Frugal vs Cheap.
 

There are some things I refuse to give up. I do not buy very many generic things. I like choices so I am frugal with what brand names I do buy. If I want a Rib-eye steak I wait to find one that is marked down for clearance and have it that night.

I have learned over the years to not deny myself things I like. It only makes me resentful and I will not live like that.

I get a lot of catalogues, and I drop them straight into the recycle bin on my way to my apartment when I get home.

Quinoa in bulk is like the only great deal at Whole Foods. So I stock up every three or four months on it.

One of the biggest ways I save money is by bringing my lunch to work. Usually it's either leftovers from the previous evening or a Lean Cuisine meal or something like that. I also bring my breakfast (a smoothie or yogurt and fruit) and my afternoon snack.

Just for example, when I eat at the cafeteria at work it looks like this:

Breakfast - Starbucks coffee, scrambled eggs, orange or banana = $5

Lunch - Usually something from the salad bar or the lunch of the day= $7

Afternoon snack - Fruit or something junky = $1

$13 a day multiplied by however many days I go in. I work at home a lot but there are times I go in to work 4 or 5 days.
Just going in 4 days multiplied by $13 - over $50.
Do that every week and it's easily over $200 a month.

Jack and I also try to curtail eating out. We got into a bad habit for a while of eating out 2 - 3 times a week and it was costing hundreds a month.

Just eat at home!! and SAVE!

#3

Never subscribe to cable or Dish. I use my big iMac for everything including streaming on the networks and watching full episodes. I saved around 127.00/mo not having a TV. Oh, and those downloads...

Ha! My aunts want me to write a book on how I got around it all.

Great points! Eating out is so easy but so expensive. Red being a teacher takes her lunch everyday but one when her team goes out. We make her breakfast sandwiches for the week on Sunday so she can pop one in the microwave while getting ready.

Loving all the great tips. Keep them coming :-)

Magazine Tips
 

[QUOTE=IslandScout;867214]I get a lot of catalogues, and I drop them straight into the recycle bin on my way to my apartment when I get home.QUOTE]

Here is a fun way to maybe use some of those magazines.

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/451...d-box/page/all

My aunt would take all the junk mail catalogs,news papers ect then put them into a paper log roller.This gizmo would role them up into a foot and a half to a two foot long paper log then tie it off with heavy string,she use d them for fire starters in her fire place.I have no idea where she got this gizmo but it really did work plus the junk mail was use full.

Roll Your Own!
 

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Uniflame-C-4301-Newspaper-Log-Roller/dp/B0012M9UZ6"]Amazon.com - Uniflame Newspaper Log Roller[/ame]

Yep,that's it, the very same thing she had.Aunt Jo lived on a farm that had some of the best hard wood around,I should know I cut,chopped and hauled enough of it for fire wood over the years she lived there.

Food Saver
 

I had one of these years ago but it was bulky and the materials were hard to get. I have been researching the new ones and think I am going to purchase this one

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-V3835-Vacuum-Sealing-System/dp/B001E42R8O/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1386431340&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=food+daver"]Amazon.com: FoodSaver V3835 Vacuum Sealing System: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]

With this we could buy more meat in bulk and vacuum seal in portions for just the 2 of us.

Does anyone else have one of these and if so what brand do you have.

I have used one before and they are great for freezing food or prepackaged meals,also the shelf time in the freezer is longer because of the air venting system by at least a couple of months more than the six months with freezer bags.The only reason I don't use one is getting the bags for the unit can be iffy,but if you can get the bags I think its a great idea.

I am a fanatic about turning things off: lights, my computer monitor for example, and I hang a lot of my laundry even though I have a dryer. I buy some food from a co-op where it's 1/2 the grocery store price, is generally locally produced and has no sales tax (I live in a backward state that still taxes groceries); at the grocery store I look first in the discount carts and meat sections. Also, I use rags vs apertowels, and cloth napkins vs paper ones, then just wash them. I spent a summer in Spain and was impressed by the thriftiness I saw there and have added some of what I saw into my own lifestyle. I thrift shop a lot, too, since it's fun and economical. And lastly, I am not a beer snob so PBR is my friend :D

We are about go get back on this kick ourselves. It's not only friendlier for the environment but it cuts wayyyyy down on how much we spend on disposable paper products.
Jack does carry an old-school cloth handkerchief around that I wash and iron every few days. I kinda love that. :)

On the local news there was talk about whole foods chain opening hear.if they do I definitely will shop there,I hear it is better than most wherehouse chains,this is something to look forwards to.
We use to have a family owned produce store hear plus some on the side of the road stands as well,the main one closed and I haven''t seen any that have what I call good produce,we have a farmers market open in the festaval plaza down town but its closed at the moment.I really have near stopped buying produce at the grocery store cause it is a hit or miss to get quality fruits /veggies so whole foods shurly can do better.

Flying solo.

I am wondering if anyone else but I have gone grocery store dumpster diving. I did it before it was fashionable and it was a source of shame for me for many years.
When I was pregnant w my daughter I was forbidden by my husband to apply for welfare or food stamps. He worked at Taco Bell part time and I could not work because the pregnancy was a very stressful one. I would go to grocery stores and dig thru their dumpsters. I got veggies and some meats, some expired boxed goods, canned goods, etc. I would clean them and cut off all the wilted or bad parts and make soups and stews out of them to feed my pregnant body.

Now everyone seems to want to do it or think its great. I kinda laughed when i saw the first documentary about it. No more shame! LOL

Today I hit a small jack pot at the grocery store,they had a bargain bin of veggies for $2.00 a bag of assorted produce.I got 4 bags of bell peppers,1 bag of onions then an assorted bag of cucks /zukini's (sp?).Some of the peppers I am going to pickle some i'm chopping with some onions and celery for seasoning so all I need to do is get some from the freezer when I need it,the zukes are going to be stuffed then indeviduly wrapped so if I want one to eat all I need to do is get one out of the freezer,my son wont eat one to save his life but I like them baked with tomato sause then topped with my choice of cheese,not a bad buy for the price.

This has become fashionably with the college kids hear,a spot on the local news showed the things they got that looked as fresh as in the store.I hope they are careful with the choices they have some things may look good but are on the edge of spoiling.