What is the most frugal (or cheap) thing you do to save money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of you on here bragging about being frugal and having 300k+ income - what is the point?
Why don't you just enjoy your lives. Eat out more, buy a nicer house, travel, etc. Whar are you saving all your money for? Just so your kids can inherit it and have a luxurious life? You only live once and many of you just sound pathetic. I have a good job and work hard so I don't need to think twice if I want to grab a coffee at Starbucks or eat out with friends or get a cleaning person. The psycho poster who claims they make over $1M but don't pay for private school or groceries is nuts. He is clearly doing a lot of unethical and shady things. Not how I would want to live my life. Cash does not bring you happiness. It is having a well lived interesting and full of experiences life. Get out there and do stuff people!

Well, we have made quite a bit north of this for some time. DH and I are by nature savers. He because he is a minimalist and me because of a philosophical view formed at a very young age that you never know what catastrophe may hit you or those you care about it.

DH grew up very poor, but I grew up with a very comfortable life. Maybe my view comes from my mother's devotion to organizing charitable drives whenever there was a natural or refugee disaster just about anywhere.

We are now older, and one of our kids has been hit with heavy medical needs and expenses. Without our substantial cushion, we would have been able to do far less for DC. What we have been able to do makes the difference between DC being able to study and work vs. being home bound with no real way of making a livelihood.

So don't regret our saving ways at all. What car I drive doesn't matter much to me and I eating out does very little for me--each time I am shocked at how much more expensive it is than the last time we went out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of you on here bragging about being frugal and having 300k+ income - what is the point?
Why don't you just enjoy your lives. Eat out more, buy a nicer house, travel, etc. Whar are you saving all your money for? Just so your kids can inherit it and have a luxurious life? You only live once and many of you just sound pathetic. I have a good job and work hard so I don't need to think twice if I want to grab a coffee at Starbucks or eat out with friends or get a cleaning person. The psycho poster who claims they make over $1M but don't pay for private school or groceries is nuts. He is clearly doing a lot of unethical and shady things. Not how I would want to live my life. Cash does not bring you happiness. It is having a well lived interesting and full of experiences life. Get out there and do stuff people!

You are mistaken if you think saving money equates to not enjoying our lives. We certainly splurge on many things but also are very cheap in other ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make over 400k but:

1. One car
2. Bring lunch to work
3. Make coffee at home
4. Take the bus
5. Cook often at home
6. Groom our own dog
7. Clean our own house

Can we be friends?

We make about $350 combined but:

-have a 10 year old car
-our second "new" car was a certified pre-owned minivan
-i don't eat out except 2x max a week
-we basically live like college students 80% of the time even though we have 2 kids now and been out of school for 15 years
-our most expensive piece of furniture is a $800 dining table that we bought new. Everything else has been used for a very long time or inherited (from grandparents which we won't dispose as it's got sentimental value, and it still works)

What do you consider eating out?
Restaurants obviously.
What about takeout? What about a McD drive thru?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shop at Aldi's for most groceries. Cut my grocery bill in half. No joke.

Same here. Aldi is awesome.

I am not driving 40 minutes each way for a grocery store.

There's an Aldi close to my office. I got pineapples and cantalope there today for $.25 each.

[Anonymous]

Cut my husband's hair
Bring our own water and snacks to movies

[Anonymous]

If I had 350k to 400k, I'd enjoy life more. Buy some coffee drinks!

[Anonymous]

- bike to work
- no mortgage or loan
- bring unused paper napkins home and use them for cleaning house
- for old clothes that cannot be donated, cut into pieces and use for cleaning house
- not use laundry dryer
- cut hair myself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:- bike to work
- no mortgage or loan
- bring unused paper napkins home and use them for cleaning house
- for old clothes that cannot be donated, cut into pieces and use for cleaning house
- not use laundry dryer
- cut hair myself

I was with you until you said you don't use the dryer to dry your clothes. How much does that really save? And do you have to hang your clothes out all over your house?

Also, cutting your own hair seems very extreme. Are you on an extreme budget? Looking good is important!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:- bike to work
- no mortgage or loan
- bring unused paper napkins home and use them for cleaning house
- for old clothes that cannot be donated, cut into pieces and use for cleaning house
- not use laundry dryer
- cut hair myself

I was with you until you said you don't use the dryer to dry your clothes. How much does that really save? And do you have to hang your clothes out all over your house?

Also, cutting your own hair seems very extreme. Are you on an extreme budget? Looking good is important!

Why do you care? Maybe this person looks fabulous.