27 and Frugal

Moving into temporary student housing (dorms, student apartments) is quite different from moving into an apartment. Often times basic furnishings are provided but nice-to-haves are not (carpeting). After living in student housing for five years and moving twice a year, I have become a pro at balancing minimal, affordable furnishings that are easily mobile.

Keep practicality in mind when going dorm room shopping. Here are some rules:

• All items should easily fit into a car (not necessarily at the same time, but just size-wise). You will not need a moving truck.
• You should be able to carry everything by yourself. You … Continue reading »
  

We learn a lot from our parents. Life lessons and skills but also their mannerisms and habits; both good and bad. If your parents have poor spending habits, is it more likely that you will?

Watch and Learn

As a child, I learned how to avoid creditors. In fact, I normalized the fact that creditors called the house at all. I was not the only child to have learned this behavior. My mother’s spending habits have been passed down to my brother. He is in his mid-40’s, yet his credit score is still suffering from the years he spent paying the minimum balance; something he learned from our mother. Continue reading »

Every weekend, I will detail my activities and expenses to provide an example of how to implement a frugal mindset while still having a fun and active life.

Friday

I had plans to meet up with some friends for dinner on Friday night. I fixed myself a grilled cheese after work and snacked on some cashews on the way over. I did not purchase anything at the restaurant but still enjoyed myself. It was nice chatting with friends, some who I had not seen in a while. After dinner, we went to a local ice cream shoppe. I ate a delicious chocolate chip ice cream cone and socialized some more with friends.

Friday Total Cost:$3

Saturday

My friends were married on Saturday, so I spent most of the day getting ready for and attending to wedding things. They had an open bar so no money was spent!

Saturday Total Cost:$0
Continue reading »

They always say “quality over quantity” right? That is exactly what I thought when I dished out $300 (the most I have ever spent on an article of clothing) on a dress to wear to some planned weddings later this year. The dress was from London-based company Lipsy. I fell in love with the dress and really liked the rest of their collection, with the intention to purchase more of their clothing.

So Much for Quality

I wore the dress for the first time since purchase, to a wedding over the weekend. It was comfortable the entire time and I received many compliments. I was enthusiastic to tell my friends the name of the company and where they could purchase similar dresses.

Then, I took it off at the end of the night and saw the zipper had broke off. Continue reading »

Every weekend, I will detail my activities and expenses to provide an example of how to implement a frugal mindset while still having a fun and active life.

Friday

Since this was a long weekend, I took advantage of the extra day by doing nothing on Friday. I made a small dinner and got caught up with bills and things. Not too exciting, but it had to get done.

Friday Total Cost:$0

Saturday

I spent Saturday at the shore with some friends. I packed a lunch, brought a drink and some snacks. We took a route without any tolls and less traffic. An hour later, we were relaxing on the beach. My friends ate lunch at a place on the boardwalk where a slice of pizza and a drink was $8. I sat at the table with them eating my yummy sandwich.

Later that night, I had plans to watch the UFC fight at Buffalo Wild Wings. I knew I would eat there, which is why I did not want to eat out earlier in the day. Unfortunately, BWW changed their boneless wings into disgusting fried crap so that was rather disappointing. The Blue Moon’s helped washed the ickiness down.

Saturday Total Cost:$20
Continue reading »

Back in December, I made some life goals for 2010. Since then I was laid off, unemployed for two months, found a new job and doubled my commuting costs (and time).

Amazingly, I have been able to cross some of the goals off my list! Let’s review:

Financial Goals

• Pay off my car
• Focus on reducing Student Loan

In progress

• Focus on emergency fund

In progress

• Start a travel fund

Personal Goals

• Be out of high-interest debt
• Take a real vacation to somewhere new
• Increase skills in one hobby

In progress

• Have a stable side-project
• Build and maintain a new close friendship
• Continue living life to the fullest

In progress

The … Continue reading »

Every weekend, I will detail my activities and expenses to provide an example of how to implement a frugal mindset while still having a fun and active life.

Friday

I’m just going to warn you now, this was the most non-frugal weekend ever! Fortunately, all of the extra spending was budgeted. Friday night started out cheap. We stayed in, ordered Thai food ($7) and watched Shutter Island.

Friday Total Cost:$7

Saturday

I knew that Saturday would be an expensive day. I spent the morning getting highlights ($115) then stocked up on a prescription ($80). I came home in time to watch the World Cup game then headed out again to eat yummy Mexican for dinner ($6). After dinner, I played poker at a friend’s house and lost a buck.

Saturday Total Cost:$201
Continue reading »

Back in March, I pre-ordered a video game and received $20 video game credit on Amazon.com. I went to use it just last week and noticed that the credits were not showing up.

So I went to Get Human to find their number. I waited maybe 4 minutes for a CR to answer.I explained the dilemma and was informed that the credits expired April 30th! I had no idea! I said that. Continue reading »

On Twitter, I try to share Frugal Tips about budgets, expenses and food! Here is the whole list of them so far.

When baking, save the butter wrapper and use it to grease your pans! This is a tip I actually learned in Home Ec in high school. You can take this one step further and freeze the butter wrappers to use later.

DIY Microwave Popcorn! Put 1/4C popcorn kernels in paper lunch bag, microwave 2 min. Pour melted butter & salt, shake, serve!

Don’t throw out your rock solid brown sugar. Put a piece of bread in the bag and in a day the sugar will be all softened up!

Honey never goes bad! Ever. Heat crystallized honey in the microwave for 10-30 seconds to get you smooth honey back. Continue reading »

When you are looking to purchase something new or when you are decluttering your home, it is important to think about re-purposing items that you no longer use into something far more useful! Here are some examples of how I re-purposed household items into new ones without paying a dime!

Jewelry Organization with a Belt

After losing umpteen pairs of earrings and having all my necklaces tangled into one big knot, I looked into purchasing a jewelry box. Unfortunately, I could not find one that met my needs and was not keen on paying $30 for something that can only hold 5 necklaces.

Instead, I took an eyelet belt that I hardly wear and hung it up on a hook behind the bathroom door. All of my earrings fit perfectly on the belt. They are not too crowded, I always can pair them up, and they will not fall out of a box. I have been using the belt as an earring holder for over a year now and have yet to find a better system. As you can see, I use the other hooks to hang earrings from.

I do realize that the belt is no longer a belt, but I really do not miss it as an accessory. Continue reading »

Every weekend, I will detail my activities and expenses to provide an example of how to implement a frugal mindset while still having a fun and active life.

Friday

A group of friends and I went out to dinner to treat a friend for his birthday. The six of us split the bill for $17/each; that way everyone was paying a bit of the birthday boy’s meal as well. It was far more than I normally spend on eating out, but was a special occasion.

After dinner, we went back to my house and just hung out for the rest of the night. I did not go out and buy any special food; I was already prepared to make cookies!

Friday Total Cost:$17
Continue reading »

I was in H&M over the weekend and overheard a shopper tell a friend, “I’m not crazy about this shirt but it’s only $10.” It is easy to be fooled by a small price tag because not only is there less of an investment, but there is also less guilt.

But is that cheap price worth being uncomfortable because the fabric is slightly irritating? Or self-conscious because it doesn’t fit you perfectly? Or wasteful because it rips after a few washings?

If you do not love something, why spend any money on it all?

How many of … Continue reading »

I mentioned in my Guide to Working Out that I run because it is cheap. Like anything, there are expenses.

A Dollar A Minute

After I was running for a bit, I decided to run some 5k’s. Unfortunately, it was discouraging. At $30 to run for 30 minutes, it seemed silly. For me, I was going to run 3 miles anyway, that was a normal run for me. I am not competitive and not beating my PR became depressing. I grew tired of runners’ attitudes and found the whole thing … Continue reading »

When it comes to commuting to work or school, there is much more to be concerned about than just the price of gas and oil changes. Your mental well-being takes a toll when driving in congested traffic, bad weather, or in a hurry. Some folks like to have a good 20 minute drive from work to home to give them some “downtime” to transition into home-mode. On the other hand, some just cannot bear commuter traffic. We all have our driving preferences and limits. What are yours?

Driving Across The State

A few years ago, I took a job that involved an hour commute. Gas alone cost over $300/month plus constant oil changes. I did that for a year, then caved and moved closer. It was not because of the cost (my rent was super cheap), it was the traffic that drove me crazy. Continue reading »

Free samples are a great example of how frugality is more about being resourceful than it is about being cheap.

Cheap people will use free samples solely because they are free. They have no intention of ever buying the product and simply think of the item as a free meal, free lipstick, free soap, etc.

Frugal consumers, on the other hand, will focus more on the fact that it is a sample. Samples allow you to try a product with no investment. If you like the sample, then spending money on it will be a smart purchase. If you do not, then no harm done. You did not waste your money. Continue reading »