“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.
{ 57 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.
Salvation Armani. I love it.
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.
It’s too bad we can’t add pictures. I would love to see your renovations.
I’d love to know what brand of shoes you buy!
I buy Klogs, Open Cloud, Vionic
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…
I worked 12 years ago with a woman who constantly complained of not having enough money, but smoked like a chimney, ate nearly every meal out, and ran up a department store charge card for clothes. I once did some back of the envelope math and realized she easily blew $125 a week on self-indulgence.
I am so very very fortunate that no one ever introduced me to smoking, because I don’t think I have the kind of personality to be able to quit.
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 speak 3 languages but only use one as no one in my life anymore speaks the other two. However when recently accosted at a gas station by someone wanting money I suddenly started speaking French. It flustered the person so much they waved their arm at me and left. So a good use for unused foreign language skills is to confuse unwelcome people or perhaps cats.
Peut-être des chats.
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!
I do like all the practical and realistic planning that went into your retirement village! May you have many happy years there!
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.
Had no idea about the salt addition!! I will be trying that for sure. Thank you.
@Lindsey – but giant dogs usually have a really hard time of finding a fur-ever home. Doing the right thing <verb I will not type) monetary frugal. The one dump we took in is not frugal but he's the best cat we've ever had.
1. I cook our meals at home. Frugal but also I feel better physically after eating home cooked meals. It also benefits DH who must watch his sodium intake.
2. Like most of us here, I make my own coffee and tea at home. I find it more relaxing to enjoy it in the comfort of my own home with my favorite person (DH).
3. I like having friends over for a simple meal or a campfire in the backyard. Much more frugal than a meal out with friends.
4. I enjoy thrifting and love to buy items/clothing to be used again and again. It would be nice if things had nine lives like cats. I also love to volunteer at my church’s thrift shop. I see people buying secondhand items and it’s satisfying to know they’re not headed to the landfill yet which in turn will hopefully curb the production of new items. Plus, it’s a fun place to socialize.
5. My favorite thing to not do is to not spend money on books and magazines and to not spend money on concerts and presentations. Instead, I use my town’s library and often meet friends there at the concerts and talks. Such a phenomenal asset to our community.
2. Like most of us on this site, I enjoy my coffee and tea
1. I don’t subscribe to any streaming services. Don’t subscribe to cable either. I’m content with the movies and shows I find on Hoopla, Kanopy and other free channels.
2. Recently, several friends have renovated their kitchens and I have to admit their new kitchens are beautiful. However, I don’t plan to do any renovations myself when I know I can be happy just replacing the little rug in front of the sink or some other small improvement.
3. I don’t color my hair. Don’t use nail polish (mostly because I don’t like the smell).
4. Don’t drink soda or alcoholic beverages.
5. Don’t belong to a gym or health club because the only exercise I really enjoy is walking. It doesn’t cost anything to take a walk every day around the neighborhood (Well, actually I did have to buy some decent walking shoes recently).
6. I don’t plan to purchase a new phone since my Iphone 6 is working just fine.
7. I don’t shop for pleasure or entertainment.
I really like Nicola’s statement in the first post: We don’t need to be the first owners of most of our possessions or all of my clothes.
As a couple other people made reference to, I have the minimal cell phone, mostly because my husband worries I will someday be in trouble and need it, (as if I wouldn’t be saved by people calling 911 as they drove past me!). I don’t provide the number unless there is absolutely no way around it. I like that the landline includes all three members of our largely retired family.
I am also glad a few people made reference to their choices to have pets, because that doesn’t get discussed much. Pets can be terribly expensive, especially with advances in medicine. Attitudes about keeping the pet alive as long as possible didn’t really exist when I was growing up. (We have none, for several reasons, cost being one).
I am curious how long am I phone battery replacement is expected to last (especially on an older phone). Also curious if there is best practice for preserving battery? (Wait until battery gets low to charge, turn off at night…etc)
My phone has an optional setting that stops it from charging all the way to 100%. It stops at 80% instead. Supposedly that will make the battery last longer. I read somewhere that any device with that kind of battery, like a phone, tablet, or laptop, should ideally be kept between 30% and 80% charged all the time, so it never gets completely full or goes completely dead.
1. I live in a small(ish) house/condo, 1099 square feet (there are two of us).
2. Many of my friends and family are also frugal, which means we share/exchange and even call when we happen upon a great deal (like when there are free bags of potting soil at the town dump where my parents live!).
3. We put on sweaters before turning on the heat (I still haven’t turned my heat on yet, and it is 40F degrees outside).
4. I’m still using the hand-me-down washer and dryer (from the 70s!) that my parents gave me when they moved theirs upstairs and had to change to a stackable. There are only 2 of us, so while not the most energy efficient, my parents have replaced theirs at least 3 times in the last 20 years since they gave me their old ones.
5. Almost all of my furniture has come from hand-me-downs from great aunts, grandparents, and parents and supplemented with FB Marketplace (actually Craig’s List!) and tag sales. The only thing I’ve purchased new for furniture is a couch, chair, and 3 bar stools.
Saving money is my favorite hobby. I walk a dog in exchange for Pilates classes. I work at a winery/concert venue so that I can see great concerts. I have a job in Merchandising so I get free greeting cards. I sell on ebay, Mercari, CraigsList so i am always on the lookout for things to sell and turn into money. I do Focus Groups for fun and money and free M&Ms. Cooking isn’t my favorite but I do it to save money. We clean our own house, do our own yard work. I compost and have a worm bin to make great soil for our “test garden”, which has been delightful with pumpkins and onions and potato crops recently. We have rain barrels that I got for free by taking classes locally. I plan my grocery shopping trips and use digital coupons and loss leaders. Saving on all of the little things leaves money for the big things. Headed to Poland for Thanksgiving to visit my daughter who is living there post-college graduation.
My gas dryer is from the 80’s, inherited it from my Granny.
I just barely upgraded my chest freezer, inherited from my Gramps in 1992, it was from the late 50’s Philco.
I do enjoy my coffee every morning, tea in the afternoon and filtered water. We no longer drink alcohol (about 25 yrs)
We have satellite tv as we do not have good choices for internet service (on a waiting list for starlink).
Heat with wood. Cool with fans.
We grow our food or harvest it from the wild.
My farm truck is 12 yo. My daily driver is 60 yo.
We have pets. We accept old pets from friends that have passed on. Give them a good home on the farm and they give us love in return. My vet is very sweet and gives me discounts, especially for the 8 cats.
I love this post, shows how frugal we are without doing anything!!!
I cut my own hair and my mum and daughters, husband does his own!
After getting COVID 3 years ago, DH finally lost his taste for coca cola (a lifelong addiction of tried to break) however does like fizzy water, so we got a soda stream, which we make “pop” with my homemade cordials!
Grow our own veg and meat.
We do have several cars in our multi-generational household (another saving) DH has his 20 year old truck for work, which mostly stays local. We run around in a 2008 fiat panda, which we take into town to collect the fuel for the truck, and other essentials,it’s a 19 mile trip to the town so makes sense to not use the fuel guzzler!! We also have a 2013 estate car which we can all comfortably use with the dogs. DH maintains all our vehicles, which has saved us thousands.
DH also manages to fit in all our repairs to the house, it wasn’t greatly built so lots of dodgy bits to fix.
We used Gumtree and Facebook to find cheap and free building materials to make our outbuildings,
I mend our clothes, which are often charity shop finds,
Have found several that have really decent clothes in….and a reduced rail!!!
I realise I am very lucky to be married to a man who knows how to do all these things, but we work together.
This has made me feel alot better about myself, thanks Katy!!
Yeah I get your point but honestly it doesn’t sound like much fun
I get that, but I promise you that I do have fun!
@Nicole @Katy — Finding the balance between frugality and fun can be difficult at times, but it usually just requires more creative thinking. Not to mention that everyone has a different version of what’s fun for them. For instance, I love to stay home, read books, bake, and sell things on eBay. I also like to go wine tasting (we live in wine country), travel, and eat out occasionally. So, doing the more costly fun things is a treat.
I, too, have fun with frugality. It’s a rewarding, challenging (in a good way), mindful, fully present way to live. No auto pilot. Not everyone here HAS to be frugal from a financial standpoint, but we WANT to be for a variety of reasons.
@Nicole – my first thought was the same. However I am still a FTE so we still have two steady streams of income (SS for better half – who is more than handy around the house plus cooks/grocery shops. And cleans, can do laundry – what more could a girl ask for in a spouse?)
Whatever floats your boat in the realm of frugal. Far be it for me to begrudge the cook a night off (more than a couple is extenuating circumstances). Dine out meal are inexpensive (per se) or provide leftovers for another meal(s).
Another great post Katy.
I too stick to water and herbal tea for beverages. I never was much of a drinker and have not bought/paid for alcohol in decades. If someone hands me a flute of champagne at a wedding I’ll have 1-2 sips and then I’m done.
I have never colored my hair. From a distance it looks dark but up close there are plenty of silver strands. I don’t even buy styling products. I towel dry, brush, and go.
It is easy to bake delicious desserts and it is not only much cheaper but they can be made much healthier at home and many of them can be made GF as well. I feel the same way about most restaurant meals.
We stream using a laptop DH bought DD in 2013. The battery will not charge but we just keep it plugged in. My cell has to be on life support before I replace it.
Many of the items in my kitchen were purchased in the 1980s. Think cookware, knives, baking sheets, measuring spoons/cups, etc. They all work fine.
I have no idea what the current fashion or colors are. I like comfortable clothing that will last. I have maintained my weight over the years (mostly luck as I have never had the discipline/desire to diet) so it is easy to keep wearing the same old same old. I do buy shoes regularly since I walk a lot and it is not fashion but function related.
I keep turning down a friend that wants me to join her at Disney World. I’d rather donate the cost of such a trip to charity. I just saved a lot of money, and my sanity, this week by not going yet again. Now it is time to donate to those less fortunate.
I find it very interesting how many “frugalites” find ways to watch television without spending $$$. I have not owned a TV for probably 30 years, and do not miss it. I credit that as much as anything for living a frugal life — there is SO much less temptation to have the newest/latest/greatest when not being advertised to incessantly.
Along with everyone else here I cook, thrift clothes and household goods (but I will spend money on good underthings and shoes!) use the “solar clothes dryer”, batch my errands, exercise with long walks with my dogs instead of a gym, do my own house and yard work and as many household repairs myself as possible, never colored my hair, don’t wear makeup & have never had a mani-pedicure . . .
It just doesn’t sound all that special, since I’ve lived like this all my life, but thanks Katy for pointing out the frugalities inherent in our normal lives!
1. I also don’t have a Starbucks habit. My one cup of coffee a day I make myself at home.
2. I also don’t dye my hair. I quit during the pandemic and I’m happy with how it looks. I do have silver streaks and will occasionally receive compliments.
3. I don’t have a housekeeper or lawn service.
4. I also don’t do professional manicures, facials etc.
5. I hate clutter so I don’t purchase much in the way of decor. Most of my decor are gifts and right now I am displaying my summer woven hat along with some petoskey stones.
6. I don’t have my dog groomed. I do her bath and nails myself.
7. I don’t keep up with fashion. I wear jeans and a t-shirt almost every day. I buy most clothes thrifted except for the Gap Modern T-shirts I buy when they are on a good sale and they last me for years.
8. I don’t go to a gym. I get my exercise from walking.
9. I’d make a very good hermit so there are a lot of things I don’t do because I prefer to stay home or spend my time with family and close friends.
10. I’m not a foodie. I’m as happy with a PB&J as I am lobster so I don’t go to fancy restaurants.
I’m always hearing people go on and on about the beauty of grey or white hair. To me it’s like the emperor’s new clothes or everybody gets a trophy, a lie to make you feel better about a truth you can’t accept. My strawberry blonde/light auburn hair is no more. I have a lot of white hair mixed with some color I can’t even figure out. Mystery hair. I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s pretty. I think any color hair is better than white/ grey hair. I tried coloring it but found I’m too lazy or uncaring to keep up with my fast growing hair. I tried cutting it short but keeping fast growing hair short is apparently another burden I’m unwilling to bother with. At some point I realized my hair being on top of my head is something I never really see unless I go out of my way to stand in front of a mirror. So now I just let it grow, keep it clean, and brush it into some kind of order. I’ve found the cheapest shampoos do just as good a job as the most expensive ones and a ponytail elastic found on the ground and washed and sanitized works as well as one purchased from an expensive boutique. So yes I’m more frugal by omissions but I’m also the old lady in front of you in the line at Target that is laughing so hard with the cashier that we are both almost rolling on the ground. Frugaler and happier.
A couple things that may be unique here:
1. My husband and I don’t eat meat/fish/fowl. We believe being vegetarian saves money on both groceries and health care.
2. We don’t have children of our own, so we borrow other people’s children (mostly nieces and nephews).
I was raised in a household that was all about convenience. I always joke that we had a kitchen because it came with the house! We ate out, followed all the trends and did no DIY. My mother was all about what people thought (I’ve often thought it was because she was a Depression era kid who was ashamed of having no money and needed to prove she did when she was older) So I’ve taught myself to cook, learned how to be frugal from my in-laws, books and the internet. I will admit that every now and then I get an urge to keep up with the Joneses or trends but try very hard to squash that – which has become easier as I’ve gotten older. And reading this blog has helped me very much by showing me that it’s ok to not upgrade your appliances, cook at home and walk in nature instead of following trends. Thanks, Katy!
Ha, you should see my appliances. My washing machine is so old is had a faux wood panel like an old station wagon.
Katy – it’d be fun to do a photo tour of old appliances as a post!
I think I can make that happen!
I agree with much of your list. I don’t often think about it, but I have probably saved a lot of money over the years by simply being uninterested in some of the more expensive things in life.
I don’t enjoy coffee or alcohol, so I never drink either.
I have no interest in coloring my hair. Aside from the fact that I’m sure the process would be smelly and unpleasant for me, I actually like the way my hair looks as I’m starting to go gray. I always admired my grandmother’s hair, which was very dark with a few silver streaks in it when I was young. Mine is starting to look similar.
I’ve never liked eating in restaurants and haven’t done so since I was a little kid and had no choice. I would much rather eat at home, always, and the fact that it costs much less is a bonus.
I like keeping my familiar devices that I’ve learned how to use for as long as possible. Changing over to a new one is a hassle that I’m unwilling to go through any more often than necessary.
The same thing applies to clothes – I will keep wearing my favorite comfortable clothes until they literally fall apart, and then replace them with the same thing or as close as I can find. Fashion has never been something I was interested in.
I don’t enjoy travel and prefer to learn about other places through books and the internet.
I’m perfectly happy with hand-me-down or otherwise used furniture and other household items whenever that’s possible.
This probably sounds like I never have any fun, but I do! I just tend to enjoy things that don’t cost much, like reading good books or good blogs, watching classic TV shows and movies (often available for free), spending time outdoors, playing with my pets, and cooking.
I stopped coloring my hair during covid – saved money and I disliked the chemicals.
I volunteer at an upscale charity thrift shop that has a 50% off sale the last week of the month. I also get a small volunteer discount. I find many unique and quality items. I like to refresh decor and clothing (I cull and donate frequently) and lately have been passing on beloved items to individuals who I know will appreciate them (my kids have little use for most of my “stuff). I think it is frugal to shed stuff so I don’t leave my heirs a huge mess to sort through.
Probably the biggest frugal activity (not for us specifically) has been caregiving at home for an elderly relative 4-5 months a year for 8 years. Tough duty, but saved that relative a lot financially and deferred institutional care.
Reading all this makes me feel so normal! I do dye my hair, but $50 worth of henna covers me for about three years. It’s not toxic and has no real odor, so I can just slap it on my head for two hours every six weeks and then shower it out. 17 year-old washing machine that works fine, despite the fact that there is something wrong with the control panel and it randomly beeps and flashes. It also has a totally rusted out front panel that bears no weight, which is good, because nobody seems to be able to find the tiny leak. Conveniently, it is installed very close to the floor drain in my laundry room. I only eat out on gift cards, have recently dropped my Wi-Fi at home, because I can download shows and podcasts at work. I have no TV, and never have, but I do subscribe to a rotation of one streaming service at a time. I watch everything I’m interested in on one service, and then switch to another, so I’m not waiting for things to drop. My furniture is all secondhand, and my clothes are either thrifted or from the clearance rack. My dishes are all secondhand, which is kind of fun, because I own a ridiculous amount of beautiful china, and it’s really fun to eat off fancy plates every day. My house is tiny, and I really have no sense for decorating, so it’s very colorful, but shabby. I try not to care 🙂 The secret to that seems to be like-minded friends. I don’t notice or mind the shabbiness unless someone points it out to me, so I just don’t hang out with people who would do that.
I have old money hair color! Who knew! Not me…. too bad I don’t have the money to go with it!