I come from a big family and could not bear paying so much for cards/gifts. There is always a celebration going on here and there. I end up spending too much on cards and gifts, which I know cards will put away and over time lost. I know I can make better than this. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted my gifts to stand out and be everlsting. Then I had a brilliant idea, I started making gifts - paintings on cards, or canvas painting for bigger functions, making them into postcards etc. I started with simple things and eventually started making it complex. Every body started loving them, and encouraged me so much that it became a good hobby. However, it is an expensive hobby! Could not practice being frugal here! After a few years that hobby became a business model. Now looking back, I feel it is funny because by being frugal, I actually created an opportunity for myself.

...I assume that for every $1 spent at a restaurant, I can spend $5-10 cooking at home. Our house has a virtually unlimited grocery budget and we throw dinner parties nearly weekly. Friends of course are their own reward, but the ability to cook nice meals for them which don't break the bank are infinitely preferable to money spent on dinners at fancy restaurants with unpredictable service, inconsistent food quality, and the inability to simply relax after the meal and stay seated. Our last party ended at 2:30am because of all the chatting!

I simply don't buy trash bags. Why do that when I can reuse plastic shopping bags from the supermarket?

I never pay retail price for ANYTHING, thanks to the interwebs. Even for clothes, etc., when size/fit matters and most folks think it is "easier" to just go to the store and try stuff on. Still do that, but then just write down the sizes, etc. that you need and then go home, get online, and get that stuff for far less. DVDs, and basically any consumer electronics product are super easy to find online. The biggest bonus is that 90% of the time I can find some sort of coupon code for even more discounts!

i cannot bring myself to spend money on any type of fast food. when i met my girlfriend, i realized what good food tastes like, and i never went back.

after eating good, organic food every night for dinner, i do not even consider (burger king/taco bell/etc) food anymore. it is the equivalent of survivorman eating roots to stay alive while stuck in a desert.

and you would not believe the amount of money it saves. enough to go out to a good dinner whenever you want.

I tear cotton balls into two – sometimes three – separate, smaller cotton balls. My mother taught me to do this when I was a very young girl, and it's become a habit I can't break! Even though a bag of cotton balls is only about 99 cents, I figure every little bit counts! ;-)

But unlike the above poster, I don't mind paying for soda in a restaurant, especially since they usually let me read my book and use my laptop while enjoying free refills.
My soda fixation is finding which diet soda (I'm a Type I diabetic) is cheapest. A 2-liter bottle may be 1.8 cents per ounce, while the cans are 2.2 cents per ounce. No matter where I'm shopping I can never stop looking at the little "cents per ounce" label hiding under the big "2 for $5.99!!" sign. :)

Literally! Once I have some change in my purse, it goes into my "weekend beach trip" fund. I don't use it no matter what...if a purchase totals $2.01, I will pay with three dollar bills. At the end of the week, I dump the change in the jar. The same thing goes for any unexpected money.

Change - every penny and even the ones I find on the ground, in the washing machine and in my husband's car. I NEVER spend change. I'm obsessed with finding and saving change. If I have change in my wallet I will still break a dollar and pocket the change. If a cashier asks if I have the needed change to make the transaction simpler, I always say "no" even if I do have it. I take my husband's change every night. A couple of times a month I take all my coin rolls to the bank and then transfer it to my ING account (high interest rates!!). Over the course of several years I have managed to save thousands - that continue to earn a decent interest rate (over 4%!).

I am a little nuts about unplugging appliances when they are not in use - to save the trickle of power that goes into them whether they are being used or not. I know this can't possibly save me much money, but I try to tread as lightly on the planet as I can. If I walk into the kitchen and the microwave clock is lit up, I take it as a personal failure! :P

I love to cook and do a decent job, but I am tired after a day at work. I am still getting use to working outside of the house and there is such temptation to go out for dinner, but with three kids it adds up way too quickly (especially since two are teen boys!). So I have started to just start something........anything for dinner when I get home. That way I am offering them dinner and we don't spend money at the nearby Sports bar. We eat better and we don't spend as much doing so. Even the most mindless meals are still better than we would eat if we went out. This evening my 6 year old will asked, "So how much was This dinner?"

Back in kindergarten, we were reared up by the nuns to steer clear from sodas or any carbonated drink. Seems that I was the only one who took it with me until adulthood because by now, i always prefer water over any other form of colored or sweetened liquid. :)

This also gives me an idea to start training kids young and there are bigger chances that they'll bring it up.

In my neighborhood everyone calls me when they need help with there computers. So for about two years now I've taken advantage of all their WIFI connections and left them unsecured for my own personal use. Even though i could afford my own service im gonna ride this one as long as i can.. ha.

Like others, I don't have cable. We cancelled it 3 years ago when the company ticked us off w/ poor customer service and we realized there were only 2 shows we consciously chose to watch. Thanks to Netflix, we're not even missing those shows, and we have a lot more time for things like reading and exercise.

And I clip coupons even though we have a comfortable income. I also get a big kick out of getting a really good deal w/ a sale & coupon combo, like this weekend when I got 7 boxes of cereal (General Mills), 2 cartons of ice cream (Breyers), and 2 boxes of granola bars (General Mills again) for $22. Score!

I make my own "convenience" food. I don't buy yogurt, tortillas, bread, or granola; I make them at home. To me, the inconvenience is the high prices, not the labor it takes to make them. Instead of paying 33 cents per serving of yogurt, it costs me about 50 cents to make an entire quart that tastes just as good. A batch of 12-15 tortillas costs me around 20 cents instead of the store's $1-1.50 for eight. Most people don't realize that most of their grocery bill is for things they could normally make at home for a fraction of the cost.

I am infamous at my workplace for always bringing lunch, while my coworkers mostly order out and pick it up by car. A few times I let them pressure me into ordering with them but the cost of the food (and gas consumed and trash created by to-go packaging) almost made me lose my appetite by the time it arrived (almost). I can't stand to see them spend all this money on eating out but I keep my mouth shut because it's their life and money, not mine!! And they always say my lunches look better anyway! :)

I get a great deal of satisfaction from recycling gifts. I maintain a present box at home, and feed it with duplicate gifts, innaporiate presents, garage sale items that look like new, video games and CDs that can be resealed to look new. It makes sense to save money this way. The trick is never to regift a present to the original gifter. Not cheap - frugal!

I love getting the cheapest price on food and household goods. I have a spreadsheet with various food and household items on it. I have spent an inordinate amount of time analyzing paper products and laundry detergent. When I see a good deal on this kind of thing, I buy a lot of it.

Latest find, laundry detergent at 2.00 for 100 oz/32 loads. I walked out of the store with 15 bottles of laundry detergent and nothing else. Savings, about $45 when compared to Tide at regular price (which is what my wife used to use).

TF

I can't buy anything w/o checking online at fatwallet first. Not only are there always people talking about deals on various items, but fatwallet and other online sites often have cashback deals with retailers when you make purchases through their sites.

I absolutley refuse to buy spices at the supermarket, especially the McCormick brand. They're obscenely overpriced, routinely costing 60 or more dollars per pound. And they're usually not that good!

My strategy:

1) Drugstores/Dollar Stores -- a lot of the herbs and spices there are a dollar a bottle or less, and they're often pretty reputable.

2) Ethnic markets -- This is easy in New York, especially as we now have a meaningful Mexican population, and I live less than ten blocks from some of the great Indian spice markets of this country. Given how many people of different ethnic groups are moving throughout the country, this kind of shopping is becoming possible in more and more places.

3) Gourmet stores - When you really need something that can't be found at 1 or 2, the premium over supermarket price for buying from a quality retailer is really pretty small and the quality is much better.

It's been at least five years -- and a lot of good meals -- since I bought McCormick's at the supermarket.

I push the replacement cycles of things

... and begin this before the purchase. Best of all? It doesn´t take much of planning effort at all, just an implementation of foresight.

So what do I do?

Before I buy really anything, I decide on what are the characteristics of this particular purchase that will allow me to use it for an extended period of time before I replace it?

With regard to clothing, replacement cycle-enhancing characteristics to consider before purchase include a design that I will be pleased with not only this season, but also this season next year (and the next). It includes finding a quality that can take repeated washing without loosing color and shape. And it includes the right usability for the kinds of activities and events that I regularly take part in.

With regard to technology, replacement cycle-enhancing characteristics includes only buying gadgets when they have been on the market for at least six to eighteen months and preferably have come in a second or third iteration. Not only does technology become cheaper to buy as it evolves, it also grows more reliable as manufacturers receive complaints and suggestions from early-adopters, and so you will get a longer-lasting product if you have patience (and save up for it).

And can you foresee that you will find more use for one of the products you are considering to buy, once its primary use one day has become obsolete? Then that particular product perhaps should get a leg up when you compare them and try to decide.

A concrete example of this is when I recently decided my four year old Pentium M-laptop needed to be replaced. I hesitated between a laptop and a desktop, but finally decided for a desktop in the shape of a Mac Mini with the energy-efficient Core 2 Duo-processors, because I could find at least two use-cases for it when I retire it as my main computer a few years down the road. In one scenario I could get an eyeTV television receiver and use it as a high-end PVR or I can use it as a kitchen computer for surf and stuff for as long as it works.

This not only applies to clothes and technology but you get the concept. When buying furniture, appliances or a new car, I apply the same scrutiny.

Now, when you have bought something that you want to push the replacement cycle of, you want to take care of it.

The best advice on making clothes look new as long as possible that I' ve ever got is to wash them inside out. As I wrote in a comment here on Wise Bread a few hours earlier:

It is true that washing mashines have become more gentlte to the clothes, but they are still the biggest abusers of our clothes. It easily doubles or even triples the lives of them if you turn them inside-out before washing, making them look new-ish longer. And this of course translates into savings.

Every sweater or pair of jeans that you can keep in "active service" looking "new" just one third longer, translates into a saving of a one third. Not so bad, ha?

As you can see, your savings is in direct proportion to how far you can push the replacement cycle of your stuff. Do you want an 80 percent off of something whatever you are paying for it? Make sure to make use of it five times as long as you do today.

And pushing the replacement cycle of things does not only applies to clothing of course, but to most anything that you use. Shoes, cars, appliances, bikes, furniture and more.

What is the best with this foresight if you implement it in your daily life? This will differ for anyone of you, but for me the best is that I can allow myself to sometimes not go for the cheapest stuff or the cheapest clothing, but I can go for the quality and the stuff I really want, because I know, and I trust myself, to turn it a real bargain over time - by pushing the replacement cycle.

I guess that's my frugal obsession.

Oh, here is one if forgot about. Inkjet ink. Buy a printer for $65 and the replacement inks cost $85. Sometimes I would like to never print again...

I save and reuse gift bags and bows. And if I have to (gasp!) BUY it, I go the the dollar store. I save all boxes, bubble wrap, paper packing, etc to ship my eBay sales. I rarely have to buy any of that stuff. I always order water in restaurants and sometimes order an appetizer as my entree. I try to avoid paying retail for as much as I can: books, make up, magazine subscriptions. I always check eBay, CraigsList and keep a look out for coupon codes before I lay the money out. I also clip coupons & watch sales ads---it doesn't seem like a big deal but you'd be amazed at the people who stroll through a grocery store w/ no idea that they can find the same thing cheaper else where or at lease w/ a coupon.

It's been 4 years since I purchased garbage bags. We used to reuse grocery bags until recently. Now we separate our trash into 3 containers: trash, compost, and recycle. With this system, we rarely need to place anything in a bag, only the occasional chicken bone. Why place biodegradable items in a non biodegradable bag? Why waste the money when a little bit of daily effort on our part eliminates the purpose of the bags?

I hate using the AC, even though our place has central air. It takes a lot for me to turn it on. I hate drinking anything but water at home or restaurants, I just can't justify the expense and sugar! Recently, I was quite upset over a restaurant that wanted to charge a corking fee although they had no liquor license.
I hate using the dishwasher, but I cave in after a big meal.
Unless it's ethnic food, which I have a hard time duplicating, I really don't enjoying dining out. Usually I find I could cook something much better and cheaper myself. As a vegetarian, my options are usually pretty limited anyway.
Lastly, although I am frugal, I will not let myself be treated poorly as a trade off. Case in point, I used to shop at an indoor market near my house for produce and spices. Since we cook all the time, I would spend most of my grocery budget there and drop a hefty amount on a weekly basis. The problem is, you have to be very careful to inspect the food for quality. I was inspecting some onions that appeared to have Aspergillus niger fungus (a black dirt-like fungus) by removing the first outer layer. The insane manager/owner(?) started yelling at me in broken english. Apparently, I guess he thinks I am trying to avoid paying for the onion skins? I could have put them in a bag and paid for them, but they are so light they wouldn't even register on the scale. He kept telling me the Aspergillus niger was dirt. I explained to him how much money I spend in his store, and that he needed to apologize for treating a customer that way and he refused. Incidentally, that's what it means to be too cheap for your own good--you're willing to loose a customer over a penny of onion skin rather than reap the thousands of dollars I spend there annually.
Anyway, I refuse to shop there anymore, which costs me a little more, but poor treatment is never acceptable. Plus, there's too many shady practices there---the fake Colgate anti-freeze toothpaste, poor sanitation, etc.

If I am looking to buy something that costs more then $50 I always use craigslist first. If it is over $50 it is usually a luxury I don't need right away so I can take my time and scan craigslist for awhile until a really good deal pops up.

Also, I hate spending money on clothing, "garage-saleing" is my new favorite way to buy clothes...4 J. Crew dress shirts for $3, I mean come on how can you beat that!

Gift bags are great items, that look just as good after you open the present, so why waste them? I recycle the same gift bag for my dear husband's birthday present every year. He thinks it's funny. Luckily we are both cheapskates. Now I've converted my co-worker cubicle mate to the idea and we trade one gift bag back and forth every Christmas, filled with inexpensive items. Oh yes, and it was a USED gift bag.

Love the towel idea.

I am a nurse and we give out samples, and NEVER seem to have enough bags. I have several patients that bring in grocery bags for us to use. You may want to check with your local clinics, day care, thrift store ect about wanting your loads of plastic grocery bags.

Julie

I consider myself frugal to the extreme. I drive my husband crazy with it and likewise he drives me crazy with his lack of frugality (what - you bought pop from a VENDING MACHINE?!). Many of the things I do have already been mentioned (only buy clothing second hand or on clearance, on the very rare occasion I eat out in the first place I won't pay for pop, etc.), but one I haven't seen mentioned yet is I will not spend money on professional portraits. It seems my friends and family take their kids to have their pictures taken several times a year. We had our now five year old daughter's picture taken professionally only once when she was six months old because we had a free coupon for it. We have had one professional family portrait taken that was also free. What do my friends and family do with those dozens of portraits and poses once they are outdated? Stick them away in storage. I'm good enough with a digital camera and Photoshop. I like my candids better and they are more reflective of our true personalities than any posed shots from a photography studio.

I've been using my neighbor's WIFI since spring and I've saved a bunch. Ok, so I had to sit out on the deck most nights but that's no biggie; it's been a dry summer. The cold nights of the impending New England autumn are something else. I broke down today and installed WIFI. Call me a wuss if you will.

There's n-o-o-o-o way this old cheapskate is gunna pay to get a plastic bottle full of filtered water. We pay our taxes--and utility bills--to have clean, treated water delivered to us through the city plumbing. And even though my office building has no potable water, I'll haul in a bottle of water from my kitchen before I'll pony up a buck or more for a few ounces of water from the vending machine. Outrageous! Who palmed that scam off on the American consumer?

I'm a little obsessed with keeping a supply of food in my freezer. I try to keep at least a week's worth of meals on hand at any one time. Since I live by myself, I usually have food left over, even when I make only a half or quarter of a recipe. Usually, there's enough left both to have leftovers the next day and freeze one serving of the recipe. I figure that if for any reason I'm a little short on money one month, I'll have enough food in my freezer to keep me going for a little while.

I can tell you way too much about costs per diaper, diaper sales, etc. If I didn't have a blog, folks would think I had a problem!

I don't think this idea has been mentioned above, I tried to read all the previous posts. My husband and I are proud garbage men, not by profession though. We have found some very valuable items people throw out to the street simply because they can't be bothered to clean it or repair it.

By driving down our neighborhood on garbage day, we have picked up a stainless steel outdoor gas grill ($600 retail), a fertilizer spreader ($40), a matching chair for our dining set ($50), and just yesterday I brought home a hood/vent-combo microwave ($250) they were throwing out simply because they were upgrading their appliances to stainless steel. If I didn't already have a free stove in my home, I would have taken that too!

An easy way to save money at Starbucks is to bring your own mug. Not only will they knock off around 15 cents per coffee because you aren't buying the cup, but if you order a short, most baristas will fill your cup regardless of its size!

Not only that, but you won't be throwing away all those cups too, so it's better for the environment too.

I know it's one of the most common habits of the frugal, but I find almost everything my family must purchase (except skivvies) at our local Salvation Army, VOA Thrift Shop, or Craig's List. My husband is a tech admin, and all of his work shirts are 2nd hand. I've never paid more than 5.00 for one. When he stops wearing a shirt, or gets tired of it, it goes back to the shop as a donation, and I do the same with my daughter's & my clothing. I didn't set foot in a regular retail store for school clothes shopping this year except to buy socks & underwear. Most recently, our dishwasher went kaput, and I found a nearly new one on Craigslist for 20.00, then took the old one to the recycler. Even our couch was a CL freebie - and it's far better than we would have purchased new. Our window treatments came from the Habitat For Humanity store, as do many of our home repair supplies, like caulk or plumbing fixtures. Certainly it's not always feasible or sensible to go the frugal route, but I find the only thing more amazing than others' willingness to get rid of perfectly brilliant, brand new stuff, is my ability to consistently find exactly what we need for a fraction of retail.

i have really enjoyed reading all the hints on saving especially in the supermarkets i love to make every thing from scratch i love the challeng and then compare how much it would have cost me in the store i think its wonderful to cook all my meals for under a dollar great fun lets keep the frugal hints coming in cheers from carol from down under

1. Hosted one domain with godaddy and installed like 4 Wordpress (blogging tool) in them. Then redirect all my blogs to them. So instead of hosting 4 servers, I pay only for 1 host and get 4 separate blogs for all my purposes.

2. Don’t have cable. Hook up my laptop to the television and play movies from internet. I choose what I want to watch without ads etc

3. Turn my kitchen into a restaurant on Sat & sun and cook and freeze a week’s worth food. I have close to 6 varieties and I mix and match.

4. Take pictures of all my clothes and save them into my computer. Night before going to bed, I will mix and match. That way I know how much clothes I have and save time in the morning deciding what to wear.

5. Perfumes cost too much. So I buy fragrant lotions that moisturize and make me smell good. I use them on me twice/thrice a day, so eventually it becomes part of my smell which even after laundry, my shirts and pants smell of that lotion. I have been complimented often about smelling so good all day!

I'm obsessing over canvas grocery bags lately... it's more a green obsession than a frugal obession but my grocery store does give me 5-10¢ per bag for each reusable bag I bring.

And, fixing my nearly 10 year old car to keep it running and delay investing in a new one! I just put 2 car payments worth of repairs into it but I'm saving so much more on insurance and payments by not buying a new car!

This is pretty crazy but I can't help it. When I chop vegetables I keep the carrot tops, celery bottoms, wilted lettuce, inner onion skins, tips of green beans, etc., in a plastic bag and pop it in the fridge. When I have a big bag of these vegetable trimmings I make stock--sometimes adding a chicken carcass or meat bones, sometimes just a vegetable stock. I don't know if this saves very much money but it smells marvelous and makes a rich soup broth. Then the simmered remains of the vegetables go in the compost.

When soap scraps get too thin or small to handle, glue them onto the new soap bar with soap suds.

You know those sheets of tin foil that you use to cover food? Well, they can be rinsed/washed and reused at least one or two times more.

Also, why buy quart-sized bags when you can reuse the plastic produce bags?

Unless your hair is REALLY oily, you don't need shampoo- conditioner and water will do a great job- and you don't need much conditioner, either. Go ahead and try- no one will be able to tell you skipped a step- except your wallet will be fatter. As far as lotions, everything you put on your body will go into your body; therefore, coconut oil oil is a lot better for you than any other "higher priced spread." You can't get any more luxurious than coconut oil, and there is a lot of research that indicates that it is very healthy for you, as well. The coconut oil treatment saved my nails, and my skin has never been as soft!

1. i unplug pretty much everything while i'm not using it. It only makes a small difference in power usage, but it counts

2. i rinse out and re-use paper towels for things like wiping around the kitchen sink, sweeping up lint, etc.

3. instead of expensive hair styling cream, i just use plain (cheap) lotion to smooth out my hair...it's practically the same thing

4. i always cut open bottles of shampoo, toothpaste, etc. to use every last drop

5. whenever possible, i line-dry my clothes

6. i use every edible part i can whenever i buy meet...the trimmings and fat on the meat are usually really good as part of a broth or soup

7. i never eat out if its something i can make myself (like eggs and coffee at a diner)...BUT i never, ever go cheap on a tip if i do (since the waitress is probably pretty broke too)

A lot of stuff that's good for the environment can also save you money. There's the obvious no bottled water thing. Just reuse a glass bottle or buy an aluminum bottle. Redusing and reusing are great. So is buying stuff that lasts longer.

Our local newspapers are online for free, so I just look up the news there.

When we have cake and ice cream or other food at work someone brings in REAL dishes to use instead of plastic stuff. It feels a lot nicer that way too. If only I could find a way to get others to do away w/ disposables. I also don't like using paper napkins and paper towels. Sponges and regular towels are just fine for cleaning and cloth napkins look much swankier anyway. Hey, you don't even need towels. Just cut up old clothes to use as washcloths.

Since I was a kid my mom used the comics (or other mail that was going to be tossed) to wrap presents. Some people actually keep the wrapping paper to read later :)

The library is awesome!

I also can't believe how many of the college kids here drive to school when they live w/in walking distance. Parking is a headache, so why not walk? When I do need to drive somewhere I get a pull-through space. It saves gas b/c you use up more when you have to back out of a space. Instead of wasting gas to look for a space, just park wherever and walk. You'll get exercise. I also use my A/C only over 50mph.

If you want to save money on printer ink Walgreen's is doing refills now. Then you won't have to worry about recycling the old cartridges.

Hey, I love this thread and appreciate reading all the advice. I do a good bit of what you all do and am always looking for other ways to NOT spend money. For a long time (years) I have strived to NOT pay for what little entertainment I have the spare time to indulge in. For me, that's using my library to the ultimate. If there's a first-run movie I'd like to see or some book I want to read, I immediately visit my local library online catalog and reserve it if possible. It may take awhile but this has worked for me (turns out the library has multiple copies of the popular stuff) and guess what, most of the time the movie or book I just HAD to watch or read wasn't all that great anyway and it was free, no loss. For that matter, any movie you haven't seen is new to you, right? I've had no cable TV for years and seldom watch regular TV (helps to work second shift, which I love). I've learned to cook well for myself so seldom even want the fast food anymore. I keep a glass water bottle with me and take it every time I go out the door. I make pots of coffee or tea at home and fill a thermos, stays hot all day and tastes fine, and I'll sometimes haul that around if I'll be away from home for hours. (Hit the thrifts and buy the containers, buy carry-alls, backpack things and keep a few in your car, very cheap for nice ones and very handy). I work from home now but used to make extra and always had a better-looking lunch than everybody I worked with. I've cut my own hair for years, it ain't all that hard to do. When my car quits, I have no plans to buy another and am actually looking forward to it. I think it's so important to cultivate a different attitude and way of looking at your daily life and home, how you can SLOW DOWN and enjoy it more, how you can become more of a homebody and get to know your neighborhood better. I say concentrate on buying a home you can afford when you're very young and go from there and make it your palace, make it within walking/bus stop distance and forego car payments and charging things. I had my first home when I was 23, wasn't much but it was mine. I've never regretted it.

now on this one i believe i may need physciatric help on!
i got really frustrated at buying purses from cheap stores and having them fall apart in a few months...my $20 had really become a four time a year total waste of money and time. so now i case out the good wills and thrift stores in the rich parts of town or where i know the rich people donate and i anxiously await for their castoffs like a kid on christmas. I have found beautiful leather name brand purses even desighner purses for $1-$5 each :) needless to say i have not bought a new purse in several years...I always get compliments on my purses they always look great and stand the test of time.i even do my little purse prayer prior to walking into the store, and i always do the happy dance when i score a really great deal.even if i was a millionare i know i would buy my purses this way. its not just the discount i recieve but its the exciting thrill of the hunt as well!

Whenever I sell items to anyone through Amazon.com, be it CD's, books, DVD's, etc, I always cut up grocery paper bags or use brown cardboard paper. Why spend .55 cents to $2.00 plus tax for a yellow bubble envelope at an office store or grocery store when you can do it yourself in 5 minutes tops and earn the equivalent of up to $24 an hour doing it.