They're at it again....

[druthb00]

6 Big, Bold ways to go Frugal
Budgeting: Lifestyle changes for saving money - MSN Money

Give me a break already....Another useless "financial advice" article.

[frugalfranny]

Useless for us here at FV........but I bet we would be surprised at the number of people that would not have thought about some of these things. And some are for 'dire straits' situations.....

I, too, find that most articles are getting pretty repetitive!!

[Natalie's Nesters]

I agree with everyone, same song and dance. They should call it advice for dummies! Everyone at FV has been doing this for years!

[druthb00]

It seems like there's a new one at least monthly...and it's always the same old advice. I guess it might be "new" to someone, somewhere.... I just feel like it's such basic advice compared to their title "BIG and BOLD" ...none if it qualifies as bold. When I see a title like that, I'm thinking, "Ooh, cool. Something new and different." Wrong-O. Bold would be dumpster diving for grocery store's leftovers, or turning off the heat in your house when it's negative 5 out...that's BOLD lol. What's so bold about using coupons or public transit? Nothing, nada. I guess had the article been called something like "Ways to start being Frugal" or "Frugality Firsts" ....SOMETHING else, it wouldn't have irritated me

[Momto5RN]

if you were a dr you wouldnt read an artilce about an illness you specialize in and expect info you didnt already know.

doesnt mean its useless - just not something for you because you already specialize in frugality .

[druthb00]

if you were a dr you wouldnt read an artilce about an illness you specialize in and expect info you didnt already know.

doesnt mean its useless - just not something for you because you already specialize in frugality .

Very true...but the title implied more substance than the ordinary frugal tips.

6 big, bold ways to go frugal
"How far would you go to save a buck in today's tumultuous economy? Americans are finding more ways than ever before to scrimp and save. But some things take to extremes."

Extremes? I was expecting either new and different...or shocking & repulsive lol. It's like false advertising...hehe.

[shoiji]

I would have to agree with you. Just seems pretty sad that there might be others that think this would be earth shattering news. Unfortunately I know a few people where this might seem extreme.

[prudent lass]

Yeah, not really worth the time to read these types of articles. On the other hand...I really wouldn't be impressed if they were publishing articles advising me to go freegan. If MSN's advising me to go ahead and eat out of dumpsters, then I might as well start wearing sackcloth and ashes.

[mndtrp]

Taking in a renter, selling my car, and downsizing my house are all pretty big and bold ideas. I would do none of them, currently.

And, as others have said, this information is new to a lot of people, just not you. The articles obviously get clicks, or else they would stop taking up space with the frugal ones.

[prudent lass]

And, as others have said, this information is new to a lot of people, just not you.

True, true. And it is somewhat inspiring. It's like Dr. Oz telling me I should eat flounder 3x per week. The hell I'm doing that! But at the same time, I will consider his recommendation to eat blueberries with my cereal.

[druthb00]

Taking in a renter, selling my car, and downsizing my house are all pretty big and bold ideas. I would do none of them, currently.

And, as others have said, this information is new to a lot of people, just not you. The articles obviously get clicks, or else they would stop taking up space with the frugal ones.

Really? I know a few people who rent out portions of their homes. It seemed like most of the renter suggestion was geared towards people with duplexes, but they did make mention of renting out a room, too...which is the only thing I thought of as being sort of extreme. I guess you got me there, though, it's probably not as common to some as I feel it is.

Selling your car isn't so much extreme as impossible if you don't live somewhere with public transit. I wouldn't have been able to go without a car in Indiana.

I thought the downsizing of the house suggestion would have been better as "don't buy more house than you need." Rather than trying to downsize afterward.

I just wish that there would be more articles like this that applied to people who are already trying to be frugal.

Edit: I think I know what I want. I want someone from FV to do the frugality/personal finance articles for MSN. Because I'm sure I've gotten more new advice/tips here than over there.

[sjohnson3278]

I saw this article today and got really excited by the title and when I read it was more than disappointed. I guess because of the knowledge I have gotten from this board and Dave Ramsey, it seemed really "preschool" to me. When an article says "extreme saving" or something to that effect, then I expect it to have some really earth shattering tips in there.

[Keildra]

Hey I'm a beginner frugalista yet I've seen all of those in about 50 different articles. I guess it's to attract new beginners. Although I must say I hate the "get rid of your car" one because the closest public transit is a 30 minute drive into town and all the places I need to go, work and leisure activities, are in that town but I'm just a victim of circumstance.

My point is that the article was really titled wrong.

[Nana2two]

Same old stuff just worded different. I was reading this stuff in 1995. But sometimes it takes a certain way before something clicks.

[TheRootedNomad]

I agree the title was very misleading. While downsizing your home or taking renters into your space may seem -big and bold- to more people than useing coupons or taking the bus, none of them really seemed to hold the extreme the title suggested.