Extreme Frugality

[Kierva]

There isn't much of a coupon culture here in Singapore, however there are TONS of sales and promotions. For some reason, I am gifted with the sense of timing when it comes to sales and promotions. I hardly pay full price when I'm shopping for clothes or other consumer goods because I always take advantage of sales and buy as much as I can while it lasts.

I want to take this to the next level with credit card churning. I'm eyeing those frequent flyer miles credit cards when I have a full time job, so that I don't have to pay for airline tickets, or at least get a healthy discount.

 

[grey_beard]

don't read this just look at the cool pictures below: I've always loved the idea of living frugally as much as I've loved the complete opposite.... I either wanna live in a shitty ass apartment or van and eat garlic bread, eggs, and fries everyday, or save up to construct the most fabulous fantasy themed castle in the middle of nowhere with a dungeon a garden a massive bathing room and everything!~ Anything in between is a sign of giving up on my desire to fulfill either extreme and just doesn't feel satisfying to me, that and actual houses are boring to me unless they are... not built like a typical american home, as in, something made of mud brick or maybe inside of a grassy hill... something beautiful and worth the extra money. But considering my lack of work ethic, I think it'd be best if I went for the cheap life so I can work less.

>What I'd love... is to buy a bus (if that much space is needed... I guess a van would be okay?) completely reliant on electricity, and remodel it to have all the comforts of a home without all that unnecessary, cold and dead space. (I LOVE clutter and spaces dense with objects, as it gives off positive energy, making it feel so much more comfortable to live in.)
do you feel the positive bus vibes photo compilation:

more photos:

Not enough room for books!

 

[ceecee]

Not enough room for books!

I can't imagine what I would do without a Kindle. I can indulge my book fetish to the max and not worry about running out of room. Unless it's cookbooks. I still have a "problem" there and with storing them.

 

[kyuuei]

don't read this just look at the cool pictures below:

Alright eff that, I read it.

I definitely feel similarly! I'm sort of doing that with the land I'm buying in the next couple years.. Plan on living out of a tent while I construct a nice creepy "tiny" 1,000 sq ft house.. inspired by my love of medieval fantasy + the Addams family, which a touch of southern.

I can't imagine what I would do without a Kindle. I can indulge my book fetish to the max and not worry about running out of room. Unless it's cookbooks. I still have a "problem" there and with storing them.

Cookbooks are too awesome.. plus, as much as I love my kindle and it is definitely a lifesaver for traveling, the books themselves are just so expensive in comparison to buying a book for $0.25 at the flea market. Public libraries are making this a load easier though.

 

[Domino]

My twin just burst in the room exulting in her raid at CVS. I love that place. If you sign up with them, you get coupons plus insane deals that rebate themselves. I got sis a new electric toothbrush and a regular expensive manual toothbrush, only paid $1.05, but including the $2 rebate, they wound up paying me 95 cents. I got paid to buy toothbrushes. I was giddy with delight. Lol

 

[Domino]

Alright eff that, I read it.

I definitely feel similarly! I'm sort of doing that with the land I'm buying in the next couple years.. Plan on living out of a tent while I construct a nice creepy "tiny" 1,000 sq ft house.. inspired by my love of medieval fantasy + the Addams family, which a touch of southern.

I love tiny efficient houses! The trend towards sustainable living gives me hope.

 

[kyuuei]

I love tiny efficient houses! The trend towards sustainable living gives me hope.

Yeah, I think housing is probably the biggest issue Americans tend to face as young adults.. I mean, even with consumerism intact, not paying an entire paycheck or two towards a home every month frees up so many opportunities. I think more and more people are figuring out what they don't need vs what they do.

 

[Domino]

We also love thrift store shopping, flea markets and Habitat for Humanity's local ReStore. There's a great used bookstore near us where you can present your books in trade for store credit.

Also, in Durham, there's a place called the Scrap Exchange that has everything from yarn and textiles and books to old science equipment and scrap lumber. They've managed to divert tons upon tons of stuff from landfills, and again, that sort of progressive thinking gives me hope that human beings are as selfish and greedy as they seem. I've gotten small stacks of vintage sewing, knitting and crochet patterns c.1940s to 1980s for next to nothing. Vintage buttons are like 50 cents a bag. Sheets of plexiglass, metal strips, bicycle parts, lamps, reams of brand new printer paper in all colors, orphaned photos, picture frames, telescopes, jewelry, old radios, record players, you name it. I love that place.

 

[prplchknz]

I don't try to be frugal, it just happens because i really don't have a lot of people to do stuff with and rarely eat out, and don't really eat that much and refuse to live further than 10 minutes from my daily life (I had to commute 20 minutes each way in highschool never again) and that's not to save money I just hate traffic. I usually don't know how much things are suppose to cost, because i don't buy things that often so when i went to florida i spent all my money but it was fun, that's the important part. But i don't spend like that often. What am I even doing in this thread? I have nothing useful to offer,

but my mode of buying something 99% of the time is, do i have the money to? if i don't I don't buy. of course as you can see from the florida trip i don't always consider that i might need to eat at a later date. or I'll be like I don't really need to eat. and then it's like fuuuu later, I'm getting better at this though.

 

[highlander]

What is ERE? - Early Retirement Extreme Wiki

Anyone trying to live like this, or in any other way that practices "extreme frugality", Mustachianism, anti-consumerist self-reliant living, etc? If so, how? Any recommendations? General feedback?

I've been starting to ease into it over the past year or so -- slowly but surely. The resources I've been using:
- Mr. Money Mustache
- "Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence" by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

It's appealing for sure. I save about 40% of my salary. Used to be much lower - like 10 - 15% but I did that for a lot of years. Haven't done much to reduce expenses but several seem unnecessary.

 

[EJCC]

That awkward moment when not one but TWO mods are responsible for a derail...

Moved off-topic posts about Dr. Who and Supernatural here.

 

[Evo]

more photos:

I do like those pics!

I can't imagine what I would do without a Kindle. I can indulge my book fetish to the max and not worry about running out of room. Unless it's cookbooks. I still have a "problem" there and with storing them.

The only possessions I really have are my books other than necessities like clothes and a car. I still haven't made the switch over to a kindle. I'm sure when I do, it'll be great.

Alright eff that, I read it.

Cookbooks are too awesome.. plus, as much as I love my kindle and it is definitely a lifesaver for traveling, the books themselves are just so expensive in comparison to buying a book for $0.25 at the flea market. Public libraries are making this a load easier though.

So true..

 

[Betty Blue]

I am far to prone to whim and fancy to be completely frugal. Though I have experienced swathes of it. I'm just not consistent enough to be consistently frugal. But I do beat myself up about things like eating out because it is so so expensive comparative to eating at home and makes me feel a glutton. I used to do a once a month family meal out but I was the only one paying for it and bloody hell it's a dent in the budget. I am trying to keep tabs on how much I am spending in the hope that it will wake me up a bit. I don't drink don't smoke and don't buy clothing (at least not new). Theres not a great deal that I do spend money on apart from rent and bills... i downgraded gyms which is now only £28 per month... though I just booked 10 hours of personal training and bought a really beautiful plant.

When i have no money I am much better at managing it.

Edit: I am incredibly creative when I have next to nothing. I have often thought about how to cope if I were actually homeless and alone on the streets of London. Of course if you want to do anything official you would need an address but it could be a care of address via a friend or family member. You could then join a gym for say £28 per month which is just £7 a week... and totally do able if you are busking or making things out of scrap for cash (also do able on the streets of london). You could have your daily shower & clean in the gym. You could even have a vehicle if you had a really old tax exempt one. You would have to pay the yearly parking charge for a london borough ... idk approx £150 per year in kensington, less in other areas. You could sleep in your car too. Alternatively you could have a house boat in little venice... no need for a shower etc as you could use a gym.... so many possibilities...

 

[Dyslexxie]

I save about 50% of my salary - just have my banking setup that way, and any extra money I get (bonuses, tax returns, business salary) gets saved too. I also live quite modestly and don't really spend money on anything other than trips. I don't really seek out deals or anything but that's because I honestly don't shop unless I need to. I grew up poor so saving money and living simply has always been easy for me.

 

[Yama]

Y'all need to teach me. I've already spent $100 of my tax return and I haven't even gotten it yet - just made promises to my dad to pay him back.

 

[EJCC]

Y'all need to teach me. I've already spent $100 of my tax return and I haven't even gotten it yet - just made promises to my dad to pay him back.

The first thing would be to analyze your spending: what is it you're splurging on? Where is your money going? Once you find that out, you can take steps to limit your spending in that area.