you must......

[sinopa27]

I am trying to become totally commited to changing my lifestyle.
What are some things you suggest that every frugal person living simple must do?
You must........?????

I am hoping to do as much as possible to see dramatic changes as I need to do something NOW. Thanks FV family!
Sinopa

[Jessesbride]

Make a list of your top priorities. Decide what you are willing to give up & what you are not. For example, are you cool with keeping the lights off except for when you need it or are you needing the lights on in the room(s) you are working in. Then go from there. You will be tweaking what you like for a while until you get it all the way you want it. This is your life, make sure the changes that you make work for you & your family. What works for someone else's family, may not work for yours & vice versa!

I would recommend doing a food menu (weekly/biweekly) & use it as a TOOL rather than a set in stone menu. You will be amazed at how much $$ you will save by not going out to eat constantly, also make sure you leave some variation in your menu (1 day you may have family/friends treat you to dinner etc. So next night use what will spoil the fastest or just use one of the other things on the list).

It also helps to get things organized. I, by nature, am a total slob. However, I HATE to live in a sloppy house (I know right?! Whoda'thunk?!). Therefore, it is easier for my brain to work in a cleaned up & organized house. As a kid I grew up in the house of a "hoarder" & chose not to ever do that to myself or my family. & haven't... but I still have to choose to live in a clean & organized house or be completely lazy & let my housework slide. Are you ok w/savings that will make more work for you or are you more jealous of your time? Do you have "margins" in your life? (margins meaning, that your time is COMPLETELY filled up & you have no time for anything else w/o panicking about it). Make it work for you!!!

[pollypurebred39]

Seems completely simple and yet...it's what gets people in trouble all the time....You can't spend what you don't make.

When it comes to spending, sometimes it's clearly a need, other times it's just a want, but it makes no difference.....If you don't have the money you can not afford it, no matter how much you might want or need something.

Which means that you must find a way to make due, and save till you have enough for your needs. If you can't afford your high electric bill then you must slash it. That might mean living in a cave, unplugging everything like a mad woman. But you can't spend what you don't have, even for electric. Or if you have to go to a birthday party and must bring a gift, then it will have to be within your means. Even if that means baking a loaf of bread rather than buying a gift. It may very well mean thrift store or clearanced clothing, rather than first of the season full priced clothing. Just fill in the blank.

It's the bottom line in frugality to me, if there is X amount coming in, I can't have XX going out. Some days it's really miserable, and it's a hard lesson to learn, but it is the reality of a frugal mindset, you can't spend what you don't make.

[zakity]

I second menu planning and add in having a well stocked pantry. Having meals planned out keeps me from having us go out to dinner.

Doing a regular inventory of what you do have around the house. I do it once a year now. I used to do it twice a year. But, with menu planning, I got to drop one of the afternoons of dreaded inventory.

Inventorying your pantry/freezer/H&B cabinet also helps you to see what people aren't eating or using. I only keep a handful of canned soups around in the winter. If spring comes around and there are a few uneaten, they get given to a friend or donated to the foodbank. I have found that if no one ate them over the winter, no one will eat them next winter either.

[sinopa27]

so.....1st rule is about not spending more than what I make.
That means absolutely no credit cards. That means not paying a bill late so I can use the $$ on something else.

I must menu plan.

I will start on a menu plan.....today!!

[frugalfriend]

Polly's post says it all! That really is what it's all about. Don't live beyond your means! That's where so many go wrong.

[Russ]

You MUST honestly define, to yourself, what is a want vs a need.

[oheoh's momma]

Some individuals just do not get it my husband and my MIL do not understand unplugging everything and drying. turning lights off and the tv. It is a never ending battle. it is difficult I will dry my clothes on racks MIL will not. Hubby does not want everything unplugged I guess it bothers there comfort level.
1. Not spending more than u make is the first rule.
2. paying cash for small purchases less than 2-300. and not using the credit card.
3. having money for the unexpected.
4. menu planning
5. stockpiling ( I do not inventory it I need to)
6. Buy somethings used
This is not going to change a lot overnight but slowly u will see a change. But it does depend on what changes u make if everyone would unplug and hang dry it would make a dramatic change. good luck.

[pollypurebred39]

oheoh's momma, I understand what you mean about it being a never ending battle. Sometimes the battle is with myself, and sometimes it's my guys. The not spending more than you bring in is really tough, but honestly there is no other way.

Our electric bill is crazy high unless we go to extreme measures, and even still it's really higher than we can afford. Hanging wash and unplugging everything, living in a cave is the only option here.

But the battle of the electric and oil usage often comes down to the battle of the shower. I'm the fastest shower in the East. My DH falls in just under me. Our boys must be timed and banging on the door commences if they have not exited in the time allowance. The bottom line is we only have so much money for oil a year. It makes no difference if the oil prices go up, or we run out. So we better not run out. It means super quick showers and keeping the house a bit frosty. It means bundling up, slippers and lots of blankets on the bed. Besides, I take comfort in the wisdom of our old doctor who swore that most people keep their homes way too hot to be healthy, your home should be a bit crisp for health sake.

It's the same with food prices, they can rise as high as the sky and it does not make a bit of difference. There is only so much money for food and I must make it work. It means having a garden, and eating LOTS of beans. Are we enjoying it? No, not really. Can I just lose my mind and go out and buy what we'd really like to be eating? No, it is what it is and I just have to make the best of it.

Same with clothing needs, or any other need or wants. I think the trick is to find as many ways as possible to make life pleasant and not a life filled with misery due to lack of funds for needs. It can get extremely tiring living in a budgeted world, unable to fulfill true needs, let alone wants. You find yourself with frugal fatigue which can be very dangerous to maintaining fiscal sanity.

So I guess that leads me to another cornerstone of frugality. You've got to make life pleasant, have some fun, and don't always tell yourself no. A small envelope fund for things like a can of soda if you find yourself stuck out and dying of thirst. Meeting your friends for a $1 ice cream and a chat at McDonalds. A free movie night at home with friends. A redbox or library movie. Redbox often has free codes. A game or puzzle night with friends. Some homemade HAB to indulge in a spa night at home. Giving your home a facelift by decluttering, switching out furniture, doing a serious deep cleaning. Like pulling that old box of pictures, or that old chest of drawers in the attic, taking down curtains and giving them and the windows a good washing, gathering flowers from outdoors and putting in a vase. Even greenery can be fabulous, I have a mason jar filled with beautiful greens that are really just weeds. It's rather pretty and makes me smile.

Frugal fatigue is very real and can make you do stupid things. Making life suck less is key to success in my opinion.

[Nada.Leona]

Ooooh, good one!

I think the first thing you should do is stop and think. No matter what you're doing or about to do, be it run out to buy an ingredient, grab a snack when you're bored, or heck even pull a handful of tissues to blow your nose, stop and think. Do you really need this much? Do you really want this? Do you have something else that will do the job just as well?

In time, you'll come to find that you can use this ingredient instead, that you can have a glass of water instead of a snack and that one tissue will suffice.

And you'll know you're really making progress when you realize you didn't need that ingredient at all, you're too busy to snack out of boredom and you use a hankerchief to blow your nose! :haha:

[miss_cas]

I would suggest the book, "It's your money or your life". This is the most helpful read ever.

Use a weekly menu when grocery shopping. To make the menu, look thru your cabinets for what's on hand and plan your meals accordingly. Look through the weekly ads if you need more ideas. Leave a few extra dollars each week and shock up on sale items. With this system, you are just picking up a few items for seasoning hear and there and fresh stuff.

Change your tastes and habits. Trying the cleaning, stationary, cards and toiletries from the dollar stores can really save some money. Try to use even less of the product to save even more. These places are the cheapest for spices and seasonings too.
(I tried the deoderant from Dollar Tree and found it to be just as good as the name brand stuff from Walmart and less than half the price.)

The 3-4 time weekly purchases at the gas station while you fill up and the drive-thru restaurants eat up big amounts of money. Star Bucks is evil - $6 drink daily on work days is $120 in a month. Each out every day at lunch at a drive-thru restaurant is another $120 a month.

Your waist line is probably showing a donut and Star Bucks habit. Cut it down to once a week. Eat out only once a week over lunch at work and bring leftovers the rest of the time. You'll save $200 a month at least.

Don't carry change or cash into work. Keep a case of your favorite soda and some snacks in your desk drawer or in your lunch box in limited quantities. You will save $50 a month at least by avoiding the vending machines. If no ice machine at work: Keep two reused water bottles. One is on your desk chilled from the night before and the other is in the fridge.

Make these suggested changes and see how much you save. Put it towards debts until paid off then make a planned transfer into your savings account at the beginning of the month or change your direct deposit to split your deposit between your savings and checking. If you have an unplanned expense, transfer the money from savings to put on the extra bill/expense.

Aim to pay off credit cards in full monthly. Keep saving until you have 3-6 months of expenses saved up then start your 401k deductions or IRA.

[bumplett]

you must.............. spend less

you must.............. be happy with what you have

you must.............. tell yourself "no"

you must.............. ask yourself if you really "need" this

you must.............. make it yourself (cleaners, laundry, etc)

you must.............. make the library your new friend
(movies,books,magazines - FREE)

you must.............. cook all meals at home

you must.............. drive less (less temptation to shop also)

you must.............. stay motivated (and visit FV for your motivation)



good luck!!

[shoiji]

For me it would be:

You must set up a household budget.

Then:

You must live within you budget.

Know what needs to be paid each month, how much to spend on food each month, what you can live without, what debt you want to pay off, how much you want to save, what you will need in the future, and what you want your life to be like.

I will actually take some time to figure out what you must do to be frugal. Everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for another.

The best thing is to be honest with your finances. There is no need to keep up with the jonses. Live within you means.

[sinopa27]

wow!! such great advice. I am so happy to have you all to help me. I applaud you because you all are helping to save me and my family.
Polly.....wonderful! I do get the free redbox codes and have started going to the library.

I must live within my means. I usually get off work in the morning and stop at food lion to get something to cook that day. Well, I didn't this morning and went home and searched through my close to empty deep freezer and found a chuck roast. I saved $$ already because I would have spent an extra $60 going into the store to buy 1 thing.

My hubby has never heard of menu planning. He asked, "what if you change your mind and don't want tacos on Wed?"
I didnt' know what to say except that we will plan a menu for the week and plan each day what we want to eat on our menu.

[ladytoysdream]

Menu planning........
In the past, I have tried to do this more than once.
It does not work for my household.

What I do is to look for bargains at the store when I shop. If I find a deal on pork this week, then at least one meal in the next few days will be pork, and the balance will go into the freezer, for a meal later on.
If I find a deal on fresh veggies, then that will get worked into a meal. My current summer plan is to use as much as I can fresh out of the garden. Any extra is either getting canned or frozen. I will look for some deals on canned veggies this fall, and buy if the price is right, to fill in any holes we have. So far, I have pressure canned 36 pints of beans, and have had them for 4 meals. Not going to have much fresh broccoli, so will look for some deals on frozen to add to the freezer.
Hoping to have a lot of tomatoes and peppers soon. I will can and freeze extras. Also I hope to sell some of the crop, at the farmer's market when I set up. That will pay me back the price of seeds and plants.

It's all the little things you do. Make a plan and work the plan. Stay flexible. Take advantage of deals/bargains/loss leaders.
Make a game of it if you have to. See how many meals in a week, you can make for low dollar amounts.
I have had some meals that are completely home grown. Like a chicken from our flock, and pototoes and another veggie out of the garden.