when you started being frugal...

**Sara Noel** · 10-09-2007, 05:08 PM

what were your first few cuts/changes/cutbacks/sacrifices you made to save?
Hopefully this will help some new members see where you started.

**Holly** · 10-09-2007, 05:14 PM

cutting down on eating out .
cutting my grocery bill
hanging clothes out instead of using dryer
cooking from scratch.

**Little Birdie** · 10-09-2007, 05:15 PM

We stopped eating out completely.

Stopped buying alcohol. (We have found room in the budget to add back in a small amount.)

Stopped buying soda. (We have added some bak in, but never buy it from a vending machine.)

Those were the first--clean and quick. Then I started cooking more simply with less expensive ingredients and comparison shopping. Then I added all sorts of other tricks I learned here. I continue to learn and add new things every day.

**Darlene** · 10-09-2007, 05:22 PM

We stayed out of stores unless absolutely necessary & didn't look at ads in newspaper. When fliers came in the mail, they were put in the recycle bin immediately... on tv, we changed the channel.
It's amazing what you don't buy when you are not enticed into it.

**destrehangirl** · 10-09-2007, 05:28 PM

Cut out on eating out.
Reduce the cable channels.
Reduce the use of the AC

**freyadog** · 10-09-2007, 05:31 PM

I have always cooked from scratch and have learned alot of new tricks from the gals here.
hanging out clothes instead of using the dryer.
no shopping
toss the weekly ads in the firebox bin
got rid of the paper and read online
use cold water at all times to wash clothes
no dishwasher

**Neeley** · 10-09-2007, 05:38 PM

We are not as hard core as many others are. We just watch a few areas and roll with everyting else. A few of the things we did/do are.....

....Cut all of the extras from the phone. No caller ID, no call waiting, no three way calling. We did add back the unlisted number a few months ago.
....Keep only the "expanded basic" cable service. It is bundled with our phone and internet bill and the cable portion is only $33 a month. We get around 75 channels and NO movie channels like HBO and Showtime.
....MIL gifts us our cell phones. We got rid of them a few years back and she feels everyone should have a cell phone. So she added 3 phones to her family plan for us. DH has his phone, DD has her own and DS has his own. I do not go anywhere alone so I asked her not to waste the money on one for me. We do require the kids to pay their grandmother for 1/2 of their bill every month. However, she won't accept the money so it just goes into their savings accounts.
....DH takes his lunch to work. The company he workds for discourages employees from leaving the building for lunch so they have a full service cafeteria/restaurant in their building for their employees. However, DH chooses to make his own lunch and take it to work. That alone saved over $50 a week.

**fizzie** · 10-09-2007, 05:39 PM

We were terribly un-frugal, then we decided to buy a house. First, we began making a weekly menu and grocery list, then stuck to it. The difference was apparent immediately!

**sunshine** · 10-09-2007, 05:49 PM

I quit buying lunches in the work cafeteria, and packed my own from home. Soda's too -- rather than buying them at the vending machine. I saved over $100/month right off.

**Michelle68** · 10-09-2007, 05:59 PM

We stopped charging anything on credit cards or taking on any new debt. We started creating a budget, making menus and shopping with a list. We also stopped eating out as often.

--Michelle

**enkmom** · 10-09-2007, 06:07 PM

I stayed home! No aimless trips to Wal-Mart - I sent my dh with a list. If a friend called and wanted to have lunch, I only managed to have time for coffee, or asked them to come have sandwiches at home with me. I also quit saying yes every time someone asked me to meet them. Then I moved on to menu planning and saving money at the grocery store.

**baxjul** · 10-09-2007, 06:26 PM

~I quit buying paper towels, paper napkins, paper plates, plastic silverware, etc.
~Started cooking more from scratch and less from convenience.
~Quit using too much laundry soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc.
~Switched to flourescent light bulbs (CFLs)
~Started unplugging more appliances when not in use
~Started using coupons and shopping sales.

**zenmama** · 10-09-2007, 06:35 PM

When I left home at 19 to strike out on my own. Fiercly independent and massively clueless!!! Many a peanut butter sandwich but I absolutely stuck by making it on my own. Weekend trips back home were a godsend and also time to stock up on mom's cooking LOL. Those frugal ways have always stuck by, I guess frugality is my security blanket cuz I know I can do what it takes to get the job done. Not sure about dh or the kids, they think I kinda go overboard.

**Mamaof2rugrats** · 10-10-2007, 12:40 AM

Cut out -
All soda,most snack foods,expensive coffee.
VERY little eating out, maybe once every few months- I cook from scratch typically.
I got rid of cable.
Cut down my phone plan on my home phone.
Got rid of cell and went to a track phone.
Started a menu with a very strict budget with every dime accounted for. I have stuck with that very well.
Generic Diapers/Wipes
Got rid of all magazine subscriptions.

**minnieminx** · 10-10-2007, 04:55 AM

I started about two years ago when i lost my job so had to stop spending lol

1. Borrow books from library instead of buying them
2. Make cakes instead of buying them
3. Learnt how to sew
4. Batch cook and freeze
5. Got rid of the tv so that saved me £132 a year on tv licence
6. Use energy saving lightbulbs (saves about £12.00 a year of electric)
7. Started buying more own brand goods
8. Raid my parents larder when times are really hard
9. I now go to lots of table top sales and fayres to buy curtains etc (best buy was lined curtains for 40p)
10. Take anything that is offered to me by family (if i don't use it i'll give it to a charity shop), i've found that if i say no thanks they don't offer again and i miss out on some brill stuff
11. I find it really addictive to find bargains and ways to save money lol