What’s lucky
about my frugal ideas? …working with what you “luckily” happen to have…in the
way of opportunities, talents, and resources. No guilt or pressure is intended here, just ideas,
some of which might work for you. Enjoy the read, but if there are things you
haven’t been doing and might like to do, maybe make notes somewhere, and take
them one or a few at a time. Don’t think you have to do a whole bunch of things
at once. Or any, if you don’t want to. And I'm sure many of you already do some of
these.
One. Work
or do most business close to home. You might notice I said “or”. Some
people have to commute. But when we have a choice, working close to home can
save on gas and auto maintenance (or public transportation costs), as well as
time. Similarly, not everyone can do
business close to home (doctor appointments, shopping, etc.); but the more we
can, the more we can save on transportation costs and time.
Two. Spend
relatively little to save a lot. This one might not work as well for someone
for whom money is so tight that they can barely afford to eat. But I’m thinking
of things like changing our heater filters in our home or apartment; getting an
oil change for the car. I’m sure you can think of other things.
Three. Maintain
our home and possessions. This fits with the previous one, but sometimes it’s
not so much money we spend as time. We can’t all keep everything up perfectly;
believe me, I know (I am not the best housekeeper). But maybe sometimes we can think of odd little
things that just need a little time to clean, like vacuuming the coils under
the refrigerator. I find it so easy to
forget that one, but it takes so little time. I like to keep a running list of
the odd seasonal or annual tasks, and even if it takes me a year to get to
something, that’s one less year it gets neglected.
Four. Plan
inexpensive, healthy meals and snacks. Depending on how frugal we need to
be, not every meal needs to be inexpensive, and eating out now and then can be
fun. But it sometimes helps to develop a repertoire of meals that cost less and
use them more than other meals. And I’ve found if I have a lot of errands or
have to go cross county, that if I go out with a little snack and a cup of decaf
(made at home), I am less apt to give in to the desire to buy something while I’m out.
Five. Grow
some food. I’m not an experienced gardener. But my husband and I have been
growing a few tomatoes (mostly cherry or grape) the past few years and trying
our hands at a little something else each season. I’m not sure how much we
actually save on food by doing a tiny bit of gardening. But it enriches our
lives and it makes me more aware of the value of food. And we are learning
something which could save us more money in the future. If you’ve never grown food,
and you have as much as a balcony, you might want to try it (look up container
gardening).
Six. Make
it ourselves. We all have different talents, time constraints, and even
inclinations. Some people knit their own scarves…and make some as gifts for
others. Some people make their own mayonnaise. Some people build their own shed
or coffee table. Now, sometimes it costs more to make something ourselves than
to buy it. When I was young, I made a few pieces of clothing for myself and for
my daughter. But it got to where the fabric became more expensive than buying
the item ready-made. Now, some people use gently used old clothing to make new
clothing items. I bought fabric quarters (for quilters) to make masks.
Seven. Buy
some items second-hand or borrow them. This one is so easy to forget in our
instant society: We go to the store…or get on Amazon. Pick it up or click on
it. But there are many things that someone no longer wants or needs which still
have life in them. There are precautions we can follow about meeting strangers
or about the safety of an item. But if we’re willing to deal with those
precautions, we can save a lot of money over time.
Eight. Fix
what we are able to fix ourselves. First, do you have any talents that lend
themselves to fixing things? I’m so thankful my mother taught me to sew and
that I enjoy it. I have saved so much money by keeping our clothes in good
repair; and more recently, I’ve even been fixing the “mostly home and yard work
clothes” with visible mending. Recently, I finally tried my hand at changing a
watch battery. I figured I was going to either pay $25 to get a new battery or about
the same to buy a new watch, so I didn’t have a lot to lose. And with the help
of my husband, we were successful, so then we changed the batteries on two
other watches I had, all for a few dollars altogether. On the other hand, we
don’t do our own plumbing here. We all have limitations on what we can
successfully fix. What kinds of things can you fix?
Nine. Re-use
items differently when it makes sense. Over many decades, I’ve seen whole
articles and books on recycling things by using them in a different way. Most
of them don’t make sense for me. For example, I actually saw the suggestion in
an article to use an old shoe as a cup holder in the car? No thank you! But when
I was a kid, we had canvas gym shoes, and if they got holes, we couldn’t wear
them for gym anymore; but we would wear them to mow the lawn or walk in creek
beds. We still keep older shoes for yard work. Some things I often recycle to
use differently are containers. I keep glass jars to store food in. I put store-brand
sugar in a yellow plastic container from a name-brand sugar purchase from some
years ago. Just do whatever makes sense for you.
Ten. Sell
or give away what we don’t want. The benefit of selling what we don’t want
is obvious, but what economic benefit is there to giving away what we don’t
want? First of all, it lets someone else benefit. It also clears out room for
what we do want. Have you ever bought something, only to find out later that
you had it already? I know I have. Keeping down the clutter helps us to organize
and find the things we want when we want them.
Eleven. Track
expenditures to be aware. This is a tough one. Some people say you need to
track every penny. Other people might say tracking expenditures is impossible…or
depressing. I would say it’s different for different folks. I have to admit I’m
not usually a “track every penny” person. But I find it helpful to know generally
where the money is going. Were the expenses higher this month? Was there an
unavoidable reason (say, a large dental bill)? Or is there something we could
watch (say, eating out)? For me, it just feels better to know what’s happening.
Twelve. Invest
in personal knowledge and skills. This could be anything that might help us
get a job or a better job, make a little money on the side, or be more frugal,
or even just expanding our general skills, knowledge, and hobbies. There are so
many books, articles, YouTube videos, etc. available for free.
Thirteen. Foster
our spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional health. This is so
important. But what does it have to do with economizing? Well, of course, being
healthier could mean fewer medical bills. Helping ourselves with our spiritual,
physical, mental, and emotional health could also mean less seeking of solace
in expensive, unhealthy habits. And after all, the whole point is the well-being of ourselves and our loved ones.
Written and copyright by Margaret Mary Myers
