GUIDE TO FRUGAL LIVING *ONLINE PROJECT*

[JudeChow]

Hello guys,

I'm starting this online project of my own. It's a guide to frugal living. Over the past several months, I've had to live frugal and so I came up with an idea to make a comprehensive guide on how to live frugally (i.e. giving tips etc.). I believe I have this frugal thing pretty well refined.

I hope you guys don't think I'm spamming this forum with links to my blog, but I really need your help! I would really like this blog to reach as many people as possible because I feel that living a frugal life is a true road to happiness (please don't think I'm crazy). More specifically, I believe that living frugally allows us to step away from consumerism and thereby allowing us to enjoy the more simpler things in life (going out for dinner as a family once a month, going to a picnic with friends, etc.) instead of shopping, buying high-tech gadgets every three weeks when new stuff comes out, general obsession with things, luxuries, etc. Not that any of that is inherently bad, but its just that I don't want a world where things>people. Of course, living frugally also allows you to save money for some other purpose.

This is an ongoing thing, so I just have an introduction up as of now. Please subscribe by email or follow me on twitter to receive updates.

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[JudeChow]

Would anyone like to share ways to be frugal? Personal experience?

[Gilgamesh]

I only know the obvious misc ones since I am only a student. Taste wise, it's mundane but Costco has $1.68 hotdogs (+drink) and $5 dollar poutines. Only watch movies on Tuesday as it's half-off (or go to independent movie theatres I think they're cheaper). No Frills is the most cost-effective place to shop if you do not mind generics and they price match. Cereal goeso n sale from time to time, so I like stocking up on that. Only feasible time to buy electronics is boxing day. Open a TFSA and put the minimum balance and not worry about it for years ASAP, as the contribution room goes up.

[BeefCake4000]

Here is what I do:

1) Bring my own coffee and breakfast to work (Save approx $2.50-$5.00 per day)
2) I live in Vancouver and work in Delta so I car pool with a co-worker (Save approx $45-70 bucks of gas per month)
3) Bring my own lunch (Save approx $6.00-$10.00 per day)
4) Wash the car myself instead of going to a car wash place (Save approx $15.00-$30.00 depending on where you go)

[Matlock]

Shoppers Drug Mart also has a lot of good deals once in a while.
Scooped up a bunch of boxes of cheerios last week for $1.99 and the gf got her Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers for work lunches, also $1.99.

I do a lot of shopping from Costco. Some things will save you money, others not so much. But one thing that is pretty certain, a lot of Costco things are of good quality. Last month I bought a 4 lb pork tenderloin that is normally $15, but on sale with $5 off. $10 for 2 weeks of pork chops! For veggies, I'll buy things like green beans frozen. It's cheaper that way and easy to throw into a pasta or stew.

[JudeChow]

Wow this is really good. Some of the things you guys have said I already had plans to post as tips. Feel free to post some of this stuff directly on to my blog too! Thanks!

[TOS'd]

Relevant: http://www.revscene.net/forums/66406...l-shopper.html

[instantneedles]

Eat at home, and clear out whatever the hell I have in my fridge...

Make use of translink and bus/skytrain rather than drive if the destination is within a fair distance.

[Hehe]

Things that I do...

The area I live isn't exactly convenient, but it's halfway between my work and wife's work.

So, I grocery about once a week, besides the obvious getting a list done about what to buy, I also pick a location where I have access to 3 different grocery shops nearby/along the way (T&T, Superstore and Costco)

At the time of making the shopping list, I always check the current flyer to make sure I get the most out of my bucks, and the reason to have 3 shops is that I can compare the prices and make the decision on where to buy any specific item. The saving of all these trouble is probably only 5~10 bucks per week, but they do add up, especially when they have some blow-out sale and I'd stock up on any non-perishable goods (toilette/towel/tissue papers, cans, frozen stuff... etc)

At the very end of the shopping list, is a budget (usually 10~40 bucks) that I can use on anything not on the list. And we always limit ourselves for anything beyond the list in that budget. So we don't end up with a lot of things we don't actually need.

And one thing I rarely see people do, but I inherited from my mom, is using 3 color small sticky note to label our food in fridge. New stuff get green one, any stuff not used when new green batch comes get yellow and any left-over or close to its expiry date get red.

You know immediately what to finish first when you open the fridge. It has worked well for my parents and me.

[PJ]

Recently I've been living a little more extravagant, but I have a lot of new priorities that require me to..

But I was frugal down to the wire when I was in school.
Most food related.. cause that's pretty much our biggest cost. People shouldn't be shopping that often for themselves while they're in school anyway.

1. Make coffee or better yet, Tea, and bring it in a travel mug. (save $2-$4 a day)
2. Make LOTS of extra food at dinner, and package the excess for lunches. (save $10-$15 a day)
3. Downgrade phone plan (save $30 a month)
4. Reuseable water bottle (drinking lots of water is good for you anyway)
5. BIG hauls at Costco. As in everything that doesn't go bad, or has a long shelf life. Canned foods, toilet paper, toilettries..
6. Not that big of one, but I always keep extra napkins from fastfood places or whatever in my car
7. Find other activities to pass time that doesn't involve spending. Read, work out, go for a run, clean up, go on the computer..

[LiquidTurbo]

If you want to save money, you have to save on the big things. I once knew someone's dad who liked to charge his phone at friends houses, etc at work.

It's not about saving money, but also you need to think about saving time. For example someone posted about washing the car themselves, which saves money. However, for someone that goes thru a drive thru car wash once a month, that's a lot quicker and the time gained could be used to make money, and maybe they don't want to invest the time and tools to set up a car washing station at home, or mabye they live an area where that's difficult. Saving time is far more valuable than saving money... for example some guy who posted about going to point roberts to save 5-$10 on a gas fillup...


My money saving tip is to BUY LESS INSURANCE. Does your car REALLY need comprehensive coverage? I haven't bought comprehensive in 5 years and so far it's saved me about $3500.

Also try to drive one day less a week. You find you'll save a lot on commuting. To save money you need to save on the big things. For example, your choice of car could have lasting financial impact for years. Be smart about big purchases.

This link pretty much is an end all for how to be able to save money:

How to Afford Anything

[LiquidTurbo]

Oh, and don't buy Apple products..

[JudeChow]

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

Oh, and don't buy Apple products..

SUPER LIKE

[Vege]

Some tips I follow:

1) Always do your research for your shopping list before you go to supermarkets. It helps you plan your meals around ingredients that are on sale and helps reduce impulse buying.

2) When buying chicken, always buy bone in. If you check the prices between pure meat compared to bone in, you can save a lot. It doesn't take long to learn how to debone a chicken. You can always use the bones to make stock.

3) Learn to cook instead of always eating out. If you calculate the actual cost per meal of a home cooked meal compared to going out, you realize you are getting ripped off to have someone cook for you. Cheaper to cook for your dates anyways at your own place.

This applies to lunches as well. Watching my co-workers fork out $10 a day on lunch makes me cringe. If you calculate the actual cost, that ends up being $200 a month. That doesn't include 2-3 coffees from Starbucks a day.

4) Cut down on unneccessary monthly payments. If you keep track of all your guaranteed expenses (Phone Bills, Gas Bills, Insurance, etc) on a spreadsheet, you can see where you can actually cut back. This is a must for anyone looking to eventually buying a place and having a mortgage.

5) Shopping. Never go to malls just to browse. You will inevitably end up buying something. Be smarter, sign up to online newsletters for your favorite stores and you will get emails when things are on sale.

Even better, open a mailbox in Blaine and buy online. Most online stores don't ship to Canada or if they do, you will get a nice duty charge when your stuff arrives. Ship your stuff to your mailbox in Blaine and declare them at the border on the way up. If your amount isn't too high, most likely you won't have to pay tax or duties.

Like others have said, stay away from having the newest gadgets. Phones go out of date within 1 year. No one really cares if you have the newest iphone.

Most friends I know are worried that others will perceive them as being cheap if they are frugal. In my opinion, live within your means. Once in a while, there is nothing wrong with going out and having a good meal at a restaurant, you have to be smart with your money.

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by Vege

Like others have said, stay away from having the newest gadgets. Phones go out of date within 1 year. No one really cares if you have the newest iphone.

Actually, I think this is a more personal choice and there are cheap ways to do this. I'd share mine

I am a tech junkie and I am always around the latest toys. The key to stay as a tech junkie is to STAY INFORMED about the latest trend and pricing.

When I got my wife her Macbook Air, I got a sweet deal from a lady who couldn't figure out her way around Mac. The retail I think was 1200+tax, got it for 950. Then when the Sandy Bridge version was rumoured to come, I sold my wife's MBA for 900 to another guy.

I knew that the SB MBA should be coming in a week or so, so I started buying Apple store GC on craigslist/kijiji. The 900 cash turned into 1100 worth of GC. And when the SB MBA came out, we just went to apple store and got her a new MBA with her student discout. Total I think was 11xx.xx. So we had to add another $100 or so.

Fast forward a year or so later, the ivy bridge MBA was supposed to come out... we again sold the MBA for 950 a few weeks back, got some apple GC, and we are sitting with our new MBA.

tl;dr: we essentially spend about 100~150 every year upgrading our computer. It's a bit of work. But it's really minimum money to stay as a tech junkie.

[LiquidTurbo]

Originally Posted by Hehe

Actually, I think this is a more personal choice and there are cheap ways to do this. I'd share mine

I am a tech junkie and I am always around the latest toys. The key to stay as a tech junkie is to STAY INFORMED about the latest trend and pricing.

When I got my wife her Macbook Air, I got a sweet deal from a lady who couldn't figure out her way around Mac. The retail I think was 1200+tax, got it for 950. Then when the Sandy Bridge version was rumoured to come, I sold my wife's MBA for 900 to another guy.

I knew that the SB MBA should be coming in a week or so, so I started buying Apple store GC on craigslist/kijiji. The 900 cash turned into 1100 worth of GC. And when the SB MBA came out, we just went to apple store and got her a new MBA with her student discout. Total I think was 11xx.xx. So we had to add another $100 or so.

Fast forward a year or so later, the ivy bridge MBA was supposed to come out... we again sold the MBA for 950 a few weeks back, got some apple GC, and we are sitting with our new MBA.

tl;dr: we essentially spend about 100~150 every year upgrading our computer. It's a bit of work. But it's really minimum money to stay as a tech junkie.

Very good stuff. However, I must ask. Is these really a NEED to upgrade the air? I'm sure your original Air would have still served you perfectly well.

[tiger_handheld]

Originally Posted by Hehe

Actually, I think this is a more personal choice and there are cheap ways to do this. I'd share mine

I am a tech junkie and I am always around the latest toys. The key to stay as a tech junkie is to STAY INFORMED about the latest trend and pricing.

When I got my wife her Macbook Air, I got a sweet deal from a lady who couldn't figure out her way around Mac. The retail I think was 1200+tax, got it for 950. Then when the Sandy Bridge version was rumoured to come, I sold my wife's MBA for 900 to another guy.

I knew that the SB MBA should be coming in a week or so, so I started buying Apple store GC on craigslist/kijiji. The 900 cash turned into 1100 worth of GC. And when the SB MBA came out, we just went to apple store and got her a new MBA with her student discout. Total I think was 11xx.xx. So we had to add another $100 or so.

Fast forward a year or so later, the ivy bridge MBA was supposed to come out... we again sold the MBA for 950 a few weeks back, got some apple GC, and we are sitting with our new MBA.

tl;dr: we essentially spend about 100~150 every year upgrading our computer. It's a bit of work. But it's really minimum money to stay as a tech junkie.

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

Very good stuff. However, I must ask. Is these really a NEED to upgrade the air? I'm sure your original Air would have still served you perfectly well.

highlighted the key parts

[LiquidTurbo]

Thanks

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

Very good stuff. However, I must ask. Is these really a NEED to upgrade the air? I'm sure your original Air would have still served you perfectly well.

The way I see this, besides being a tech junkie and always want the latest toys, is about minimum depreciation.

Apple products are so popular that the depreciation rate is relatively flat at beginning and start to depreciate more quickly once new generation of product comes along.

Think this way, if I were to sell the dual core MBA today to buy the new MBA, the most I could get is maybe 500~600? Thus, I essentially spent 300~400 by keeping the old MBA. By the time the next refresh of MBA comes along, it's probably worth 350~450 (greater if there's an entirely new design, see what an previous design of MBA is worth today for reference)

By spending effectively less or same amount of money, I get to always enjoy the best and latest market has to offer. As a tech junkie, I don't see this as wasting money, but rather a cost effective way for me to maintain my hobby.

[dhari]

I have a friend at school that brought his own coffee maker and brewed it before classes! tooo funny!

[4444]

Originally Posted by Vege

.

2) When buying chicken, always buy bone in. If you check the prices between pure meat compared to bone in, you can save a lot. It doesn't take long to learn how to debone a chicken. You can always use the bones to make stock.

not only is it cheaper, but it's tastier with the bone in and the thighs are way juicier than chicken breast.

costco packs of what, 20? thighs for about $17 or so

also, buy skin on - skin on is cheaper than skin off, and it takes all of 0.5 seconds to take the skin off a chicken thigh (again, tastier to cook with skin on, even if you don't eat it, the fats in the skin will cook out and provide taste in the meat)

god bless costco!

[tiger_handheld]

so at what point does being frugal become being cheap?
is there a difference between frugal and cheap?

I'm in for all the deals (buying bone in chicken, gassing up in the states, etc. etc.) but sometimes I come across as cheap.

[Hehe]

IMO, any action to save money that's morally unacceptable/questionable is cheap, else=frugal.

not tipping properly, cheap
eating at places not requiring tipping, frugal
lowball, cheap
making a reasonable offer, frugal

so on...

[4444]

Originally Posted by tiger_handheld

so at what point does being frugal become being cheap?
is there a difference between frugal and cheap?

I'm in for all the deals (buying bone in chicken, gassing up in the states, etc. etc.) but sometimes I come across as cheap.

Intelligent decisions. Being rational (buying bone in, skin on) is frugal, buying the cheapest cut of meat that tastes like arse is cheap

Buying gas in the states is frugal if ur only 5-10 mins away, ur cheap (and stupid) if u drive 45 mins to "save" $15

[waddy41]

Not buying groceries at Save on or Safeway...
I go to Fruiticana and a small meat shop in Richmond..I save >50% on groceries

Don't buy things/toys that just sit around...like my friend has a shelf full of DVD sets that haven't been touched for years...or 2 shelves full of shoes, some haven't even been worn..