It's funny, the older and wiser I get, the less stuff I feel like replacing. I mean, if they get the job done I say keep on using them baby! Why get rid of old stuff just because it's a little out of style?

No one LIKES to go out and buy new stuff when they're forced too - say, when your refrigerator breaks down or the dryer gives out - but upgrading for the hell of it has always seemed a bit wasteful to me.

Plus, I also like to think it helps with my newly-found minimalistic ideology (which is a lot harder than I originally thought, btw). By making use of all the stuff we've already got, we're not forced to go out and bring in NEW things just to keep up. I'm still in the baby steps of labeling what IS and what ISN'T important in our house, but I did come across a handful of items that my frugal side can be proud of :)

Here are 5 things I still hold onto even though they're super old and super out of style:

1. My hand-me-down mattress. From my parents. Who probably slept on it before I was even born...which means they...uhhh...change the topic! CHANGE THE TOPIC!
2. My $15 hell of a sale Craigslist table & chairs. Because I mean, they were $15 dollars! For an entire dining room table - WITH chairs! Which I am sitting on right now (just one of them, not all 4) along w/ the table (now "blogger desk") which I am happily typing away on at this very moment. Sure it's halfway sanded off and colored in two hues, but you know what? It still works just as good as it did 5 years ago! And you know what else? It was only FIFTEEN dollars.
3. A halfway framed Skyline of NYC. I say halfway framed because it was full of broken glass when I rescued it on the street corner years ago (which I cleaned up), but I kept the framing part around it in place. It's since been featured on 5+ walls over the course of 5+ moves so far!
4. A rusted pizza pan - This is probably the silliest of all the things we continue to use because it's the easiest to replace! But again, it still works like a charm when cooking our pizzas and covering our skillets (we use it as a lid and also a hot plate for almost everything we cook! haha....). It's pretty much our go-to pan.
   
5. My 3-piece vintage suit. I bought this bad boy or $18 bucks at a Salvation Army and have worn it to pretty much every Wedding and other fancy pants events (literally) since I've owned it. You know that guy from The Mentalist? I like to think I look like him when strutting around in it ;)
   

And honorable mentions goes to my awesome, yet horribly ugly, green velvet chair, my 15 year-old trunk, and my favorite ragged shirt w/ 10+ holes which are now a part of my nightly pajamas.

The point of all this, of course, is that there's nothing wrong with holding onto stuff that's as old as our grandmothers. If you can maximize their usage - great! Keep that replacement money in your pockets and let it save up until you *really* need a newer thingamabob. The longer you can resist, the bigger your chances of growing that nest egg!

Labels: frugality, shopping

Saving and managing our money now goes a long way later! This isn't the first time you've ever ever heard this, especially by me, but it's been rolling around my mind since seeing this quote by a fellow twitterer @JFuntanilla.

There's something about it that really strikes home:

"I live a few years of my life like most people won't, so I can spend the rest of my life like most people can't."

Yes! I know some prefer living like a king now since you never know what'll happen tomorrow (which I can totally understand), but obviously I'm more about preparing for the future ;) I'd love to get my hands on that Benz or splurge on some week long benders to Mexico, but it's just not worth the trade off at this point in my life.

There's something about saving and living a more simple life that comforts me. I like not having to stress over money or wonder what would happen if my paycheck came a few days late. I like knowing we can bring a baby into this world and not have to work 2 extra jobs to afford it. $hit, I like the fact of just being ABLE to afford half the stuff out there! It doesn't mean I'll actually go out and buy all of 'em, but it's a helluva treat knowing I *could* if I ever wanted to.

By saving and living more frugally now, we open up a sea of options for the rest of our lives. We're still free to do whatever we please, but by picking and choosing where our money goes now we gain stability and freedom to take advantage of life on better terms. It's similar to other aspects of our lives: career, education, you name it. Rarely do you hear advice telling you to screw college, or slack off at work and just worry about it all later. You might be able to fulfill yourself temporarily that route (which also implies you'd be smart enough to take advantage of this time created and actually DO the things that truly make you happy), but in the long run it's usually not best.

Think about what truly makes you happy now, and start on it. And if that means blowing through wads of cash like you're the next MC Hammer, so be it! Just be sure you know what you're doing - one day more people will count on you than yourself ;)

Labels: frugality, life, money management, personal finance, saving

Well, I finally finished Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money-Grubbing Secrets and it sure was interesting! (and a nice change of pace)

It takes an special person to pull something like that off, and Phil Villarreal does so with the shocking grace you can only expect from such a book ;) I still don't know whether to hug or punch him, but needless to say it was damn entertaining.

That's probably the best word to describe this book: Entertaining. I'm fairly confident that if you were to try and pull off even half of these 100 tips you'd find yourself in jail. Or in an alley somewhere with a broken nose. BUT, a broken nose with an extra $50 in your pocket ;) That being said, there were also a ton of EXCELLENT tips to try out with a good conscience - especially in the first half of the book (the last 20 or so makes you want to take a shower).

Here's a snippet from Tip #38: "Don't Poop On Coupons":

"It saddens me that coupon clipping is viewed as the pastime of the desperate housewife, some meaningless, mundane project to fill the time between soap-opera airings, floor mopping, and self-supplied, amateur porn web-camming. Here and now I want to start an effort to reclaim coupon clipping for men everywhere. I want Harley riders to start keeping plastic, accordion-style coupon holders in the back of their hogs. I want UFC fighters to tout the benefits of $1 off Raisin Bran coupons after bouts. I want John Wayne to rise from the grave, visit a Circle K, and push a buy-one-get-one-free Thirstbuster card over the counter...Coupons are real money, and to throw them away is to ignite your wallet in flames."

He goes on to share his best tips on getting these coupons, but I thought this was an accurate sampling of his hilarious nature. Overall, he did a great job keeping my A.D.D. attention and really opened my eyes to a level of frugality I never thought possible. If you have an open mind, I recommend it 100%. If you're a good little boy or girl, I wouldn't think twice about picking it up ;) Unless, of course, you want to LOOK like a bad ass and carry it around with you? That would most definitely shed your goody-two-shoes image within minutes, believe me. I can't tell you how many stares I got on the train while reading this the past few mornings. It also looks like Phil has earned himself a sexy little fan club:

The Giveaway (if you haven't been scared off yet):

Here's what to do in order to win one of two copies - it's super easy, and super fast:

1. Drop a comment with your very own "dirty little saving secret"
2. And 2, well....there is no #2. Just do #1 and you'll be entered :) And if you're not feeling feisty enough, just make one up or steal someone else's tip so you can be entered - whatever works.

I'll be giving away both copies Saturday morning so be sure to leave some sort of contact info here so I can easily alert you! And I'll be using Random.org to pick the 2 winners so everyone has an equal shot (if you can't wait until then, check out Amazon and get it while it's cheap). Now comment away my dear friends! It's time to rot someone else's brain with such awesome scoundrel-ness :)

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PS: You can also find Phil on Twitter (where he tweets), Consumerist (where he writes), and The Arizona Daily Star (where he reviews). Thanks for the free books my man!
PPS: There's another giveaway at PF Firewall that ends Wed. @ Midnight, so enter there too.

Labels: book reviews, frugality, giveaways, money hacks, saving

There's been many a times I've been picked on for being frugal. Mostly during my prepubescent years, but even now I've been known to give a few of my friends a good laugh. I'm sure they were all just jealous (at least that's what our mothers always says, right?) but either way I say who cares.

Who cares if our frugality and craftiness distracts people? Are they the ones saving a few dollars? Anope - we are. And because of that I say keep on doing your thang! As long as you're happy and not breaking any rules (*ahem* Phil Villarreal) who cares about these boring people and their spend-crazy lives. We like saving money and we're not afraid to admit it!

In fact, I'll even admit to some thriftiness right now: I used to sneak cheeseburgers into my pockets all the time at the movie theaters :) I'd swing by McDonald's 10 mins. before start time and pick up some double cheeseburgers right off the $1 menu! Not only was it cheap, but it was craaaazy filling. And when that didn't work out, I'd just raid the nearest 7-Eleven instead and grab myself 3 assorted candies back when they were 3/$1 (remember those days?). No way in hell was I spending $50+ on theater food.

And after thinking about this for a bit, I wondered how many others got made fun of for similar things? There's gotta be a lot of us, right? Oh yeah, DEFINITELY right. Check out all the responses I got back after dropping the following note around the web:

Anyone ever make fun of you for being frugal/crafty?

Via Twitter:

• @SpendOnLife: "Allowing myself time to "sleep on it" when making large purchases has been a source of laughter for my friends."
• @BudgetPulse: "Every now and then stay in on a weekend night to save money and get laughed at for it."
• @ThomasJFox: "All the time. Some mock my frugality; however, I am able to save 32% of my income because of my choices while they save 0."
• @MoneyManagement: "My daughter recently took a doll (Janet) she handmade to a tea party. All of the other girls had American Girl dolls."
• @CreditGoddess: "Got teased once for pulling out a calculator at the grocery store to figure out savings on buying single vs. 4-pack."
• @littlespace: "Heh. Yes, I get teased. Esp about how I tie environmentalism into it - eg. no paper plates cuz bad for earth & waste of $!"
• @luciagia: "I just im'd my boyfriend to remind him to bring home the ziplock bag his lunch was in. Perhaps I'm a little too frugal."
• @mycesi: "Friends laughed at a coworker of mine for only having basic cable. He used that xtra money to invest in a rental property :)...All my friends make my fun of my use of coupons at restaurants!"
• @CanadianFinance: "I always hear about it at work... "why do you always bring your lunch?", "do you ever buy anything at regular price?", etc."
• @ModernTightwad: "Most embarrassing to me ever, some of my husband's family joke (hopefully) that I'm a lush because ... we go out to happy hour specials. The food specials are cheaper than I can cook, and I don't have to clean so ... it makes good sense ... (Although they do look @ me oddly when I order a coke) Probably doesn't help that when I do cook, I make a lot of beer roasts. (Chp Tndrizr)"
• @MrsMicah: "your mom got teased for being frugaltastic last night, but they shut up when i told 'em she was with me. :)" (hey now, how'd this one sneak in?)

Via Facebook:

• Nicole Canfora Lupo: "My friends rag on me because I patch my clothes, darn my socks, sew my own purses and make my own curtains."
• Nicole Ouellette: "The newish boyfriend seems amused at my frugality (the man 'woots' daily) but boy, did he like my homemade enchiladas the other night! Frugality = tasty and clever...Yup, one person at a time, I'm trying to change people's minds about being financially responsible but cool..."
• Jesse Michelsen: "Yea I've been called super cheap, etc. I just take it with a smile and shoot em a grin followed by a wink when they say "I have to wait till payday to buy laundry detergent""
• Shelley Harrison: "This is the first year that I will be buying a tree in a loong time for the Holidays. We will be making ornaments since it is not in the budget this year."

Via the Money Blog Network Forums:

• PT @ PT Money: "BA$, did your friends call you the Hamburgler? (Hah!) I was made fun of for going without cable TV for the last year. I had friends and family members who would focus on that like it was the end of the world. They seemed to believe I was trying to get rich by going without cable TV alone. When it was just more practical for me to use Hulu.com and over the air HD channels. Frugality is about spending smarter, not just spending less, I think. And spending smarter is just one piece of my overall plan for financial freedom."
• Stephanie @ Poorer Than You: "...a friend seriously told me to "grow up and stop getting free furniture off of Craigslist - you're not in college anymore."...I mean, come on, how is 22 (almost 23... birthday is Friday!) and just out of college too old for free furniture that's in good shape? Actually, why is there an age on that at all?"
• Financia of Financial Freak Show: "My friend always gives me crap about not going on vacation with them last year...until I pulled up at his house several weeks ago after just paying cash for a sweet used Lexus SUV and parked next to his $588 a month new truck....he said he liked mine more :) I told him he couldn't ride in mine since he stunk like a filthy payment book"
• Mr. Tough Money Live: "I have lots of liberals in my family. I wouldn't say I am frugal as much as I am fiscally conservative and strategic with money and, of course, write about it regularly. My liberal family members extrapolate my fiscal conservatism into a full-blown political label and then mock me as an alleged Bush/Chaney/Palin/etc. lover. Generally, it's those who don't have much money that mock the most. It's all in good fun but it is further proof that how you treat money in your own life can provoke interesting reactions from others."
• Roger @ The Amateur Financier: "Not really; my girlfriend has teased me a bit, particularly about starting up a blog about money (for some reason, it seems to amuse her), but I haven't really taken any slack for saving/investing. Although, on the subject of sneaking food into movie theaters, I do that, as well; sneaking candy bars into the theater to avoid paying $3-5 for a box of Junior Mints. But, everyone does that, right? Right? RIGHT?"
• Kevin @ No Debt Plan: "My friends do take little jabs at me for being frugal, but they also know it is paying off. I'll top both of you -- we don't go to the movies. Ever. Too expensive and I used to work at one in high school. No desire to go back which is good... saves us $20-30 on tickets and food."
• Wife of My Journey To Millions: "Hello, This is My Journey's wife. He sent me over to this forum when he saw this because he knows I am constantly getting picked on for being frugal. Here is my outlook on why it's good to be frugal: The importance of things. It's funny because I almost got chosen to be on the Rachel Ray show for my frugality. I guess others were worse than me because I didn't get picked. But I certainly think you get farther in life being frugal than you do being a spender...and I also believe rich people stay rich...by being frugal (in their own way of course)
• FFB from Free From Broke: "I've been called cheap from time to time but these were from people who spent freely. I've had lots of "come on it's only 20 bucks" type of replies from friends. Interestingly, when I respond that since it's only $20 why don't they pay they never take me up on it!"

So there you have it. We all get made fun of for saving money! And if you're reading this, chances are you TOO have been the source of these chuckles. But, as always, just brush that dirt of your shoulders and keep on pocketing them dollars. Life's hard enough to be worrying about these jokers - stand up and be proud.

Labels: frugality, in the real world, money hacks, saving

[Guest post by Kathryn Vercillo.]

Attending a wedding can be a really pricey affair. You have to get a gift for the happy couple. You have to make arrangements to attend the event which frequently means traveling somewhere and/or losing time from work. And you certainly want to show up looking your best which may mean getting new clothes and having your makeup done. If you know more than one person getting married in a wedding season then you can find yourself struggling to work out your budget to allow you to attend their special events. It's important to be smart about how you do your spending when it comes to attending a wedding.

The easiest thing to save money on is your own appearance. Unless you are a part of the wedding party, you can find something affordable to wear that is appropriate for the occasion but that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. Going for a vintage look, re-using an old outfit, purchasing an item that can be returned, borrowing wedding clothing and getting your look on sale are all methods of making a smart choice on your wedding clothing. Remembering that the day isn't even about you also helps to put into perspective how much money you should be spending to get dressed up for a wedding.

Getting a vintage dress (or suit) to wear to a wedding can be a really great option. Many of us want to wear special outfits to special occasions like weddings but it doesn't make sense to go out to buy a brand new dress that you're only going to wear once or twice. Getting a classic vintage dress/suit from a used clothing store (or an online reseller) allows you to select something really beautiful without paying full price for it. The other major option for reducing the cost of a new outfit is to make sure that you purchase a dress that is on clearance sale.

Instead of simply reducing what you spend on your wedding attire, you can actually eliminate the cost altogether through a few different methods. If you have something in your closet that has only been worn once then it may be appropriate to wear it again to the wedding. This is particularly true if the wedding is for someone you don't see often who would never know that this dress has been worn. Alternatively, you can borrow a nice dress from a friend for this occasion. Or you could go the route of purchasing a new dress, wearing it with the tags on and tucked in and then returning it for full-price when the wedding is over (J: Hah! Sneaky sneaky). The only problem with that last option is that if you ruin the dress then you won't be able to return it.

Your wedding attire is the easiest thing to avoid spending money on, but you can save money on the rest of the wedding as well. Reduce travel costs by booking tickets early and sharing a room with other guests while you're there. Select a wedding gift that is stylish but at the lower end of the budget on the wedding registry. Primarily, it's all about being conscious of how much money you're spending to attend a wedding. The fact is that this day isn't about you so you don't have to spend a lot of money to impress people there. Be your usual stylish self and keep a frugal mindset, and the day should go just fine!

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Kathryn is a writer for Promotionalcodes.org.uk which gives away free voucher codes (like this Laura Ashley Promotional Code) and also publishes money saving ideas. She recently brought us the "Top 15 Frugal Living Twitterers" as well!

Labels: frugality, girl stuff, guest post, saving, thrift stores, wedding

A lot of us bloggers rave about being so frugal and cutting corners all the time, but there comes a time when enough is enough. Just like dieting, you can't ALWAYS be frugal'ing your way around town. Once overboard, you'll be sure to jump back in the safety boat soon enough.

Today's post was inspired by one of my new favorite bloggers, Green I$ The New Black, who posited this very same question: How Frugal is TOO Frugal? And what a most excellent question it is. Like everything we do, it's all about keeping a good balance. It may not be the easiest thing to do (people usually like to flutter to one extreme or the other), but it's certainly the smart way to go.

And I'll be the first one to admit I can def. get hardcore! Some days I can't find the heart to spend a dime, while others i'm doling it out to all whom ask ;) Luckily, I can get away with it most of the time because of how my budget is set up. Building in categories for "random stuff" & using credit cards def. help out. By the time all is said and done each month, it all usually evens out pretty well. It's much better to allow room to spend freely as necessary, but at the same time tightening up in other areas.

So I guess my answer of what's "too frugal" would be when you hold back on buying or doing the things you really enjoy just to save a few bucks. Sure it's great for the wallet, but guess what - we have a life! No point in hoarding it all if we're never gonna spend it ;) Then again, I may not be the best example these days...

Labels: budgets, frugality, life, money management

I used to just throw 'em out and go shopping again, but now I've got a secret!

Know what your boy J. has now? (it's exciting, get ready...) My very own seamstress! aww yeahhhh bow chicka wha wha! haha....i crack myself up.

But is it wrong that I feel like a total P.I.M.P. paying someone to fix up my jeans? It's seriously the coolest thing ever. I drop 'em off one day w/ big freakin' holes and rips in them, and then a week later they're back in action again! I can't get over it, it's so cool.

Do any of you use someone like this? Did you even know this profession *existed* anymore?! (or am i crazy?)

A year ago I would have cried for a hot minute, thrown 'em out, and then gone shopping for their replacements. Which is all fine and dandy, and I do indeed have to do that with some of my clothes, but when you find the most perfect fitted jeans in the entire world it can be a pain to pick up again - esp. at great deal. I have 3 pairs of Armani Exchange jeans that I found for $20 four years ago (originally priced at $100+) and if it weren't for my new best friend The Seamstress I'd be one sad boy.

Now, before you start hating, I know the most frugal way to work this out is to just sew 'em up myself. But a) I'm a dude. and b) I'm a dude ;) Sure I can learn and figure it out with a little patience, but I've got things to do like blogging and watching reality tv shows on my spare time! And the Mrs. is all hocked up on studying for Grad School so i'm surely not gonna bother her. It would seriously take some time to fix up some of these bad boys - they were torrrrrn apart boy.

So, for a cool $35, I now have 4 "brand-spankin'-new" jeans again (woohoo)! That comes out to what, $8.75 per pair? Not too bad, it would cost AT LEAST that to find just one pair again. And now my prized possessions have some more flair to 'em ;) So that's my secret for the day - I pay someone to fix my clothes. It could be worse!

Labels: awesomely awesome, frugality, shopping