Being right, smack, dab in the middle of our Low-Spend February, it got us thinking about all the ways we have tried to save money over the years. Some of our endeavors were wins, some were things we tried two or three times, and some are things that we continue pursuing to this day.
Over the years we have engaged in some Seriously Frugal endeavors to help stretch our dollars, pay off our debts and become debt-free. We are currently debt free except for our mortgage, and we are now working on paying off the house, saving for retirement and saving for college for our four teens. We cannot place money in so many baskets without living frugally and, although we touched on some of these frugal ways in an IG post, we thought we would expand upon them here.
- We picked apples in our neighbor’s yard. Even though we lived in the city, our next door neighbor had a few apple trees in his backyard. His wife had planted them years before and, even though she had passed away, he tended them faithfully. One day he told me that if I could find any worthy of picking, to take all that I wanted. We all headed next door and picked a bushel or more of apples. These were turned into pies and sauce which we, of course, shared with our kind neighbor. We were fortunate enough that this was offered for several years.
- We picked pears on a vacant lot. We drove by Mr. SF’s grandparent’s old home which was on land that was being purchased by a huge enterprise. On this abandoned land were several pear trees, which we picked from freely.
- We shopped at salvage grocery stores. We were extremely fortunate to have this opportunity for several years before they both closed. We were able to purchase foods that, while they may have had damaged packaging or that were slightly past their best by date, they were still perfectly safe to eat. Most of the items were from Meijer, Target, and Whole Foods, and we were able to buy them at a fraction of their original cost.
- I don’t carry a debit card. I know this seems outrageous to most people, but I found it was too easy to spend money with it, so I gave up carrying one years ago.
- Shopping for items at a thrift store outlet. What doesn’t sell at the “standard” thrift stores is sent to an outlet for another chance to be purchased. Everything is dumped into large bins, loosely separated into categories. It takes some work to dig through and find things that you can use, but at 99 cents a pound or less for almost everything, it is well worth the effort when you find something you need for next to nothing.
- Dumpster diving. Yes, we have done this and have made a lot of amazing scores. This is something that is not as easy to do in our area now as many stores have put up no trespassing signs and/or lock the dumpster areas. Laws vary by state and even municipality, so if this is something you want to try, be sure to understand the laws in your area.
- Keep our home at 62 degrees Farhenheit or below in the winter. We have even had it as low as 57 degrees. This is not fun, but we survived and saved money on our heating bill. One year we didn’t turn the heat on until it snowed.
- Didn’t use electricity for an entire weekend. OK we did turn on the water, which is pumped from a well using electricity, but no lights or heat. The kids didn’t think it was a lot of fun, but it was a great experience; we did this in the early spring so the weather was more cooperative.
- While Mr. SF removed mold from a refrigerator leak that took place during a previous owner, I lived in a tent in the backyard. It sure would have been a lot more fun to go to a motel, but that was not in the budget, so I stayed outside.
- Sold the center diamond from my engagement ring to pay off a medical bill. I did not make this decision lightly, but we didn’t want to spend months paying off another medical bill and selling the ring completely paid it off.
- I sit and wait for my kid’s activities or classes for several hours — rather than driving back home — to save money on gas. This is not something I find enjoyable, but I have waited up to 2 1/2 hours in our van. I try to spend the time productively by reading and reading through IG posts, and if the weather is warm enough I go for a walk.
- I put a bucket in the shower to catch water while it is warming up. I use this water for the garden or indoor plants.
Now it’s your turn. What are some seriously frugal things you have done to save money?