Thirteen Ways To Be Frugal!
- Get freebies from companies from online forms! However, you need to be frugal with your TIME, as well - limit yourself to a certain amount of time per day or week. All those tiny little freebies aren't worth it if you spend an hour a day looking for them. Also limit yourself to items that you know you will use, or that you have a particular person in mind that you can give it to - clutter isn't frugal, either.
- "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!"
- Don't take a shopping partner with you unless they are just as committed to frugality are you are. It's hard to say no to your spouse when they want something, and friends can influence you to make unwise decisions even if they don't mean to.
- Try a little before committing to a lot - when you find a new product, try a small version of it first, even if the cost-per-unit is on the high side. Getting stuck with a gallon of something isn't frugal if it turns out that it's totally unusable because it makes someone sick, or you just hate it so badly that you literally can't stand to use it and have to get rid of it.
- Use online shopping comparison tools like Froogle or Shopping.com.
- Use cash only.
- Hit the clearance spots and stock up when you find a really good deal.
- Buy birthday and holiday gifts throughout the year as you find good deals. However, be sure to limit yourself to only buying with a particular person in mind, not just a "oh, SOMEBODY will just love this!" kind of purchase. The exception would be perhaps 2-3 "anybody" gifts to have on hand for unexpected guest, new friends that your children make, etc.
- Check out deals boards like on MyCoupons, SlickDeals, Families.com, DealOfDay, etc., read consistently for a few weeks, and learn from the masters.
- Get coupon inserts from friends and family members so that you don't have to buy lots of papers.
- Barring that, get coupons from online trading (many of the above-mentioned boards also have trading sections) or from clipping services that charge a small amount per coupon for their time and effort. It still comes out cheaper than buy whole papers, you only get what you need, and you don't have the clutter of all those extra newspapers!
- Carry a calculator in your purse or with your shopping stuff so that you can figure up prices if needed.
- Join your local Freecycle group and ask around for items to be given instead of purchased. Be nice, don't just be a taker - be a giver in the group, too!
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5 comments:
I very much needed this list..THanks a lot!
ICk, I hate frugal shopping and so...don't shop at all if possible!! This is a great list. creative ways to keep it clean.
I'm forwarding this to my wife. She'll totally dig this.
Nicely done!
I homeschool my 3 (13, 10, 8) too. This was a good list...I do most of things (or try to) but there were a couple I hadn't thought of before. Thanks for posting this TT!
Good tips! I also like to do alot of my shopping online where I find discounts. One of my favorites is www.dealtaker.com. I've saved alot of money here.
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