What frugal thing(s) are you best at?

**MANDERS** · 02-07-2003, 04:57 PM

And were you good at them when you started?

I would have to say cutting down our grocery budget.We Cut it drasticaly from $800 a mo to $200 a month keeping it consistant to $200 sometimes even lower.I shop loss leaders,use coupons and make things from scratch and even cut some things out of our pantries completely.And believe it or not the $800 was before bubba was born.And nope i wasn't good at it.I wanted to give up so fast,but stuck it out and instead of going directly from $800-$200 I slowly brought it down.After my first super double coupon trip to kroger I was hooked.

Drying clothes on the clothes line or rack.Even with both kids having asthma I have figured out ways to dry them when it is raining outside and fast and best of all it doesn't affect their asthma which is the one reason I can't dry outside.And I wasn't good at this either,when I first started the clothes were stiff and wrinkly and so i experimented and found a great liquid fabric softner(walmart brand)that was better than the rest and found that i could even dilute it.

**pita1213** · 02-07-2003, 05:27 PM

i have found i do better in the summer than i do in the winter. i seem to have more energy then. i line dry all our laundry except for dh's work clothes. doing those in the dryer save me from ironing. though even those i line dry most of the way then put them in the dryer for just a few minutes. i have gotten our grocery bill down. most months i can feed us for 150.00. it used to be about 300.00 a month. shopping loss leaders and buying the store brand for most things has helped alot. as well as cutting most conveince foods. i still have a few hold outs in that area but not as many as before. it took some work to get the grocery bill down and to find things to make from scartch that the kids would eat.

right now my biggest challenge is dh and getting him not to spend money. if i could get him to take a lunch even just a couple of times a week, i'd be that much better off in the checkbook.

**AmyBoz** · 02-07-2003, 06:12 PM

I have to agree that grocery shopping is my strongest area as well. This winter I was so proud that I kept the house at 59 and we all were actually pretty comfortable, but the gas bill just came and it was $221 for January which blew my mind. I know it was MUCH colder than last year, but I was still upset at the extraordinary amount. But, we live in NJ, it's the price we pay.

**Shell** · 02-07-2003, 08:19 PM

I am best at putting away money for a rainy day. I have been putting away money monthly into a RRSP (IRA) and now I am doing great on the emergency fund challenge.

**aylasmommy** · 02-08-2003, 03:42 AM

Grocery shopping and Clothes/household bargains are my biggest strong point.

Also not going to movies, not going to get my haircut at a cutting place, not going out to eat very often(at least for myself, but dh always orders pizza or take out chinese).

I was a lot like JALClark..we spent WAY more on groceries before Ayla was born. At LEAST 600$ a month, now I can keep it to 200$ or less most months.

I started out slowly with the grocery and household/clothing stuff.

The movies were actually never really a problem to cut out. We went a few times when we were first married/dating, but we don't mind not going one bit at all.

Renting movies is something I would like to do more often, but I just settle for what's on tv, and limit renting to when we have guests over. That way I feel like I'm getting more for my money

Cutting my hair was something I NEVER thought I could do on my own before

My grandma always made a fuss whenever i went to supercuts to get a trim, but I insisted i could never get the taper on myself right, and since my hair is so long i couldn't fathom doing it..but somehow between dh and I we get it better than they would cut it most of the time

**LeShea** · 02-08-2003, 08:23 AM

I would say that I am good for finding clothes for cheap and for not spending lots at the grocery store...I am still fine tuning the grocery shopping and just started a price book.....but I am getting it down to an art!!!LOL!

I do very well with not eating out or going to expensive places...it has always been easy for me to skip these things luckily..

I hate to waste things so frugal living is very natural to me in many ways.....

**Mom23boys** · 02-08-2003, 09:12 AM

Mine would have to be grocery shopping too. I used to spend 180.00-200.00 a week on groceries. Now I spend around 250.00 a month on groceries. What a big change! I shop loss-leaders and stock up. I have my coupon binder handy at all times as well.

**justjenn** · 02-08-2003, 11:36 AM

I think I am best at reusing things. I am always looking at everything trying to think of a way to use it again.

**Jerseygirl** · 02-08-2003, 02:37 PM

Finding clearance-minimum 75% off on clothes and gifts, household things, sheets, and keeping them at top quality--Ralph Lauren sheets and towels, etc.
Not using my dryer (average 5 loads per year)
Keeping grocery bills low-approx $250 per month including diapers and soy formula, cleaning supplies and shampoo.

**guest2** · 02-08-2003, 06:15 PM

Thanks for starting this thread! I love reading about how everyone cuts costs! For me, it's keeping the grocery budget down to about $200 for a family of 5 with 3 teenaged boys, the 3 cats and 2 dogs. My husband and I also cut everyone's hair in the family except for our oldest son because his hair is really difficult to get looking nice if you are not trained properly. I color my own hair and have done most of that free for years with all the haircolor freebies and coupons out there. We line dry clothes and have installed a pellet stove to heat our home instead of using the inefficient electric furnace (we only use that when we are going to be out of towm for a few days). That alone saves us hundreds of dollars during the winter. We shop sales, auctions, yard sales, thrift stores, discount stores, etc.. We also have a great group of friends and we all borrow and loan videos, games, big pots and pans (and roasters), cd's, books, etc. with. Oh, and we use the library alot for books, videos, cd's. etc./

**Lori Biever-Launder** · 02-08-2003, 06:30 PM

I do the groceries best here. DH cuts his and both DSs hair, but we pay for mine. Mine is very curly/wavy so you have to know what to do with it (I don't!). I only get it cut about every 7-8 weeks.

I garage sale very well too. I buy about 90-95% of my boys' colthes at garage sales. I have furnished a lot of our house this way ($8.00 coffe table in the family room, for example).

**katiebug** · 02-09-2003, 01:19 PM

I've gotten pretty good at the grocery shopping, too. I have also gotten good at distinguishing between needs and wants, and that has made a difference in how much money we have left at the end of the month.

**crdurham** · 02-10-2003, 02:54 PM

Getting the best deal on everything! All our friends our totally amazed at the deals I get. No matter what we are going to buy, whether its groceries or big ticket items like furniture; I always get a great deal. We have saved tons of money this way. I never pay full price for anything.

I am really good at being frugal with the clothes and household shopping. I buy at yard sales or on clearence.

I could be better at the grocery shopping....I do pretty good, but I know there is always room for improvment. Things have gotten really tight around here, so me and (thankfully) dh are really doing good with keeping the spending down. I am lucky to have a man that likes to be frugal like me! lol

**SewCrafty** · 02-10-2003, 05:35 PM

I can't really say I'm good at anything yet, but I'm learning every day!

I'm better at grocery shopping and using up left overs. I have always lined dried my clothes when weather permits (not because it is more frugal, because I like it better!

). I am finding uses for things around the house everyday from you ladies. I don't have a great imagination always and you are all an inspiration to me!

I never had gone to a Salvation Army store before I found the village. Not because I thought it was beneath me, I never knew they sold items to the public! I thought you donated to them to be given away to someone who needed the items!