The Non-Consumer Advocate

I was sitting on the couch just now and wondered what a Chat GPT AI written blog post would look like. So I created an account and gave it the prompt “Write a frugality blog post,” and it immediately spit this out. I’m freaking out and I totally get why writers, artists and other creative people feel threatened. Also, why is it so good?

P.S. The above image is from me writing “Blogger in Portland, Oregon” into an AI image generator. Nailed it!

So here it is, a well written but dystopian bland blog post.

In a world driven by consumerism and materialism, adopting a frugal lifestyle can provide a refreshing perspective on personal finance. Frugality is not about deprivation or penny-pinching; it’s a conscious choice to prioritize value, mindful spending, and long-term financial well-being. In this blog post, we will explore the art of frugality and how it can lead to financial freedom, helping you achieve your goals and live a more fulfilling life.

1. Embracing Mindful Spending: Frugality starts with developing a mindful approach to spending. Instead of impulsive purchases driven by advertising and societal pressure, take the time to evaluate the value and necessity of each expense. By asking yourself whether an item or experience aligns with your values and goals, you can make informed decisions and allocate your resources accordingly.

2. Budgeting as a Tool for Empowerment: Creating and sticking to a budget is a cornerstone of frugal living. It allows you to gain control over your finances, track your expenses, and identify areas where you can cut back or optimize. By setting financial goals and allocating funds strategically, you can make progress towards your aspirations while still enjoying the present.

3. Living Below Your Means: Frugality involves living below your means, spending less than you earn, and avoiding unnecessary debt. It doesn’t mean sacrificing your quality of life but rather finding creative ways to maximize your resources. Look for ways to reduce expenses, such as cooking at home, using public transportation, or exploring affordable entertainment options. These small adjustments can add up to significant savings over time.

4. Embracing Minimalism: Frugality often goes hand in hand with minimalism, a mindset that values experiences and relationships over material possessions. By decluttering your life and focusing on what truly brings you joy, you can avoid the trap of consumerism and find contentment in simplicity. Consider selling or donating items you no longer need and make deliberate, thoughtful purchases that align with your values.

5. Investing in Your Future: One of the key benefits of frugality is the ability to allocate resources towards long-term goals and financial security. By saving and investing wisely, you can build an emergency fund, plan for retirement, and create a safety net for yourself and your family. Frugality empowers you to prioritize your future self and make choices that will pay dividends in the long run.

Frugality is not about deprivation or sacrificing happiness. It is a mindset that empowers you to make deliberate choices, align your spending with your values, and build a solid financial foundation. By embracing frugality, you can gain control over your finances, reduce stress, and work towards financial freedom. Remember, it’s not about how much you earn; it’s about how you manage and allocate your resources to create a life of abundance and fulfillment.

Katy “Robot Writer” Wolk-Stanley

{ 44 comments }

Although some of my frugality is impressive, most of it is just a series of small rather dull actions. Repeated ad infinitum. Drinking tap water instead of canned sparkling water or soda, cooking from scratch or listening to audiobooks instead of paying for an Audible subscription.

It’s not news worthy. It’s the stuff that usually doesn’t even make it into a Five Frugal Things blog post.

But put all together, these tiny actions add up to a something sizable. I look back on the past couple of days and I like what I see. Nothing spectacular, but still worthy as a whole.

• I walked to the library to return a book that was due that day. I picked up a pony tail elastic along the route, which I later put through the dishwasher.
• My daughter stopped by on her way home from work and gifted me with two bakery muffins, a quart of skim milk, a container of fresh pasta and a bag of ginger snaps.
• I picked (and ate) raspberries from my yard. I planted them after a neighbor put out some free canes maybe ten years ago.
• I made sure to stop by Safeway to pick up a pair of two-pound Tillamook cheese loaves that were on sale for $6.67 apiece. These last forever if you’re careful to only open just one at a time.
• I finished listening to Willa Cather’s O, Pioneers and then started listening to My Antonia through the library’s free Libby app.
• I took some ground beef leftover from a hamburger night and used it to make Cottage Pie Baked Potatoes. I saw the recipe on Instagram reels and amended it to conform with the ingredients I had on hand. Instead of the beef being enough for two hamburgers, it now made enough for six meals. (By the way, I added a can of tomato paste, plus a lot more herbs and spices. I also didn’t bother oiling and salting the potatoes.) I served these on the evening of my husband and son’s soccer game so no one would be tempted to splurge on takeout.
• We washed our filthy cars in the driveway instead of driving them through an automated carwash.
• I mended my son’s sweater and got a couple stains out of a shirt.
• I defrosted a packet of fancy hotdogs that my daughter gave me a couple months ago from her schwanky grocery store.
• I drew calendar pages into the blank book that I’m currently using as a daily planner. I started doing this a couple years ago and it works great, plus I get much more than 365 days out of each book. It ain’t pretty, but it’s functional and cheap.
• I texted my friend Lise, to let her know I was stopping by Trader Joe’s for 19¢ bananas and hummus. She asked for a can of coconut milk, which saved her a trip. I also let her know that Winco’s coconut milk was $1.18 vs. $2.50 at Trader Joe’s. (She’s like me and also tracks prices.)
• I accepted a free plum at Trader Joe’s, but waited until I was home to enjoy it properly.
• I’m letting a couple of backyard flowerpots sit empty as I patiently wait for some cuttings to root enough to plant.
• I made dinner for a neighbor going through hard times, but kept it simple. (Curry lime chicken satay with rice and a Caesar salad) I also picked up sale priced $2.77 Tillamook ice cream sandwiches for the dessert, but stashed them in the basement freezer so they wouldn’t get gobbled.
• I didn’t buy any fireworks.

None of these mini frugal actions will draw the attention of The Today Show, but they add up so much more than a kicky new frugal hack. Every day, under the wire, drinking my tap water out of a thrifted water bottle.

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.

{ 55 comments }

1. I checked out a “Lucky Day” book from the library and excitedly saved it for the end of a long and productive day. I picked out a pretty bookmark and then settled in to be immediately overwhelmed by the stench of cigarette smoke. Like the book had been used as an ashtray.

   I returned it to the library, but brought it to the information desk to make sure it didn’t automatically get reshelved. I asked the librarian if they had a trick to remove cigarette odor and she said they they did, which was to put it “in the garbage.”

   I’ve had this happen maybe three times over the years, which I suppose is a small percentage of all the books I’ve checked out through the years. But still, gross. Also, a sad waste.

2. Our free subscription to Peacock streaming TV which came with our Xfinity internet came to an end. We still have Xfinity, but this freebie is sadly over. Oh well, at least I got the most of it by sharing it with my sister and my friend Lise. I will miss The Office.

   I’d be tempted to start paying for it, but we already pay for HBO Max and Apple TV. We get Hulu, Prime Video  and Disney+ through friends and are getting a year of Netflix for free at the moment. At some point it becomes an excess of riches.

3. I’m normally really skilled with my ability to find amazing restaurants while traveling, but we ate in the absolutely worst Middle Eastern restaurant while in Nebraska last month. It had amazing Yelp reviews, but everything was absolutely dry and flavorless. Seriously, we couldn’t come close to finishing our meals and we easily spent $75 with tip. I’m still mad about it.

4. I bought the Lear Jet.

Now your turn. What “frugal fails” have snuck into your life lately?

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.

{ 57 comments }

1. My husband is getting a replacement Chrome Industries pannier through their warranty policy. (This wasn’t his first choice, as he would’ve preferred for the company to have a repair program.) Oh well . . . he’ll be able to keep the old bag, which still functions, just without some of the bells and whistles.

   This is very much an example of how when buying new, spending a bit more in the beginning can save money in the long run. Products with lifetime warranties can be worth the extra expense in certain circumstances. (Like these companies.) Since we mostly buy used, this is a rare circumstance.

2. My husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this summer and finally landed on a plan of what to do. The Alaskan cruise idea was #1 for a hot second until we talked to a friend-of-a-friend travel agent, who made us realize it wasn’t for us.

   The new plan? Fly to NYC to visit with my sister who just bought a house and is lousy with spare bedrooms. Stay there a few days and then rent a car and loop through New Hampshire to visit a dear college friend, then up to Canada — maybe Montreal, but definitely Toronto, (where I have a cousin and childhood friend) down to Pittsburgh to stay with family; and possibly even Niagara Falls as we drive from Toronto to Pittsburgh. Back over to NYC to hang with my sister again and then fly back to Portland. So . . . a road trip, but also not a road trip.

   My husband gets a sweet deal on rental cars through his job, which’ll keep the budget from spinning out of control. We only need hotels in Canada, which should keep the costs under control.

   I’d love any suggestions, especially from Canadians in the know. We’re looking to make the most out of this 30th year.

3. I made a trip across town to the Franz Bakery Outlet store, and although they only had a single sleeve of bagels in their “Bargain Room,” I still walked out with seven bread items for just $10.50.

   • Two loaves of their Hawaiian gluten-free bread.

   • One sleeve of plan bagels and one bag of their mini bagels.

   • Three bags of their premium hamburger buns — kaiser, potato and sesame.

   Considering the gluten-free bread is normally priced at $8 per loaf, I think I did pretty well. Good thing I have a chest freezer in my basement. You already know I pulled out my punch card for a future visit!

4. • My friend brought me a jar of black-eyed peas from the excessive amount she panic bought at the beginning of the pandemic.
   • I bought a huge bunch of cilantro, so I walked half of it over to my friend Lise. It’s hard for me to use an entire bunch before it goes bad, so I’m happy to have a friend who shares my aversion to food waste.
   • I’ve been listening to O, Pioneers by Willa Cather through the library’s free Libby app.
   • I wasn’t able to watch The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent when it was free through Starz a couple weeks ago, so I put the DVD on hold at the library. It’s now sitting next to the TV waiting for my husband and I to coordinate an evening for TV watching.
   • I’d written “pickles” on my grocery list for my Winco trip, but they were all priced $3.50 and higher, so I struck them from the list. What am I, a Rockefeller?!
   • I stopped at the Buck-Twenty-Five Tree Dollar Tree store near the Franz Outlet and picked up two jars of sliced pickles and a big can of pineapple in natural juice to try. (I like to combine the leftover juice with seltzer for a fun fizzy cheapskate beverage.) I also bought two 3-packs of bar soap.
   • We were able to use a $99 “companion fare” for my NYC plane ticket. It’s a once a year perk through our credit card.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

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.

{ 53 comments }

1. My husband and 25-year-old son play on a recreational soccer team every Sunday, which doesn’t end until 6:30 P.M. Add in that my husband also plays baseball on Sundays as well and we have a hungry bunch by the end of the day. I’d never attended a game but decided to watch one yesterday, which meant I wasn’t home to pull together a meal. Sure, I could’ve planned something ahead of time, but such was not the case.

   I suggested we get takeout and chose Buster’s Texas Style Barbecue, which was nearby and a family favorite. However, I knew we had extensive dribs and drabs of random food in the fridge and so I placed orders for everyone except myself. My husband felt bad and tried to convince me to treat myself, but I was totally fine with scavenging for myself.

   I still had a small amount of free ground beef that my daughter had gifted me earlier in the week and wanted to make sure it didn’t go to waste. I’d seen a couple Instagram reels where people made Big Mac-style smash burgers with corn tortillas and knew I had all the primary ingredients. Mine turned out a bit of a mess, but it was tasty and I was 100% fine with forgoing the pricier takeout option.

   This may come as a bit of a surprise, but I’m kind of cheap.

2. After months of scanning thrift stores for a rug, I ended up finding a free one that had been put out after a garage sale. It had a stain, but that didn’t deter me as I’d been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try out Folex carpet spot remover. The rug was otherwise in excellent condition, perfectly fluffy and without any malodor.

   You’ve seen the BEFORE, so here’s the AFTER! You might be impressed, but all I did was spray on the cleaner and then rub it down with a scrappy old towel. Magic!

   

3. I spent an afternoon both Saturday and Sunday driving around two different wealthy neighborhood that had just finished their community garage sale weekends. (It’s where I got the rug.) I’ll write up a full blog post about it in a few days, but suffice it to say that my Little Free Library will be fully stocked for at least a month!

4. • I started rooting some oregano, which grows as a volunteer in my front yard. (It hopped over from the neighbor’s garden) I’m hoping to plant it in a backyard flowerpot.
   • My friend Lise and I turned our grocery shopping into an “errand hang,”  which transformed an otherwise dull task into a perfectly enjoyable afternoon.
   • I started listening to One Summer in Paris, by Sarah Morgan through the free Libby app.
   • I picked up a quart of free paint from Miller Paint, which gives out free paint on Saturdays. It’s a color I already have and now possess enough to repaint my son’s old room.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

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.

{ 42 comments }