frugality

Poor, poor (but not pitiful) me.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! This piece originally ran on July 21, 2015. Right now seemed like a good time to remind ourselves that a lot of the things we think are necessities really aren’t.)

The response to my early-June reboot of “Surviving (and thriving) on $12,000 a year” was humbling. It was great to see reader comments about the impact this piece had on their lives.

When the post originally ran (January 2007) it got more response than anything else MSN Money published that year. The editor immediately said, “Write another one.” So I did.

The headline I chose was the one you see above; it got changed to “Living ‘poor’ and loving it.” (I refrain from comment.)

I’ve decided to re-boot the second piece as well, again in its original format vs. the MSN-edited version. Once again, asterisks indicate that updates can be found at the end.

Comedian Dick Gregory grew hungry and cold in an impoverished home. Yet his mother always assured the kids, “We ain’t poor, we’re just broke.”

 

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6 ways to save money on cloth diapers.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! A version of this article was originally published Jan. 30, 2014. As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small commission if you purchase using my affiliate link.)

Yesterday I read an article about continuing shortages on things like disinfectants, toilet paper* and diapers. The piece suggested you could make emergency diapers out of T-shirts.

Couldn’t resist that notion, so I watched a YouTube video on how to turn that old 10k shirt into a COVID-19 hack. It sounds counterintuitive somehow, but cloth diapers are made of cotton, too, so it sorta-kinda makes sense.

Note: The diaper “shortage” is likely due to panic-buying rather than a diaper industry failure. Parents see emptying shelves, which makes them fear potential shortages, which in turn creates actual shortages.

It’s also led to a boom in the cloth diaper industry, according to an article in Today. These didies can be super-pricey. It’s a far cry from way, way back in the day, when I paid $2.99 per dozen for cloth diapers. Believe it or not, they were “slightly irregular.” Yes, I swathed my daughter’s butt in factory seconds.

What’s more, after moving to Philadelphia I had to wash the diapers by hand on a scrub-board and dry them on wooden racks. As a broke and exhausted single mom, I could afford neither the time nor the money to go to the laundromat. I hope none of you are ever that hard up.

Cloth diapers really aren’t as awful as people think. These days they’re prefolded like disposables, so you just tuck them into covers (no more plastic pants). In fact, these diapers are so well-made that they actually have resale value after Junior gets toilet-trained.

Yes, there’s a bit of an “ick” factor, but let’s face it: If you have a baby, you are going to have to touch some poop even if you use disposables.

Here’s how to save money on cloth diapers.

 

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Bonus earnings with the Fetch Rewards App.

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Recently a reader suggested I check out the Fetch Rewards app now that I’ve finally joined the 21st century by getting a smartphone.

At first I was skeptical, because DF and I simply don’t buy that much stuff.

Now I’m a believer, thanks to the 13,645 points in my account.

That translates to almost $14 worth of scrip at a slew of retailers and companies that provide entertainment, beauty, pet products, clothing, media, travel, spa experiences, office supplies, charitable donations, and even a prepaid Visa or Mastercard.

Full disclosure: Eight thousand of those points came from referrals. Which brings me to the point of this post:

From now through next Tuesday (March 24), the Fetch Rewards app is running a bonus campaign. For every person who decides to join using my referral code* (more on this below), I will get a whopping 4,000 points (instead of the usual 2,000 points).

But you’ll get something as well. Two somethings, in fact:

  • A 2,000-point welcome bonus when you successfully scan your first receipt, and
  • A referral code of your own to share – and if any of your family or friends joins, then you’ll get 4,000 points. Through next Tuesday, anyway, at which point it reverts to 2,000 points.

Here’s what you need to know.

 

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Coronavirus: An object lesson.

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This isn’t a post about or whether our country’s belated reaction to the coronavirus is in fact an overreaction. I’m not writing about whether or not we should self-isolate*,  or whether schools and public venues should have closed, or whether we’ve lost our collective damn mind in terms of toilet-paper hoarding.

I just want to point out that frugality (or intentional living, or whatever you want to call it) positions us to outlast both minor and major emergencies. Personally, I think that the coronavirus is both minor and major.

It’s minor (thus far, anyway) in that relatively few people are actually sick. If the epidemiologists are correct, “flattening the curve” may keep the medical system from being too overwhelmed to provide care for all.

It’s major in that many people’s livelihoods (both regular jobs and side hustles) are being hammered. When your finances are already chancy, losing a couple of weeks’ worth of work doesn’t just hurt – it might actually take you down.

Which brings us back to intentional living. If you were able to reduce/pay off your debt and build an emergency fund, then you are now better-equipped to handle the coronavirus troubles.

Facing reduced hours at work or even outright layoff because customers have disappeared? No longer able to pick up those extra 10 hours a week walking dogs or selling hot dogs at the basketball arena? Or maybe your job hasn’t gone away, but you now need to pay for weeks of childcare due to school closure.

That stinks, to be sure. It won’t be fun to use some (or all) of your EF to make up the difference. Instead, try thinking of it this way: I’m very glad I took the steps to build this cushion. And when this is over, I’ll get back to rebuilding.

 

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Extreme Frugality: Holiday shopping edition.

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Surviving and Thriving has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Surviving and Thriving and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses and recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

(This is the first in an occasional series of articles focusing on saving serious dough. A little background can be read here.)

Black Friday? How about Black November?

Not long ago, Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – was considered the kick-off for the holiday shopping season. The timetable has been moved up, though.

This year, some retailers offered “Black Friday in April” or “Black Friday in July” deals, and recently the National Retail Federation reported a phenomenon called “Black November” – big deals offered on Nov. 1, with more to come before Nov. 29.

Some of the busiest shopping days of the year, however, are the days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. In 2018, an estimated 165 consumers spent an average of just over $313 during that five-day period.

“People plan their attack, and where they’re going to go. It’s a sport,” says shopping expert Trae Bodge, a senior editor at Retail Me Not.

 

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Extreme frugality: An occasional series.

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During the last recession, people went to surprising lengths to make ends meet. Hypermiling. Navy showers. Dumpster-diving for food (aka “freeganism”).

Some practiced extreme frugality to keep from sinking further into the red; others did it to survive. (Some still do.)

Hailed at the time as examples of savvy consumerism, these sorts of activities don’t get a whole lot of press today. Some would say that’s a good thing, i.e., fewer people are living on the edge.

I’m not so sure.

While I’m glad the recession is technically* over, I remain sad that we seem to have learned nothing from the tough times of previous decades. There’s more things than ever to buy, especially as regards electronics – and quite a few us want these things at all costs.

In fact, a new survey from CreditCards.com suggest that 61 percent of people with credit card balances are willing to add more debt for the holidays.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m really glad I no longer have to wash all my clothes by hand, or live on the most basic of foodstuffs. But I think we could all do with a little bit more strategic frugality.

Some people think “frugal” means “impoverished,” and certainly it’s true that some people live frugally because they have no choice. It’s a way of life that can be terrifying. (Anyone else here ever raided the baby’s piggy bank** for bus fare to get to work on payday?)

In those days, and again during my lengthy divorce and return to college, I was frugal because I had to be. But even when times got better, I was still frugal – because I happen to think it’s a great way to live. To me, it means a life in which every decision is intentional. Every step I take (or don’t take) means something.

 

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Back-to-school shopping: Kids under pressure.

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Who among us has ever heard – or said! – something like this during the back-to-school shopping season:

“You don’t understand, Mom/Dad – everybody is wearing/carrying [expensive item] this year! Do you want people to laugh at me?”

Back in the day, you just knew that having the right jeans would determine the course of your school year. Having a parent overrule your choices felt devastating – especially if it really did make you the target of your school’s mean girls or rude dudes.

Right now, your kid might be pleading for a new smartphone or a pair of shoes that cost more than the rent on your first apartment. Remembering our own school days is one reason that our kids have a pretty good chance of getting at least some of what they want. (More on that in a minute.)

Another reason? Social media.

Not only are young people checking out their classmates’ social media updates and haul videos, they’re exposed to “an entire army of influencers telling your child what they ‘need’ to have this year,” according to Kelsey Sheehy of the NerdWallet personal finance website.

NerdWallet recently surveyed a couple of thousand parents on the subject. Six in 10 respondents said their kids are influenced by social media; slightly more than that (67 percent) said their children’s friends were major influences.

And just over half (51 percent) of the parents caved to the pressure and splurged. I can’t blame them. Much.

Caving is potentially self-destructive, with regard to family finances, and potentially setting their kids up for Entitled Monsterhood. But it’s also understandable.

 

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7 free financial resources.

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My buddy Cameron Huddleston’s new book, “Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances,” is a guide to negotiating that potentially awkward and/or painful subject of your parents’ finances as they age. (She recently sponsored a giveaway of two copies.)

In conjunction with the publication of her book, Huddleston has created a pair of great (and free!) financial resources.

The first is a document called the “In Case of Emergency Organizer: A Fill-in-the-Blank Financial Inventory to Give Your Loved Ones the Information They Need,” and it’s one-stop-shopping as far as financial information is concerned.

This PDF is write-able, i.e., you can type into it from your computer, tablet or smartphone. Then you can either print it out or send it as a document to your kids or whoever needs to have this info. Or you can print it out as a blank document and fill it in with a pen. #oldschool

Obviously you’ll need to lock it away safely, and make sure the person to whom you send it is careful with the document as well. After all, it will contain your Social Security number, bank account number(s) and other identifying information. But it sure beats your kids (or whoever) scrambling to find this stuff during a crisis.

Consider filling one of these out yourself as well, even if you’re young and hale. Suppose you became very ill, or were involved in some sort of accident: Would your relatives, or even your partner, be able to deal with things like temporarily paying your bills or finding your health insurance information?

 

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Saved Savings Challenge: How did you do?

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I decided to count my Saved Savings Challenge monies right up until July 1. The grand total was:

 

$286.02

 

That’s a lot more than I thought it would be. That’s because I figured since I don’t do much shopping, my saved savings wouldn’t be super-high.

Shows what I know.

Among the savings were some obvious ones: using coupons, cashing in Walgreens Balance Reward scrip to pay for needed purchases, getting a payment from the Mr. Rebates cash-back shopping site.

Also some that wouldn’t work for everyone: using a rewards credit card that gives 2 percent cash back for my purchases, picking up a package of Reynolds Oven Bags for $1 at the thrift store, ordering discounted gift cards on the secondary market (saving just over $51). Not everyone has access to thrift stores, or wants to deal with discounted gift cards, or can’t/won’t) get a rewards credit card.

Depending on whom you ask, at least two of my hacks might not be considered “saving” at all. For example, I included the money I didn’t spend after talking myself out of going for fast food* on several occasions. And I was tasked to review a local musical that I’d otherwise have paid to see, thereby “saving” on the $28 ticket. (Getting paid to go, too.)

 

 

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#1goodmoneything, and its #badcousins.

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Lately I’ve been noticing the #1goodmoneything hashtag on Twitter and Facebook. People use it to describe both major and minor money choices and actions.

Stuff like using increasing a 401(k) contribution, reaching a side hustle goal, winning tickets to a show, using travel rewards credit cards for a big trip, taking charge of bills vs. ignoring them, and not being upside-down on an auto loan any longer.

My daughter, whose blog many of you read, contributed one as well:

$10.95 sale on sports bras + $10 rewards card = $1.03 Victoria’s Secret sports bra.

That surprised me, since I had no idea that VS sold sweaty grunty stuff like sports bras. I thought they were all about frilly scanties. Live and learn.

Lately I’ve encountered a few #1goodmoneythings of my own. The most recent example was Saturday’s J.C. Penney anniversary sale. Coupons were handed to us at the door, good for $10 off a purchase of $10 or more. Because a video-game-themed T-shirt (destined for a nephew’s birthday gift bag) was on sale, I paid just $2.99.

My niece, a single mom who sniffs out deals the way a Brittany Spaniel scents quail, got six items for just over $20. Among other things this included tops she can wear to work, a handsome Henley shirt for her older son and a long-sleeved, screamin’ aqua bike jersey for the younger. (One of his plans this summer is to “ride my bike as much as I can.”)

Wish I could say it’s been all good-money-things, all the time, lately. Some But me being me, I’ve also met a few of the hashtag’s cousins.

 

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