Search Results for: blog the difference between being frugal and being cheap

Use FIFO to Save

What is FIFO? If I didn’t know better, I would think it was the latest hot Christmas toy in the form of an electronic dog, or a new way time of money management account. FIFO is neither of these things, but a way to store and stockpile and save money by buying the things you need at the lowest prices and then using them in an organized way. To simplify things, FIFO stands for First In First Out. It means that when you stockpile and store things in your pantry, you use up the oldest stuff (the first in your … Continue reading →

Technology Makes it Hard to Relate

Between the ages of 13 and 15, I read books, took walks to the park, and watched a fair amount of TV. Sometimes I talked to my friends on the phone, but it was only long enough to make plans to meet at the corner or in our usual place in the park or library. My recollections of being a teenager makes it hard to relate to my kids. Let’s start with cell phones. The problem is not with my kids using the phones too much. I actually lucked out on that one. My kids use just a few minutes … Continue reading →

Save Money on Summer Camp 2

Is the looming registration of summer camp making your nervous about how you will actually be able to pay for it? Summer camp can be a great experience, but it can also cost quite a bit of money. I once interviewed a family that was spending $1,500 a week on summer camp. Less expensive camps can still put a bite in the budget. That is why I decided to give you even more ideas for saving money on summer camp. Skip the standard program Choose a day camp close to home instead of an overnight camp for the most affordability. … Continue reading →

Beware of “Aspirational” Marketing

Frugal shoppers are usually savvy shoppers, but even we can become a victim of some well-researched marketing techniques. We find that we “need” things just to survive, but if we really examine those needs, I mean really examine them, we may find that the need is not something directly related to our survival or even happiness. Aspirational marketing is a technique in which the goal is to sell items to people who can’t afford it. I kid you not. The marketers want people who might want to aspire to a different lifestyle but can’t afford it. It is literally convincing … Continue reading →

Frugal Pantry: Pasta

When you reach into that pantry to plan out dinner, you might want to consider pasta. Pasta can be a great source of a filling meal. And with pasta, there are so many inexpensive options. Shopping carefully, you can get 16 ounces of pasta for less than $1. Add a few inexpensive ingredients, or even a small amount of expensive ingredients, and you still have a meal to feed the entire family for less than $5. I enjoy trying new pasta dishes, especially when I can throw some things together using food that we already have around the house. Last … Continue reading →

Feeling Affluent

Most people who chose a frugal lifestyle do so initially out of necessity. Perhaps they decide to have one parent stay home and are reduced to one income, sometimes circumstances require them to cut back, and sometimes they just want to lead a simpler life with less stress and less formal work. Whatever the reason, frugal living can make you always concerned with saving money. In the beginning, especially, you are constantly calculating costs and values. Later, it gets a little more automatic. You know, for example, how to get the best price on bread, and you don’t even agonize … Continue reading →

Don’t Become Frugal Obsessed

When it comes to frugal living, some of us have a dirty little secret. Or perhaps it isn’t as secret as we might think. Sometimes people can become so obsessed by living a frugal life style that it completely takes over everything that we do. Sometimes we wind up missing out on life’s wonder because we are too stressed out about saving each little penny. Being good stewards of our money is one thing, but we also have to keep things in perspective. Frugal living, challenging ourselves to get great bargains and save as much money as we can, can … Continue reading →

More Creative Ideas for Stockpile Cooking

There are three great reasons for cooking from your stockpile. You may want or have to skip your shopping due to budgetary concerns, you may be moving soon and want to use up the food you have, or you may need to clear out the food that is close to expiring, to avoid waste. I have been concentrating on this third reason for getting creative with the pantry food, but I’ll forgive you if you have one of the other reasons to do it. This post is part of the Ideas for Cooking from Your Stockpile Series. Hopefully you have … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Month in Review: August 2008

With August passed, it will be hard to hold on to summer, but fortunately, we have a lot of memories of the “dog days.” We also have lots of great articles about saving money, something that is pretty important these days. Take a look at what was posted in August. August 1st Frugal Living Month in Review: July 2008 July went by so quickly for us! There were so many fun and frugal activities and events for us to explore, from a science camp to free movies and sand sculpting. I hope your July was equally fun and frugal. Summer … Continue reading →

Frugal in the City

While I now live in a semi-rural part of Pennsylvania, the fact is that I am a city girl born and bread, uh bred. Many people think that is harder to be frugal in the city. They claim: 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 … Continue reading →