I repair my pants and shoes if the damage is minor and if it'll only take a few minutes to sew in a patch. I don't think it saves that much money. It's just the bother factor of having to go to the store to shop for new clothes.
Extreme Thrift: Strategies for Life on the Financial Edge
Photo: Normanack
Has an unexpected crisis left you in financial limbo? Need some ideas to pull a money rabbit out of a hat? Here are some of the ideas I’ve used over the years to accomplish a number of money miracles. Read on.
1. Eliminate your housing overhead.
There are a number of ways to do this, several of them far less painless than you might think. Here’s a link with some suggestions.
2. Be absolutely ruthless with your bargain shopping.
I call it power shopping. Basically, do whatever you have to do to get the price you want. For the ultimate price . . . free, check out Nora’s free shopping article featuring the Walgreens system.
3. Practice extreme stewardship.
While this obviously relates a little bit to the item above, it also applies to how you consume and maintain resources in your home and bank accounts. Evaluating every purchase judiciously and taking care of what you have (as Julie suggests in Endurance Frugality) will add up to make a major difference as you struggle to get over your financial hump.
4. Use the big bang theory.
Develop a list of those items with a huge financial return, wow factor or multi-use potential. Some of my favorites? DIY croutons, grated or zested citrus peel from the fruit I buy, freezing and chilling the extra coffee for fun frozen caffeine drinks, dinner rounds for doggie treats, lemon juice concentrate and DIY curtains. For a major multi-use household item list, check out the Original Dawn post from Linsey.
5. Substitutions are cool.
Before spending money on an expensive solution, consider for a moment if there is something lying around the house you could improvise with. Canning jars, clothes pins, binder clips, rubber bands, plastic bags, safety pins, wire hangars, bandanas, and even a potato for a light bulb changer are all ideas available in nearly every household.
6. Explore the two to one rule.
This is otherwise known in the travel circuit as having half as much crap and twice as much cash. Try it. You’ll be amazed.
7. Practice financial yoga.
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Stretch, stretch, stretch those resources. This can include anything from reinventing old jeans, to cutting off all the buttons before you cut that shirt up into cleaning rags. Groceries can be a challenging area as well. I’ve done tons of posts on that topic, but three of the main ones are on bulk buying, freezer savings, and assembly cooking. Here's another cool resource featuring an extreme emergency menu with companion shopping list. Concerned about fruits and vegetables? Here's my survival mode produce list for when pennies are beyond tight. There are even options out there to cut down on things such as hair spray or conditioner.
8. Explore the DIY you-haul option.
Having a tow-behind utility cart can go a long way towards being able to jump on deals, freebies and super sales of all kinds. And it’s way cheaper than a second or third vehicle. Certainly, there are many things you can haul home yourself without a separate cart, but if you can carve out the cash for one, you will more than earn your money back in savings opportunities.
9. Be friends with your accountant.
There are tons of savings areas out there for tax time, and it’s this person’s job to find them for you. Make your accountant part of your dream team and find every tax reduction strategy available to you.
10. Get super basic with your facecloths.
At times when I was living abroad with all my things in storage, a rustic but effective technique I used was to not worry about face cloths. Whatever I had cut up for cleaning rags was also my stack to grab a clean wash cloth from. It’s not pretty, but it works.
While these strategies are certainly useful in any frugal or crisis situation, what about those times when you stretch every nickel and the ends of your financial rope just don’t meet? Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Programs are out there for you. We all need a little assistance from time to time. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Do a little research and see what’s out there. When you get back on your feet, you can certainly explore options for “giving back”. Keep your chin up. We’re here for you.
Additional photo credit: Tony George
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I bought about 20 cheap washcloths from Target for only a few bucks. I actually prefer them over nicer washcloths for removing makeup from my face--they do a better job. Also, they're a bit rougher so they exfoliate, too!
You know, I think the nail was hit on the head about repair taking less time than shopping. I think the same thing can apply to things like certain homemade meals and whipping up a vinegar / water / orange oil blend to clean with.
Regarding the cheaper wash cloths . . . I think I'm with you on this one. I was just thinking the other day that I prefer my older thinner rattier ones. I think it's because the thicker they are, the harder they are to use for certain things.
Thanks for posting!
I subscribe to your RSS feed, so your relative URLs (href="/twelve-ways-to-become-rent-or-mortgage-free") don't work from within the feed reader. Bloglines has no such page as http://www.bloglines.com/twelve-ways-to-become-rent-or-mortgage-free, for example. :)
I'll let admin know. In the meantime, here's the link:
http://www.wisebread.com/twelve-ways-to-become-rent-or-mortgage-free
We've had to go into survivor mode a few times. I remember once buying a hot dog at a Chevron food store because my gas card was the only thing that would work, and the only food in the house was breakfast food for the kids. I was on the road and didn't have a dime to my name. I stopped in a Chevron store and got a hot dog and a small water and paid with my gas card. It was, for me, the pinnacle moment that put me on the path to get right, financially.
Hi Frugal Dad! You know, I really want to thank you for sharing that story. I have felt from the beginning of this whole blogging adventure that sharing the hard times stories was just as critical as sharing the strategies and better days stories. People need to know that they are not alone during the super tough times.
I think the hot dog example also brings up a critical issue my husband and I have discussed consistently over the years . . . that it can be markedly more expensive to be on the financial edge. As strange as this might sound, at certain lower levels of financial income it can be more beneficial to have one spouse stay home to provide stewardship. It is such a full time job, particularly when you have less to work with. The time it takes to mend clothing, cook from scratch, compare sales (or even carve out the $1.50 for the Sunday coupon paper at ALL) and evaluate purchasing decisions is significant. And the less you have to work with, the more critical every single decision is. You have far less room to make a mistake. As much as I crabbed and complained about giving up my career in the beginning of my marriage (it was a logistical and international regulatory issue,not pressure from my husband) it turns out it was one of the most powerful things that could have happened for our financial future. Not only did I have time to "steward", I had time to research strategies for passive income and figure out what I might want to do for business, etc.
Have a great day.
Taking care of what you have and buying things of decent enough quality to be repaired.
If you buy super cheap shoes from Payless or Target they can't really be repaired except maybe with some ShoeGoo. If you buy more expensive better shoes like Birkenstocks and some other higher end shoes those can be repaired, resoled, re-heeled by a shoe repair place. I had two pairs of pumps I used to wear for work. The heel ends always wore down on pumps pretty fast. The good pair they could pull out and hammer in replacements for a few bucks. The cheap pair from Payless were not repairable due to how they cut corners putting them together.
I have started hammering the expense caused by careless behavior around our house. The guys (my hubby and son) are hard on things, they bang things shut, slam them on counters and such. Just in the last week they cracked the plastic water dispenser jug in the fridge by slamming it on the counter too hard. They broke the kitchen faucet by slamming it down to turn it off and breaking the plastic inside piece. The faucet goes back to don't buy cheap crap that can't be repaired. It was the super cheap faucet the contractor installed so those plastic pieces inside were going to break sooner or later. Our son can't be bothered to put tools back in the garage leading to having to repurchase what gets lost. Two weeks ago he slammed the ice scraper on the passenger window of our VW breaking the plastic clips that hold the window to the motor assembly of the power window. He was crabby that he had to help scrape windows at 7am in January. All of these careless actions add up but they are finally starting to get it that being careless or not caring for things adds up.
Replacements
Fridge Jug $8.00
Faucet $80.00
Window repair $220
I have no clue right now what all tools were lost over the summer and need to be replaced. Being lazy and careless costs money.
Without the thrift stores I've depended on for so many years, I would have blown a ton of money. I have a closet full of well-made good leather shoes, boots, coats and purses, all easy to maintain and spruce up (a different scarf or pin does wonders). I could care less if what I have is not exactly this year's look, I still manage to get plenty of compliments anyway. I sometimes go through a high-end store and just laugh at what they want for their stuff. Ditto kitchen/household things. I would never bother with buying new again unless I absolutely had to.
Amen to that. The thrift store scene where we are now is really not great. I miss having access to affordable stuff when I need it. While I know clearance racks are my main option now (as well as super online deals), it still is a pain to see the price tags on things I know shouldn't cost so much.
In case I was getting ready to lose site of how effective the thrift shopping was for our budget . . . it's now come into sharp relief, that's for sure.
If you are a college student with a meal plan for your school's cafeteria/dining hall(these are mandatory at some schools if you live on campus), take advantage of it. I have a ten-meal-a-week plan (again, to save money), which I supplement.
If your cafeteria has a carry out option, fill containers for two or three meals, take some bread and sandwich fillings, fill your backpack with fruit.
I bring emptied out plastic water bottles when I go to eat dinner, and fill them with skim milk for the next few day's breakfasts.
Do this at your own discretion, but my roommates and I borrow(discreetly) the plates, cups, and silverware we'll need for the semester and return them after finals.
I take my old socks, with holes in them too large to fix, and cut the cuffs off. The foot part, generally where the holes are, are then cut open and used as rags. The cuffs, I cut open, and then as they are generally ready made rectangles, I sew them together, sometimes by hand, to make inserts for my quilts and patches for blankets. The cuffs can also by used as rags, but I think they make great blankets!
I also have a huge stack of wash cloths, that in a pinch, are used in place of toilet paper. My kids were in cloth diapers, and we used cloth wipes to clean their bums, so I thought, why not my bum? I find that they make a nice replacement, and all I need is a "diaper pail", a plastic coffee container with a snap on lid that I put in each bathroom, and throw in the laundry, along with baking soda, a few drops of tea tree oil, and a cup of vinegar. Of course, they are then line dried so that they "bleach" in the sun. If there's a stain I can't get out with regular washing, I use my favourite stain remover, from Bunch a Farmers, that I found on the website www.lunapads.com! Sure reduces the amount of toilet paper that I need to buy. (Also pleasant for that time of the month!) Also, if you are into aromatherapy, you can keep the clean "wipes" in a container with some water, a touch of oil (any kind, but I like almond oil) and a few drops of lavender essential oil. Mmmm :)
Sorry if this post is TMI, but I thought I would share, because I love how cheaply we can live. At one point, my family of four lived on $300 per month. thankfully it was only for4 months, but we sure learned a lot!
