Hhi 450k and network about 3.25 M. I used to be a lot more thrifty. Have eased up a lot in the last 5 years. I grew up in a different country with very ours. Bring thrifty came naturally and it was easy because you can be hair on very little. I have changed to pay for convenience and comfort but don’t care for luxury if that makes sense.

Thrifty things:
Drive cars for 10 plus years
Charge car at work for free.
Shop in Costco.
Keep phone for at least 3 years.
Bought a SFH in a good school district as our first home and have resisted the urge to upgrade

Interestingly, most of the “thrifty” things shared on this thread are also more environmentally friendly and/or healthy for you.. Like reusing plastic bags, cooking instead of ordering out. The only one that is really sad to me is the PP who never pays for entertainment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I buy Veuve instead of Dom

This is a good tip. My daughter and I flew to Europe to watch Taylor Swift. My husband said we could have just used the company suite at the arena, but I think he's missing the point that we saved a lot of money on our Louis Vuitton, La Prairie, etc, that we bought tax free on the trip. Of course we used points etc for airfare (business class, not 1st) and hotel (4 star, no pool). Our private college counselor said DD can work the trip into an admissions essay for merit aid for her HYSPM apps so honestly, I think we made money on that trip.

This is not as clever as you think it is, sorry.

My list of cheap or free stuff is simply too long.
Here are few example: free gym, free parking at home and at work, free food at work and to take home, free babysitting, public schools, cheap work uniform.
School and work are very close by choice. Never mind, I don't even work. I have optimized my life so well, that we now have enough money for me not to work. It keeps growing faster than I can spend. Work is waiting for me, but I'll go when I feel like it.
We simply pay $2400 for rent/utilities/all bills. Even that comes out of an 'annuity' paid out monthly. We love out apartment and would never want to live in a house. So no need to tell us that we need to 'live a little'. We all have been to EU many times and we travel in US. We buy what we want, but we mostly want nothing. I just want a very simple life at home.
My car loan I got last month is 0% for example. I have heard that it is not easy to get right now, but normal for me. I could try to get cheaper insurance, but have to consider my time and energy first. New car won't have inspection til 2028. Older car had one already due including maintenance. Payment for new car comes out of old car's money being in the stocks.
I was never a high income earner, but I mastered frugality. Now I have also mastered investing. This is like double-whammy.
Food budget is what I'm trying to lower and it's not going well.
Being organized and knowing where things are, saves a lot of time and money.
My landlord did raise our rent, but cheaper option already showed up in the building. I also believe in cutting bigger things or making more money. I never really got into small things. I know what my kid likes to wear and simply buy same thing, but in bigger size.
I really like the idea of knowing the bottom price for milk for example and try to get it for that price all year long.
It is hard to suggest how to cut expenses for someone else. It's very individual. Someone uses drier balls instead of sheets, and I wouldn't use either.
I'm surprised that people sign up for all kinds of stuff they don't even need or use and then try to cut the expense.
Having few wants is the ultimate hack if you asked me. It's not a punishment to live on less. I grew up on less and had the best childhood ever. Well, I did have ponies and horses to ride for free daily, free roaming and freshly cooked organic food. Carrying LV around simply doesn't come close.
Don't make your home a storage. Think of stores as your storage.
'My goal is no longer to get more done, but rather to have less to do.' Francine Jay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I buy Veuve instead of Dom

This is a good tip. My daughter and I flew to Europe to watch Taylor Swift. My husband said we could have just used the company suite at the arena, but I think he's missing the point that we saved a lot of money on our Louis Vuitton, La Prairie, etc, that we bought tax free on the trip. Of course we used points etc for airfare (business class, not 1st) and hotel (4 star, no pool). Our private college counselor said DD can work the trip into an admissions essay for merit aid for her HYSPM apps so honestly, I think we made money on that trip.

Nice brag and irrelevant.

I'm sure they were joking, regardless of whether it's true.

Anonymous wrote:I buy Veuve instead of Dom

I buy Kirkland instead of Veuve.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I buy Veuve instead of Dom

This is a good tip. My daughter and I flew to Europe to watch Taylor Swift. My husband said we could have just used the company suite at the arena, but I think he's missing the point that we saved a lot of money on our Louis Vuitton, La Prairie, etc, that we bought tax free on the trip. Of course we used points etc for airfare (business class, not 1st) and hotel (4 star, no pool). Our private college counselor said DD can work the trip into an admissions essay for merit aid for her HYSPM apps so honestly, I think we made money on that trip.

Nice brag and irrelevant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you guys thrifting? Like big mega centers? We only have a very small place near us and it's mostly grandma donations.

I’d like to know too. I’d love to find some vintage items. New clothes out today are butt ugly.

That's one reason I go--I want some of the older styles, which are, not surprisingly, now back in style. I'm looking at you wider leg pants. I never did skinny jeans--they look bad on me.

Goodwill
Humane Together Thrift and Gift
St. John's Opportunity Shop
and my favorite of all since the merch is priced to move: church rummage sales. They are fun, there's often a lot of vintage goods, and I like to support community orgs. They will pick back up in the fall.

-public elementary
-no vacations longer than a weekend for past 15 years
-eat out maybe twice a month or less & seldom order in
-buy more chicken than beef or fish and more ground meat than whole cuts
-FB marketplace
-sell stuff I don’t use or need
-Vanguard for low fees
-drive a paid off 8 year old nonluxury car
-hand me downs for kids
-do my own gardening
-EZ pass, WFH
-neighborhood pool, local public high school tennis courts on off hours and non-golf swim/tennis membership that’s really inexpensive
-running outside for additional exercise
-cleaners every 3 weeks not semimonthly
-BuyNothing user
-don’t drink much alcohol
-no travel sports

HHI $250K, assets $3M

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reuse plastic bags, aluminum foil, etc.

Keep boxes and ribbons from gifts; reuse as needed. (And not above regifting either.)

Sell/ consign items when possible.

Still driving car from 2007.

Very basic cable package. No Netflix, etc. Rarely pay for any form of entertainment. Books from library.


HHI $450,000. NW $11M

I think you can afford to live a little now.

Agree; this is sad.

+1

You can afford to live a bit now.

A 2024 car that you drive for the next 10 years, for example.

Pick one or two streaming services.
Pick something you want and spend on it. You don't need to be that frugal anymore.
What's the point of saving/earning so much if you don't actually enjoy it?

Who says we're not living well? Right now I'm at our beautiful vacation home (part of the net worth.) Big trip to Europe this summer. Kids in private schools. Starting to think about large philanthropic projects.

But I could not care less about cars. As long as mine gets me from Point A to Point B, that's all that matters. And a streaming service? Please! Who has time to watch things like that?

How do you think we got to the point where we accumulated this much in the first place? Waste is waste and there is no excuse for it, ever if you have money.

Oh and I agree about the Uber Eats/ Door Dash. NEVER spend money on that - if you want something to eat, get off your lazy can and go get it yourself!

I don’t care about cars either but a 17 year old car is usually unreliable. So it’s unlikely to get you from A to B without a lot of hassle and additional expense. That’s why most people don’t drive them. It’s not because they’re not frugal. And most people use Uber eats to save time. They don’t order it and then “sit on their can.”

I think all this stuff is basically small potatoes and not a good return on time/effort. It would be better to spend that time/effort making more money or to change the big things in your budget, like housing.

Stuff like reusing paper towels is for if you’re a senior on a fixed budget and there’s nothing you can ever do to change the big picture, but you have a lot of time to pile up Pennie’s.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reuse plastic bags, aluminum foil, etc.

Keep boxes and ribbons from gifts; reuse as needed. (And not above regifting either.)

Sell/ consign items when possible.

Still driving car from 2007.

Very basic cable package. No Netflix, etc. Rarely pay for any form of entertainment. Books from library.


HHI $450,000. NW $11M

I think you can afford to live a little now.

Agree; this is sad.

+1

You can afford to live a bit now.

A 2024 car that you drive for the next 10 years, for example.

Pick one or two streaming services.
Pick something you want and spend on it. You don't need to be that frugal anymore.
What's the point of saving/earning so much if you don't actually enjoy it?

Who says we're not living well? Right now I'm at our beautiful vacation home (part of the net worth.) Big trip to Europe this summer. Kids in private schools. Starting to think about large philanthropic projects.

But I could not care less about cars. As long as mine gets me from Point A to Point B, that's all that matters. And a streaming service? Please! Who has time to watch things like that?

How do you think we got to the point where we accumulated this much in the first place? Waste is waste and there is no excuse for it, ever if you have money.

Oh and I agree about the Uber Eats/ Door Dash. NEVER spend money on that - if you want something to eat, get off your lazy can and go get it yourself!

Sell anything I don't use/want on Poshmark or Ebay.
Make coffee at home - never get Starbucks anymore.
Make most meals instead of going out or delivery except for special occasions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you guys thrifting? Like big mega centers? We only have a very small place near us and it's mostly grandma donations.

I’d like to know too. I’d love to find some vintage items. New clothes out today are butt ugly.

I already answered further back but I like Unique thrift store. There are 2 in moco. The one in Hillandale has a valu village right next door. I get all my kids uniform pants there. Brand name so good quality for $5-$7 per pair. Also good for athletic wear.

Anonymous wrote:Where are you guys thrifting? Like big mega centers? We only have a very small place near us and it's mostly grandma donations.

I’d like to know too. I’d love to find some vintage items. New clothes out today are butt ugly.