Although it's a pain to wait sometimes, I usually do and then buy the collected graphic novel that comes out after all the issues have been published in a comic book "event" or storyline. There's several advantages to this: no ads (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse do have ads in individual comic issues), and I can read the story all at once instead of waiting six weeks (or more) between issues. It's usually cheaper as well, and since they are books, not periodicals, discounts at amazon.com apply. I also grub around on Half.com.
Right now I really want to start buying the 10-issue series of "Omega the Unknown" that Jonathan Lentham is writing.... but I'll be a frugal geek and wait. Of course, if you're a "collector" and need to get the first printings of the actual issues, then this won't work for you!
... 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 don't like paying for mediocre food in a restaurant and it really gets me when we buy stuff and then realize that the exp date is too short and we would not eat it in time. We try to make 2 weeks worth of menus and shop for that but the fresh stuff never gets eaten. My wife always has the best intentions but life sometimes gets in the way. We also moved to Maine from Minnesota and the food is a good 20% more due to the shipping I suppose.
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 go out of my way to avoid using the dryer. It doesn't save me that much money, since each use of the dryer at my apartment is only $1. But somehow, I can't bring myself to use a ton of electricity to dry my clothes when it's a bright, sunny day outside.
I'll go out of my way to hang my laundry on the balcony, along the shower rod, and wherever I can find a good place. Luckily, California has a good number of sunny days in the year for avoiding the dryer.
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.
We like to "escape" work on our lunch hour, so sometimes I will eat at my desk and just suppliment my meal with a cheap salad. I also save all the coupons that come in the mail for restaurants or look on the internet for coupons before we go.
Freecycle and Craigslist have also been great. I am 8 months pregnant and I was able to collect a years worth of clothing for the baby from people posting after yard sale giveaways. It's great for me because most of the clothing is supercute, not worn often (due to babies growing so fast) and free! My husband also appreciates this :)
Finally, I go beyond the saving gift bags, etc. and cut up cards to use as gift tags, one sided cards, scrapbook decorations, decopage, etc. I also invested in rubber stamps and have made thank-you cards and baby announcements! Fun for me and cheap!
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).
I can't stand paying $8-10 for a simple lunch at the cafeteria at work. Making my own costs less than half of the cafeteria price, is healthier, and tastes better. What's the downside? Ten minutes to make it? Standing in the line takes longer than that most days anyhow. People have questioned it more than once, but I just claim to be on a diet and they understand that. It's really my wallet that's on the diet.
My son's name is Xavier...it is not too long, it is not too complicated--I think that anyone that sees the name has a general idea of how to pronounce it--and it is not "made up." We named him after St. Francis Xavier. However, EVERYONE seems to have something to say about his name--"Wow! He's gonna have a hard time spelling that!" or "That's a big name!" Personally I don't think six letters is too difficult. I think it is a strong name and it suits his personality. I never wanted to saddle him with a burden of a name, but I didn't want to name him a common name either. Sometimes I wish that people could keep the comments to themselves, though. I mean, we didn't name him on a whim & it is annoying to hear the same comments over and over. Anyway, his last name is much worse than the first name :0)
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!
When I receive gifts, I save as much of the packaging as I possibly can. If I can get away with it, I try to avoid tearing the wrapping paper (hey, large pieces can be cut up for wrapping small gifts). I personally find gift bags to be the biggest waste of money, but at least you can get them at the $1 store. If all else fails when you're short of wrapping paper, try using the comics section of the newspaper, or even pages from an old calendar. Anything colorful will suffice.
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 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 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 only buy my department store makeup when there is a bonus attached. I have so many samples of moisturizer, I don't have to buy it separately. Also the brand I use has an online store and frequently offers free shipping, making it less tempting to purchase more than needed to meet a minimum purchase plus they also give 1-2 samples with every order!
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'm surprised no one mentioned this yet, but perhaps it's because everyone here is too frugal to even consider Starbucks. I know I am -- I find it beyond obscene what Starbucks and the like charge for a cup of coffee, to say nothing of a cappucino, or one of their many drink offerings. The absolute only time I buy from Starbucks is at the airport for an early morning flight when I cannot get through security with my own cup. And even then, I hate giving them the money.
I guess I remember family from Denmark doing the same thing. I'll have to try it on my clothes and some of the more special pieces in my kid's wardrobe. Thanks!
I give you that children´s clothing might be special in this respect.
But for something like shirts, sweaters and jeans the old advice (at least here in Scandinavia) that you should turn them inside out before wash is a really frugal one.
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?
I´d recommend this practice for instant export! :-D
I remember, many years ago, another very popular photo site just went belly up with no warning. On a photo forum, I read about a guy who had the first year of his son's life at the now non-existent site and another who lost his three year chronicle of his rebuilt boat. Let this serve as a reminder to ALWAYS back up your photos in more than one place. Yes, it's a hassle, but it's an even bigger hassle when you have nothing left! I typically back up photos at a photo sharing site, an external hard drive and once a year on a set of DVDs I keep OUTSIDE the house (like at grandma's).
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.
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.
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.
Although it's a pain to wait sometimes, I usually do and then buy the collected graphic novel that comes out after all the issues have been published in a comic book "event" or storyline. There's several advantages to this: no ads (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse do have ads in individual comic issues), and I can read the story all at once instead of waiting six weeks (or more) between issues. It's usually cheaper as well, and since they are books, not periodicals, discounts at amazon.com apply. I also grub around on Half.com.
Right now I really want to start buying the 10-issue series of "Omega the Unknown" that Jonathan Lentham is writing.... but I'll be a frugal geek and wait. Of course, if you're a "collector" and need to get the first printings of the actual issues, then this won't work for you!
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:
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.
I don't like paying for mediocre food in a restaurant and it really gets me when we buy stuff and then realize that the exp date is too short and we would not eat it in time. We try to make 2 weeks worth of menus and shop for that but the fresh stuff never gets eaten. My wife always has the best intentions but life sometimes gets in the way. We also moved to Maine from Minnesota and the food is a good 20% more due to the shipping I suppose.
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 go out of my way to avoid using the dryer. It doesn't save me that much money, since each use of the dryer at my apartment is only $1. But somehow, I can't bring myself to use a ton of electricity to dry my clothes when it's a bright, sunny day outside.
I'll go out of my way to hang my laundry on the balcony, along the shower rod, and wherever I can find a good place. Luckily, California has a good number of sunny days in the year for avoiding the dryer.
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.
We like to "escape" work on our lunch hour, so sometimes I will eat at my desk and just suppliment my meal with a cheap salad. I also save all the coupons that come in the mail for restaurants or look on the internet for coupons before we go.
Freecycle and Craigslist have also been great. I am 8 months pregnant and I was able to collect a years worth of clothing for the baby from people posting after yard sale giveaways. It's great for me because most of the clothing is supercute, not worn often (due to babies growing so fast) and free! My husband also appreciates this :)
Finally, I go beyond the saving gift bags, etc. and cut up cards to use as gift tags, one sided cards, scrapbook decorations, decopage, etc. I also invested in rubber stamps and have made thank-you cards and baby announcements! Fun for me and cheap!
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 stand paying $8-10 for a simple lunch at the cafeteria at work. Making my own costs less than half of the cafeteria price, is healthier, and tastes better. What's the downside? Ten minutes to make it? Standing in the line takes longer than that most days anyhow. People have questioned it more than once, but I just claim to be on a diet and they understand that. It's really my wallet that's on the diet.
My son's name is Xavier...it is not too long, it is not too complicated--I think that anyone that sees the name has a general idea of how to pronounce it--and it is not "made up." We named him after St. Francis Xavier. However, EVERYONE seems to have something to say about his name--"Wow! He's gonna have a hard time spelling that!" or "That's a big name!" Personally I don't think six letters is too difficult. I think it is a strong name and it suits his personality. I never wanted to saddle him with a burden of a name, but I didn't want to name him a common name either. Sometimes I wish that people could keep the comments to themselves, though. I mean, we didn't name him on a whim & it is annoying to hear the same comments over and over. Anyway, his last name is much worse than the first name :0)
--kav122
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!
When I receive gifts, I save as much of the packaging as I possibly can. If I can get away with it, I try to avoid tearing the wrapping paper (hey, large pieces can be cut up for wrapping small gifts). I personally find gift bags to be the biggest waste of money, but at least you can get them at the $1 store. If all else fails when you're short of wrapping paper, try using the comics section of the newspaper, or even pages from an old calendar. Anything colorful will suffice.
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 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 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.
Julie, thank you for this well written article. For more information on these and other SRI options, readers can visit Greenmoney.com.
I only buy my department store makeup when there is a bonus attached. I have so many samples of moisturizer, I don't have to buy it separately. Also the brand I use has an online store and frequently offers free shipping, making it less tempting to purchase more than needed to meet a minimum purchase plus they also give 1-2 samples with every order!
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'm surprised no one mentioned this yet, but perhaps it's because everyone here is too frugal to even consider Starbucks. I know I am -- I find it beyond obscene what Starbucks and the like charge for a cup of coffee, to say nothing of a cappucino, or one of their many drink offerings. The absolute only time I buy from Starbucks is at the airport for an early morning flight when I cannot get through security with my own cup. And even then, I hate giving them the money.
I guess I remember family from Denmark doing the same thing. I'll have to try it on my clothes and some of the more special pieces in my kid's wardrobe. Thanks!
I give you that children´s clothing might be special in this respect.
But for something like shirts, sweaters and jeans the old advice (at least here in Scandinavia) that you should turn them inside out before wash is a really frugal one.
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?
I´d recommend this practice for instant export! :-D
I remember, many years ago, another very popular photo site just went belly up with no warning. On a photo forum, I read about a guy who had the first year of his son's life at the now non-existent site and another who lost his three year chronicle of his rebuilt boat. Let this serve as a reminder to ALWAYS back up your photos in more than one place. Yes, it's a hassle, but it's an even bigger hassle when you have nothing left! I typically back up photos at a photo sharing site, an external hard drive and once a year on a set of DVDs I keep OUTSIDE the house (like at grandma's).
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.
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.
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.