Cheap ...errr....FRUGAL Yaankee tips

[MisterHappy]

Judging from a few posts here, I'm not the only one that has had George squint when the wallet is opened, because he's not used to the light.

What are some of the "Make it do, or do without" tricks that you've learned? Not survival per se, but just good, ol' fashioned Cheapness...

I guess this is the modern version of sitting around the stove at the General Store!

Let 'em rip!

 

[Twigg]

Turn off that damm light ! Money don't grow on trees !

God help me, I've become my parents...

 

[rep308]

Don't buy anything you can't afford, debt=slavery

Drive a car that gets 50 MPG even if your gun nut friends make fun of you

 

[bookworm]

Marry if you must but make sure that she's an equal partner, good earner and faithful ( helps if she's hot ).
Then stay married, don't cheat, and if you feel you must have children, raise them with the same frugal
and realistic expectations as you. (no ego colleges unless they're brilliant scholarship kids). Oh yeah, make sure to have fun along the way!

 

[Rancho]

+1 on that brother! I'm lucky to have married a hearty wench uuh I mean lady..

practicality first then luxury.. I like things to be practical, like me making fun of my neighbor for using a table for storage. I see it more practical if used as a work table or functional piece of equipment, rather than a storage rack.. I didn't buy new cabinets for my kitchen I built them and saved a ton of cash..
That being said, I do like my XBox.. not so much practical there lol

 

[C-pher]

I love freecycle.org.

Talk about saving money. I got a $5000 solid mahogony four poster bed for free on there because they couldn't do a 20 dollar fix. We've now made a circle of friends off of there that we just rotate the kids clothes. They only use them for a few months before they've grown out of them...and we've got a group that's about 6-8 months apart. So we just keep passing them down...saves a TON over always buying clothes.

+1 on the dept thing. I think that while I'm never with excess money...I'm better off than most because we don't use credit cards.

Barter all you can...you'd be supprised how many local business will barter. I've traded many of things for services rendered.



ETA: Tips provided by a non-Yankee.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

get a vasectomy early

 

[Gadsden]

Don't breed them if you can't feed them. (expansion on Knuckle_Dragger's advice).

 

[Rider]

The sad thing is, we've gotten so rich as a nation that it's hard to discern what you need from what you want. You can't buy a car or a tv or damned near anything else without all sorts of stuff you don't want. Poor people have cable tv's, video game systems, and cars and we spend all our time talking about economic disparity. When the kids protesting wall street excess are getting their $5,000 laptops redistributed, something is awry. Too many people buy into the artifice, and think they need what everyone else has, or want something to temporarily fill that hole inside them.

So for me, it's live well within your means, carry little debt, buy value, not status, and shower what largesse you can upon those you care about(that ain't frugal, but it makes me happy).

Finally, simplify. Blessed are those with lives of little complication. I envy them so.

+1 on get a good bride. Sorry, I took the best one already.

 

[fencer]

The sad thing is, we've gotten so rich as a nation that it's hard to discern what you need from what you want. You can't buy a car or a tv or damned near anything else without all sorts of stuff you don't want. Poor people have cable tv's, video game systems, and cars and we spend all our time talking about economic disparity. When the kids protesting wall street excess are getting their $5,000 laptops redistributed, something is awry. Too many people buy into the artifice, and think they need what everyone else has, or want something to temporarily fill that hole inside them.

So for me, it's live well within your means, carry little debt, buy value, not status, and shower what largesse you can upon those you care about(that ain't frugal, but it makes me happy).

Finally, simplify. Blessed are those with lives of little complication. I envy them so.

+1 on get a good bride. Sorry, I took the best one already.

Dude.... You wrote that on an iPad for chrissake

 

[Twigg]

Dude.... You wrote that on an iPad for chrissake

Ironic, isn't it ?

 

[MisterHappy]

FRamingham's post about the need/want confusion was right on....

Last week there was a story on the TV news about the imminent hardship of the upcoming increase in home heating oil prices. The woman that was crying poverty had a poland springs water cooler in her kitchen. And, she lives in Boston, which AFAIK has no problems with water quality....

 

[cockpitbob]

Shoot ammo you reloaded out of bolt action rifles.

Shoot .22s. They also go bang and make a hole at the range. And if you and your rifle can group 4" in the wind at 100 yards standing up on your hind legs you've really done something.

Buy used cars that are unpopular but have a reputation for reliability.

Find ways to have fun without spending money. Sometimes you have to adjust your idea of fun, but you would be surprised what you can come up with.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Marry an orphan.

 

[Rider]

Ironic, isn't it ?

Yeah, yeah...but it's only 32gb's!

I feel compelled to add that this is instead on a laptop, and I use it 4-6 hours a day. Not that it changes anything.

Water filters are for brewing water only.

 

[green_metalflake]

Estate, yard, & garage sales + flea markets. I picked up several pairs of unworn Filson pants for $1 apiece and they retail for $100 & $150. I also got an Eddie Bauer down snowmobile suit from the early 80's for $1 in unworn condition. Lastly, a set of LL Bean duck boots with a broken grommet for $5. I got the grommet fixed at a shoe repair shop for $10. So I am into a $130 set of boots for right close to 10 cents on the dollar and with the other purchases, some great HD winter & outdoor gear. Yard sales are done now but the fleas will go on until the end of this month. I'll hit them a few more times and keep a sharp lookout for things I need.

 

[jkeeley1]

Books over tv, use the bathroom at work (saves water and tp), split medications ( half a claretin works just fine), line dry laundry.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[P-14]

use the bathroom at work (saves water and tp), split medications ( half a claretin works just fine)

Now that's Yankee frugal!

 

[C-pher]

Estate, yard, & garage sales + flea markets. I picked up several pairs of unworn Filson pants for $1 apiece and they retail for $100 & $150. I also got an Eddie Bauer down snowmobile suit from the early 80's for $1 in unworn condition. Lastly, a set of LL Bean duck boots with a broken grommet for $5. I got the grommet fixed at a shoe repair shop for $10. So I am into a $130 set of boots for right close to 10 cents on the dollar and with the other purchases, some great HD winter & outdoor gear. Yard sales are done now but the fleas will go on until the end of this month. I'll hit them a few more times and keep a sharp lookout for things I need.

The Family will get up on Sat and we'll hit the Yard Sales during the summer. There's really no good fleas around here...so they are out. But I wish that we did...they are HUGE in the South.

Hell, the kids now look forward to getting up, grabbing some money that they've saved and hitting Yard Sales.

 

[Boghog1]

Spend $21.00 on an NES Membership, the friends you will make are worth more by far

 

[Fixxah]

get a vasectomy early

Or not at all. Things change.

Sent from the Hyundai of the droids, the Samsung Replenish, using Tapatalk.

 

[green_metalflake]

There's really no good fleas around here...so they are out. But I wish that we did...they are HUGE in the South.

Of course there are! (I shop the Wrentham outlets so, we in the same neck of the woods.)

There are 2 fleas within 20-30 minutes from you and 3 more within an hour.

I've lived all over the US and 2 of the above are the best I've ever been to. (One is small and the other, a 350+ vendor monster.)

 

[Gadsden]

The Family will get up on Sat and we'll hit the Yard Sales during the summer. There's really no good fleas around here...so they are out. But I wish that we did...they are HUGE in the South.

Hell, the kids now look forward to getting up, grabbing some money that they've saved and hitting Yard Sales.

Man.. I miss the fleas in our old general area. I bought one of my first guns for $100 cash and carry at one.
More frugal tips:
* Damn near everything is rigged to be disposable and have designed obsolescence. Figure out how to get around that by learning to fix things yourself instead of throwing out and buying new.
* Damn near everything has more than one use. Learn to expand the use of everyday things and you can save money by not having to buy something new.

 

[mike93lx]

Drive a car that gets 50 MPG even if your gun nut friends make fun of you

I know there is some tongue-in-cheek there, but there are far cheaper cars to own and operate than a Prius. My wife drives one and while it's great to get (almost) 50mpg, it is actually cheaper to drive my 98 crown vic at 20mpg when I include depreciation and maintenance. If you really want to drive cheaply, a used civic/elantra/any cheap, small import will cost you far less overall.

 

[C-pher]

Of course there are! (I shop the Wrentham outlets so, we in the same neck of the woods.)

There are 2 fleas within 20-30 minutes from you and 3 more within an hour.

I've lived all over the US and 2 of the above are the best I've ever been to. (One is small and the other, a 350+ vendor monster.)

You're going to have to tell me where. The only one I've been to was out by Milford, and it wasn't that good at all. I've heard that there's one in RI, guys that sell Ham Radio gear and such, but I don't know where that is...or I'd be there.

 

[delgrifith]

Develope the sixth sense my father has where he would wake up out of a dead sleep when he sensed someone even standing near his thermostat.

 

[dwarven1]

The woman that was crying poverty had a poland springs water cooler in her kitchen.

I ditched getting water delivered for a Brita filter on the counter. Tastes better than out of the tap but is a lot cheaper.

Shoot .22s. They also go bang and make a hole at the range.

Oh, I do, I do. But you can't make a bowling pin fall over with a .22.

Keep your cars longer; don't buy a new one every 2-3 years. Maintain the suckers instead. 10 year old Subaru with 167K and even with the maintenance done by a local garage, it's still cheaper than a car payment every month.

 

[green_metalflake]

You're going to have to tell me where. The only one I've been to was out by Milford, and it wasn't that good at all. I've heard that there's one in RI, guys that sell Ham Radio gear and such, but I don't know where that is...or I'd be there.

MA Flea Market List

This is the best place to start. They are all on there.

The one you are referring to is Grafton. Great deals are not lined up with neon signs, at any of these you have to get there early and dig for them. Sometimes they are staring you in the face too. This summer at Grafton I bought nearly every tool on a retired machinist's table at noon. They'd been sitting there all day and on that day no tool buyers showed up except me. What that cost me was recovered on the sale of one item and most of the rest I kept. But, some weekends have been a bust too when all I've left with is a corn dog from the concession stand.

The advantage New England has over the rest of the US (except mid-Atlantic) is that this is where the country settled first, for nearly 400 years now! There is so much old stuff still in barns & cellars that it continually comes out for sale. With the economy down it is a buyer's market and the goods are there.....if you look for them. I enjoy the hunt, some find that a chore though.

 

[gulfmp]

use the bathroom at work (saves water and tp), Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

or use both sides of the toilet paper!

 

[Pete85]

Keep your cars longer; don't buy a new one every 2-3 years. Maintain the suckers instead. 10 year old Subaru with 167K and even with the maintenance done by a local garage, it's still cheaper than a car payment every month.

This and then some. Learn how to do the basic maintenance on your car yourself and you'd be surprised how much you can save. Getting a shop to do things like change the oil, air filter, spark plugs, brake pads, rotate your tires, replace headlight/taillight bulbs, etc. costs a ridiculous amount of money compared to the difficulty/time investment of the job. When I used to take my car to a shop to get the basic maintenance done, they would charge $30 to rotate tires, and $20 per bulb (on top of the cost of the bulb) for lightbulb replacement. Maintain your car properly and keep it for as long as possible.

One of my friends bought me this book when I was talking about some "cheap" or unusual ways to save money. It has some fairly good ways to save money (and some that seem a little over the top to me). It might be worth a read if you're looking for some ideas.