Frugal For Life

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When I first started to get myself into a more frugal attitude, I immediately picked up on the benefits of getting free items; from samples to subscriptions to t-shirts. It was the idea that I could get something for free by filling out a form or survey and save my money for something else more important.

However, I have found that I am up to my eyeballs in subscriptions, samples and coupons I don’t really use. I sign up for things that sound good at the time, but when I get them I have no interest.

This requires an additional bit of time to decide who the item should go to so it doesn’t go to waste from my greediness.

For magazine subscriptions, I have cancelled the ones that I don’t read at all and can’t pass on to anyone else that I know of - I just call the phone number on the inside of the magazine content area, and if they don’t have my name on file they usually have an alternative number for me to call. For those magazines I do flip through and can pass on, I will make sure I have a stack that I take to work every week so other can enjoy or take home with them. Eventually the free subscription will run out and I will cancel the renewal.

For free samples and coupons that I realize I won’t be using, I am usually able to find someone who will take them off my hands. But I make a mental note to cut back on the samples and coupons I apply sign up for.

There are some questions that I ask myself before I click on a link to sign up for the free item:

1. Is this something I really need or that I want?
2. Is this something I will use quickly or be able to stock up on - thus cutting down on my grocery bill?
3. Is this item something I really want to be seen with? Example: A picture on a t-shirt
4. Do I really, really need it?  — It is good to ask this question a couple of times

After asking these questions to myself I find that of the freebie items that are available to me, I have cut down on what I sign up for by about 75%. This cut back has saved my sanity by keeping the process simple.

Now when I sign up for a free item, I know exactly what I will be doing with it when I receive because (a) I need it, (b) I would have bought it anyway and it will save me money not having to buy it later, (c) It is something that I know I will enjoy using or that I know someone else will enjoy using.

Here are a few of the places I go to find those free (almost free) items:

Fat Wallet Free forums

Freebeez and Dealz

Free Samples Direct

Free Stuff Times

Hey! It’s free!

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One of my pet peeves while shopping is to see the packaging get smaller or more air put into the bag or the item in a box will be smaller when the box itself stays the same size. Of course the prices don’t get smaller, they either stay the same or go up in price. Downsizing the item, but not downsizing the price isn’t anything new and it seems to be a popular trend with the weight of Americans going up and up.

That is why it is so very important to take a look at the price per unit and compare them when you are grocery shopping for the best deal, especially now that food costs have gone up over the last year. When I do my large shopping trips I can get out of the store for about 175.00 with enough food for the next 6-8 weeks. This last shopping trip, I got everything I needed and the price was just about 225.00.

If you are unfamiliar with checking price per unit, it would be on the shelf sticker with the full price of the item. If the information isn’t handy like that, then having a calculator (cellphone calculator works) handy when you shop is a good way to determine the unit price. Just divide the price of the item by the ounces, lbs, servings, etc. and you would get the unit price.

The importance of unit pricing is handy when you see some new packaging on an item that you buy regularly. For instance:
Mouse Print recently showed the package change of Orange Juice.
NPR’s All things considered recently interviewed Ben Popken of the consumer advocacy blog Consumerist about the (audio) change in packaging but not in prices.
You can read more about Consumerist’s info on packaging changes as well.

additional reading:
12 Ways to Cut the Grocery Bill
Bulk Buying Comparison
Store Brands vs. Name Brands

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Just so you know frugality doesn’t happen for me in a single day, week or year. It is a lifetime journey that teaches me what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. Some frugal ideas save money and time, others don’t. Other times it isn’t about saving money and time but peace of mind. It is the guiding hand of someone more experienced or the teaching that comes from life’s mistakes that helps me understand what aspects of frugal living will work for me. Based on all this I want to share what I have learned….

Online Bill Paying: I admit, I used about 5-8 stamps a month to mail off bills, I felt this way was better, faster and more secure. But it uses a lot of paper and I’m sick and tired of it. Slowly, I have changed over my billing to online only,but not without frustration.
1> I found out that if you want don’t want to pay monthly fees, you may have to use multiple places to pay your bills.
2> Some credit cards companies like to charge you for EVERYTHING, even to pay a bill. This is where I had to find the best way to pay, either via the mail still or check with my bank.
3> I have all my bills going to one email address that is separate from all my other email address (bills only). The downside was getting used to checking email for new statements… I was late for a couple of bills. A hard lesson to learn.
4> I figured out too late that when you set up accounts, make sure you use the same email address, because getting some accounts changed can be a pain in the neck.

Scratch and Sniff Recliner: After bringing home a recliner (trying to save space), I realized that the previous owner was a smoker, so I tried different ways to get rid of the smoke smell from leather. I have tried Dawn dish-washing liquid, vinegar, baking powder paste, letting it air out, and will soon try a tip from Thriftyfun - Spartan Airlift Smoke & Odor Eliminator. I paid 14.95 (shipping included) for a spray bottle full.

Update 7/12: I got the bottle and tried it out on the recliner, it worked very well, and not just covering the odor either. I left the house and came back and there was a noticeable decrease in the amount of smoke smell, so I will spray the recliner again tomorrow. This worked a lot better than the other options I tried.

Self-made Two-for-One: When I first got the entertainment book, it was mostly used for the buy one, get one free offers. But as I have learned to eat smaller and healthier I stopped eating out as much. But when I do eat out I either get an appetizer only or if my roomie and I go, we find a meal to agree on and share it. (But we make sure we still give a wonderful tip. I figure that if you are too cheap to tip, then don’t go out to eat.)

Reduced Air Conditioning: Last year I started seeing how long I could go before using the air conditioning, I didn’t go very long, I believe it was early June when I caved in and turned on the AC. This year it hasn’t been turned on at all yet. Of course most of this is thanks to my roomie who works at home and is making this her own challenge to go as long as possible, and she is in the house more often than I am. It is nice to see someone come along the frugal road, even if it is a slow process.

What small changes are you making this year?

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