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This is What Frugal Looks Like: The Green Gal

Kelly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:11 +0000

This is What Frugal Looks Like is a series that highlights different ways that people can be frugal in their lives- after all, frugality doesn’t have to be drastic or just about clipping coupons. Frugality can be fun and easy. Each respondent answers the same four questions.

Today’s interview is with Gabrielle from The Green Gal.

What does frugality mean to you?

I think the word frugal has connotations of a mean, harsh way of living with no fun! I don’t think I would automatically think I’m frugal but if I think about it, aspects of my life are definitely frugal. To me, it means thinking a bit more about how you spend your money and get the most for your money. I like the challenge of how to make money stretch further, it can make you quite creative and inventive. I’ve tried new experiences and learnt new skills since thinking frugally too.

Being frugal is something of a necessity to live the life I want to. I recently changed my working hours to part-time so that I can spend more time working on crafts and writing on green issues. So a reduced income requires me to be a bit more thoughtful about how and where I spend money.

Also by being careful with your money, you’re more likely to be careful with your impact on the planet – buying secondhand, saving water and energy, growing your own veg etc. – it’s all environmentally-friendly as well as wallet-friendly.

What is something that you do that is ‘typically’ frugal?

Shopping in charity shops and secondhand stores. I go there for everything – clothes to wear, clothes to use as fabric for home furnishings and crafts, household items, toys, furniture, the lot! Other things I do I think are ‘typical’ but perhaps in an older generation’s view rather than my own. For example, when I buy a new bottle of washing-up liquid I decant half of it into the old bottle and fill both of them with water, making a bottle go twice as far. I think that’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do but I’m not sure my friends agree!

What is something frugal that you do that is unusual?

Probably making my own skincare. Once you’ve got the ingredients it’s quite easy and sooooo much cheaper than bought lotions. Lip balm and eye make-up remover are particularly easy to make and there’s the bonus you know exactly what you are putting on your skin. I also make things like cushion covers from old shirts and pyjama bottoms.

What are some of the long term goals that being frugal will help you to accomplish?

We want to remain debt-free, mortgage aside, so being frugal is quite crucial to sticking to that plan! I hope to start selling crafted items soon and it’s only by being frugal that I can work part-time and so have the time to craft. There aren’t any other big goals, just a desire to tread a little more lightly on the planet and to be a little more self-sufficient.

About Gabrielle

Gabrielle Utton is the green gal and she lives in a little village in Surrey with her husband and dog. She works part-time as deputy editor at children’s newspaper First News and when she’s not in the office she’s at home writing on green issues, crafting, growing vegetables, and trying to live more sustainably.

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This is What Frugal Looks Like: Barbara Bryn Klare

Kelly — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:38 +0000

Today’s interview is with Barbara Bryn Klare who writes about personal finance for the San Francisco Examiner.com. She also owns CafeFAQ Communications.

What does frugality mean to you?

To me, being frugal comes in two flavors:

–how you spend

–what you do with what’s leftover

As a writer, my income over the years has been comfortable but not high, so I’ve had to watch how I spend. I’ve also concentrated a lot on making the most of what I do have, like setting up low-cost DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment) accounts and such.

I started out a compulsive saver. When I was in my twenties, I lived on half my income because I was dead-set on buying a house in the Bay Area (no small feat). Eventually I learned I had to loosen up; it was too much. I was unhappy always checking prices and worrying. You have to have fun once in a while when you are saving long-term. But it set me up for some good habits later on, like going to thrift stores and things like that.

What is something you do that is typically frugal?

I still roll coins and take them to the bank. I feel like a little kid when I do that but I still do it anyway. At least I don’t still have that pink plastic coin sorting machine I got for Christmas when I was eight.

What is something you do that is unusual?

I think the strangest thing my husband and I did to save money was to groom the dogs. They looked like they had been mowed. I think most people can relate to a frugal idea gone bad. I still get comments about it on my blog.

What are some of your long term goals that being frugal will help you accomplish?

My mother made an interesting observation about me. She said, “You don’t make much money, but you always seem to be able to go to the ballet.” She’s right; I’m willing to skimp here if it means I can spend on something that I truly enjoy or that has meaning or really lasts. That’s the definition of a “rich” life to me. I want to be able to keep doing that the rest of my life: making small concessions for bigger choices and eventually I would like to be able to give away my little riches altogether.

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This is What Frugal Looks Like: Kayla K’s Thrifty Ways

Kelly — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:00:36 +0000

Today’s interview is with Kayla from Kayla K’s Thrifty Ways.

What does frugality mean to you?

To me frugality is making the most of the very limited resources available to me. Frugal living allows me to eat well, wear nice clothes, live in a safe apartment, and drive a good vehicle; all while working only part-time as a server

My income varies so I live frugally all of the time to have money all of the time. Even when tips are slow I have enough extra money to pay six months of car and rental insurance upfront and take advantage of sales. I don’t worry about making my rent or car payment. I was even able take off my entire winter break to spend at home with my boyfriend and family.

Frugality also means that I don’t have the credit card debt of most other college students. I do take out subsidized student loans to help cover tuition and books, but I work for my living expenses. It also means that my parents can be my friends instead of my ATM.

What is something that you do that is ‘typically’ frugally?

I eat oatmeal for breakfast every day. I like to plan meals according to sale items and what I have on hand. I enjoy thrift shopping; most of my clothes are secondhand. I gardened and dried laundry on the line before I went back to school. Most importantly, I love my library.

What is something frugal that you do that is unusual?

Voluntarily committing to a frugal lifestyle at my age is unusual to my college classmates. Probably the most unusual thing about me is my crafting habits. I love to knit, crochet, and sew, but my favorite materials come from thrift stores or the trash. I make reusable grocery bags by cutting plastic grocery sacks into strips and crocheting them. I’ve been known to unravel beautiful sweaters just for their yarn.

What are some of your longterm goals that being frugal will help you to accomplish?

I will graduate with my Bachelor’s Degree next year with less than $25,000 in student loans. By maintaining my current standard of living while my income increases I expect to have them paid off very quickly.

My boyfriend is an electrician and may have to travel for work when he is laid off. Being frugal will allow us to save plenty of money to get us through times when work is slow so he can stay close to home. We would also like to have a hefty down payment for when we purchase a home in the next few years.

A Little About Me

I’m currently finishing up my degree in Family and Consumer Sciences Education and working part-time as a server. I look forward to graduation so I can become a teacher and move home with my boyfriend and our Labrador retriever.

Here is my bio from my blog:

This blog is where I share my thrifty ways to live a full life on a slim budget. I have learned that you can generally have either time or money. I much prefer time to enjoy knitting, crocheting, reading, my family, quilting, cooking, and gardening. And honestly, as a college student, choosing money instead of time was not an option. “Being thrifty” has become a hobby in itself. I actually very much enjoy thrift shopping, menu planning, and comparison shopping. I’ve found that thrift also supports my values of sustainability and good health.

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This is What Frugal Looks Like: Early Retirement Extreme

Kelly — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:00:45 +0000

What does frugality mean to you?

It is a less wasteful way of living. An interesting exercise is to add up all your life time income so far, then subtract your savings and compare the amount of your accumulated stuff and experiences to what you paid for it. Whether or not you think you got a good deal will tell you right there whether or not you have been frugal and gotten good value for your work. If yes, you have been frugal. If not, then you haven’t. Being frugal to me means always getting good value and minimizing waste. This does not mean just money but also personal aspects like time, opportunities, self-respect, and social aspects like other people’s time and opportunities and more generally resources, pollution, poverty, etc.

What is something that you do that is ‘typically’ frugally?

I cook everything from scratch (except cookies). I also do not eat much meat or milk products, which are unhealthy anyway. I put on a sweater instead of turning up the furnace. I buy most things used or second-hand. I don’t like the idea of perfectly good gadgets ending up in landfills. I barter and swap. I use the library a lot. I also do a lot of my own repair work and maintenance instead of hiring someone to do it.

What is something frugal that you do that is unusual?

By being frugal, I have saved a relatively large amount of money which allowed me to retire when I was 33 or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it allowed me to change career to become a capitalist and live off my investment returns. Since this does not require much time, I spend most of my time reading and writing (on my blog and a book project) trying to inspire others to do the same. I currently live in an RV (the frugal way to live in sunny California) with my wife but in the future I may buy an apartment complex or a mobile home park intended for tiny houses and change “career” from capitalist to landlord.

What are some of your long term goals that being frugal will help you to accomplish?

Frugality creates a low overhead and thus it only requires a small income, perhaps from part time work or in my case by investing my savings, to fulfill my needs. Frugality combined with a handful of years’ work has thus in a sense created a lifetime of freedom. Currently I focus on writing to inspire others to do the same. As a side-effect, perhaps they can inspire others who in turn can inspire others and maybe we can reduce the amount of waste and pollution our consumerist way of life is creating. I am probably not going to be writing forever though. One of my long term goals is to do a long-distance sailboat cruise, but I remain open to other interesting opportunities as they come along.

About Jacob:

I am a recovering research physicist, who used to spend all my time thinking about things that are immensely interesting to about 5 other people in the world. Moving to a new country/university every few years and sitting in front of a computer screen for 14 hours a day, it made little sense to accumulate a large number of possessions and so I saved my money instead. At some point I realized that I could invest my savings and use the cash flow to cover my living expenses. It seemed like a fairly robust method: Work at an average paying job for a handful of years while becoming extremely frugal and avoiding the usual trappings of a salary like mortgages, car loans, and stuff, and you can gain your financial independence before you turn 30.

It seemed strange to me that such an obvious idea was not more widely known, so I started my blog to share my ideas and it eventually grew to be more popular and interesting to people than my “real work”. Hence, I changed career from a researcher in physics to a “researcher” in personal finance if you can call it that. I try to write a daily post which analyze and question popular money/life conventions and put them in a different perspective and give suggestions to alternative ways of handling one’s finances.

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This is What Frugal Looks Like: Making This Home

Kelly — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:00:47 +0000

What does frugality mean to you?

Being frugal doesn’t mean living with less or making yourself miserable. I think it’s all about questioning what we really need in our lives versus our wants.

What is something that you do that is ‘typically’ frugally?

In May, my husband and I decided to challenge ourselves and how we viewed clothes. We called our project the “No New Clothes Challenge”. Our plan was to completely stop buying clothes. It was only going to last for the summer. But then I got hooked on the idea because I noticed a funny thing was happening to me. I started appreciating myself and my clothes more. I wasn’t so tempted by what I was supposed to have or what would make me prettier. I don’t even walk into department stores or clothing shops anymore. The temptation is gone.

You can read about the “No New Clothes Challenge” here.

What is something frugal that you do that is unusual?

We’re vegetarians. If you think about it, the most expensive item on your dinner plate is always meat. The cheapest meals at restaurants are the meals without meat. We didn’t cut meat from our diets so much to save money as we did it to improve our health and the environment. Saving money has just been a really awesome perk. It allows us to buy more organic and whole fruits and vegetables with the same budget.

What are some of your longterm goals that being frugal will help you to accomplish?

Spending less money and owning less stuff has already given us a huge opportunity: my husband and I live in Berlin, Germany. I’m an American. Our apartment is 450 square feet. Berlin is a really inexpensive place to live, especially compared to every other capital city in the European Union. Frugality allows us to live in this amazing foreign world. We can make it happen today instead of wishing and hoping for being here one day. That’s the power of knowing you can make your ideas happen if you keep your desires simple.

Katie also personally recommended this post, on living small!

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This is What Frugal Looks Like: Married with Luggage

Kelly — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:00:12 +0000

What does frugality mean to you?

Frugality isn’t about being cheap; it is about using your money in the most effective way. A great example of this is the blender I bought this summer. I started drinking fruit and veggie smoothies for breakfast as a way to improve my health, and shortly afterward my cheap blender (bought a long time ago to mix the occasional margarita at parties) broke. Instead of replacing it with another cheap blender, I knew I needed one that would stand up to the daily grinding of fruits and vegetables, so I spent more to get the right one. This is a good use of money. Had I bought a cheap one, I would have just had to replace it sooner, spending more money overall.

This is a really small example, but in my experience those are the ones that make a big difference. If you learn to think twice about something as inexpensive as a blender, you’ll really think twice when it comes to clothes, electronics, and cars.

What is something that you do that is ‘typically’ frugally?

I plan our meals and shop for groceries based on the menu. It saves money, time, and aggravation at the end of the workday. I never really believed this would save a ton of money until I started doing it, and now I’m kicking myself for not realizing it sooner. Mom was right.

What is something frugal that you do that is unusual?

Our situation is a little unusual in that we are getting rid of almost everything we own so we can travel around the world. From a frugal standpoint, this is an ideal situation. Not only do we not accumulate anything new (or used, for that matter), we are getting rid of all the junk that was holding us down before. Whether you realize it or not, your possessions do own you in the sense that you have to maintain them, even if that just means finding a place for them.

Craigslist is a great way to alleviate yourself from the junk, learn how freeing it is to live with less stuff, and make money at the same time. We’ve made thousands of dollars doing this and have sold everything from a box of random cords ($5) to a nice dresser ($500) and everything in between.

My favorite method of getting rid of stuff has been planned for the last month and happens on December 9. In honor of my 39th birthday, I’m hosting a “Birthday Boutique” for my best friends to auction off 39 of my favorite items. Add a cake and a few appetizers, and you have the makings of a heckuva party with the added benefit of reducing my possessions and padding my savings account.

What are some of your longterm goals that being frugal will help you to accomplish?

My longterm goal has always been extended travel, and on October 1, 2010, my husband and I will be taking off for Ecuador on the first leg of our 3-year tour of the world. It took a few years of work to eliminate our debt and simplify our lifestyle followed by 2 years of heavy saving and purging of possessions to make this happen.

Having a goal for your frugal lifestyle will make it so much easier to stick with it. When I want something new, I only have to think of the trip to make it go away in a flash. Over time my craving for “new” has become almost nonexistent.

It would have been really hard to live this way if I didn’t know why I was doing it, or if I was doing it because someone else told me to. You have to want it for yourself and be able to envision why. When you do that, frugal living becomes part of the process of achieving your goal, and that means you get to live your dream a little bit each day.

Brief Bio:

Betsy Talbot writes about carving the lifestyle you want out of the life you already have. When she’s not writing, she’s paring down, saving up, and getting ready to travel the world with her husband Warren.

Three Frugal Posts on possessions, money, and psychology of living frugally:

And there’s an ebook called “How we saved enough money to change our lives (and how you can, too!)”. I’m offering it for free on my site as an incentive for people to sign up for my email list. It has 55 pages of content – our story, universal money lessons gleaned from our experience, and success stories of other people who live well on a tight budget.

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This is What Frugal Looks Like: PFFirewall

Kelly — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:00:21 +0000

What does frugality mean to you?

I think some people misinterpret the term frugality to mean stingy or miserly. To me, the term means not buying everything just because things are there. It means spending smart and buying things when you must but not when you don’t. It means making due with what you have. Frugality will make you a stronger person and more prepared for the future and any trials in your life, because there may come a time in life when you won’t be able to buy things and have to make due with what you have.

What is something that you do that is ‘typically’ frugally?

I’m a pretty homegrown guy and never had many of the fancy things that many kids take for granted nowadays so I try and reuse everything and make everything myself if I can. I have started cooking at home and have gotten pretty good at it. I reuse the leftovers in new dishes, take lunches to work, and even make some of the really simple and seemingly cheap things like taco seasoning and yogurt myself. The markup on that stuff is outrageous and if the products cost more than they does, people would surely notice it more.

What is something frugal that you do that is unusual?

Like I said, I make everything I can. My special skill is in the IT field so I make things that aren’t exactly typical, and are probably high up on the geeky scale. When digital picture frames first came out, I wanted one but there was no way I was going to pay $300 for a 7″ frame with enough space to store 8 pictures! Instead, I made my own digital picture frame. I used an old, beat up and practically useless laptop with a 15″ screen, wireless card and reasonably sized hard drive, stripped it down to bare parts and put it inside a nice big frame. I won’t get too geeky on ya, but after a little time customizing and tweaking the frame, it can sync wirelessly with my other computer that my wife edits pictures on, can hold closer to 30 thousand pictures, can play videos, can play music, and has been running rock solid for about three years. I loved it so much, I made two more for my mom and a friend. These frames cost me around $30 each in hardware, plus a little time. Projects like this are frequent in thePFFirewall household

What are some of your longterm goals that being frugal will help you to accomplish?

I made the decision to retire at 40, back when I was 18. Frugality will help me get there. It allows me to focus my income on the things that are really important like paying off debt and saving for future goals such as retirement and traveling the world. With frugality sitting in the back of my mind all the time, I always ask myself, is this purchase really necessary? What am I sacrificing later to have this toy or trinket today? That money is then put to better use.

About:

My name is Jesse Michelsen. I am somewhat of a beginner in the personal finance niche but I certainly have a passion for it. My life, like most others, is powered by money, but doesn’t revolve around it so I try to push myself to use money as a tool, not worship it. I started my own Personal Finance blog called Personal Finance Firewall in early 2009 where I discuss how to save more efficiently and spend your money in the areas that will add the most value to your life.

I am in my early 20’s, happily married and have two beautiful little girls who I spend as much time as possible with. I am working towards a Bacheolor degree in Software Engineering and I am a network administrator by trade. I also do freelance web development on the side. I love to cook, write, and just about everything techy. When I’m not playing with my girls, I spend time on the computer doing research about new technology and new recipes.

Links:

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