Frugal in the Cityby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 16 Aug 2008 04:11 PM
In the city you can't grow your own vegetables or can food. In the city the cost of living in higher. There is often no space to store stockpiled food or other items. You can't hang laundry in the city. While those reasons may all be valid, there are many work around ideas to address them. For example, my mother hung every item of clothing (including underwear to my teenage embarrassment) on a clothesline that ran across the courtyard from our kitchen window to a neighbor's kitchen window. But I don't want to focus on the workarounds just now. Instead, here are some of the advantages of living in the city when it comes to being frugal. There are generally a lot of shopping choices. Instead of one or two supermarkets, there are hundreds to chose among for the best prices. There are a lot of inexpensive housing options. While it is true that housing can be expensive, there are plenty of opportunities for sharing housing, living in different neighborhoods, etc. There is cheap transportation available. Forget the expense of buying a car, maintaining a car, buying insurance and paying for gas when you can go anywhere in the city by train, bus, cab, car service, biking or foot power. There is a lot of great curb shopping to be done. I never usually get the opportunity to curb shop here, but in the city, it is often encouraged. You can often furnish an entire apartment with items that other people discard on the sidewalk. Trash pick up can often be expensive and inconvenient, so many people leave stuff out and hope it will be taken to a new home. Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans. Related Articles 75 Things You Can Do to Save Money 75 Things You Can Do to Save Money (2) Unclaimed Funds: You Might Be Rich! Pay for Your Gas with Your Scrap Metal The Difference Between Being Frugal and Being Cheap 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 MegfromAllAboutAppearances (330) 16 Aug 2008 07:57 PMI love where my husband and I live because it's a rather small city in a rural area. We get the best of both worlds: the cost of living is reasonable and we can have a decent yard for gardening, but we have a lot of shops and services here that we didn't have such easy access to when we were both growing up in the country. For those that aren't so lucky, though, there are definitely things that they can still do -- and I love that you've pointed out some. If I might add, I hang my clothes indoors on their hangers on a pole over the dryer. Works just fine! I don't use fabric softener either, so if you're looking to save money that may be something to at least try. Growing stuff in the city is a bit harder if you don't have land. We're lucky to have a third of an acre here even though we're in a (rather rural/small) city. However, for those living in more cramped quarters, you might want to see if there is a community garden nearby or if one could be started (along those lines, I really liked the book Food Not Lawns). You can also try growing things even from containers on balconies. And the more adventurous might also want to check out what edible 'weeds' there are available in the area. You might be surprised! Community Tags Beijing, city, frugal, new york, saving money Discuss this article
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