“Old money blonde”
People often think that the key to living a dedicated frugal life is about the things you actively do to support that mission. Making your own cleaning supplies, doing your own home maintenance and such. However, a fair amount of frugality is about what you’re not doing. I began mulling over this concept after reading a reader comment writing that she was “Sticking to tea/coffee/water at home.”
It got me thinking about much of how I save money by about what I don’t do.
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I also just drink tea and water when at home. I don’t like sodas or juice and save coffee as an occasional treat. I abhor the feeling of being drunk or even mildly buzzed, so I also save money by never buying alcohol for myself.
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I don’t color my hair, which has darkened with age. My color used to be referred to as “dishwasher blonde,” but has recently been upgraded to “old money blonde,” which sounds like a joke but isn’t. To go to a salon for a professional color service would set me back $150 or more. My life would be 0.0% better with a prettier hair color. Click HERE for a photo of my old money hair in all her glory!
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I live a few blocks from a retail heavy street that’s become a Mecca for dessert businesses. Ice cream, pies, cookies, frozen custard, pastries — there’s probably a dozen or more speciality stores that often have lines outside the door. However . . . I’m a good cook and can make my own desserts and would prefer to spend $4 on a half-gallon of Tillamook ice cream to treat the family, rather than $7.25 for a single scoop. (I kid you not on that price!) I know this makes me sound miserly and decidedly no fun, but I’m A-OK with with this passive frugal choice. Probably healthier too to stay away from the “dessert district.”
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I keep my electronics and mechanical items until they can no longer to be repaired. I only bought my used iPhone 8 only because I dropped my iPhone 7 into a toilet. I’ve since had the battery replaced and have treated the kids’ to battery replacements when they’ve complained about battery power. We drive a 2005 minivan and keep it in good repair. By avoiding the “serial upgrade” mindset, we save money by just continuing to use our functioning items.
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I don’t follow fashion trends, (I know — shocker!) nor do I follow design trends or really any kind of trend. This way I avoid my things becoming outdated in appearance. By thrifting timeless items I can avoid having to replace perfectly good items.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Well said.
My hair is a very similar colour to yours. I have dyed it in the past, but not for over 15yrs now. I have the odd grey. I am so hoping for a silver stripe, but I don’t think that’s happening!
There are whole aisles of the grocery store that we don’t even visit anymore. We try to buy as much ingredients as we can, with some small indulgences.
Diabetes means that a lot of take out food and treats are hard to justify in our day, so we mostly avoid them.
I cant drink alcohol anymore, it gives me migraines and that’s just not a good trade off. My husband will enjoy a whisky, maybe once a month. Very low spend.
We don’t live in a place we need to escape from. We do travel (I am typing this in Scotland, we live in Canada), but it’s when we are pulled towards something, not to get away from our home that we love to spend time in.
We don’t need to be the first owners of most of our possessions or all of my clothes. Well made, classic, preloved describes much of what we have.
We also have an older minivan. It’s comfortable and very practical!
We don’t attend every event or show available. In fact there’s rarely something we like enough to go to.
We don’t hoard things that we don’t need. We rehome them, sometimes for a profit!
Do not follow/seek “trends” websites/commercials
with latest fashion, electronics and homegoods.
Avoid restaurant scene and organize all kinds of friends/family potlucks…good food, fantastic fun.
Donate to causes close to my heart, the Universe never fails to reward me!
I read so many frugal blogs and use their great ideas!!!
Thank you, once again, for the inspiration, Katy. It’s nice to have a prompt to look at what we already do or do not do, to avoid consumerism and embrace frugality. Here’s my list:
1. Like you, I drove an older Honda–a 2012 Pilot I bought used in 2021 in excellent condition. In the last couple of years, the white paint has started to chip and come off in large chunks. I’ve since learned this is a widespread issue with the paint of certain models. Honda offered a recall that sunseted in 2020 (before I bought my Pilot). That said, I’ve looked into getting the car repainted, as it is becoming more of an eyesore. The prices start at $2k to repaint the panels and much more for the entire vehicle. So, my frugal choice is to drive around in an otherwise very well-maintained car that has peeling paint.
2. Baking – like you, I cook and bake most of our food at home. As an avid baker for the past 35+ years, I find it very hard to buy any baked goods at all. Thus, we save money, and generally eat more delicious homemade treats.
3. Walking and biking errands – if the weather is mostly cooperative (NOT this week!), I prefer to walk or bike to errands within a ~4-ish mile radius. This is with intention to move more, be outside more, and also save gas/$. We are lucky to live in an area with many walkable/bikeable destinations such as the kids’ schools, the best grocery store (though not the cheapest), USPS, the library, the train station, a couple of breweries, and more.
4. Many of our friends go to concerts regularly and we do not, or it’s a very rare treat for us. We do have a wonderful concert venue/symphony hall within biking distance at the local university, and enjoy outdoor movies and inexpensive shows when they’re offered. That said, every time I look at a headliner concert and see tickets that cost upwards of $250 (for the cheap seats), I cringe. It’s just not a priority for our family, though we love music and the arts.
5. DIY’ing – as mentioned in yesterday’s comments, I’m just finishing a DIY revamp of our dining room in advance of hosting Thanksgiving. I am now done and feel very accomplished in this task! We’ve also had our heater go out and our dishwasher stop working in the last week. Before calling a repairperson, we (my husband, and our neighbor) attempted to fix the heater to no avail. The dishwasher was here when we bought our house 10 years ago and has been DIY “fixed” many times over the past 2 years. It finally stopped working completely, but I feel good about getting more life of it than might be expected.
Like you, I don’t drink alcohol, dye my hair or upgrade my vehicles. (Although I totaled a car and HAD to buy another one.) I also do not use streaming, cable or satellite for TV viewing. Ditto, cell phone — the internet provider gives me a great deal on a landline. However, I may get a cheap one soon. I don’t buy Xmas decorations; I use the old artificial tree and ornaments passed down in my family, IF I even put anything up. Since my refrigerator died, I don’t use an automatic icemaker on my (thrifted) replacement fridge; I make do with ice trays. I can’t remember the last time I went to the mall; my clothes come from Walmart, the GW Boutique and Salvation Armani. Or other thrift stores. I’m sure I have dozens of other “don’ts”, but those are the main ones.
Oops, I almost forgot a big one: I don’t use the clothes dryer hardly at all. I will put things in there for maybe 10 minutes to “de-wrinkle,” if necessary, but then I hang them up to dry. In the summer, this is particularly practical bc our area has afternoon highs in the triple digits, and in the 90s if it is a “cool” day. So the drying racks are outside in the garage, and stuff dries fast in summer. Why pay the electric utility for hot air when Mother Nature provides it for free? On cold winter days, the drying racks are moved to over the floor vents, in the bathtub, or in front of the gas fireplace/heater. This helps with indoor humidity. Not putting items in the dryer makes the clothing last longer. Although I use the clothes dryer for the towels if it’s really cold.
1. I see your IPhone 8 and raise you and IPhone 5. I do have battery issues but I work around it. Also, I keep getting gmail alerts of full storage so I take time to delete things – especially screen shots. I figure I should be doing that anyway. The truth is I hate the phone. Rarely do I use it for anything but important communication. I did splurge on a Macbook Air and bring it with me nearly everywhere. My old MacBook Pro went to my 89 yo Mother whose was so old, it wouldn’t upgrade. It had a hard rive in it so I took it to the cabin where we don’t have internet or tv and now we can watch DVDs there. I believe this is a good example of Use it Up and Wear it out.
2. Renovating a 1912 house is filled with service providers who want to sell me the newest of everything. Stoves that will fly to the moon and microwaves that will do you taxes. ( OK – I exaggerate.) Here is what I have learned to do. ONLY work with knowledge service driven sales people. I am 60 years old. I am not making a “dream house.” My 4th quarter is about simple. I have literally saving thousands upon thousands of dollars if not more with making careful choices. I told the light sale person to not show me anything that was above $500 and to make cases for the cheaper selection. I told the appliance place to show me the best deals with the sturdiest brands. She made a list and told me to weight to buy in November when Black Friday hits. I have sold nearly all the appliances that came with the place on Facebook.
3 I don’t die my hair but I do get an excellent cut from my buddy her needs to raise her prices.
4. I don’t buy make up but I do use Dr Gross’ Daily Peel for every other day. My skin looks pretty fantastic.
5. I don’t buy tons of shoes but I spend a fortune on the ones I have because I have plantars fasciitis and without comfortable feet, my life becomes a nightmare.
6. I don’t buy lots of clothes but I do buy ones that make me look and feel great. I deserve it and it supports small batch designers who are being run out of business by companies like Shein, Temu, and (let’s face it) Walmart. I don’t know if there is a greater threat to environment than low price, disposable clothing. I consign whenever I can.
Sorry for typos. Really, I was an English teacher.
I don’t drink alcohol, smoke, or eat out. Same old brown hair I’ve always had. 2005 Prius. My biggest saving has been choosing a pastime I can manage frugally–quilting with pre-owned fabric. Knitting socks for friends if they buy the yarn. Organizing potlucks at church and quilting. OK, the older slightly decrepit dog is a money eater, but she brings us joy every day.
I don’t smoke either. That is a big money saver.
Same here. I’m also a non-smoker. I’m never around smokers anymore, so I didn’t even think of that one.
Cautionary tale, real-life true story: I once worked with a woman who went outdoors at every break to smoke. It was a low-paying job during the recession. Anyway, this woman bought a real beater of a used car. They repo’d it bc she couldn’t make the payments. The car cost about $3,000, maybe $3,500 — I know bc she bragged about finding one for such a low price. But they repo’d it anyway. She claimed she didn’t have room in her budget to make the car payments. But what about the cost of the smokes? “Oh, but I like to smoke,” she said. I looked it up online: turns out, if she hadn’t spent her money on the cigarettes, it would have saved her something like $4,000 a year, I think it was. She would’ve easily had enough funds to pay for the car. And no doubt would’ve been in better health…
My hair is the same color as yours with some greys. I have never colored my hair. I don’t pay for hair cuts. My daughter does them for me.
I don’t do manicures or pedicures. I only had a manicure once for my oldest’s wedding.
I don’t drink alcohol or soda.
I don’t have a cleaning lady or landscapers.
I don’t do Doordash or other food/grocery delivery services.
I don’t pay interest on my credit card(pay it off every month)
I don’t have car payments. My car is a 2013 Outback.
I don’t have parent plus or other school loans
I don’t have a timeshare.
I don’t have cable TV. We have a satellite, Netflix and Prime.
I don’t get the newspaper. I read it at work or online.
I don’t buy books or magazines new. I usually get them from the library or the thrift store.
I’ve never had a new phone.
I don’t waste food.
I don’t buy single packs of snacks.
I don’t board my dog for vacations. In my family we happily watch eachothers pets.
I also have never colored my hair and mine has lightened with age. Mine used to be dishwater blonde/mouse brown and now it’s a lovely platinum. My stylist says she has studied my hair color and it’s on par with a very expensive and sought after color. Yay!
I don’t run the dryer.
I don’t turn the heat up unless we have company.
I don’t eat red meat, and eat minimal chicken.
I don’t buy organic produce because I grow or receive my own.
I don’t upgrade cars. We both drive a 2007 car and we have never bought a new car.
I don’t aspire to be like my dad because he has taken frugality too far, but he does have a funny story. He wears free tshirts from giveaways and ragged shorts much of the year. He had taken a sizable check to his regular bank branch to deposit it, and they called the manager up because they were wondering why a homeless man had such a sizable check. He’s stealth wealth at it’s finest (or worst).
LOVE the father story. My father spoke 8 languages, but his English was very heavily accented. More than once people assumed his accent meant he was stupid and lived to regret it because he outsmarted them on something. Your dad doesn’t seem to be bothered by being under-estimated. My father was so worried that my English, which I began learning about 12, would be accented that he hired a tutor for almost a year to make sure my English sounded native born.
Eight is amazing.
I speak four, but two of them, Latin and Ancient Greek, weirdly aren’t terribly useful in 2024. I have thought about brushing up since college was quite a while ago, and then wondered why. Am I gonna want to read Caesar’s Civil War again? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
I’m the opposite of frugal, as usual.
I thought about dyeing my hair a nice metallic silver, since the grays in my natural red hair look awful. Son begged me not to because it would make me look old.
A personal friend of mine is in line to become Secretary of the Treasury. Really. I asked him if he’d consider hiring me remotely. This almost certainly pays less than what I make now, but what the hell? Life is weird.
I’m gonna spend money riding horses tomorrow but I need to get out of the house and do something different.
I don’t dye my hair, but I do have a short haircut that requires a cut every 5 weeks or so, and my hair dresser charges me $50. Which is quite a bit, but I like what she does. I don’t have manicures or pedicures, don’t buy much in the way of new clothes, and don’t wear much make up, just a little foundation, mascara, and I have to fill in my eyebrows.
I very rarely drink alcohol, mainly stick with coffee and tea. We recently bought a soda stream, as we like bubbly water, and was spending too much on Bubly,
We don’t have any car payments, and our vehicles are 6 and 4 years old, and plan on driving them into the ground. We do maintain our vehicles religiously however.
We do like to eat out but try and limit it to only a couple of times a month, and it’s usually to the local pub.
We have two rescue dogs who want for nothing though, between medication and their food, they are pretty pricey. But totally worth the joy they bring us.
76, bought into an inner city ( sub tropical Brisbane Australia)vertical retirement village with great walkability( library, shops, community hall within 100 metres) public transport ( stops at 2 major hospitals) literally at the door, and my monthly fees and electricity are super low. No pool, no community bus, no in house cafe, but I’m not paying to support those. No TV, so no cable.No car. No subscriptions. We have free health care, and all my scripts are under $AUD30 for 2 months. I buy used as far as possible, and repair, reuse, recycle as much as possible. We have good outdoor drying facilities! So I don’t own a dryer, don’t need a dishwasher either.We have a “ Giving Table” , often unwanted items find a new home, if it sits on the table for several days it will get dropped off at the local opportunity/thrift shop.A local, very minimalist, tiny booth” cuts only” does $AUD 15 haircuts, fine for me.
Am I lucky? YES Is a lot of my luck carefully planned? Also yes!
Husband and I do not drink (although he will have a glass of wine if we are dining at someone’s house and they offer it. I take a medication that cannot be combined with booze), we cut each other’s hair, we don’t dye our hair (He went silver at about 35 and until he was about 50, repeatedly had people urge him to dye it), we don’t smoke, we only go out to eat if I have a restaurant mystery shop and they always pay the bill plus some, so I can leave a tip and have the meal be totally free), husband is very skilled at fixing things and even more so since he discovered You Tube, and we drive vehicles until they become unreliable. My rule is two breakdowns means the third time we buy another vehicle, because in winter having a car that is unreliable can kill you when the temps reach 20 to 40 below or more. And because of my leg brace and sometimes need of a wheelchair, I cannot just walk a long distance to find help. But when we buy, we try to get low mileage used, although as our recent purchase demonstrated, buying last year’s model when they are hot to get rid of them was cheaper than any used van we saw. I’d like to have a smaller car but it has to be able to carry my dogs and my wheelchair.
One other thing that has saved me a ton of money is that I long ago let people know that I will take food or other things they no longer want. This has led to at least 4 occasions where friends or neighbors moved out of Alaska and gave me box after box of food items and partially used cleaning supplies. Our bachelor friend who only eats the breasts of rotisserie chickens, and the woman whose husband and sons refuse leftovers regularly drop edibles off at my house.
My food bank volunteering also means some weeks they ask folks working there if they want anything from what will be going to the pig farmer if no one takes them. This especially happens on Fridays, when perishables like fruit won’t last until Monday. Even there, other volunteers will come tell me that there is something available that only I would want—which usually means Brussels sprouts, rhubarb or milk with a sell by date that is yesterday (which I rush to make into yogurt before it goes bad, or I make some sort of chowder). Also, amazingly, pricey cheeses, as in wheels and wheels of Brie or packages of Gloucester.
I also garden and preserve what we don’t eat during the summer. I keep records and regularly we find that we have saved about 800 to 1,000 in food costs, after subtracting seeds, water and so on spent on the garden or greenhouse.
I don’t mean to make myself sound perfectly frugal. We have someone come in for two hours once a week to clean, we travel as much as we can afford and I am healthy enough to do, we have always had giant dogs (except for our lab). The dogs cost us thousands each year, but they are a source of comfort and amusement. I do wish I found small dogs equally attractive to me as my big boys, but although I hate to quote Woody Allen, “The heart wants what the heart wants.”
Lindsey,
Regarding that milk, shake a few grains of salt into the carton or jug and this will retard the growth of bacteria so that it doesn’t sour quite so soon.
Also, you can freeze milk; it may turn a funky yellow color but it will revert to white once it thaws. Just shake it real good so the milkfat gets redistributed evenly within the jug.
Maybe that will prolong the time a bit so you don’t have to hurry and make the yogurt or chowder.