Comments on: What I Do to Live Frugally

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 02:37:11 +0000

Eric, I gave up on Netflix and DVD’s in general. I end up watching a lot of other movies with my friends or going out to catch second and first releases. (Usually the former though since I can walk to a second run theater.)

By: eric

eric — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:37:31 +0000

Another help hint (and this works if you have one close by) is to borrow DVDs from the library. I’m not sure about the other parts of the country but there’s a pretty darng good selections of DVDs at my local library - classics, recently releases - although you won’t find Soul Plane or Daddy Day Care here.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:50:33 +0000

Try Dunkin Donuts coffee. It’s much better than Starbucks as well as less expensive. Just go through the drive thru to purchase it and that will eliminate the urge to buy those handfuls of sugar and trans fat that they sell.

By: Sestos

Sestos — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:53:18 +0000

Starbucks coffee is always burnt tasting and smells that way also. Quite honestly I doubt its very good coffee to start with. The average drink at Starbucks has more calories then a fast food meal, due to the sugar. Not sure if they use the sugar to mask the taste or if what they use in the store and what they sell are two completely different products.

By: jana

jana — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:18:34 +0000

i do not knowwhethet i should reply as if one does not praise the writer the get an angry comment back (see #

sparky wrote:

You should’ve just summarized up front that your parents bought you a house and a car. ” and the reaction. but i guess i should. so - even if they did not buy you the whole thing - as you say - they still contributed (anfd giving them back - for a car and a house - a fe windiows, as you say, is no the same). i guess teh article has its good moments (the idea of keeping the individually wapped snacks etc.)and in general it is good not to be wasteful, but the self-praise and attacking anyone who might have something else to say than “you are so great”? not sure.

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:16:54 +0000

Tyler,

Every year for 40 days, I give up soda completely. I do not enjoy the reverse osmosis tap water at work 100% of the time. My taste buds NEED some flavors, in fact, my tongue gets a weird texture if I drink that water all day.

So I drink diluted juice and the occasional soda. I go through phases. There will be a week where I have a soda every day, and a month when I only have it a few times. C’est la vie.

By: Gates VP

Gates VP — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:32:54 +0000

Whoa, Debt daddy, I’ll do you one better:
I don’t own a TV, lived for 3 years without cable TV (starting from the time I moved out). But what’s more I don’t own a car (and don’t intend to). And it’s not that I can’t, I make over 50k/year, but I live across the street from the grocer and all of the amenities (convenience store, pharmacy, post office, video rental, etc) and I live about 20 minutes walk from the office. (and I’ve done this with 2 different professional-level jobs in 2 different cities)

I just made the conscious effort to live close to bus lines, work and amenities and then basically wiped out my transportation costs. Whenever I need a car, I just rent one. Between cabs, rentals and bus passes we’re spending less than $200/month getting around. Which is less than maintenance/insurance/gas on a typical car. Plus we get other people to drive for us! I can cuddle up with the fiancé and read a book or do a crossword on the bus. I can actually get ahead in work while others are watching the road. It’s like double-frugal: less money on transportation and I can leverage the time I spent in transit.

I’ve done much of the above, but beyond just brewing coffee and bringing stuff to work, I’ve also started the office lunch program, I bring sandwich stuff every week and the co-workers pitch in to pay for it. And we eat well, good meats, pickles, dijon mustard, fresh breads, etc. Grocer is across the street from me, so I can actually get this stuff twice a week if necessary. And of course, buying this stuff in bulk means that I don’t waste any myself and that I’m always getting fresh stuff

By: Tyler

Tyler — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:51:28 +0000

I am actually really surprised you drink soda. I usually associate drinks like that with the opposite of frugality. From personal experience, if you ever kick the addiction, you will never miss it.

By: Jonathan Wagner

Jonathan Wagner — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:33:26 +0000

Just a note on the burnt taste Starbucks coffee. Many of the coffee aficionados of the web complain about Starbucks over-roasting their beans.

I recommend Intelligentsia at http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com for some of the best quality coffee you can buy online. Their prices run from ~$12-15 a pound and they ship the day it is roasted. It’s still cheaper than Starbucks (the store) and tastes way better.

If you want to be really frugal, you can start roasting your own as the green beans are usually 25-40% of the cost of roasted. For example, the Tres Santos blend at Intelligentsia runs about $5/lb for green unroasted and ~$14/lb for roasted.

By: bob

bob — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:00:54 +0000

Would your frugral lifestyle change if you won the lottery or found a rich husband?
That’s the real test.

By: m

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:08:53 +0000

Oh yeah we will be getting rid of cable next too. I think it’s great not to watch tv but I have to have a television for videos and dvds. I LOVE movies!

By: m

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:08:03 +0000

Mapgirl,

I wrote on a similar topic recently. The post address is below if you’d like to check out some of my frugal habits (or just click the “finance” category on my blog and go down to June 15, 07).

http://cottoncandypink.blogspot.com/2007/06/what-im-doing-right.html

By: louise

louise — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 04:20:33 +0000

this is a great post! I could live without the TV but my family wouldn’t go without it. I much prefer the internet and the library.

By: MVP

MVP — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 21:37:17 +0000

Sounds to me like, relatively speaking, you live a pretty frugal lifestyle. I’m impressed. I’m not sure how old you are, but it goes without saying that many of us are caught up in the rat race, competing with the Joneses and trying to make our homes look like pages out of the Pottery Barn catalog. It sounds like you’ve avoided that mentality and have your priorities in the right place, as evidenced by your friends and family who, according to your post, help you out when you need it and provide a shoulder to lean on. Great job!

By: tiredofbeingbroke

tiredofbeingbroke — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 03:30:06 +0000

Great post with lots of tips.
I downgraded the cable and have no regrets. Now I just have the local basic channels to watch some of my favorite shows.

I always joke that as long as my cell phone has numbers I can dial it is ok. I never had a fancy cellphone or paid for cellphone insurance.

When I do buy clothes it is atleast 60% off.