Changing to a frugal lifestyle

[Sherrenee]

I am wanting to make changes in my life...one of those is living a frugal lifestyle. I have always watched cost and tried to keep them in check but I really want to fully embrace frugal living. If anyone one has tips or info about how to make the transition please let me know.

Thank you,
Sherry

[shoiji]

Create a monthly budget. Write down all the bills you need to pay each month, how much you want to spend on groceries, savings, miscellaneous costs such as birthdays, gas money.

It may take a while to get used to not buying as much but if you have a plan on why you want to save it makes it alot easier. After a while it just gets to be second nature.

What might work for one person may not work for another so give yourself some time to figure out what will be best for you.

Stay open to new ideas. You might not be ready for an idea, but down the road you may find you are. It took me awhile to accept that vinegar and water was a cheap and effective way to clean.

[Simple me]

Sherry,
You've come to the right place for great tips and inspiration.
Read alot of the older post also.
If you haven't read "The Tightwad Gazette", I highly recommend it.
Make out a written budget and try to stick to it.

[Englishlady]

When using products around the house, see if you can make them last longer, by diluting them with water.

See what you can do without all together, for example I am no longer using laundry liquid, but I use two table spoons of washing soda in the washing machine instead.(MUCH cheaper).

If you want to know how long things last, put a bit of tape on the item with the date you opened it and see how long you can make it last,( eg. toothpaste) make it a challenge to eek it out as long as possible.

Dating things also gives you an idea of how many of item x you need to get you through a week/month/year.

Don't try and do too much too soon, you will give yourself headache! pick an area to start with ie. food or cleaning/beauty products, try and tame the spending in that area and then move on to the next.

[Nana2two]

We have lots of smart people here. They will guide you in the right direction.I have learned alot. Welcome to the boards.

[katybug]

My tip is know what you already have! I've found with some people (including myself) is we already have plenty and plenty to do, in fact it is mostly finding the time to use what we already have. So if you have an idea of your inventory you won't waste money buying doubles and will probably keep you from buying new stuff until you've exhausted what you already have!

~KB

[pollypurebred39]

My tips are on frugal entertainment. That often times is the place where people get tripped up. They've had a hard week, they want to go out and enjoy themselves, let the kids enjoy themselves, have a date night. It can get really costly rather quick. Here's a few things that have kept us on the straight and narrow. Be sure to check out other communities close to your area

*Every community has something for free. Check out online your communities upcoming events.

-Christmas tree lightings
-parades
-community ice cream days
-art festivals
-gallery openings
-movie in the park nights
-concerts
-Easter egg hunts
-free swim days

*Museums have free days, but don't just limit yourself to big museums, little museum abound out there and often are free or just ask for a donation. Around here we have museums for the civil war, quilting, air planes, trains, autos, etc. all have free days or are free. I had to hunt these down, most were hidden resources.

*Historical sights in your area are a great resource, most are free.

*State parks often have free camping days, or you could ride your bikes or hike.Pack a picnic lunch.

*Churches in our area have lots of free stuff

-movies
-concerts
-plays
-musicals
-dinners
-comedy nights
-coffee house nights

*Cheap seat movie theaters

*Movie night at home

*Have a ice cream run to McDonald $1 a cone!

[NewLeaf]

My advice is to start small. Pick one thing (like your budget) to work on and then go from there. If you try to do it all at once you will get overwhelmed and quit.

I started with homemade laundry detergent. It only takes 10 minutes or less to make and lasts us for 3 months.