What frugal choices/decisions have you made this past month?

**Sara Noel** · 08-01-2004, 01:31 PM

Name some of your most recent frugal decisions and choices you have made.

**AmyMCGS** · 08-01-2004, 01:34 PM

The last few weekends I've talked myself out of fast food and into making something here at home. That's the big thing I'm working on right now-- picking up fewer meals on the run. I really do love to cook, but, when it's just DD and I on the weekends, feeding us for $3-4 at Wendy's or Taco Bell is just so easy and soooooooo tempting!

**AmyBoz** · 08-01-2004, 01:36 PM

Good question, Sara. I feel like this last month has been my most un-frugal ever. It kinda feels like, when you are plunking down all the money to buy a house, $5 here and there doesn't really seem to mean much. However, in the end, it ALL adds up!

So, today, I decided that we would start tracking our cash spending again. I've got a little August log ready, and I'm feeling great that so far today (Day 1) I've got nothing to write!

Right now, I'm writing up my grocery list and making small frugal decisions as I go.

Other than that, there've been no MAJOR frugal decisions, but I'm working on it!

**Missy** · 08-01-2004, 01:41 PM

Well, not a whole heck of alot, we decided on some shades for the window based on price and energy conservation aspects. We HAD to replace these old mini blinds, we'd wanted to for the past three years. so we chose some reletively inexpensive ones that claim to hold heat in the winter and reflect heat in the summer.

I have really done nothing else. I need to track better. What with the home improvements beginning next month, we will be shelling out a bit more than we'd like, so spending needs to be curbed as much as possible

**QuilterMom** · 08-01-2004, 01:53 PM

Our biggest decision was that dh will be making our kitchen cabinets himself. We found a company that has great prices on solid wood cabinets, but our kitchen is so large that it was going to run us in the range of $15,000 for the cabinets only (never mind we have a stove, dishwasher, sink, faucet, countertops, etc. to buy and the whole rest of the house to remodel!). Dh can buy all the wood we'll need for around $1,000 (that's with a discount we'll be getting) so it's going to be quite a savings. It'll take much longer for our kitchen to be done than we wanted, but for the $$$ it will save it will be worth it.

**guest2** · 08-01-2004, 02:45 PM

Within the last month we have made lots of frugal choices. We decided to put in a new glass siding door and windows that we got free from some remodels and it should drastically lower our heating bills this winter. DH is working on installing one of the windows right near me as I type this.

We've also stopped buying so many dvd's and videos and made the decision for me to apply for a part time job as a librarian here in town. The job is perfect for me and I can work it around my homeschooling the boys. We doubled our garden space and have more crops than ever before. We did buy a new to us van in July, but our other one was costing us more and more to fix and had high miles. The new one uses less gas, has more power so we can tow our trailer without straining the motor and we got a great deal on it. The fact that I have one reliable vehicle now is worth every penny to me! I'm still keeping our grocery budget at $200 for a family of 5 and 5 cats which simply amazes most people around here because they have seen how my kids eat.

I didn't want to bump it up any more.

**Sara Noel** · 08-01-2004, 03:31 PM

I was thinking that I make small frugal choices and decisions almost daily. It's become a force of habit.

Our coffeemaker broke this past week. We've been forcing boiling water through it to still enjoy our coffee. Kinda silly, but it can still be used with a little extra effort. lol

I started my new afghan and would have loved to go buy new yarn. It's not really expensive, but I had some here that I could use up, so am using that instead.

On weekends, we're most tempted to eat out because it's convenient, but I pack up drinks for us and we come home and I make meals or we pack something up and take it with us to the park.

I've shared about my thrift store trips. I've found some awesome bargains on clothing. I choose to do this, so I have spare money to use on other things.

I've been trying to get our utility bill down a bit, so have been making sure things are unplugged and off. I've also been spending more time downstairs where it's cooler so I don't have to turn on the ac.

I don't consider making these decisions sacrifices. I look at them as little ways to save, so we're able to spend or save more and not break the bank.

I've found that doing the small daily things allows us to do things and enjoy things we may not be able to. They've become a habit and I think we sometimes overlook these small choices that have become just a way of life.

There's value in all of our decisions...both big and small.

**sunshine** · 08-01-2004, 03:48 PM

I've decided (and signed up for) overtime hours at work, which also pay bonus money-- overtime + $3/hr.

We've cut back our eating out.

Really rethinking our needs/wants. Some things we thought were needs, we have decided are really wants- so we're holding off buying some things.

**homesteadmamma** · 08-01-2004, 03:56 PM

Its become a habit for us as well. BUT July has not been as good a month as normal. We had some extremely hot days and instead of using the crockpot, I ran to the store for prepared foods. Not a wise thing. I didn't keep track of our groceries for the month of July - UGH!!

I did put a new binding on a quilt I had made 17 years ago and used material I had here that had been given to me, so the cost was $0. I could have done a new one, but this quilt kinda has special meaning to me considering it was my very first large quilt. I'm hoping I get another 17 years wear out of it.

We've used way less gas because we aren't going for near as many rides. I do miss that, but with the cost of gas, we just needed to cut back. I'll wait until gas comes down a bit (probably in the fall) and then will do a few days trips.

Even though I'm working 3 part time jobs (small ones) and dh is working odd jobs, we were able to put $1,000.00 down on our debt. This coming month were aiming for $1,100.00 or more.

I got some incredible deals and freebies from the thrift store here in town.

Great question Sara. I love reading what everyone else is doing.

**forestdale** · 08-01-2004, 04:30 PM

I decided to do the frugal grocery challenge for the first time this month and was shocked to find that my spending on groceries is way higher than most other ladies here. So this is what I decided to do. I usually spend $600 on groceries - I thought I was a saint for cutting it down from $800 a month! - but I hope to get it lower. The easiest way for me to monitor my grocery money is to withdraw all the money from the bank and put it in a special purse that only I use when I go to the shops. I also collect all my receipts and calculate how much I'm spending but I always have a good idea because of what's left in the purse.

So now what I'll do is to withdraw half my money - $300 - and keep a little notebook record of EVERYTHING I spend. Seeing it in my own handwriting and written down, instead of just store receipts, may show me my spending patterns. My new grocery money allocation starts today, I'll go do my grocery shopping later this morning and I'm going to be VERY frugal. I also have a list and I've planned some meals.

I hope it works.

**pip** · 08-01-2004, 05:31 PM

Well, I have been faithfully shopping for groceries at Aldis, and I know that I have saved a bundle just on doing this. However, we've had an out of town guest staying with us for going on three weeks, and we've been picking up fast food more than I want. I need to slow down a bit and think about being frugal again.

**slowtypinwoman** · 08-01-2004, 06:03 PM

Boy , I feel like a failure compared to all of you. Summer months are the hardest here because we are all home. I have been buying supplies for my purses yada, yada, yada.
It has been cool and we have only had the air on for about 2 weeks the whole summer so far. We have not taken any camping trips.

**PrairieRose** · 08-02-2004, 09:11 AM

I have to admit here (feels like I'm in a confessional.....

) I've been very lax on the frugality lately.

I have been contemplating and psyching myself up to get back on the frugal wagon. The first thing that I'm really working on is food preservation from our garden. I got the Foodsaver a while back and have learned how to properly use that. So I'm freezing corn and squash and will blanch and freeze lots of tomatoes when they ripen up as well. I'm going to make some salsa to can, some pickles (we have cucumbers as well) and maybe some hot pepper jelly (we've got gobs of peppers).
Dh and I have been talking about stocking up on meat (from the butcher) and veggies from the garden for the winter.
Also I have 2 windows that are currently without sun blocking coverings. 1 is in a bathroom that I'm about to re-do (but it could be a couple more months or more). I *think* I'm going to go ahead and order the blind for it that I'll be using for the re-do and put that up now. I know it's costing us in cooling bills. The other is in the office, where we only get morning sun but I know the window needs to be covered anyway and would help with heating/cooling bills.
Those are my 3 biggest decisions of late. But I'm about to break out the Tightwad Gazette books and get some motivation from those. I'm ready to dig in for some real gorilla frugality.

**Jayne** · 08-02-2004, 09:28 AM

Well first off we just got back from aweeks vacation at the shore in Sandbridge VA. and we spent about 900.00 and that includes boarding for our 3 dogs...we fed 4 of us off of that and bought a few things.....

We have also decided not to do a remodel of our kitchen, instead we are going to paint the cabinets and get new hardware, and countertops and replace the stove, dishwasher , and microwave...by not buying new cabinets, we will save a bundle...

our tomatoes are getting canned this year and I froze a bunch of zuchinni.....

**simplemom** · 08-02-2004, 09:32 AM

Pierre and I have really talked it over, again, and we really have to be more careful about ordering in or going out to eat...*sigh* Every year, in the summer, it's the same thing---the heat gets to me...and I just can't cook...BUT, since last thursday, we both have been putting alot of efforts and we have been preparing meals at home--either me or him. Now I hope we'll continue this way more than 2 weeks. I would love to NOT order pizza for a whole month!

That's our challenge---no restaurants for the next month...or at least, we'll try hard.