One day, I'd like to have a green house. I'd like to get all of my power from the sun or wind, and recycle my gray water. It would be awesome to make the house super energy efficient, so it doesn't use much energy to begin with. Also, I'd love to use all sorts of recycled and sustainable materials. And a garden, it would be awesome to have a garden providing fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
My husband did not want me to have worms at all! I might have ordered them behind his back and 2+ years later, he's never once complained. Totally worth it!
My goal is to use more of what I have - groceries, craft supplies, books, movies, etc. My husband and I have been such consumers for years and we have a house full of stuff that we don't use. Now that we have a mortgage, that must change!
There are so many great tips here! I especially appreciate the tip to not buy a book for a month. I'm an avid reader but I've found that doing "book shares" with friends or doing kindle swaps is a great way to read the books I've been dying to read - for free!
There's a recently released tip sheet by Online Trading Academy that has 40 tips from money experts that perfectly complements this advice. It did really well on reddit a few days ago and helps people manage their spending and "kick-start frugality" too: http://www.tradingacademy.com/resources/financial-education-center/money...
This is why I always use a 5% average return in my forward calculations - plan around more conservative predictions and anything more is a bonus.
I use roughly 50/50 term deposit cash accounts which tend to yield 4-5 per cent and blue chip stocks which fluctuate bit but return about 3-5% on dividends alone. I'm risk averse so hopefully that's a reasonable balance of growth prospects and security.
My green goal is to not make garbage in the first place. I pack my lunch in reusable containers, and use my regular silverware. At home, I try not to buy products with a lot of packaging. It's healthier too. My fruits and salad come package free!
Thanks for your help, Adrianna. I think skipping treats is one of the hardest frugal kick-start methods to do with all of the temptations out there. I was just at the farmer's market in my city and the smell of caramel corn cooking was barely irresistible. I passed, but partly because the line was so long.
Ivan:
The library and Roku are two of the best ways I found to make being frugal easy. The library may be the easiest way to kick-start being frugal because it's free and almost every community has one. If library services are cut, it would hurt a lot of frugal readers.
LOLA:
Thanks for the great tip. I agree that thrift shopping, especially for clothes, can be a smart way to start a more frugal lifestyle. They're fun to shop at since you don't know what the inventory is and what will be there.
You’ve got some great tips here. I really like “Don't Buy a Book for a Month” and “Dump Cable TV for a Month”.
A little change in habits can often save lots of money without any loss in your quality of life. I’ve personally saved hundreds of dollars by using the library instead of buying new books.
A little planning ahead is often all you need to save money!
I'm surprised that thrifting isn't listed. I went through a rough time financially (emotionally, physically, but financially is the focus here) after my divorce. I learned that you can buy just about anything used. My son was 6 months old at the time, and I started out buying him used clothing and toys, then started buying myself clothes from the thrift stores. Now, 5 years later, I am much more financially stable and don't need to shop the thrift stores, however, I still do. There is even a facebook page for my local area for selling used clothing, toys, books, ect...
My goal is to buy better quality stuff so that I'm not throwing things away as often, it takes money to save money so it's definitely a goal that is farther off than others. Right now I am starting off with my clothing purchases.
@amanda, my husband is one of millions of Americans busting their butt working 12 hours for their own pay, putting food in the table, making sure their kids have clothing, and providing a roof over their own head. And also my husband is one of those people who is bitching every time he see people who are in welfare actually my husband is sound pretty much like you. But that was 2 months ago before he diagnosed a two serious health condition and then loose his job. Right now we have a public assistance called food stamp.
I want to do an electric car conversion and install solar panels over my garage. A but more up front, but I want more long term benefits.
My goal is to utilize our ceiling fans instead of the AC as often as possible this summer.
One day, I'd like to have a green house. I'd like to get all of my power from the sun or wind, and recycle my gray water. It would be awesome to make the house super energy efficient, so it doesn't use much energy to begin with. Also, I'd love to use all sorts of recycled and sustainable materials. And a garden, it would be awesome to have a garden providing fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
One filled trash can per month. I would love to do zero waste but I think that's a bit of a stretch for right now.
My green goal is to grow my own (limited) container garden this year.
I would like to use only public transportation, walking or bike riding to get around town.
my goal is to be more green-conscious
My husband did not want me to have worms at all! I might have ordered them behind his back and 2+ years later, he's never once complained. Totally worth it!
I'd like to completely do away with paper towel usage in our home. I would also like to compost and grow my own veggies.
My goal is to use more of what I have - groceries, craft supplies, books, movies, etc. My husband and I have been such consumers for years and we have a house full of stuff that we don't use. Now that we have a mortgage, that must change!
There are so many great tips here! I especially appreciate the tip to not buy a book for a month. I'm an avid reader but I've found that doing "book shares" with friends or doing kindle swaps is a great way to read the books I've been dying to read - for free!
There's a recently released tip sheet by Online Trading Academy that has 40 tips from money experts that perfectly complements this advice. It did really well on reddit a few days ago and helps people manage their spending and "kick-start frugality" too: http://www.tradingacademy.com/resources/financial-education-center/money...
This is why I always use a 5% average return in my forward calculations - plan around more conservative predictions and anything more is a bonus.
I use roughly 50/50 term deposit cash accounts which tend to yield 4-5 per cent and blue chip stocks which fluctuate bit but return about 3-5% on dividends alone. I'm risk averse so hopefully that's a reasonable balance of growth prospects and security.
My green goal is to not make garbage in the first place. I pack my lunch in reusable containers, and use my regular silverware. At home, I try not to buy products with a lot of packaging. It's healthier too. My fruits and salad come package free!
Thanks for your help, Adrianna. I think skipping treats is one of the hardest frugal kick-start methods to do with all of the temptations out there. I was just at the farmer's market in my city and the smell of caramel corn cooking was barely irresistible. I passed, but partly because the line was so long.
Ivan:
The library and Roku are two of the best ways I found to make being frugal easy. The library may be the easiest way to kick-start being frugal because it's free and almost every community has one. If library services are cut, it would hurt a lot of frugal readers.
LOLA:
Thanks for the great tip. I agree that thrift shopping, especially for clothes, can be a smart way to start a more frugal lifestyle. They're fun to shop at since you don't know what the inventory is and what will be there.
Always use ALL the food we buy, shut the lights off religiously, buy things used when possible.
Aaron,
You’ve got some great tips here. I really like “Don't Buy a Book for a Month” and “Dump Cable TV for a Month”.
A little change in habits can often save lots of money without any loss in your quality of life. I’ve personally saved hundreds of dollars by using the library instead of buying new books.
A little planning ahead is often all you need to save money!
I'd like to start recycling more seriously!
I'm surprised that thrifting isn't listed. I went through a rough time financially (emotionally, physically, but financially is the focus here) after my divorce. I learned that you can buy just about anything used. My son was 6 months old at the time, and I started out buying him used clothing and toys, then started buying myself clothes from the thrift stores. Now, 5 years later, I am much more financially stable and don't need to shop the thrift stores, however, I still do. There is even a facebook page for my local area for selling used clothing, toys, books, ect...
my goal is to not buy things unnecessarily.
Thanks for including my tip in your article! Great list!
recycle more
My goal is to buy better quality stuff so that I'm not throwing things away as often, it takes money to save money so it's definitely a goal that is farther off than others. Right now I am starting off with my clothing purchases.
@amanda, my husband is one of millions of Americans busting their butt working 12 hours for their own pay, putting food in the table, making sure their kids have clothing, and providing a roof over their own head. And also my husband is one of those people who is bitching every time he see people who are in welfare actually my husband is sound pretty much like you. But that was 2 months ago before he diagnosed a two serious health condition and then loose his job. Right now we have a public assistance called food stamp.