frugality

Support the reader economy: A giveaway series.

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For some time now, my giveaway scheme has been “support the local economy.” As in, giving away stuff made in Alaska or produced by Alaskans.

While one or two books, pieces of jewelry, soaps or chocolates won’t exactly enrich the local company, it helps publicize what we do up here. Someone who wins (or doesn’t win) might say, “I want more of that” or “I want to buy that as a gift for someone.” (And it’s been confirmed that this has happened.)

Lately, I’ve been very concerned about the effect inflation is having on people living on tight margins. It doesn’t take much to send the whole house of cards tumbling. I learned this from painful personal experience.

Inflation also injures those who were middle-class stable until prices went sky-high. They’ll probably be all right, but will have to retool their budgets and make some tough decisions (especially as regards what they can no longer afford to do for their children).

Thus I’ve decided to do a “support the reader economy” giveaway series. This week it’ll be a $15 Walmart gift card, because that’s what I have on hand; if Walmart isn’t their brand, I would be willing to switch out a different kind of card. In subsequent weeks, the card will be whatever the winner wants.

I’m not foolish enough to think these modest prizes will fix someone’s money woes all better. Instead, I’m thinking of it more as a small boost or a special treat.

Then again, even a “small” boost might have a big impact.

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No/low-spend February: Week 3.

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I’m running a little behind on the no- or low-spend February updates. Sorry about that. Sure am enjoying everyone’s frugal hacking, though. Shall we begin?

A reader named Ruby trimmed her own hair, to extend the current cut a little longer before her next salon visit. My own recent version of that: I let the beautician-school student cut my hair a little shorter than I’m accustomed to, in order to go longer between trips. 

Ruby has been hanging up her work clothes and smoothing out any wrinkles, which means she can wear them again another day. Doing so means just one load of laundry per week, which saves not just time but also the cost of detergent, water and utilities.

She also noticed a small rip in her husband’s suede house slippers, so she mended it with thread a neighbor once gave her – and that neighbor had inherited the thread from her grandmother. Now her husband’s slippers have a little history behind them, and kudos to Ruby for dealing with the problem while it was still small. 

Ruby reports that her freezer “continues to provide wonderful dividends.” Frozen strawberries (and canned peaches) went into baked oatmeal. Homemade pizza was brightened by chopped red and yellow bell peppers. 

She combined more of those peppers, along with frozen cherry tomatoes, canned organic mushrooms (left over from pizza night), fresh onions and on-sale-plus-coupon sausage to make a skillet meal served with rice. And for bonus frugal points: Ruby turned leftovers into brown bag lunches.

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The frugal sybarite.

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(As promised during this no- or low-spend February, I have run a Throwback Thursday post to encourage frugal pursuits. This week’s choice is designed to remind us to take care of ourselves – without breaking the bank. The piece originally ran on July 15, 2015.)

Some habits that I consider opulent would make other people sneer. To each her own, I suppose. Myself, I happen to think taking a long, hot bath with a good book in (dry) hand is a tremendous luxury – especially if there’s a glass of iced tea or a Diet Coke handy.

(Hint: Even if the soft drink is already cold, put it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so before you run the bath. The contrast of the hot-as-you-can-stand water and the icy beverage is delightful.)

Hanging our laundry to dry in the sun leads to another luxury: falling asleep surrounded by the fragrance of the sun and the wind. Some people would say the sun has no odor. I beg to differ.

DF and I sometimes joke about being “frugal sybarites.” The fact is, a sumptuous lifestyle doesn’t necessarily require a lot of dollar signs.

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How to avoid overdrafting.

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It can be surprisingly simple to bounce a check – and overdrafting can put a serious hurt on your finances, especially if you’re living on a tight budget. That’s because banks and credit unions can legally charge non-sufficient funds and/or overdraft fees multiple times per day. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently reported that bank … Read more

The frugal medicine cabinet.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! Now that the no- or low-spend February is underway, I have decided to run a throwback frugality post every Thursday this month. This post originally ran on Oct. 4, 2021. Its topic is timely due to COVID-19, flu-rona, and the usual sniffles being passed around at this time of year.)

What makes a medicine cabinet frugal? I’ll explain some tactics a little later. Right off, though, I would like to gently nag you to do an inventory of your own. Here’s why.

You might get sick. If it’s COVID, then it could be possible to fight this at home. (You might have to if you’re living in a place where they’re rationing healthcare. They’re doing it right now in Alaska.) And if it’s not COVID, then you’ll feel a little more comfortable – or at least a little less horrible – if you have certain OTC items on hand.

You might get stuck. Again, no one can say whether another lockdown will happen. If it does, or if case numbers were scary enough in your area to make you want to stay home, then you’re at the mercy of delivery services. Sure, you could look at their ads and find out whether generic Theraflu is cheaper at CVS than at Kroger. But will you do that? Also, being unable to watch for deals and pick them off, one or two at a time, means you’ll likely pay full retail. Bonus: Not being in-store means not seeing “manager’s special” or “clearance” tags.

You might be strapped. Suppose two members of your household get whatever bug is going around. You’ll be so busy putting cold cloths on foreheads and emptying puke pails that you won’t exactly have time/inclination to rush off to Rite Aid. (Stay home anyway, ya Typhoid Mary!)

What will you need, and how should you acquire it? Let’s get started.

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9 cheap indulgences that bring joy.

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A recent Twitter thread caught my eye: “What’s a cheap indulgence that brings you joy?” The usual suspects showed up: ice cream, coffee, bubble baths, good pens, pretty notebooks, dark chocolate.

And a few less-obvious choices showed up, too:

People-watching at the pub

Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards

S’mores Pop Tarts

Soft cotton sheets

Pretty hardback copies of favorite classic novels

Boston Baked Beans from the dollar store (“It has had me in a chokehold”)

Here was my contribution to the thread: “Pay-one-price day at Cinemark with my BFF or one/both of my great-nephews – and kettle corn, of course. Bonus joy points if I am using a discounted gift card and a coupon cashed in from movie rewards points.”

I’ve long been a fan of cheap joy. Given the past couple of years, and the no-real-end-in-sight nature of the pandemic (and its impact on finances), I think it’s more important than ever to find affordable delight.

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Is fine dining worth it?

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The other night I brought home dinner from Tastee-Freez: chicken strip basket for me, bacon ranch chicken sandwich for DF and curly fries for both of us. This is not most people’s idea of fine dining, but we enjoyed it immensely.

It didn’t hurt a bit that we were both pretty ravenous, but seriously: The food there is good. They get their burger meat from a local butcher, and are “proud to use” Alaskan cod, pollock, crab and salmon.

But there’s another reason. Dipping a chicken strip into the little plastic cup of honey-mustard sauce, I suggested that the reason we were enjoying it so much is that we hardly ever do it.

Once or twice a year DF and I visit a very fine-dining establishment called Kincaid Grill; one of those dinners is an annual tradition with a couple of friends. The rest of the time, “Where shall we go for dinner?” always has the same answer: “The kitchen table.”

Not just because it’s the frugal thing to do, either. We genuinely enjoy our homemade meals. (He says it’s because they’re prepared and shared with love.) In addition, we don’t have to get dressed up nicely, or even get dressed at all; we’ve eaten quite a few meals in sweatpants and T-shirt, or even in bathrobes if it’s been a long day. We don’t have to wait for a table, examine a wine list, tip a server, or figure out which ancient grain is being sauced up and marked up.

Dining out just seems like…a lot of work. I expect I’m not the only one who feels this way, especially since people have become so accustomed to DoorDash et al. bringing them meals in takeout containers.

A recent article on Grubstreet, written by food critic Adam Platt, suggests there’s another reason. Yep, it’s the pandemic, but it’s also a question of “relevance and tone.” 

“(With) people struggling all over the city and fashionable tastes veering – as they have been for years – toward three-star tacos, burgers and bowls of ramen, a fancy multi-course menu feels like the opposite of sophistication to a new generation of diners.

“‘All these places try to tell a story,’ an astute young Brooklyn gourmet told me the other day. ‘But in the end, they’re all the same. …I just feel like the world has moved on.”

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Be a frugal role model.

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A while back my cousin found out he’d accidentally encouraged someone. While he was on his daily walk, a car pulled up and its driver called out to him. Seems she and her daughter had seen him taking long strolls in the hot Utah weather.

“You inspired me to get out and walk. I’ve lost 10 pounds since February, just walking,” she concluded.

My cousin posted this encounter on social media, concluding with, “Sometimes we are unaware of the impact we have on others.”

A longtime reader, whom I’ll call V, recently reminded me that my long-ago MSN Money Smart Spending posts inspired her to pay off a ton of consumer debt. Soon after the debt was gone, V’s husband was killed in a traffic accident. Because she was otherwise debt-free, she was able to handle the mortgage on her own.

“You gave me the tools and support when no one else was there,” she says.

I pointed out that she was the one who did all the work. But I did cherish the gig of frugal role model for MSN Money. Even though I now work on my own, I still love sharing ways to get the most bang for your buck.

Judging from the comments you leave, a lot of my readers are not only frugal, but also love sharing frugal hacks. I encourage you to keep doing that. Money-saving knowledge is needed more every day in this country.

During the pandemic lots of folks cut way back on spending. Living on less was essential if you’d been laid off or had your small business hammered by lockdown. It reminded me of the recession, when people were floundering and desperate for info on how to pay their bills.

Enter personal finance blogs, which told readers how to fix cheaper meals, use coupons and take other steps to keep costs low. People couldn’t get enough of this advice until things eased up a bit – at which point some couldn’t wait to get back to business as usual. They jettisoned frugality, deciding it was no longer necessary because the good times were back. 

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7 ways to get free groceries.

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Back in July 2019, a member of my neighborhood Buy Nothing Facebook group posted about an estate sale that wanted to dump all the kitchen stuff. Free groceries! Woo hoo!

The catch: You had to take all of it, or you couldn’t have any of it.

That didn’t bother DF a bit. He cheerfully brought home several of those large plastic totes full of nonperishables: soups, relishes, pickles, marshmallow fluff, Minute Rice, dried beans, canned milk, Stove-Top stuffing mix, jams and jellies, other stuff I’m probably forgetting and – our favorite – a 33.8-ounce bottle of vanilla.

The vanilla was our favorite part of the score. Have you priced that stuff lately? On Amazon it seems to range from $1.03 to $4.99 per ounce. [As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small fee if someone shops through my links.]

 

 

Getting this vanilla means two years’ worth of free flavorings for Lightning Cake, cookies, brownies, and tapioca, rice and coconut bread puddings. It’s unlikely that most people will score a find like the estate sale. But I have gotten free food in other ways, too – and maybe some of these tactics could help you build a deeper pantry.

 

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