Frugalista!

Whew! We've spent a lot of money this year. I have been working for one year now (I was a stay-at-home mom for 2.5 years) and we have gone from spending less than the people on food stamps get for groceries, to exceeding the national average by a huge margin. The main reason is that I don't have time to cook. Oh sure, we sometimes make double batches of stuff on weekends, and all four of us pack lunches every day, but our food costs have gone up a lot.

Also, we bought stuff. I have purchased books this year (I have only purchased two non-utilitarian books since 2001). We bought (gasp!) an X-Box. And games (used). But still. We even bought some DVDs. We never did this during our frugal days. We didn't buy much of anything then really.

It's not that we have more money now. It's just that I'm working and we have this interest-only second mortgage for 5 years, and it gives the false sense that the payment isn't really due. Well, now we have 4 years to get that bad boy paid off. And we're going to do it!

It'll be tight. So we're trying to return to our frugal ways.

I figured I'd share some of my frugalista tips. Of course, not every tip is for everyone, but I've done them all at one point or another. Some are really extreme. But when I hear about people loosing their houses or going into debt - well, extreme times call for extreme measures. I also get all old-lady grumpy when I hear people whining about being so poor/in debt while feeling like they're too good to lower themselves to "that level" regarding hard-core frugality. Screw that. I'd rather wash baggies and clip coupons than be an indentured servant to Mastercard for the rest of my life.

For groceries, pretend it's the depression - only buy basics: flour, sugar, fruit etc. Then make everything from scratch. Make it a game to keep it fun. Pretend you are your own great grandma. Pretend there's an apocalypse and everyone has to become frontier people on another planet.

Track every penny going in and out - we have done this since January 2002. I recommend using Quicken, but I did it with a pad and paper for two years. You would be amazed at what you find. The time investment to payback ratio is very good. Then you can decide if you're enjoying where your money goes and decide where to spend more or less.

Use thegrocerygame.com - Groceries are the largest area most people can cut back (housing, transportation and utilities are pretty much fixed). TGG works for omnivores and vegans who don't eat mostly organic. I hate to be a crazy coupon lady, but this site really does do what it says. (I get no kickback for this plug) I used it for a long time with great results. But like I said, if you're vegan and try to eat organic, and you don't like mainstream grocery store bath products (because of chemical issues, not because I'm a priss) it isn't so great. But for other people, it's fantastic. You can do the work yourself, but for $1.50 a week, the service is totally worth it.

Line dry all laundry- We didn't use a dryer for years. We got two dryer racks and put them in our bedroom. We had a ceiling pulley system planned for when we needed another rack, but then we bought a dryer once I was going to have two babies in cloth diapers.

Keep a price book - This is a book in which you track prices for the items your family uses. There's one page for each item. Each page has one column each: store, date, sale (yes/no) item, price, size and unit price. Then you can track sales cycles (usually 6-8 weeks) and stock up when things are at their lowest per-unit price. Costco isn't always the best deal. In fact, it rarely is. Note - if you have a big 3-ring binder, store workers may approach you. I have heard of price books being confiscated, even though it's not illegal. I used a dayplanner sized one, and no one gave me any grief. If you don't do thegrocerygame.com, or it doesn't cover your area, the price book is the absolute best grocery money saver. After a month you have a good database of prices and it starts becoming valuable. Keep a little calculator with it unless you're a Vulcan math whiz.

Trader Joe's - after tracking prices for a couple years, I can tell you it's very rare to get prices better than Trader Joe's unless you're couponing like crazy. And then you're getting some corporate chemical-crap instead of real food. TJ's is my favorite store in the whole wide world. Their house brands are non-GMO, and they have good, cheap whole wheat pasta, organic tofu, whole wheat tortillas and pita bread and their organic frozen veggies are very cheap. Even their small produce section has lots of cheap organics. If you are a vegan who eats a lot of organics, and coupons won't help you, TJ's is the way to go.

Make homemade bread. Organic vegan bread is expensive. I used to make 3 loaves at a time and freeze. You can do it by hand or with a $5 breadmaker from Goodwill to make dough, then bake it yourself if you don't like the overcooked log from the breadmaker. Homemade waffles freeze well, so do bean and rice burritos (lettuce, tomato and potato do not freeze well.)


The grocery store is not your friend (except Trader Joe's) - they have mega-millions to figure out ways to convince you to buy crap you don't need. Look at highest and lowest shelves, compare per-unit cost (this is where the price book comes in). Try generics of everything and only eat name-brand if you can't stand the generics.

Stockpile - buy 6-8 weeks worth of an item on sale, then don't buy it again until it's on sale again. Store stockpiled food under beds, in closets, storage areas, the attic. This is not only frugal, but it serves as an earthquake/snow-in/regional disaster stockpile. Once you do this awhile (with your pricebook as a guide) you will only buy produce at full price because everything else will be in your stockpile. Don't' shop to buy what you need that week - shop to replenish your stockpile. This sounds all crazy, but trust me, it can cut costs by an amazing amount. Other frugalistas call this The Pantry Method.

Give up soda, chips, candy etc. Homemade baked goods only, and only when you have extra cash to buy ingredients. Cut back on alcohol or eliminate it. (My husband doesn't like this last one)

Cloth diapers - depending on what kind you get, this can be more expensive than disposables. But basic cloth diapers are cheaper even when washing costs are factored in. My conservative estimate of the money we saved on diapers is $2000-2500 for two children.

Fewer convenience frozen foods (vegan unprocessed ones are very expensive)

Freezer Fairy - This is where you keep a container in the freezer for that last little spoonful of pasta, mashed potatoes or corn or whatever instead of throwing it out. Then when the container is full, boil a pot of water with a bullion cube to make broth, and throw in your "freezer fairy" container contents. Mystery soup! Serve with bread. Add canned tomatoes and beans to have a heartier meal. (Disclaimer - results may vary from darn good to barely edible. But hey, it's garbage soup, so if it's too bad, just huck it and no guilt. But if it works ok, that's a free meal)

And related to Freezer Fairy - soup and bread night. One night a week is homemade soup night. Not the canned crap which is too expensive and salty. Some vegetable bouillon, veggies, pasta, tomatoes and beans - boom, fast soup. Another night is baked potato night - top with vegan cheese, bacos, chives, vegan ranch, broccoli.

Prepare triple meals and freeze in containers that correspond to 1 meal for your family or in 1-serving containers for lunches. Freeze batches of brown rice since it takes too long to cook it from scratch every time.

The library! I had my library card number memorized at our last house since I used it so much. Public libraries and the internet are the two greatest marvels of modern times. You can learn anything! Libraries have kid's story time if you need free entertainment (so does Borders). They have kid's and regular videos to check out, plus software.

Free stuff to do - local museums often have a free day per month, usually a weekday. For stay-at-home moms with little cash, this is great. Parks are good, so are the play areas inside malls (if you have the discipline not to buy stuff while you're there). Local play groups are good, if you can find one that doesn't have a huge membership fee. (Mine was $15 a year for newsletter materials and such. The moms and kids were great). Some libraries and community centers have free craft days and stuff for kids.

Car - we have one small car for a family of four. Yes, it's inconvenient. But it's paid off and it's fuel economical. Of course, if both parents work in opposite directions, this won't work.

Thrift stores - You have to have the discipline to only buy what you need or you end up with a house full of crap. Call to see what day sales are. Our local Goodwill has stuff 1/2 off the last Wednesday of the month. It also has a different category of stuff 1/2 off every week (housewares, men's clothing, etc.) Where we used to live, I got kid's clothes for 50 cents apiece. I felt really weird being cheap on everything and then having my kids in Ralph Lauren and Osh Kosh, but I survived.

Wash out baggies - then dry on chopsticks stuck in a cup. Yes, my husband gave me crap about this. In the end, it was more of an environmental statement than a money-saving one. But when you've implemented every other method, every penny counts.

Only grocery shop from a list. Write the prices on the list as you pick up the items, then after you get your receipt, make sure everything was charged correctly. At Safeway, I used to find an error about 1/4 of the time - and never in my favor.

Homemade dishwasher detergent - 1/2 borax, 1/2 baking soda - doesn't work very well, but it'll do in a pinch.

In winter, open the dishwasher before it hits the drying cycle and let the warmth heat the kitchen. Ditto with the oven after you bake something. If you have a tub shower, plug the drain and then leave the warm water in the tub until it's cold. No use paying for heat only to wash it down the drain.

Clean everything with white vinegar and water. Vinegar is super cheap, and mixed with water, a bottle of it lasts forever. Kills 95% of germs, which is good enough for me. (But then, my vegan kitchen isn't a level 3 biohazard zone like it was when we ate meat)

Yard sales - The more affluent the area, the better. If you have kids, yardsales are goldmines. Furniture is cheap too if you don't mind the Early-Marriage/Late-Yard Sale decorating style.

Curb picking - We have gotten some great curb pickings - high-end speakers, a home gym. Our old area was less affluent, so fewer goodies there.

Hand-me-downs - we have been very fortunate to be the recipients of great hand-me-downs for our kids. (Thanks Julie and Pepper!) We try to keep the hand-me-down goodness going by giving away and donating our outgrown kids' clothing and toys.

Holidays - this is a toughie. In the past, I either didn't get my kids and husband anything, or I gave them something small (a book or cd, some blocks). Last year, I splurged and spent $50 on Christmas for our kids, finding good stuff at the Goodwill - unused coloring books, new sidewalk chalk. Then I bought two new toys on sale. But my kids are still young, so they think a ladle is a cool toy. For extended family, it's harder. We have done homemade gifts, with varying degrees of success. I still feel ashamed of my homemade gifts, and I'm ultra-sensitive if I get teased about them.
ideas:
Movie night (this year's idea) - each family unit gets a DVD (with gift receipt in case they don't like it), big box of Hot Tamales or other vegan movie-type candy, roll of sweet-tarts (big), jar of popcorn, maybe hot chocolate too. Stick everything in a big popcorn bowl.
Family Game night (last year) - Each family unit gets a tub of Azteca D'Oro hot chocolate, coffee or tea, mugs (optional), a jar of cookie mix with directions on how to make it and a board game appropriate for their children (typically on sale around Thanksgiving)
Homemade candles - very messy to make, not such a hit with the family.
Baked goods - seal cookies well or they end up in Pennsylvania as doorstops.

Cancel cable TV. This one is the "impossible" one for most families, but after spending 5 TV-free years, it seems the easiest to me. Whenever I hear of families with debt problems who won't ditch the TV, I have to wonder what's up.

Get rid of cell phones - Everyone lived without them before, we can do it again. There's these things called pay phones...

Party like it's 1959! Or 1929 if you're really on a tight budget. To live on a smaller income, think like our grandparents and great-grandparents. They didn't do drive-thrus, have huge wardrobes of clothes, 3 TVs, McMansions, SUVs, tons of electronics gear. They ate at home, patched worn clothing, repaired what they had instead of buying new, had one car, maybe one simple vacation per year.

Pick your passions - Don't cut out what you love. I love books, so I went to the library. Fortunately, my love was free. My husband likes electronics, so he scavenged old servers and parts from work (our family site is hosted at home on a laptop with a broken screen). Don't give up what you love - only what you can live without. We don't care about brand name clothes or a nicer car. Other people don't care about organic foods or owning a house in suburbia. Live by your own priorities, not those of others. Once your basic needs are met, your standard of living does not equal your quality of life.

That's really the most important part - keep a good attitude about it. You either have to do this from necessity (so it's temporary and "character building") or from choice (like us, we chose to have kids and buy a house).

A big part is to not compare yourself with other people in our culture. The only TV show that accurately portrayed blue-collar American homes was Roseanne, and it's off the air. TV ads want you to feel that owning their stuff is "normal" so you need to buy it. You don't.

Try to make a fun game of it, even if it makes you look crazy to others. People may mistake a good attitude about frugality as some kind of petty miserly spirit, but let them laugh. Coupon clipping, price tracking, food stockpiling and thrift store shopping are not looked upon favorably in our culture unless you're in dire financial straits. To be middle class and doing these things is weird and people think it's obsessive and petty. You're supposed to rack up the credit card debt every Christmas, make hefty car payments etc. People will even be so rude as to say you're so "lucky" to be rich enough to stay home with your kids, save for retirement, buy a house, pay down debt, without ever looking at the choices you make to get there. And it is about choices - you choose one thing over another.

But most people have the good grace not to be bastards if you say you can't afford something. You can always say you're being anti-consumer or pro-environment if anyone gives you crap for being a frugalista.

Book Recommendations (from the library of course):
Your Money or Your Life - This is an awesome book. It sounds hokey and the idea of doing a "program" sounds gimicky, but it's totally worth a read.

Miserly Moms - geared toward stay-at-home moms, but good for everyone.

The Tightwad Gazette - the author is widely known as the Queen of the Tightwads. Read this after the others since it's the most extreme.

Websites:
stretcher.com - weekly articles on all areas of frugality.

The Motley Fool - investment info. They have lots of good stuff for those of us who can only invest a little. And if you're saving money for retirement, college or an emergency fund, it's a good place to start for sensible information.

The Grocery Game - mentioned above as a great service if you don't eat a lot of organics or natural foods.