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Subscribe to RSSKaty Wolk-Stanley from Portland, Ore., hasn't bought much new in five years. She did it by shopping at thrift shops and using store credits, and explains how being frugal helped her pay off $20,000 in credit card debt
What’s more extreme than buying a cartful of groceries with nothing more than a few bucks and a sheaf of coupons? How about not buying food at all — for an entire month?
"In January, I don’t spend any money on food," said Beth McAfee-Hallman, who blogs about her adventures in extreme savings at OneFabulousMama.com. Buying baking supplies in bulk and preserving her own fruits and veggies gives her a stockpile, and she barters her baked goods for wild turkey, venison and eggs. "So if I have to scrap my grocery budget, I can do that," she said.
Kristen Cross of the blog TheFrugalGirl.com said that when her family was in what she termed "stay-afloat mode" several years ago, deregulation had her scrambling for a solution to skyrocketing utilities bills. "I spray-painted gallon milk bottles black and filled them with water and put them on my deck in the sun ... and I used that for the kids’ bath water and washing dishes," she said. "The water actually got pretty hot."
Could you go 5 years without buying anything new? This mom did
This might sound radical, but for some Americans, it's a way of life. Extreme couponing is practically an Olympic sport these days, but frugal living bloggers are playing the X Games of savings.
The guiding principle of the extreme saving community is “The Compact.” Started by a group of friends in 2006, it’s a pledge to refrain from buying anything new for one full year. There are a few exceptions like food and "non-couture or ornamental" underwear, but it's a pretty radical departure from typical American consumption patterns.
Extreme savers draw a distinction between themselves and hard-core couponers. Although both groups aim to save money, they take opposite paths to reach that goal.
"Deal blogs are kind of like, 'Buy this, buy this' — really, you don’t need to go shopping," Cross said. "It's sort of a more pared-down, less consumer-y way of saving money."
"My most intense efforts lie in trying to stay away from buying new stuff," said Katy Wolk-Stanley, whose website TheNonConsumerAdvocate.com has the tag line, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
"I’m totally fine having two pairs of jeans and five pairs of shoes," Wolk-Stanley said.
Some extreme savers have frugality ingrained into them from a young age. Growing up, "There was very little to go around," said McAfee-Hallman. "The image of Little House in the Big Woods, as the family prepared for winter and their attic was stocked — that made a lasting impression on me as a very hungry little girl," she said.
Other frugal living devotees came into the notion later in life.
Katy Wolk-Stanley thought she could go a month without buying anything new. Five years later, she's continuing her "non-consumer" lifestyle, based on borrowing and buying used. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren reports, and Stanley talks about how her frugality has affected her life.
Finding herself $20,000 in debt in February 2008, Natalie McNeal swore off discretionary expenditures like dining out, hair appointments and manicures. “I saved $400 and a light bulb went on,” said McNeal, who launched the blog TheFrugalista.com and later followed up with a book about her embrace of the frugal-living lifestyle.
It wasn't always easy, she said. "Before becoming a frugalista, I never cooked at home ... I knew maybe like two dishes." To keep her commitment, McNeal said she wound up eating tortilla chips and salsa for dinner some nights.
Eating at home and shopping at thrift stores are just the tip of the iceberg for extreme savers. Even when most Americans would probably relegate something to the trash, they practice the art of salvaging.
"Say one of my kids came home from school and their binder had broken," said Sara Tetreault, who blogs at at GoGingham.com, "We'd take out the cardboard and the metal spine, because those components get recycled ... instead of just automatically thinking 'I need to throw this in the trash can.'"
When McNeal's bed, which had been damaged by movers, collapsed one day, "I was like, 'Oh my goodness, I can’t pay to have it fixed,'" she said. "I went to Lowe's and got a $3 cinder block so I could prop up the corner, and you’d never know."
"I used to waste a lot of food and I had these piles of food in front of me and I was like, 'I’m so embarrassed,'" Cross said. She started taking pictures of her weekly fridge clean-outs, hoping that sharing her piles of wilted veggies and abandoned leftovers would motivate her to waste less.
Tetreault took an an even harder line against trash for her family of four, paring back garbage pickup to once a month. Although the cost difference with weekly pickup is "negligible," Tetreault said she saves on the back end because the question of what to do with the packaging deters her from buying new things.
Monthly trash pickup? People who take a commitment to living frugally concede that the "ick" factor is an occupational hazard.
"In the hot months, our garbage gets really smelly and I do think, 'Oh man, why do we do this again?'" Tetreault said.
"I would always buy generic diapers," said Amy Suardi, blogger at Frugal-Mama.com and mother of four kids. "Yeah, sure I had to clean a lot of blowouts, but I thought that was just part of being a mother of a baby … That's a lot of what frugal living is — it's doing it the hard way."
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It sounds like some of these folks are doing frugality for frugality's sake. That's OK, but it's kind of a game, just like couponing.
My approach is not to buy things I don't need. I have seven pairs of shoes and don't need more. The same sparseness is true of my clothing. I've never spent money having a mani/pedi. I have the cheapest cell phone plan that still provides a wide area of reception. We buy used cars, and pay cash. We have no credit card debt, and the house is paid off. However, we eat at restaurants when we feel like it--because we can. We have backup savings--it's amazing how much you can save when you don't buy unnecessary items and get rid of debt.
I'm glad that we've never been in a position where we could not buy groceries or pay the power bill, and I know some people struggle with that. However, once extreme frugality becomes a way of life beyond necessity, it loses its appeal for me.
I am trying to get to where you are - no credit card debt, house payed off, etc... After losing a job (twice in 5 years) and the strain that it puts on your life to get through those times with debt.... I'm doing it. It will take time to pay off my debts, but I'm going to do it.
The only thing we owe money on is the house, and we have enough of a nest egg put away that even if we both lost our jobs for a couple years we'd be ok. Having that nest egg really reduces our stress level.
When I lost my job during the great economic meltdown, I didn't lose my house like so many others did because it was paid for. We could have afforded a bigger, nicer house and took out a bigger 30 year mortgage. Instead the house we chose was modest and in a less upscale area with less taxes. I took out a 15 year mortgage and paid a little extra each month to pay off the principle. In 10 years the house was ours, free and clear.
The trick is to live within your means even during good times. Then when bad times come you'll be fine.
This isn't about frugality. It's about sustainability. Americans are using up resources at an incredible rate by succumbing to the consumerist culture of buy,buy,buy. Americans amount to less than 5% of the World's population but use 30% of the global resources (one quarter of all the fossil fuel reserves). We can't keep that up forever because we will strip the earth bare.
83% of Americans disposable income is spent on debt payments. Credit card debt is at record levels. Since 1987 there are more shopping centers than high schools. 93% of American teenage girls say shopping is their favorite activity.
There is a difference between "wanting" something and "needing" something. There's very little that is truly needed to have a comfortable, stress free life.
Get off the crazy treadmill of having to work all the time to buy more and more stuff, make the payments on stuff. Houses overflowing with stuff. Renting storage sheds for stuff. Landfills overflowing with broken stuff.
My approach is a strict budget. We budget approximately 33% for weekly spending and 33% regular bills (TV, utilities, property taxes). In addition we have a bit of savings that can be used by the budget.
However if the budget uses those savings, it has to repay them. This meant when we bought a new kitchen floor we spent nearly a year spending less to pay the budget back.
This really helps us decide if we really need to buy something as we don't necessarily buy what we can use but we buy what we can afford which prioritizes what we can use.
That final 33% went into paying off the house (plus more when we could) and now is savings.
"This isn't about frugality. It's about sustainability."
Great, Paul_W!
Mike-L, when we buy used cars with cash, we then make monthly car payments--to ourselves! So that within about four years, we have "paid off" the car to our savings.
It's interesting to me that no men were involved in this article. All of these women seem to play a traditional role in their families. It's not clear if they even work outside the home.
JayEll-1204918 : Exactly!
Waste not, Want not.
Maybe some Americans are again understanding the difference between WANT, and NEED.
That would be nice. The funny thing to me is, I have lots of friends that have made more than me over the years, but have a negative net worth. If they lose their jobs, lots of them don't even have money to pay for food and rent for a few months. (and these are all college educated people)
Americans need to learn to live below their means...do that for a couple decades and you will build up the nest egg so you don't have to worry about most unforeseen expenses.
Wow, some of that stuff was extreme. If a person plans and doesn't spend money on stuff they don't need then they shouldn't have to do some of those things; however, the unforeseen loss of a job could trigger extreme frugality. On that note: I have never in my life owned more than 2-3 pairs of jeans at a time, no real reason, just never had the need. Same goes for shoes: one pair of running shoes, one pair of casual shoes, one pair of everyday shoes; that's it. I never was a big shoe person.
"I would always buy generic diapers," said Amy Suardi, blogger at Frugal-Mama.com and mother of four kids. +++++ Generic is frugal? Being the oldest sibling, I can remember changing the younger ones CLOTH diapers in the 1960s. I would think real frugal people today would find or make cloth diapers and pin them inside plastic panties.
The_Mick, it all depends on how tied you want to be to the washing machine. I remember those days, too--it takes a lot of electricity and water to keep up with diaper demands, and that's to say nothing of the time one or both parents have to invest in doing the loads. I can see how in some situations, generic diapers would be a better answer.
There are things people won't do that aren't extreme because they've been propagandized into thinking saving money in certain ways is "shameful." Like buying store brand foods. My brother calls it "welfare food." My sister and I call it savings. Most of the good discount stores in my area were pointed out to me by people well into 6-figure incomes. Instead of the $179 athletic shoes I used to buy, I got a good pair shoes that are well-balanced, include pronation control, and a well padded yet light for $14.97. I only use about 50-100 minutes of cell phone time per month so I prepay $99 per year for 1200 anywhere minutes on a $49 smart phone (LG-800G).
I am careful of store brands. It is easy to be CHEAP and not FRUGAL. If you go to the Wal-Mart - a perfect example of CHEAP, not frugal - you can buy many things that cost 20% less but provide 100% less value. A trash bag so cheap it doesn't hold trash is a good example. You bought it to HOLD TRASH. If it breaks and fails to hold the trash, its value is ZERO. No matter how little you paid, you WASTED YOUR MONEY. What we need are products that may cost a little more at the outset but hold their VALUE better. Perhaps they are repairable or perhaps they ACTUALLY DO THE JOB INTENDED, but whatever the change, they are just a better VALUE.
Good point, SRS. I have bought the store brand of canned beans and been disappointed. OTOH, I have bought the store brand of bottled pasta sauce and found it to be just as good if not better. So, it requires some testing.
I agree, though--there is a difference between cheap and frugal.
No kidding. Really? I love store brands. Trader Joes is all store brands. Your brother has some weird ideas.
Of course I don't shop at Walmart just on general principle.
I'm lucky to live near a Meijer and they have some really really wonderful store brands. I don't believe in "organic" because as my dad the old farmer says, how can it be organic if it's grown in polluted soil. All soil is polluted these days. But Meijer's organic line, just quality and taste wise is some very good stuff.
And of course Costco's store brands can't be beat. Every one I have ever tried has been excellent.
I am a value shopper. Sometimes you need to pay enough to get your money's worth. Cheap dish soap is an excellent example. It costs a third as much but you need to use at least three times as much and even then it doesn't work as well as one third as much Dawn. Cheap clothes are another example. They are NOT FRUGAL. They are CHEAP.
There IS a difference.
Realized that when I bought Harbor Tools power tools. The circular saw was great but for drills and saber saws I stick with Black and Decker (when sales pop up).
I save bread bags and the bags that line cereal boxes and cracker boxes. These make great sandwich bags and are great for storing leftovers in. If you look at each piece of trash, you can probably come up with a second use for nearly everything. There are a lot of things I never buy because I reuse what I have.
I also make my own laundry detergent. There are recipes online. It cleans just as well as what you buy in the stores, but is a small fraction of the cost (pennies per load). You can reuse old laundry containers to store the detergent, so you reduce trash, as well as eliminate dyes, perfumes, and petroleum products that are found in detergents. It is especially good for those who have allergies. It's definitely win/win.
Another item I reuse is paper that is blank on 1 side, such as junk mail or my kids' homework. I use it for notes, but I also use it in my printer whenever I need to print things for my own records. I started doing this when I started running out of printer paper and didn't want to run out and buy more.
Also sandwich bags don't have to be tossed after one use, they can be reused until stained or they have holes...
Simple rule of thumb.....ALWAYS pay yourself FIRST. Retirement and savings and whats left pays the bills.
Inspirational! We have all become to reliant on the “Land of Plenty” and “Keeping up with the Joneses.” I would love to be more self-reliant and independent. The local power utility is so bad here, that they have me paying a separate fee for their Nuclear Power Plant construction. Now, the bad thing is that when this plant comes on-line; they will still charge me for the power I use. Hopeful, the solar panels are going in on my house next year… "DOWN WITH BIG BUSINESS & THEIR PAID-OFF POLITICIANS."
Keep up the great work America. Many of us are off the power grid, off the water grid. We went solar, and wind. Paid our houses off, downsized homes, got rid of cable and satellite tv, only purchased used cars, got mopeds and motorcycles and of course bicycles. To heat our water, we've gone solar in summer, gas or propane in winter. We don't eat out, we stopped traveling since the internet puts you in touch with everyone and everything. Believe it or not, a home phone is cheaper than a cell. How many of you know of someone with a cell phone that is always glued to it even when your hanging out with them? Pretty rude. There are a lot of us growing our own foods and freezing, canning, making jams, etc... We live in the information age America where if you don't know how to do something, look it up. You Tube has millions of "how to" out there. The time is now to shop thrift stores, barter for what you need, seek alternative entertainment, and get out and hang with your neighbors as well. Share your success with them as well so they can start living a better life. Remember, we are AmericansAtWar with greed and Washington.
How about saving money on diapers by using cloth? I did cloth for 3 kids and thought I was doing it more for the green reasons of reducing waste and production. But, with kid #3 and two full-time working parents I finally gave up after about 8 months of cloth - I was not keeping up with the laundry. However, now after a year of disposable diapers, holy cow! I had no idea how much money I was saving by using cloth. An extra two loads of laundry a week is nothing compared to how much money disposables cost, brand name or generic. We're just about to potty training and even now, if money were tight for us, I would pull out my cloth diapers in a second.
I am so interested in going solar...there is just so much info out there that I don't know where to start. Anyone have any suggestions?
Are they pledging off buying any new gasoline? I've reduced my gas consumption to one gallon a week. How about a little dumpster diving behind restaurants?
I enjoyed this article and the comments below it. My wife is a wonderful couponer. I'm constantly amazed at how much she saves just by spending a couple of hours on a weekend cutting out coupons for things we need. Sometime saving 80% of retail price. Me...I'm fairly frugal most of the time. Fortunately I like to cook so I save a lot in homemade meals.
Look for the book "Living More With Less". Filled with suggestions on how to get by. We buy store brands, shop at thrift stores, and mostly cook at home using herbs from our own garden. Our food tastes so much better, we rarely think of eating out. The internet is filled with recipe websites. My daughter is 15 and she loves to cook now as a result.
I enjoyed reading this article. "Frugal" is my middle name! Living within my means is important to me.
To my fellow frugal shoppers-I found plenty of money saving tips that I think you'll enjoy!
Extreme, creative, and controversial ways to make and save money ... check it out at www.easymoneyhacks.com