Comments on: The Frugal Life – 200 Ways To Save Money – Part I

By: katia

katia — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:22:34 +0000

hi, my name is katia and i’m from italy. i appreciate a lot what you were writing. also try to do this in my blog. have a great day
katia

By: The Frugal Life - 200 Ways to Save Money Part II « Notes From The Frugal Trenches - A Downshifting Journey

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:24:19 +0000

[...] Part I can be found here [...]

By: Frugal Babe » Blog Archive » HSA Contribution And Blog Posts I Like

Frugal Babe » Blog Archive » HSA Contribution And Blog Posts I Like — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:00:09 +0000

[...] Trenches has posted a very comprehensive list of ways to save money. She’s recently made some amazing changes in her life, leaving her job and finding a much [...]

By: Anny

Anny — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:16:23 +0000

“The best way to not spend is get rid of temptation – don’t go to the shops. Period.”

This is so true! You save so much if you never place yourself in money splurging situations. I shop “off-season” as well and will often buy gifts months in advance when the perfect gift/price collide.

I have a credit card that gives 5% back at grocery stores in the form of gift cards. I cash out my rewards in November to use a holiday gifts.

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:19:11 +0000

When I was a kid it was possible to buy small metal savings boxes with compartments for various expenses like rent, electricity, food etc. You can probably still find them on eBay!

Believe it or not, your jar system is something that has been done for hundreds of years, if not longer, by people who always had to be careful about money. Jugs on the dresser were used in Wales!

It is difficult for young people these days to imaging times before cheque books, credit cards and easy money. Many of us over 50′s are well used to the type of budgeting young people are now having to establish.

If you really want to know about budgeting, there is a superb book called ROUND ABOUT A POUND A WEEK – between 1909-13, the Fabian Womens Group carried out a survey of the spending/survival of 30 families from Lambeth, London. This book has been reprinted by Virago, so there are usually cheqp copies via Amazon or Abebooks. I promise that anyone who reads it will never feel short of money again!

By: Money Saving Tips for 03-30-09 « Saving Tips … on Everything!

Money Saving Tips for 03-30-09 « Saving Tips … on Everything! — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:30:07 +0000

[...] 200 Ways To Save Money (The Frugal Life) [...]

By: the pleasures of homemaking

the pleasures of homemaking — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:46:40 +0000

Hi, I came over from Chiot’s Run and I’m glad I did! Great tips – I do most of what you suggest. I’m very home centered and have always been.

Manuela

By: mo

mo — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:33:29 +0000

Aha! Now I understand the JAR METHOD. Thanks for sharing. its a great idea. I think I might try it. I will let you know how it goes!
I love the idea of making soup or scones as gifts to show you care. SO lovely. I get a kick out of wrapping things really well. Makes gifts pretty too.

By: Diane

Diane — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:24:57 +0000

Hi, I too am a huge fan of MONEYSAVINGEXPERT. I love the challenge of living frugally and saving money. A couple of years ago, we looked at our finances and decided that we needed to slash spending. I agree that the best way to save is not to go anywhere near a shop. We slashed our “entertainment” budget to zero- and we have 2 teenage kids. Using the freebie forum on moneysavingexpert, we are able to get cinema tickets each week (sometimes twice a week) for all of us – and we get to see the films before they are out in the cinema. We get free meals (when new restaurants have training days etc) or we convert Tesco vouchers. We have been to Alton Towers, Legoland, Thorpe Park Spa, Car racing weekends at Donnington Park and Silverstone and Goodwood all for free. Ive also had lots of free haircuts and beauty treatments. Theres lots and lots more – its totally unbelievable what you can get when you start looking. I do all my pressie shopping in the sales. Boots 75% sale after Christmas is a biggy for me. I buy nearly all my Christmas presents for the following year, as many birthday, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Easter gifts etc as I can here. This means that if I normally spend £10 on someone, it will only cost me £2.50. I also make as many as I can too. My best friend and I decided a few years ago that we would have a £5 rule for Christmas. Using the freebie forums, I managed to get her a beautiful weekend suitcase, bathrobe, slippers and towel (all Nescafe pickme ups – I dont drink that much coffee, I nabbed the tokens from the jars at work) A huge bagful of cometics and beauty treatments – mostly samples, but once you get on some of the mailing lists, they start sending you normal sized products. For example Pantene sent me 5 differnt haircare products to trial and feedback on. One of the best freebies I had was a blind testing of face cream for “Phsycologies” magazine. The cream they sent me to test was called “Korner” and at that time only available in New York – at £175 per pot!!!! I have loads of top tips which I will pass on, but for me, I get the same “buzz” from spending little or nothing on something as my shopaholic friend gets from blowing a fortune, so I think its all about the attitude. Becoming frugal has broadend our horizons and enabled us to do do far more than we used to do when we just threw money away. I’m a big fan of frugal living.

By: Kat

Kat — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:58:45 +0000

Hello hon, great post.

On gift giving, don’t forget one of my all-time favourite cheap gift sources: the charity shop/flea market. I can’t recommend it enough – especially all my friends (thankfully) seem to love the shabby chic thing. I got my friend a full set of art deco crockery for about £10 the other day. Wrapped up nicely it looks beautiful (and expensive!). Individually plates/bowls etc are about 50p, so you could make up a very cute mis-matched set for nearly nothing.

On the grocery shopping, I always remember to use my loyalty cards (especially for the supermarket or somewhere like Boots). If I’m doing online shopping I go through sites like RPoints which actually give you cashback for your every day shopping. Well worth investigating.

Finally, what I’ve started doing on the entertainment side is going for the Orange 241 deal at the cinema (admittedly you need to be an Orange customer to do that, or at least know someone who’s an Orange customer and you can use their money off code). Instead of £7 to see a film, it’s £3.50. I’ll also make my own popcorn beforehand and take it in a tupperware so that instead of paying about £4 for a bucket of popcorn (which isn’t that healthy anyway) I’ll have only spent pence on a decent portion…!

Hope the allergy is getting better! xx