The Non-Consumer Advocate

I was driving with the radio on yesterday and the Z100 DJs were talking about how “frugality” had become trendy, which gave me a laugh. It reminded me of when I was interviewed in 2009 for a NY Times article titled In an Age of Austerity, The Miserly Thrive.

If you recall, 2009 was the middle of a nasty recession and headlines like this sold newspapers.

“My behavior has become less strange and more of a resource,” said Katy Wolk-Stanley, 41, a nurse in Portland, Ore. A practicing penny-pincher for the last decade, she is now spreading her gospel. Last May, she started a blog with tips and tactics for cutting back called The Non-Consumer Advocate.

She knows whereof she blogs. She darns socks, dries clothes on a line she recently hung inside her house (even though it takes a few days for the clothes to dry inside), washes and reuses plastic bags and takes used clothes and furniture people leave on the street — like the slightly torn Garnet Hill duvet cover she found recently.

“It was wet, and covered with dog hair,” she said. “I washed it really well a couple of times and mended it.” Her quest for money-saving ideas “is very energizing,” she says. “You see opportunities everywhere.”

I don’t consider myself “miserly” as I want nothing more than for everyone to have the tools to live a full rich life on whatever income they happen to have. I’m hardly sitting on a pile of gold coins as I bow down to the right and honorable Scrooge McDuck!

I remember that the NY Times photographer came to the house with specific instructions to photograph me hanging laundry on my inside line and was somewhat derisive, commenting “Is this all you do?” as if I thought my simple act of hanging laundry was revolutionary. Of course it isn’t. Extreme frugality touches every aspect of my life, from my 19-year-old edict to only buy secondhand, to my twenty-year-old car, to the practice of mending and repairing pretty much everything we own.

Telling the American public that “frugality is trendy” feels akin to wartime propaganda to manipulate people into feeling proud of their frugality, when this specific situation is actually being forced upon us by corporate greed and tax breaks for the wealthy.

This may seem odd for me to write, as I’m certainly proud of my frugal creativity, but I’m not pinching pennies so that egg suppliers can enjoy record profits or so our current administration can squeeze all they can from the American public.

So yes, frugality is more necessary than ever, but please don’t confuse it with it being “trendy.”

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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1. My husband and youngest had a soccer game last night and unlike last week’s rainfest, the weather was perfect at a balmy 65°. I walked the track a couple times and picked up five returnable bottles and cans, which’ll net me a schweet fifty cents! I also picked up garbage to dispose of, but that was for free.

   Please enjoy the continued use of my free-box sunglasses and my $2.99 Goodwill hoodie.

2. I was sorely tempted to hit a restaurant afterwards and even had a plan, which would’ve kept the price under control. (Buster’s Barbecue — split their half chicken plate with the husband, ordering two baked potatoes as our sides.) Unfortunately, (or fortunately) my husband was tired, so we drove home and enjoyed cheesy grits with sautéed peppers, spinach and eggs. Very yummy.

3. Someone from my Buy Nothing group was giving away extra tomato starts and I’ll be picking up a couple for myself this afternoon! Good thing I have all that free potting soil!

4. My husband and I finished watching the third season of White Lotus though my parents’ HBO account. Hoo-boy, was that a doozy!

5. No part of my life includes going up to space in a phallus shaped rocket ship.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.

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1. My husband and I used a free library “Discovery Pass” to go to the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, which was small but mighty. Much of the museum focused on the experience of Oregonians who were interned in concentration camps during WWII, including attorney Minoru Yasui who fought the legality of the early curfews and later internment of Japanese American citizens.

   Our kids both attended a Japanese language immersion program from kindergarten through 12th grade, so we’re pretty knowledgable about the treatment of our Japanese Americans citizens during WWII, but the details from the museum filled in some knowledge gaps.

   I was especially moved by the above quote, which seems more relevant than ever.

   

2. We then drove up to Pittock Mansion to enjoy the view and eat a lil’ snacky picnic. Of course it rained, but that didn’t stop us, as we’re true Oregonians and ready for any and all precipitation events.

   

3. We then stopped at Trader Joe’s to grab work lunch supplies and toilet paper. (Their t.p. is made from 100% recycled paper, yet not too expensive.) I noted their fully stocked display of pastel mini totes that are making people lose their minds with consumer lust, yet didn’t see a single tote in anyone’s cart. Kind of proud that Portlanders have the critical thinking skills to steer clear of this viral trend.

   

   The overmanufacture of consumer goods is not going anywhere when shoppers flock to buy unnecessary and shoddily made items just because they’ve gone “viral.”

4. • My husband and I started watching the third season of White Lotus through my parents’ HBO account. No spoilers, please!
   • I picked up four canning jars from someone in my Buy Nothing group.
   • I renewed my Restoration Hardware chairs listing on Facebook Marketplace. No inquiries yet, but I’m patient.

5. I didn’t manipulate the financial markets to enrich my cronies.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.

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1. I invited my neighbor over for tea and a cozy catch up, which scratched my itch for socializing. I happen to have made pumpkin bread the night before, which we enjoyed while sipping our tea. Having a social life doesn’t have to be expensive.

   By the way, the pumpkin puree was from last year’s uncut Halloween pumpkins that I mooched off the neighbors.

2. I did a big Winco grocery trip to stock up on standard ingredients, produce and bulk food items. I rarely shop for specific meals and instead just keep the kitchen supplied with food that can be combined into a variety of different meals. The total price was $77.41, which included four pre-tariff boxes of Tetley tea and an extra parmesan for my parents.

   I picked up three abandoned receipts in the parking lot to scan into the Fetch app, as I’m unhinged that way.

3. My husband fixed a roof leak around a vent pipe, where the silicone had completely disintegrated. I was nervous about him going up on our steep roof, but he survived and the total cost of the repair was $14.48 for supplies. Luckily it was over our unfinished attic, so there was no damage to the interior of the house. I have no idea how much it would’ve cost to hire out this repair, but I’m guess it would’ve been a hell of a lot more than $14.48!

4. My husband reinstalled a large trim piece that he removed from our car in January when installing an aftermarket backup camera. I was worried that the plastic piece would get broken or lose pieces if we didn’t get it back into place. As you can see, we’re both in T.C.B. (takin’ care of bidness’) mode! Again, DIY for the win!

5. I didn’t pass a bill to suppress voter rights, including millions of married American women who took their husband’s last name.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.

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I’ve been seeing an interesting trend on social media where people ask “What’s your most unhinged hack” related to whatever their speciality is. I read through one Thread that specifically asked:

“Please tell me your most unhinged money saving hacks. I’m not talking about save 5% of your paycheck or make coffee at home. Give me the most unhinged, feral things you’ve done to save money?”

There were over 3,500 responses ranging from illegal to actually useful suggestions. Either way an enjoyable rabbit hole, because you know I’m always on the hunt for new money saving ideas!

Now it’s your turn — what is your unhinged/feral things you’ve done to save money? Please share your stories in the comments section below!

To follow her lead, I’ll go first:

There’s almost nothing something that I consider “too cheap,” whether it’s eating at home before going to a restaurant, garbage picking or secretly gathering wild blackberries in the back of a retail establishment. No shame to my game!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.

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1. I was able to use my $1 gluten-free bread to make a big plate of French toast for my daughter. Yummy, yummy, frugal, yummy!

2. There’s an artist that my father likes, so I found a book about him through the library’s website. I checked the book out today and brought it over to him. Frugal “gift.”

3. I’ve been on a T.C.B. (“taking care of business”) kick lately and am working my way down the list of annoying but Important-with-a-capital-I tasks. Friday was taking the minivan through DEQ for testing and registration and today was taking that same car to the autobody shop for a damage estimate.

   A month ago I backed into a tree branch that was leaning too low into the street, but I was able to contact the owner and they should pay for the damage. This task has been weighing on me, as it was easy to procrastinate. The estimate has now been sent and I should be able to get my crunched “tailgate spoiler” replaced before it becomes something I meant to deal with.

   Takin’ care of bidness!

4. The library had a bowl of hard candies out, so I grabbed a lemon variety after a brief conversation with librarian about which one was best. It became my after-dinner treat and it only slightly tasted like lemon Pledge.

5. I may have lost $115,000 from my retirement account, (I wish I was kidding) but at least I got a free piece of candy.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.

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