Are Your Frugal Efforts Going Down the Drain?by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 26 Jan 2009 10:02 AM
Have you ever heard the expression, "Robbing Peter to pay Paul?" This is an expression I have heard many times growing up. Basically it means that you are taking money (or efforts) from one place and applying them to another, without ever really getting on top of things. The expression can apply to frugal living practices that actually wind up costing you money instead of saving it. Here are a few examples of frugal efforts that may actually be going down the drain (hey, two expressions for the price of one--now that is frugal). Buying food in bulk Buying food in bulk can be a great money saver. Just be aware of some of the pitfalls. You may buy more than you can use, spending more than you normally would on what you really need. Paying for purchases with credit cards It is great if you decided to invest in a coffee maker to save on the daily $3 cups of coffee. But, if you put that purchase on your credit card and didn't pay it off right away, you could be spending much more on interest than you would have saved by making your own coffee. Using Coupons Coupons can be a worthy thing when it comes to saving money, but there are a couple of pitfalls that make your grocery bill actually increase if you are not careful. Many coupons are for high priced convenience foods that could be made cheaper from scratch. Or, you may wind up buying food you don't eat because of the coupon. There are more ways that your frugal efforts can go down the drain. If you want to hear more, please leave me a comment! Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Favorite Deal Websites: Related Articles: 3 Self-Reliant Ways to Be Frugal Downgrading Your House When You Can't Sell It Finding Money When You Need Some Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  thequeenofthecastle (413) 26 Jan 2009 01:20 PMI tried using coupons for a little while, but found what you say above to be true. We usually cook everything from scratch and all the coupons in my newspaper were for packaged foods or new gimicky foods that they were trying to get you to try. So, after a while I decided we were buying things we didn't like, want, or use because of coupons and it wasn't saving us money, and it was consuming way too much of my time. So now I chose instead to buy basics and cook from scratch, buy items on clearance, and buy a lot of store brand items. The only exceptions I've really found to this is make up and toiletries, since these are things where the brand matters a bit more to me. Memartha (306) 26 Jan 2009 03:48 PMSometimes I think coupons are for people from another world. We're so pared down here, it's impossible to think about buying something fancy and unnutritious even with a double coupon. We haven't gone so far as to use dried beans yet, but that day is coming!  Valorie Delp (49340) 27 Jan 2009 04:47 AMWe coupon but use them at B.J.'s where the prices are cheaper and the coupons are doubled. This wouldn't be effective if you have a large family. I do mostly cook from scratch but find that there are times where I am simply too busy. ;-)  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 27 Jan 2009 09:00 AMYou can get great deals on toiletries with coupons, especially when they are doubled or tripled. I routinely get free toothpaste this way. Dried beans are easier to prepare than you might think, especially if you use your crockpot! Our BJs here doesn't double coupons--lucky girl! Community Tags frugal living, getting out of debt, saving money Discuss this article
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