of fashion much less often than patterns or styles of patterns do.

So, I reasoned, if I buy solid color clothes, the colors may not be the height of fashion, but it won't look completely out of date unless the cut is way out too. I counter THAT by mostly buying classic looking clothes: turtlenecks, sweaters, Ts, etc.

There's one of mine. What do YOU do?

Judi

[FrugalWitch]

I do the same thing with clothes. Solid colors, classic, non-trendy styles. I tend to stick to neutral basics and either neutral or light pastel tops.

All my shoes (except sneakers) are some shade of brown leather and so are 90% of my purses.


I tend to take the long view on purchases...how long will I use it? Is the product well-constructed, sturdy enough to last?

[Contrary Housewife]

I don't shop for entertainment. A lot of people go out and shop for something to do and end up with a house full of crap they don't need.

I don't buy new clothes every season. I don't buy clothes when I start a new diet or exercise routine. I don't buy clothes for special occasions like a vacation.

[frugalwarrior]

Estate sales recently. The last day about everything is CHEAP. Estatesales.net gives you e-mails about sales in your area.

[MaryCarney]

My overall strategy (which has served me well these 54 years) is just to want less. For example, here is a list of the categories for which I own a single item - purse, winter coat, gloves, jewelry (my wedding ring), computer. I have four pairs of shoes- white tennies, black uniform-type, flip-flops and dressies. I do not engage in 'retail therapy'. And guess what? I have no debt (not even a mortgage) and money in the bank.

[mauimagic]

I started remaking my clothing when I was in eighth grade and wanted to make a dress for a party - had no money, but did have a pair of navy slacks - so I took the pants apart and made a dress!!

[forHISglory]

Clothing wise, I go for the neutral basics in classic cuts, and then jazz them with accessories.

Food wise, we are simple eaters. Our main meal of the day is a salad, fresh fruit, and a protein dish. This keeps us healthy and saves money.

Health wise, we take vitamins, exercise and watch diet. It's cheaper than doctor bills.

Entertainment wise, we have one small TV which we keep in the basement. Otherwise we read or take advantage of the outdoors, just enjoying nature. We also spend time with friends, and that is cheap, but highly satisfying!

Utilities wise, we heat with wood and solar.

While we spend money in some areas where others would not, we do so knowing that we have saved in these areas. We take a vacation every year. Some years it's large and other years it is small. But it is paid for upfront. Our sense of frugality is saving in some areas so that we can spend in others. (and by the way, on most vacations, we eat out of a cooler and seek out free attractions!)

[elphie]

I started remaking my clothing when I was in eighth grade and wanted to make a dress for a party - had no money, but did have a pair of navy slacks - so I took the pants apart and made a dress!!

I'm not quite that creative but we do similar things. When the weather turns warm dd's jeans that still fit but are getting too short are turned into capri pants and ds's become shorts.

[Grainlady]

1. Cooking/baking with solar ovens.

2. Mill whole grains/seeds/beans and bake all our breads and baked goods, as well as make our cereal products.

3. Cut my own hair.

4. Make homemade "pop"/"soda".

5. Make homemade kefir that is then used as a substitute for plain yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, and buttermilk. Kefir is made with real kefir grains (Dom's Kefir Insite - http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html) that you use over and over and it ferments at room temperature. No special temperature control like there is with yogurt. Milk doesn't need to be scalded or heated. Just add the grains to cold milk from the refrigerator and let set 12-24 hours, or until it reaches the thickness you desire.

6. We use a battery-powered lawn mower (a Neuton - http://www.neutonpower.com/) and no longer have the expenses and maintenance associated with a gas-powered lawn mower.

7. Our primary source of heat is a Sun Cloud Infrared Heater. We only use our forced-air furnace if we have company staying with us and need to heat the 2 extra bedrooms we normally leave unheated, or if we are gone on vacation in the winter (a total of 9 days this winter). After checking the Sun Cloud with a Watt A Meter, it's cost was 2-cents an hour to run (during a 543 hour period).

8. Dry laundry indoors as well as outdoors, rather than using the dryer. Year-round convenience, not just during warmer weather.

9. Stick to whole foods and avoid as many processed foods as possible. Not only less expensive, but better for us.... For every pair of hands it takes to process your food, process it to the point it has little in common with the original form, the price goes up and the quality goes down.

10. Take good care of clothing and shoes. Mending is a lost art; and most people don't even know what shoe polish is for anymore. I've worn the same pair of snow boots since 1976, thanks to water-proofing them each season and a polishing them as needed.

[madhen]

1. Cooking/baking with solar ovens.

I'd be interested in knowing more about this, grainlady! I found a very simple instruction for making a solar oven, and sun is one thing I don't usually have a shortage of out here, but I was curious as to how exact you can get your measurements, or if it is more for warming/heating or cooking foods that don't need careful monitoring.

[AmyBoz]

I don't shop. Period.

I hear people talk about their clothing budgets and I smile. Mine is $0, because I just don't see the need to constantly buy new clothes. I keep my clothes in good shape and while it may not be the most exciting wardrobe, it works for me. I have my work clothes, which are professional, and my casual clothes. I don't have tons of clothes, but I don't see the need for that. So, when I see the hundreds that people spend on clothing each year, that's where I save my money. (The kids basically wear hand-me-downs from their cousins and from friends, and Dh also wears his clothes and we take care of them and don't shop unless there is a big problem.)

We're clean, we all look professional and good, so who needs to shop?

[Michelle]

I rarely ever buy trendy clothing. I stick to classic, basic pieces that won't look outdated after a season.

I know there's a lot more I do, but it's hard to think of things that either haven't already been said or that are pretty much a given on a frugal site :yes:

[rowdy35]

* I work a full time job and a part time job (sometimes 2) - most people don't do that

* I bake my own bread in bread machine

* I use homemade laundry detergent to wash clothes and mostly hang to dry but still use dryer too

* pack lunch from home every day (& breakfast) Most of my coworkers eat take out or frozen dinners "smart ones", etc

* don't buy clothes new very often, just pantyhose and undergarments. Most everything else is bought at thrift store.

* use credit card rewards programs to my advantage

* use priceline name your own price for hotel and car rental deals

* I track my debt religiously and know how much I owe. A lot of people have no clue what they owe.

* I will gladly take freebies and hand me downs from anyone and we do barter too

[Kazoo]

A few off the beaten path:

• Kill power to the refrigerator during the day, when power rates are highest. It works for us because nobody opens the fridge during the day and we are vegetarian, including almost no dairy, so no big worries about food poisoning.
  
• Kill power to the hot water heater between showers. A timer would also work.
  
• Take cut grass and leaves to the composting center ourselves a few times a year. Works well because we have a small yard. With service, the city charges for weekly pickup whether you have any grass/leaves or not, and most weeks, we did not. Found out by accident that we could turn off the service and make the run ourselves. (Also an option for trash, but that piles up more quickly, so the service makes sense.)

It's good to have a place where I can admit to these things, LOL!

[Judi Dial]

Take cut grass and leaves to the composting center ourselves a few times a year. Works well because we have a small yard. With service, the city charges for weekly pickup whether you have any grass/leaves or not, and most weeks, we did not. Found out by accident that we could turn off the service and make the run ourselves. (Also an option for trash, but that piles up more quickly, so the service makes sense.)

Our dump has a "leaf dump" where you can leave your leaves and a brush pile too. The leaf dump is really handy as our in-town nursery dumps the pots that don't sell there every season. I pretty much stopped buying potting soil due to that, and got the free spring flowers I talked about in another post that way too. Eventually, the town uses a front-end hauler to take the piles away and buries them, but that only happens about 5 times a year, so most of the year you can get leaf mold and fresh compost free!

It's good to have a place where I can admit to these things, LOL!

Glad to oblige you!

Re gardening, my best strategy is probably to plant biennials or perrenials when I can. I have a designated area of my garden for perrenial/biennienl food plants: jerusalen artichokes, rhubarb, garlic, walking and cluster onions, marjoram, chives, mints, etc. Also, I let things deliberately go to seed. Every spring I have leeks, root parsley, chickory, and radicchio that "volunteer" and most years I have dill weed too. What's required for the latter is mostly knowing what ISN'T a weed looks like when it's very small.

I'm sure I drive my not so neighborly/country neighbors nuts. I have also been known to deliberately let my lawn go to seed when it got patchy. Why pay for grass seed? Let the thing seed itself! (Although I will admit that I haven't done that for years....) My strategy these days is to tear OUT the lawn so that the moss and ground covering pine can grow...IT never needs to be mowed. One of my dreams is to have a camomile lawn, also never needing to be mowed.

Yeah, I'm weird...and this is news? I sold science fiction for a living for over 20 years, if someone expects mainstream, this is NOT the right house!

Judi