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!
This does not make any sense at all. Why have money if you never spend it, even when you need to? If you really think you need a 2nd emergency fund, it should be in some hard assets like gold or silver coins. Then, in the event of a disaster, or if we see massive devaluation of the dollar like they did in Argentina, you will be safe.
Savings bonds are a poor long-term investment, except for maybe i-bonds.
Refusing to spend money even while your life crumbles around you is the epitome of stinginess. Haven't we all heard stories of some miser or other who lives in squalor and dies with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in the bank? Money should be a means to an end--a happier life--and not an end in itself.
We live a very frugal lifestyle, with four kids we have to! We have our own chickens and we get free range eggs everyday. Considering the cost of a dozen free range eggs in the store and what it costs us to feed the chickens, about $30 every six months for feed as they get kitchen scraps and all the bugs and grass they want, it is a real money saver.
We buy loads of books at the local used book fair, at a cost of 50 cents to a dollar for most books (some of them are brand new and don't appear to have been read) we save heaps, when our girls are done with the books we donate them back to the book fair or gift them to others with kids.
We buy the majority of our food at the farmer's market, and we save about $200 / week by not going to the big supermarkets, we end up getting local fresh produce that is in season for sometimes 1/4 of the supermarket price.
We also shop at the local food co-op and get our laundry detergent and soaps in bulk there, we even take our own bottles and plastic containers to fill up at the co-op so we are reusing those things instead of them going to a landfill.
I bought my husband a straight razor (cut throat razor in Australia) and he never has to buy a disposable razor again! Same goes for shaving cream, he just uses a little soap to lather up.
If we need to buy clothes we try the local pre-loved clothing stores first, then the discount stores, we never pay full retail for anything.
We own one car, I only need to put gas in it once a month because we walk or bicycle to work, walk the kids to school, and walk or bicycle to the store.
We grow our own veggies and we planted some fruit trees to have our own fruit.
And the cheapest thing we do - we all use the same bath water. I get in first with our youngest (aged 2), then the older ones take their turns, then my husband gets in. We use 1/4 of the average household when it comes to water. If we have to shower we use a timer and only shower for 4 minutes. We collect our grey water from the bath and use it in the garden. And of course - if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down! Try it, it saves heaps of money and conserves a precious natural resource.
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
My momn was the master. She stayed home with 3 kids in the 60's, & she was on a tight leash for household money. I can't believe how many things she did that I internalized & still do. Washing out plastic baggies for re-use. Cutting paper towels in half for most uses. Cutting dryer sheets in half. Mixing whole milk with powdered dried milk & chilling, I didn't like milk, but couldn't tell the difference. Then she started buying extra milk on sale & freezing it. Of course she made all of our bread & desserts, & she would half the amount of sugar in cookies, both for health reasons, & to save on sugar. She would also half the chocolate chips in cookies for the same reasons. Somehow they still got gone in the same amount of time. She would make cocoa mix with dry milk & a canister of nestles chocolate milk, & package it into (reused) baggies per serving for camping. The same with instant oatmeal, you can make your own with instant oatmeal, add dry milk, brown sugar, raisins, & a pinch of salt & nutmeg or cinnamon, & do the one serving per baggie thing. I use to do this when I had to be at work really early. Fix enough for a week, pop a serving in the microwave while showering, & it would be done when I was ready to eat. These are some things that stand out. I've really enjoyed reading others ideas.
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 think we can use one cell phone for atleast two years, and this is enough time for a cell and after then we have to change it because in this much time there are lot of change in technology which can help us for further two years. And as you adviced, I always recycled it at retailer, very wise article.
The employment center I went to told me that it generally takes 1 month for every $10,000/year in salary to find a new job of equivalent salary. In other words, If you made $40,000/year, expect your job search to take about 4 months.
If you are in debt an emergency fund is even more important but it also needs to be kept small, but big enough to cover an appliance replacement, car repair or even a trip to the doctor. $1000 is about right but don't scoff at even $200. That is better then going into even more debt.
I like the idea that A Simple Dollar had, pump the money for a debt snowball into a savings account and have it available as an emergency fund and then pay off the debt when you have enough to retire the whole thing plus a small cushion.
Regarding the car wash, although it applies to pretty much everything involving water these days - get your hands on some phosphate-free, environmentally-friendly soap. I know it costs a bit more, but it'll make a difference in the long run if we do a little less damage to our water supply. :)
Here I go again...the other thing to remember in this financial calulation submitted by Ted is that for many people once they get out of debt and use the savings from the cash value policy to make investments...many of these investment opportunities may also be tax deferred such as participating or maximizing in a company or individual retirement plan, setting up an ESA or 529 Plan or even have some tax free growth by utilizing a Roth IRA. This negates the whole comparison since we know that so many people today are barely taking advantage of their tax favored investment opportunities compared to this 9.1 vs 10% comparison. Even if the rates of returns are equal, which they are not because a cash value plan invested in a mutual fund has higher expense costs vs. the same direct investment in a mutual fund, the other drawbacks about cash value plans are still prevalent. It is just not a good investment product. Buy term life insurance to protect your family and invest your money wisely with the better products available.
The IEU policy is a hybrid of universal life (cash value) insurance typically standing for Indexed Equity Universal life. It's rate of return is supposed to mirror, to a lesser degree, the return of the stock market but without the volatility. However the pricing mechanism for the policy is the same as all other cash value plans...based on interst rate or earnings projections that are determined by the agent presenting, with some limitations, and if they are not achieved then the policy will lapse in later years unless additional premiums are paid. The drawbacks still remain just as with all other cash value plans even without this financial strategy.
Generally, the more savings and investments you have, the more stable your household finances are. The issue is, when do you say, "That's enough in cash, now I'm going to start investing for a higher return."
If you're debt-free, then I think six months' minimum monthly expenses is about the tipping point where the higher return of investing in stocks outweighs the advantages of yet more cash in your emergency fund. Any reasonably safe, reasonably liquid investments (such as an S&P 500 index fund) could be quickly turned into cash, if it looked like you were going to exhaust your initial 6 months' of emergency cash.
Your numbers would imply an extra $6000 to $12,000 of emergency cash (for a 9 to 12 month emergency fund). If equities return an average of 5% more per year than cash, that would mean that investing everything beyond a 6-month emergency fund in an S&P 500 index fund would bring an extra $300 to $600 a year in return. That's an extra month's worth of expenses every 4 years, just from the higher return on equities!
Of course the calculation changes completely if you have some reason to suspect that you'll be relying on the emergency fund for more than 6 months. But, unless you have some specific danger in mind, I think the extra return of equities outweighs the safety of cash, once you've got six months expenses stashed away.
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.
Try growing your own herbs, its very easy and they dry great in the oven. Then compare your freshly dried herbs to those you buy in the store (any store)....you won't believe how much greener and fresher looking/smelling/tasting they are! Of course there are those really exotic spices/herbs that we can't grow here in the US due to climate, but parsley, cilantro, thyme, basil, marjoram, dill, savory, oregano, even saffron have all been very successful for me here in Ohio. It makes a HUGE difference in my cooking..... Good luck to you!
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!
I agree you should not start building an emergency fund if you have debt. As stated, the rates just don't make sense. But I have found it useful in making ends meet by having at least $1,000 in an emergency fund while you're paying down those installments debts.
Once the debts are taken care of, you can eliminate their minimum payments out of your calculation for the minimum monthly living expenses. So that if your cars and credit cards are paid off, your monthly expenses will lower thus lowering the amount of cash you'd need to have on hand in case of a crisis.
Our family lives on a budget of $1,950 for groceries, gas, eating out, entertainment, insurance/taxes and utilities. Currently, we do have other debts so those minimum payments add up to an additional $900. If I were to base my emergency fund on my current monthly expenses, I'd need to save and hold $17,100 for a six month reserve. BUT, if first I wiped out all debts, I would then only need about $11,700 for six months. Quite honestly, I would feel even safer with a 9-12 month fund. Obviously, I would put this in a higher yielding savings account offering near 5%.
As a young person I was fortunate enough to work at my passion, travel and race my bike professionally while going to college part-time. If at all possible I highly recommend this...or a variation on the theme. I got the chance to follow my dream and then transform it into a career. I hope I can help my kid in this way...
Because I have always been more or less self-employed, my money comes and goes irregularly - this fluctuation of cash flow has caused me to periodically go on what I call a "money diet." That is, I try to spend as little money as possible! No charging. Nothing. I try to look at ALL expenses and see if they are really necessary. It amazes me that people are habitually spending $5 a DAY for Starbucks, when that is a luxury for me! I bring my own food and drink. I look for free parking places. I try to score stuff for free. I get really creative when on a "money diet" and I have found that they are good for me! Especially when there is so much free stuff on the net. I really go after the freebies on a money diet! Sounds like you guys should try it sometimes....
We had credit cards, bought cars and a condo. Meanwhile spending a bit too much with the credit cards... Then we struggled to pay off all the cards, cancelled them all and CUT THEM UP. We recently bought a house and the loan guy said we could "walk on water" with our credit rating. Trick is (for us at least) to "walk away" from the credit cards after you've had several years of that gratifying "fix" while building credit. The cards are addictive and the credit companies know it...
We do almost everything on this list (except alternative gas vehicle and pre-purchase long term usage-analysis of items) plus we recycle anything possible! In addition to this sickness, I was raised a DIY repair man, gardener (vegetables are much cheaper and taste much better) and garbage picker. My kid has a drum set, a few bikes and a scooter all FREE. I have made numerous repairs to the house and most of the materials have been FREE. Two "new" dining room chairs = FREE. Paint to make them match the others = FREE. Fence for around the veggie garden = FREE. Now, we've started using seeds from our plants to plant more = FREE. I read an article on MotherJones.com regarding a guy who gets 59 mpg in a regular Honda and now I am coasting downhill in Neutral. When we're done with something it is sold at our annual yard sale, on eBay or Craigslist or - as a last resort - donated. I need therapy. Hmmm, now, where do I find a natural gas powered car...
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!
This does not make any sense at all. Why have money if you never spend it, even when you need to? If you really think you need a 2nd emergency fund, it should be in some hard assets like gold or silver coins. Then, in the event of a disaster, or if we see massive devaluation of the dollar like they did in Argentina, you will be safe.
Savings bonds are a poor long-term investment, except for maybe i-bonds.
And inside each of those smaller batteries are even smaller ones.... ?
Refusing to spend money even while your life crumbles around you is the epitome of stinginess. Haven't we all heard stories of some miser or other who lives in squalor and dies with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in the bank? Money should be a means to an end--a happier life--and not an end in itself.
We live a very frugal lifestyle, with four kids we have to! We have our own chickens and we get free range eggs everyday. Considering the cost of a dozen free range eggs in the store and what it costs us to feed the chickens, about $30 every six months for feed as they get kitchen scraps and all the bugs and grass they want, it is a real money saver.
We buy loads of books at the local used book fair, at a cost of 50 cents to a dollar for most books (some of them are brand new and don't appear to have been read) we save heaps, when our girls are done with the books we donate them back to the book fair or gift them to others with kids.
We buy the majority of our food at the farmer's market, and we save about $200 / week by not going to the big supermarkets, we end up getting local fresh produce that is in season for sometimes 1/4 of the supermarket price.
We also shop at the local food co-op and get our laundry detergent and soaps in bulk there, we even take our own bottles and plastic containers to fill up at the co-op so we are reusing those things instead of them going to a landfill.
I bought my husband a straight razor (cut throat razor in Australia) and he never has to buy a disposable razor again! Same goes for shaving cream, he just uses a little soap to lather up.
If we need to buy clothes we try the local pre-loved clothing stores first, then the discount stores, we never pay full retail for anything.
We own one car, I only need to put gas in it once a month because we walk or bicycle to work, walk the kids to school, and walk or bicycle to the store.
We grow our own veggies and we planted some fruit trees to have our own fruit.
And the cheapest thing we do - we all use the same bath water. I get in first with our youngest (aged 2), then the older ones take their turns, then my husband gets in. We use 1/4 of the average household when it comes to water. If we have to shower we use a timer and only shower for 4 minutes. We collect our grey water from the bath and use it in the garden. And of course - if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down! Try it, it saves heaps of money and conserves a precious natural resource.
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
My momn was the master. She stayed home with 3 kids in the 60's, & she was on a tight leash for household money. I can't believe how many things she did that I internalized & still do. Washing out plastic baggies for re-use. Cutting paper towels in half for most uses. Cutting dryer sheets in half. Mixing whole milk with powdered dried milk & chilling, I didn't like milk, but couldn't tell the difference. Then she started buying extra milk on sale & freezing it. Of course she made all of our bread & desserts, & she would half the amount of sugar in cookies, both for health reasons, & to save on sugar. She would also half the chocolate chips in cookies for the same reasons. Somehow they still got gone in the same amount of time. She would make cocoa mix with dry milk & a canister of nestles chocolate milk, & package it into (reused) baggies per serving for camping. The same with instant oatmeal, you can make your own with instant oatmeal, add dry milk, brown sugar, raisins, & a pinch of salt & nutmeg or cinnamon, & do the one serving per baggie thing. I use to do this when I had to be at work really early. Fix enough for a week, pop a serving in the microwave while showering, & it would be done when I was ready to eat. These are some things that stand out. I've really enjoyed reading others ideas.
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.
Would love to see some of the works you described.
Is that possible?
I think we can use one cell phone for atleast two years, and this is enough time for a cell and after then we have to change it because in this much time there are lot of change in technology which can help us for further two years. And as you adviced, I always recycled it at retailer, very wise article.
The employment center I went to told me that it generally takes 1 month for every $10,000/year in salary to find a new job of equivalent salary. In other words, If you made $40,000/year, expect your job search to take about 4 months.
If you are in debt an emergency fund is even more important but it also needs to be kept small, but big enough to cover an appliance replacement, car repair or even a trip to the doctor. $1000 is about right but don't scoff at even $200. That is better then going into even more debt.
I like the idea that A Simple Dollar had, pump the money for a debt snowball into a savings account and have it available as an emergency fund and then pay off the debt when you have enough to retire the whole thing plus a small cushion.
Regarding the car wash, although it applies to pretty much everything involving water these days - get your hands on some phosphate-free, environmentally-friendly soap. I know it costs a bit more, but it'll make a difference in the long run if we do a little less damage to our water supply. :)
Here I go again...the other thing to remember in this financial calulation submitted by Ted is that for many people once they get out of debt and use the savings from the cash value policy to make investments...many of these investment opportunities may also be tax deferred such as participating or maximizing in a company or individual retirement plan, setting up an ESA or 529 Plan or even have some tax free growth by utilizing a Roth IRA. This negates the whole comparison since we know that so many people today are barely taking advantage of their tax favored investment opportunities compared to this 9.1 vs 10% comparison. Even if the rates of returns are equal, which they are not because a cash value plan invested in a mutual fund has higher expense costs vs. the same direct investment in a mutual fund, the other drawbacks about cash value plans are still prevalent. It is just not a good investment product. Buy term life insurance to protect your family and invest your money wisely with the better products available.
The IEU policy is a hybrid of universal life (cash value) insurance typically standing for Indexed Equity Universal life. It's rate of return is supposed to mirror, to a lesser degree, the return of the stock market but without the volatility. However the pricing mechanism for the policy is the same as all other cash value plans...based on interst rate or earnings projections that are determined by the agent presenting, with some limitations, and if they are not achieved then the policy will lapse in later years unless additional premiums are paid. The drawbacks still remain just as with all other cash value plans even without this financial strategy.
Generally, the more savings and investments you have, the more stable your household finances are. The issue is, when do you say, "That's enough in cash, now I'm going to start investing for a higher return."
If you're debt-free, then I think six months' minimum monthly expenses is about the tipping point where the higher return of investing in stocks outweighs the advantages of yet more cash in your emergency fund. Any reasonably safe, reasonably liquid investments (such as an S&P 500 index fund) could be quickly turned into cash, if it looked like you were going to exhaust your initial 6 months' of emergency cash.
Your numbers would imply an extra $6000 to $12,000 of emergency cash (for a 9 to 12 month emergency fund). If equities return an average of 5% more per year than cash, that would mean that investing everything beyond a 6-month emergency fund in an S&P 500 index fund would bring an extra $300 to $600 a year in return. That's an extra month's worth of expenses every 4 years, just from the higher return on equities!
Of course the calculation changes completely if you have some reason to suspect that you'll be relying on the emergency fund for more than 6 months. But, unless you have some specific danger in mind, I think the extra return of equities outweighs the safety of cash, once you've got six months expenses stashed away.
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.
Try growing your own herbs, its very easy and they dry great in the oven. Then compare your freshly dried herbs to those you buy in the store (any store)....you won't believe how much greener and fresher looking/smelling/tasting they are! Of course there are those really exotic spices/herbs that we can't grow here in the US due to climate, but parsley, cilantro, thyme, basil, marjoram, dill, savory, oregano, even saffron have all been very successful for me here in Ohio. It makes a HUGE difference in my cooking..... Good luck to you!
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!
I agree you should not start building an emergency fund if you have debt. As stated, the rates just don't make sense. But I have found it useful in making ends meet by having at least $1,000 in an emergency fund while you're paying down those installments debts.
Once the debts are taken care of, you can eliminate their minimum payments out of your calculation for the minimum monthly living expenses. So that if your cars and credit cards are paid off, your monthly expenses will lower thus lowering the amount of cash you'd need to have on hand in case of a crisis.
Our family lives on a budget of $1,950 for groceries, gas, eating out, entertainment, insurance/taxes and utilities. Currently, we do have other debts so those minimum payments add up to an additional $900. If I were to base my emergency fund on my current monthly expenses, I'd need to save and hold $17,100 for a six month reserve. BUT, if first I wiped out all debts, I would then only need about $11,700 for six months. Quite honestly, I would feel even safer with a 9-12 month fund. Obviously, I would put this in a higher yielding savings account offering near 5%.
can you make it any stupider?
As a young person I was fortunate enough to work at my passion, travel and race my bike professionally while going to college part-time. If at all possible I highly recommend this...or a variation on the theme. I got the chance to follow my dream and then transform it into a career. I hope I can help my kid in this way...
Because I have always been more or less self-employed, my money comes and goes irregularly - this fluctuation of cash flow has caused me to periodically go on what I call a "money diet." That is, I try to spend as little money as possible! No charging. Nothing. I try to look at ALL expenses and see if they are really necessary. It amazes me that people are habitually spending $5 a DAY for Starbucks, when that is a luxury for me! I bring my own food and drink. I look for free parking places. I try to score stuff for free. I get really creative when on a "money diet" and I have found that they are good for me! Especially when there is so much free stuff on the net. I really go after the freebies on a money diet! Sounds like you guys should try it sometimes....
We had credit cards, bought cars and a condo. Meanwhile spending a bit too much with the credit cards... Then we struggled to pay off all the cards, cancelled them all and CUT THEM UP. We recently bought a house and the loan guy said we could "walk on water" with our credit rating. Trick is (for us at least) to "walk away" from the credit cards after you've had several years of that gratifying "fix" while building credit. The cards are addictive and the credit companies know it...
We do almost everything on this list (except alternative gas vehicle and pre-purchase long term usage-analysis of items) plus we recycle anything possible! In addition to this sickness, I was raised a DIY repair man, gardener (vegetables are much cheaper and taste much better) and garbage picker. My kid has a drum set, a few bikes and a scooter all FREE. I have made numerous repairs to the house and most of the materials have been FREE. Two "new" dining room chairs = FREE. Paint to make them match the others = FREE. Fence for around the veggie garden = FREE. Now, we've started using seeds from our plants to plant more = FREE. I read an article on MotherJones.com regarding a guy who gets 59 mpg in a regular Honda and now I am coasting downhill in Neutral. When we're done with something it is sold at our annual yard sale, on eBay or Craigslist or - as a last resort - donated. I need therapy. Hmmm, now, where do I find a natural gas powered car...
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!