stop using disposable chopsticks, especially when traveling in asia. i carry a metal pair with me in my bag. i'm yet to go through airport security with it!
To be honest , people like me don't have energy to go out shopping for wedding gifts. Asking for a cash gift makes it easier for many people. Go to the ATM, buy a wedding card and there it is. It's very often done in the African culture. Plus, not everyone wants a house full of pots and pans :-)
I actually just transferred money from my PayPal to my bank account. I didn't even know that it worked that way until i got a refund for an item and I didn't see it in my bank account.I then had to transfer the money back to my bank account. But i changed the PayPal settings so hopefully that's no longer a problem,
My green goal is to sell my house and move aboard a sailboat. We'll have wind and solar power, an ice box, and a composting toilet. Our already fairly low (for an American) carbon footprint will decrease even more.
A definite no for me on #19. Ground turkey doesn't taste like ground beef no matter how I spice it. Also, I've compared labels - most ground turkey I've found in the store is 7%-9% fat, the ground beef I buy is 4% fat. Since I buy the 4% ground beef in 2 pound chubs when it's on sale, it's about the same price as the ground turkey, sometimes about $.20 per pound less.
I also can't do the ricotta/cottage cheese swap. Growing up in an Italian household we had both, and the two are NOT the same. I can definitely taste the difference in flavor and texture - cottage cheese tastes sour to me, ricotta does not, cottage cheese is lumpy and ricotta is smooth. Since I buy ricotta in 4 pound containers, the price is usually close to cottage cheese anyway, and worth the few extra cents per pound.
I have to expand my horizons - I do a lot of baking but I've not come across a recipe that calls for arrowroot. :-)
1) Riding my bike to work! I'm moving to an apartment much, much closer to work, and now that it is warming up I'm going to try to commit to riding my bike 4 days out of 5.
2) Transition from using disposable products (napkins, paper towels, ziplock bags) to re-usable products for cleaning, etc. Also cut down on the packaging of the products I buy
I would like to replace takeout containers from leftovers with reusable tupperware containers. I just need to find some good collapsible containers and then keep them in my car so I don't forget!
I'd also like to grow more foods in my garden. We just started it the end of last summer. I'm waiting for the weather to behave so I can plant my seeds!
I've always hated making left hand turns . . . I have zero patience for dealing with traffic so right hand turns are always easier! Way to go UPS! I'll try to never make left hand turns again!
There's a place in Memphis famous for their hamburgers. Apparently during the depression they started cleaning the grills with pickle juice. That's what gives the burgers their distinctive flavour. (They're amazing, BTW.)
Most recipes that call for ground beef, I add a little rice into the beef mix. Grating carrots into spaghetti sauce is also good. Many other recipes I add a handful of oats in as filler.
I already recycle quite a bit, but I would like to buy less-packaged items in the first place. So many things come heavily packaged (a bag in a box in a box, etc.). It's tough to do with the brands I buy, but I'm going to work on it.
Donating it to a food pantry sounds like a good idea. If the good is simply near the expiration date (or at the expiration date), instead of putting it out in the dumpster, the store could donate it. That's before the cockroaches have a chance to walk over the package.
It's not for the weak or faint of heart, but it does get to the root of our "needs" versus "wants". When survival and waiting out the bad times are critical, putting your money in your own sustenance rather than a landlord's makes sense.
While moving to a tent is an extreme first step to starting a frugal lifestyle, I included it because I thought it was interesting method and while not for everyone, can be a big step to a frugal life if you're ready for it. It's obviously not a small step to kick-start frugality and shouldn't be taken lightly.
We've been doing something like number 1 every three months or so for a year or more now. We cut our monthly grocery budget to $100 for a family of four. We only let ourselves buy milk, yogurt, fruit and fresh veggies. We have unfortunately never actually gotten to the bottom of our deep freeze or all those cans in the pantry, but it does help. And I think we actually date better when we're not pulling convenience food out of boxes (crackers, granola bars, etc.).
It is hard when excellent sales come up, but we tell ourselves its not a deal unless we actually eat it, and we have a lot of eating to do. We're on one of these budgets this month, and we're actually thinking of going on into next month.
I did a few dumpster dives about 20 years ago (before freegans were around to give it an air of coolness). I don't think I'll do that with my two little guys. But if it was just me, and I was in desperate situations I'd consider going for it again.
If you are offered a 401k with a match, contribute enough to get the maximum match. After that I would go to a Roth IRA up to the cap. If you reach that, go back to your 401k and contribute what you can.
The early years of saving are very important. The longer your money has to grow the better. I made the mistake of spending my 20s saving for a very large down payment on my house, and now I am playing catch up.
Starting is the most important thing for young adults. I find so many people put off saving until "i start making more" or "after I pay off student debt." I think no matter what the case, or personal situation, everyone should begin saving, now. No, really. If you are reading this and haven't started saving for retirement (or in general), start now. Open a savings account and put in $100 or whatever you can afford. Place small amounts in each month, as little as $5 or $10 until you can afford to contribute more. Just get in the habit of saving!!
I would say "save as much as you possibly can." It's hard to get a handle on how much you'll need to retire or even what sort of lifestyle you'd like to lead, but having extra savings will give you flexibility down the road.
Bret:
Spending only cash is meant as a way to keep track of spending for a month, or week if that's all someone can do, and can help not overspend with a credit card. If you're spending only cash and you run out of cash, you can't buy that jacket on sale or whatever. With a credit card, anything is yours if you have the credit limit.
It's also important to pay off the credit card's monthly balance in full, which sounds like something you do. Doing that and keeping track with Mint or something else on how and where money is spent is a good idea if you have the ability not to overspend with a credit card.
I want to save the most money I can by being green.
stop using disposable chopsticks, especially when traveling in asia. i carry a metal pair with me in my bag. i'm yet to go through airport security with it!
Wow. One year you say. One year. I'm still in shock. I'm fairly good though- I can go a few months.
To be honest , people like me don't have energy to go out shopping for wedding gifts. Asking for a cash gift makes it easier for many people. Go to the ATM, buy a wedding card and there it is. It's very often done in the African culture. Plus, not everyone wants a house full of pots and pans :-)
I actually just transferred money from my PayPal to my bank account. I didn't even know that it worked that way until i got a refund for an item and I didn't see it in my bank account.I then had to transfer the money back to my bank account. But i changed the PayPal settings so hopefully that's no longer a problem,
My green goal is to sell my house and move aboard a sailboat. We'll have wind and solar power, an ice box, and a composting toilet. Our already fairly low (for an American) carbon footprint will decrease even more.
A definite no for me on #19. Ground turkey doesn't taste like ground beef no matter how I spice it. Also, I've compared labels - most ground turkey I've found in the store is 7%-9% fat, the ground beef I buy is 4% fat. Since I buy the 4% ground beef in 2 pound chubs when it's on sale, it's about the same price as the ground turkey, sometimes about $.20 per pound less.
I also can't do the ricotta/cottage cheese swap. Growing up in an Italian household we had both, and the two are NOT the same. I can definitely taste the difference in flavor and texture - cottage cheese tastes sour to me, ricotta does not, cottage cheese is lumpy and ricotta is smooth. Since I buy ricotta in 4 pound containers, the price is usually close to cottage cheese anyway, and worth the few extra cents per pound.
I have to expand my horizons - I do a lot of baking but I've not come across a recipe that calls for arrowroot. :-)
1) Riding my bike to work! I'm moving to an apartment much, much closer to work, and now that it is warming up I'm going to try to commit to riding my bike 4 days out of 5.
2) Transition from using disposable products (napkins, paper towels, ziplock bags) to re-usable products for cleaning, etc. Also cut down on the packaging of the products I buy
I would like to replace takeout containers from leftovers with reusable tupperware containers. I just need to find some good collapsible containers and then keep them in my car so I don't forget!
I'd also like to grow more foods in my garden. We just started it the end of last summer. I'm waiting for the weather to behave so I can plant my seeds!
I've always hated making left hand turns . . . I have zero patience for dealing with traffic so right hand turns are always easier! Way to go UPS! I'll try to never make left hand turns again!
There's a place in Memphis famous for their hamburgers. Apparently during the depression they started cleaning the grills with pickle juice. That's what gives the burgers their distinctive flavour. (They're amazing, BTW.)
Most recipes that call for ground beef, I add a little rice into the beef mix. Grating carrots into spaghetti sauce is also good. Many other recipes I add a handful of oats in as filler.
Good article!
I already recycle quite a bit, but I would like to buy less-packaged items in the first place. So many things come heavily packaged (a bag in a box in a box, etc.). It's tough to do with the brands I buy, but I'm going to work on it.
Donating it to a food pantry sounds like a good idea. If the good is simply near the expiration date (or at the expiration date), instead of putting it out in the dumpster, the store could donate it. That's before the cockroaches have a chance to walk over the package.
Agreed! :)
It's not for the weak or faint of heart, but it does get to the root of our "needs" versus "wants". When survival and waiting out the bad times are critical, putting your money in your own sustenance rather than a landlord's makes sense.
While moving to a tent is an extreme first step to starting a frugal lifestyle, I included it because I thought it was interesting method and while not for everyone, can be a big step to a frugal life if you're ready for it. It's obviously not a small step to kick-start frugality and shouldn't be taken lightly.
We've been doing something like number 1 every three months or so for a year or more now. We cut our monthly grocery budget to $100 for a family of four. We only let ourselves buy milk, yogurt, fruit and fresh veggies. We have unfortunately never actually gotten to the bottom of our deep freeze or all those cans in the pantry, but it does help. And I think we actually date better when we're not pulling convenience food out of boxes (crackers, granola bars, etc.).
It is hard when excellent sales come up, but we tell ourselves its not a deal unless we actually eat it, and we have a lot of eating to do. We're on one of these budgets this month, and we're actually thinking of going on into next month.
I did a few dumpster dives about 20 years ago (before freegans were around to give it an air of coolness). I don't think I'll do that with my two little guys. But if it was just me, and I was in desperate situations I'd consider going for it again.
As opposed to?
Given the state of most people under 30, my first advice would be to get out of debt! :)
Thanks for mentioning our tax refund article!
If you are offered a 401k with a match, contribute enough to get the maximum match. After that I would go to a Roth IRA up to the cap. If you reach that, go back to your 401k and contribute what you can.
The early years of saving are very important. The longer your money has to grow the better. I made the mistake of spending my 20s saving for a very large down payment on my house, and now I am playing catch up.
Starting is the most important thing for young adults. I find so many people put off saving until "i start making more" or "after I pay off student debt." I think no matter what the case, or personal situation, everyone should begin saving, now. No, really. If you are reading this and haven't started saving for retirement (or in general), start now. Open a savings account and put in $100 or whatever you can afford. Place small amounts in each month, as little as $5 or $10 until you can afford to contribute more. Just get in the habit of saving!!
I would say "save as much as you possibly can." It's hard to get a handle on how much you'll need to retire or even what sort of lifestyle you'd like to lead, but having extra savings will give you flexibility down the road.
Bret:
Spending only cash is meant as a way to keep track of spending for a month, or week if that's all someone can do, and can help not overspend with a credit card. If you're spending only cash and you run out of cash, you can't buy that jacket on sale or whatever. With a credit card, anything is yours if you have the credit limit.
It's also important to pay off the credit card's monthly balance in full, which sounds like something you do. Doing that and keeping track with Mint or something else on how and where money is spent is a good idea if you have the ability not to overspend with a credit card.
...And forgive yourself if something comes up and you miss a part of your deadline! Too many people give up when things start to go badly.