I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about frugality and what it means to be frugal. I’m far from being  an expert in frugality, but being (almost) frugal is a big part of my life.

My frugality comes, in a very large part, from necessity. We don’t have a lot of money, and if I don’t force myself to pay close attention, our budget seems to trickle through my fingers without my noticing. But I am also frugal from conviction. I think that frugality is important, and I also believe that it is important to try and conserve resources, from an environmental standpoint.

Many of the frugal things I do, fit into both categories, economic and environmental, whether I intend for that to be the case or not. And usually, that’s a bonus. There is one frugal thing however, that if I had any real choice in the matter I would stop doing in a heartbeat.

Hanging the laundry. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If I could fit a dryer into my house, I would buy in a heartbeat, extra cost and environmental impact be damned. I know dryers cost more money than hanging laundry on a rack, and I know that dryers use lots of electricity, which is, all in all, a limited resources. So in a way I’m glad that I can’t find a place for one in my house.

But still! I hate hanging laundry, and if I could give it up, I’d gladly call myself ‘Nearly Almost Frugal’.

How about you? What frugal habit would you give up if you had a choice? If money was no issue, and you could choose to be frugal out of conviction, not necessity, what would you stop  doing?

Here’s what I was talking about six months ago on Almost Frugal.

Make Your Own Cloth Diapers I made some cloth diapers for my daughter, using terrycloth toweling. This is a step by step tutorial of the process. Unfortunately the pictures have disappeared, but I’ve reworked the instructions so that the photos are unnecessary. These diapers are very servicable, easy to make and quick drying, if not as cute as some of the others out there.

Getting Rid of Books I went through my books and ended up taking a lot of them back to the United States with me when we went back on vacation. I sold quite a few, and although I didn’t make a lot of money, it was more than if the books had continued to sit on my bookshelf.

Sleeping Like a Baby I’m growing and learning more and more as a parent every day, and the same is true for my journey into frugality.

The Grass is Browner on the Other Side of the Fence Our friends’ financial situation hasn’t really improved and I feel sad and worried for them. On the other hand, there is very little I can do to help them, especially if they don’t want to help themselves.

Here are some of the articles I enjoyed this week

Ever watch a couple fight in public? And it’s kind of like a train wreck, but you can’t turn away, as much as you really don’t want to? Mandajuice is one of my favorite ‘mommy’ go to blogs, mostly because she writes so honestly and openly about her life, even when that might rub certain persons the wrong way. And this post? Well, it rubbed somebody the wrong way- you have to read the comments to find out who.

I’ve talked a lot about health insurance in France and the medical system here. I think one of the factors that most frightens me about moving back to the United States, whenever that happens, is the cost of health insurance. However, after this post by David of My Two Dollars on his wife’s health insurance coverage, I think we’re going to move to New Mexico where I’m going to find a job as a public school teacher. (Kidding Mom! Almost.)

Living Well on Less says ‘No!’ to the birthday lunch. How do you deal with continual solicitations to spend money at work?

Paid Twice explains how she keeps up motivation in good times too. Paid Twice is really an inspiration to me- the amount of money that she is able to find to pay down her debt is quite impressive. Not to mention, snowflaking? That’s her.

Nicole at Breaking Even gives us seven ideas for inexpensive and original wedding gifts. I don’t have any weddings to go to in the near future, my crowd being more into producing babies at the moment, but I’ll keep these ideas in mind. Although I do rely on her first tip for gifts of all occasion.

Simple Mom is giving away oodles of goodies, which would get half my holiday shopping done in one fell swoop. Go check it out!

I participated in two carnivals this week

The Festival of Frugality was at Our Fourpence Worth and I participated with my post Five Frugal Toys Using Food.

The Carnival of Money Stories at Living Almost Large. My post ‘How Do You Describe Yourself?’ was an editor’s pick.

Speaking of carnivals, I guest posted at BlogCoach with a primer on how blog carnivals work.

I also guest posted at Being Frugal, asking the question ‘Is Frugality Deprivation?‘.

And my favorites from the other members of the Frugal Blog Network

Frugal Babe talks about making a statement through your purchasing power. This is a very good, thoughtful post. Everything you buy supports something, and as Frugal Babe points out, would you rather have your money supporting a local charity or a multinational competition. (The Good Human addresses the same issue in this post.)

Not Made of Money gives us four tips to help prepare for a recession. Sadly it seems as though one is coming, and these tips are very good common sense.

Tight Fisted Miser Andy is back to driving at 55. The speed limit is higher here in France (and not very well enforced nor respected). But slowing down is safer, for your life, your car… and your gas budget.

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In blogging related news, as the summer is drawing to a close I’m switching to my school year blogging schedule. From now on I’ll be publishing regular posts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Saturdays will continue to be the weekly roundup edition and Sundays will be the six month retrospective. This will allow me to continue to write quality posts and still let me, you know, study.

This is the fifth in a five part series entitled ‘Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the…’. We have looked at five different areas of the house and at five different ways to save money in each area. I hope you have enjoyed this series and found some frugal ideas!

1. Use a laptop

Energy savings can be up to 80% if you use a laptop computer instead of a desktop. And if you spend even an average amount of time on the internet (for say writing your blog on frugality, for example) those savings can quickly add up. Laptops are now quite affordable, comparable to desktops in price. Not to mention that they’re portable, so your home office can be found in the middle of your bed if you wish. Unplugging the computer and peripherals will reduce costs and consumption even more.

2. Don’t use the printer

In fact, it’s best if you just get rid of it. We haven’t had a printer for at least four years. When our old one died, we were reluctant to replace it for a combination of reasons: lack of space and the expense of buying ink cartridges. I can’t say that we miss it. There are very few documents that we have to print out, compared to what you might think, and those are either printed by my husband at work (with his boss’ approval) or I print them at the local copy shop. We now print an average of two pages a month, and not having a printer saves us €30 a month, on average.

3. Reuse paper

OK, so those refrigerator magnet notepads are awfully cute, and the refillable system at the back of your handbag organizer is just begging to be refilled, but these things cost money. And the back of your phone bill is free! No, don’t use your phone bill, you should hang on to that for at least three years, but you can use the back of paper that’s already been written on.

Here’s a way to make those photocopies practical as well as economical.  Cut 8.5 x 11 sheets into four pieces. Once you have a stack of papers your desired thickness, then dip or paint one of the shorter edges into white glue.  Once there is a nice thick coating put it aside to dry. Voila! Instant notepad!

4. Repurpose material from elsewhere

Looking for a trashcan for your office? Don’t buy one, try using a basket, or a large coffee can covered in decorated paper instead. After all, most office trash is fairly clean. I have a friend who uses a beautifully decorated flowerpot as her office waste bin. Clean glass jars can be used to hold paperclips or pens; cardboard boxes of different sizes can be used as drawer dividers.

As far as seating goes, office chairs can cost an arm and a leg (a-hem). I have found that an armchair is much more comfortable than a classic rolling desk chair. Not to mention that at a hardware store you can buy rolling casters to attach to the feet… and with a little bit of work, you now have a super comfy rolling deskchair.

5. Schedule your time

Using your time wisely and well means that you require less time to accomplish a task, giving you more time for other things. Scheduling your time can help you accomplish this goal. When I set my daily schedule, I try to think about when I am most productive, and when I am most likely to do more chore-like activities. For example I am writing this blog post late at night. I have had all day to worry it over in my head and by the time I actually sit down to write it (in bed on my laptop) it practically writes itself.

On the other hand, while I’m on autopilot and waiting for the coffee to brew in the morning is when I am most likely to do simple household tasks like unloading the dishwasher, so I save those duties for before I’m fully awake.

What are your frugal tips for the home office? Share them with us in the comments! And thank you for following this series.

Previous Installments

1. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen
2. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Bedroom
3. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Bathroom
4. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Living Room

This is the fourth in a five part series entitled ‘Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the…’. We have been looking at five different areas of the house and at five different ways to save money in each area. With all sorts of prices on the rise, and the need to make your money stretch even further than before, frugality is more important then ever. Stay tuned tomorrow for the final installment, or better yet, subscribed!

1. Furniture

I’ve said it before (and before) and I’ll say it again, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on furniture for your living room to look nice. In fact, used furniture can be a better bet if it means that what you buy is of higher quality. Look for something that is structurally sound; the covers can be replaced or the piece can be reupholstered if needed.

Another frugal idea is that less is more. Not only do rooms look larger with fewer things in them, but you spend less time cleaning and less money furnishing. Look around you; what items do you use and what items do you have? Which leads me to…

2. Zones versus an all purpose area

What purpose is your living room serving? And is it serving that purpose well? Do you want your living room to be a place for the family to come together, an all-purpose center of the home, or a relaxing oasis at the end of the day? My living room is my house’s room of all trades: it must serve many purposes. I make it do so frugally by defining specific areas and making sure there’s lots of storage. Each piece of furniture serves a purpose and also has storage. For example, three of my husband’s five (yes, five!) guitars are stored under or behind the couch. Doing so has allowed my husband to indulge in his favorite hobby without requiring an extra room or paying for storage.

3. Decorations

Decorating your house does not have to be an expensive proposition. Paint can be found inexpensively in the mismatched colors bin at the hardware store and fabric isn’t that expensive either. Don’t know how to sew? Try to barter services with somebody who does, or learn to do it yourself on the internet.

Look at the objects in your house that you love. What are they? Why do you love them? Is it the color, the shape or size or the sentimental attachment. Can you reproduce that feeling in your living room? What about moving the object to a more prominent place?

Try redecorating your room just by rearranging what’s already in it. In most cases you have this furniture because you like it, maybe all you need is to use it differently.

4. Entertainment

Your living room is an area for living. If it is beautifully decorated to your tastes (not a magazine’s), zoned and organized so that it works for you (not an organizing expert) you are more likely to spend time in it. Time spent at home is (usually) pretty frugal.

How do you spend your time? What do you like to do? Are you on the internet? Watching a DVD? Indulging in a hobby? Folding laundry? (Probably not.) How did you acquire that DVD or those scrapbooking materials? When you think about the kinds of pastimes you enjoy, do you feel frugal?

Here are some frugal ideas for entertainment. Go through your DVDs and pull out all those that you haven’t yet watched; then plan a series of date nights for after your kids have gone to bed. Or you could invite a bunch of friends over for a game night, to which everyone brings a board game and something to eat. Go through your hobby or crafting materials and make a list of projects you wish to accomplish. Pull out the materials needed for the first project and leave them in an area you can easily get to. It’s not a hobby if you never do it. Finally, read a book you checked out from the library, or read a book to your kids.

5. Entertainment Systems

Do you have a fancy new TV and video system? Or did you buy what was onsale at Target ten years ago? Maybe your entertainment system comes from Freecycle? I think you can guess which system is the most frugal.

Actually, it all depends. What are you using it for? If you watch loud action-adventure movies as a family tradition than it might be worth it for you to save up to pay cash for a big, muscled system. If you only watch the evening news from time to time then a Freecycled system might be best.

To find entertainment systems or other electronic equipment frugally, think about looking at different sources. There’s a fairly well developed expatriate network in the area where I live and so I have bought all my TVs, VCRs, DVD players, stereos etc from people returning to their home country. Typically people are here on a three to five year contract- they buy new stuff when they arrive but can’t take it back with them due to things like different voltages. This might not be an option for you of course, but try to think of an equivalent that does; maybe you have a cousin who likes having the latest model but only keeps it a year, maybe there’s a factory warehouse in the next town over.

Where ever you buy your entertainment system, you should not forget to unplug the system at the wall when you’re not using it. Doing so will save money, and electricity.

What are your frugal tips for the living or family room? Share them with us in the comments! And make sure to stay-tuned for tomorrow’s, final, installment, or better yet, subscribed!

Previous Installments

1. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen
2. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Bedroom
3. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Bathroom

This is the third in a five part series entitled ‘Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the…’. We will be looking at five different areas of the house and at five different ways to save money in each area. With all sorts of prices on the rise, and the need to make your money stretch even further than before, frugality is more important then ever. Stay tuned for the next installments, or better yet, subscribed!

1. Use less

How much shampoo do you use when you wash your hair? Do you need to use quite that much? Even without taking into consideration the manufacturer’s recommendations to wash your hair twice, most of us are using far too much shampoo. Shampoo and other soaps work largely by making water wetter, which helps strip away dirt. If your hair is already as wet as it can be, then the shampoo is even more effective and you can use less, saving you money.

Before applying shampoo, get your hair wet using motions as if you were applying shampoo; this lifts and separates your hair and allows the water to reach it all. Then apply the shampoo, using at most a dime-sized amount. Halfway through rubbing the shampoo in, briefly duck your head under the water again. You’ll be amazed at how clean your hair gets, frugally too.

2. Clean frugally

Once again, our old friend vinegar comes back to play. Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar diluted with water and use it to clean the shower walls. You won’t even need to scrub that hard if you’ve used a squeegee to dry the shower walls and doors immediately after use. Another frugal cleaning idea that will save you time as well as money is to rub the bathtub with an oil soaked cloth after a bath. This keeps the ring-around-the-bath away. Be careful though! The bath will be slippery though,  so use caution, or a good bath mat.

3. Wash less

Americans are fairly fanatical about keeping clean. The rest of the world doesn’t hold our standards of cleanliness, something I’ve discovered since moving to Europe. (I’m sure you’ve heard the one about there being a reason it was the French who invented perfume.) Try adapting your bathing routine so that you consume less: cleaning products, water or time. If you really can’t give up the habit of your daily shower (I need mine to wake me up in the morning) then skip a step once in a while: wash your hair every other day, for example. It is possible to cut down on the amount of product we use and the frequency with which we use them without offending others’ olfactory glands.

4. No fuss, no muss

Speaking of washing hair, how much money do you spend on hair products? How much would you save if you changed your hairstyle? I’m not saying that you have to go the ‘long hair pulled back into a ponytail’ routine, just that there are hairstyles that are wash and go. It all depends on your hair and what kind of style looks best on you, but sometimes going to a really good hairdresser and getting a classic, easy to maintain hairstyle that only needs to be cut every four to six months really can be the frugal choice after all.

You also might want to try cutting the hair of your (male) partner and children yourself. (I know it’s a little bit sexist, but there’s no way I would trust my husband with a pair of scissors near my head- I’m frugal, not insane.) I’ve cut my husband’s and sons’ hair now for several years, and it’s not as difficult as one might think. I’ve gone both the scissors and the clippers route and both are easy to master. A basic hair-cutting set cost me €20 and has more than paid for itself.

5. Splurge versus Steal

Most beauty magazines have this sort of feature, where they compare an expensive product with a more frugal choice. If you do rely on beauty products, pick one that works for you and make it part of your budget, but keep in mind that the majority of the time the frugal beauty product comes up just as good as the splurge. When I was in the United States I washed my face with Cetaphil, a very gentle face cleanser. One day I tried the generic store brand and there was no difference whatsoever; I never looked back.

If you are particularly attached to a brand name product, trying making a conscious effort to save the difference in price elsewhere: a cheaper shampoo, the generic lotion etc. For example, I love the smell of Pantene shampoo and conditioner, so I splurge on myself with these two products. They are about €2 more than the generic version, so I try to make up the difference by buying generic everything else.

What are your frugal tips for the bathroom? Share them with us in the comments! And make sure to stay tuned for the rest of the week’s installments, or better yet, subscribed!

Previous Installments

1. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen
2. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Bedroom

This is the second in a five part series entitled ‘Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the…’. We will be looking at five different areas of the house and at five different ways to save money in each area. With all sorts of prices on the rise, and the need to make your money stretch even further than before, frugality is more important then ever. Stay tuned for the other installments, or better yet, subscribed!

1. Love your linens

Linens are one area where you can find reasonable quality at a reasonable price. Here’s a frugal way to save money on your linens without sacrificing quality: spend a moderate amount of money on 2 pillowcases and a matching comforter cover and then buy two bottom sheets in coordinating colors; if you like lots of pillows buy more plain pillowcases as well. I like having two bottom sheets that go with the comforter cover, in case one gets dirty before wash day. You’ll spend less money than if everything matches, and it’s almost certain that you’ll be the only one looking at your bottom sheets anyway.

2. Change your decor

Many of the frugal decorating ideas that we’ll talk about later in the week for the living room also apply to the bedroom, but here’s one that is only for the chambre à coucher. An easy and frugal way to update your bed’s look is to change your headboard. In fact, the most frugal bed option is to buy a good quality mattress and boxspring, add feet to elevate the bed off the floor and then create your own headboard.

Here are some frugal and easy ways to do so. You could paint the section of the wall behind the bed to create visual interest and then add shelves for your books or alarm clock. Or you could create the look of a built in closet by using Ikea Billy bookcases on either side of the bed plus shelves anchored on the wall. Another homey frugal idea is to hang a quilt on the wall behind the bed. My favorite, by far, is to create a padded headboard using a curtain rod and pillows. For more fabulous frugal headboard ideas, check out this link. Doors anyone?

3. Stretch it out

Try pushing back the day you change the sheets by one day every wash cycle until it’s a day too much. If you normally change the sheets once a week, that’s 52 times a year. Changing them every two weeks halves that to 26 times a year (which is still a lot of laundry in my book!). If going 14 days without clean sheets is a bit too much, try changing them somewhere in the middle; a ten day cycle means that you wash the sheets 37 times a year. When you factor in the costs of doing a load of laundry (electricity, soap, water, time) it all adds up. Not to mention, it’s that much less laundry to fold and put away.

4. Make your room a haven

Think about how nice it feels to be able to have a place for you, a place to relax, to think, to read, to do nothing. Think about how nice it is to go to a place that is clean and comfortable, calm and a haven for you to escape to. If you have a place where all is right with the world, will your insatisfaction drive you to find fulfillment at Target?

5. How many bedrooms do you need?

It’s a modern invention of our Western world that each member of the family (apart from the parents) sleeps in their own bed, in their own room. Throughout history people have slept together, especially in the non orgy sort of sense. So why is it that so many people upon expecting their first baby automatically think that the baby needs a room of its own? And then the sibling arrives and another room is needed and that means a house in the suburbs and a mortgage and longer commute and two cars and, and, and. OK, not always.

Why not have all the kids sleep in the bedroom and have another room designated as a playroom? One of my uncles has four children and even now, as teenagers the three boys share a room. They have another room for their computers and other toys, but there is one room just for sleeping. My kids sleep in the same room and I foresee this solution working for several years to come. Doing so allows us to stay in a smaller house and pay less rent than we would elsewhere, giving us more flexibility in our budget.

What are your frugal tips for the bedroom? Share them with us in the comments! And make sure to stay-tuned for tomorrow’s installment, or better yet, subscribed!

Previous Installments

1. Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen

This is the first in a five part series entitled ‘Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the…’. We will be looking at five different areas of the house and at five different ways to save money in each area. With all sorts of prices on the rise, and the need to make your money stretch even further than before, frugality is more important then ever. Stay tuned throughout the week for the other installments, or better yet, subscribed!

1. Grow your own vegetables

This may seem easier said than done: you might not think that you have the time to garden, or the space, or the necessary color of thumb (in French, your whole hand is green, not just your thumb). But really, growing your own food is a great way to have high quality food for less. If the above reasons for not gardening really aren’t excuses, then try thinking outside the (square foot gardening) box. Maybe you could join a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm or barter with a friend for some of their pickings. For example, I have room for a compost pile, but no time to garden. I trade some of the compost for some of my kids’ nanny’s vegetables; if you ask me I’m getting the better end of the bargain!

Here are some bloggers who garden:

• Frugal Dad and How to Build a Square Foot Garden (and an update)
  
• Get Rich Slowly has an ongoing project where he calculates the cost and rewards of his garden
• Being Frugal is going to attempt to move her square foot garden
• Paid Twice has tomato plants
• Frugal Babe is going to start a hydroponic garden

2. Menu plan

Simple Mom plans a weekly menu, then a second weekly menu. Next she repeats each menu; each meal is served twice in the month- two weeks apart. Finally, she shops from her menu. I do the opposite, I go grocery shopping first, and then menu plan from my staples. Both systems can work to save you money, the important thing is to find a system that works for you and use it.

If there is a particular meal that your family really enjoys, don’t be afraid to make it often. If you get tired of it, try variations on a theme: chicken noodle soup, chicken rice soup, vegetable stew, you get the picture.

3. Take advantage of good deals and stockpile

The first way to be able to take advantage of a good deal is to know if it’s a good deal. Of course you can keep a price book, with different prices at different stores, but that can quickly become cumbersome and difficult to remember, both the prices and to take the book with you when shopping. Paid Twice has solved the price book dilemma with the ‘buy it now’ prices, a price at or below which you should stock up.

Another important component to saving money in the kitchen is to stockpile food. Not only is this useful in the natural disaster sense of an emergency, it’s also useful in the budget sort of emergency, or the ‘my child just told me he’s responsible for snacks at school tomorrow and it’s too late to go to the grocery store’ emergency.

4. Buy Generic

Generic does not have to mean poor quality. In fact, many times the store brand is the same product as the name brand. The only difference is in the price. I buy very few name brands anymore; the few I do buy are for things like shampoo or the occasional treat of really good coffee. Not sure what generic food or products you’ll actually be able to tolerate? Try The Simple Dollar’s method of separating the wheat from the chaff.

5. Learn to cook

Really, there’s no excuse for not knowing how to cook. Not enjoying it is a different matter, but with the plethora of good food and cooking sites out there, everyone should be able to execute at least a few basic recipes. Processed foods or take-out from fast food restaurants are not frugal ways to eat, not to mention that they aren’t particularly good for you! If you’re looking for a place to start, some easy recipes to master are things like pasta with veggies, roast chicken, salads, or a simple casserole.

Have another frugal way to save money in the kitchen to add? Let us know in your comments! And remember to stay tuned (or subscribed) for the rest of the week for the other four installments in the series.

Here’s what I was talking about six months ago on Almost Frugal.

The Cost of Blogging I wrote this post when I was still blogging at Blogger, using the blogname Small Cents. Since then I’ve moved to a self-hosted WordPress site and changed blog names. I’m very happy I did, but I’m also happy I started with Blogger; doing so allowed me to learn about blog writing without having to worry about blog mechanics.

Invisible Progress I’ve really gotten out of the habit of checking my accounts and updating my budget daily. I need to get back into the habit of doing so.

Being a Stay at Home Mom in France I feel really lucky to be able to stay at home with my children when they are little… and happy to be going back to school in a few weeks too!

I Went Shopping Today A post in which I describe my system of organizing my kids’ clothes, including those for next year and the year after that.