When Extreme Frugality Goes From Fun to Necessary
by Katy on May 13, 2025 · 21 comments
The daily news cycle seems to get worse and worse, especially for people who are already living close to the poverty line. Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits are right around the corner and even those of us who have wiggle room in our budgets are feeling the squeeze. I retired after 24 years as a labor and delivery nurse in 2019 and have supported that decision by cutting my family’s budget to the bone, plus the small income that I make though blogging. My husband works full time as a paramedic, although I don’t know of many others who support a family on that single income.
I have a 403b retirement fund that’s taken a nosedive since the current administration took office, which scares the crap out of me. I wasn’t planning on accessing it until much later, but I’d like to think that it could’ve supported me. It fun to save two dollars here or ten dollars there, but when you see your retirement go down over $100,000 that frugality becomes more dire.
Things we do in the name of extreme frugality:
– Cook simple meals from scratch.
– Pack work lunches.
– Make full use of library services.
– Repair instead of replace.
– Thrift or garbage pick.
– Mooch off others, while conversely sharing our own stuff.
– Abstain from wanderlust. Our travel is simple and except for funerals — mostly close to home.
– Be content with whatever the opposite of “The Joneses” is. No one is trying to keep up with us!
– Drive a twenty-year-old minivan and have furnished the house with cute, but thrifted furniture.
– We’re not ashamed to appear “cheap.”
I enjoy doing these things, but I have the luxury of spare time, grown kids and a reliable vehicle, which is not the case for millions of Americans. I worry about people who live paycheck-to-paycheck and are just one financial crisis away from disaster. Skyrocketing grocery and consumer good prices, plus the disillusion of our government safety net are no joke.
Have you you made changes to your daily frugal practices? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this matter.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
You forgot to mention good health, which is a biggie.
I’m so shocked by grocery store prices lately I am trying to make cheaper meals and some of them meatless. While I would like a four-wheel-drive SUV for various reasons (I could then haul our trash to the dump, which I can’t in a Camry, necessitating $125 for weekly trash service), I am holding off and sticking to my Camry for now. I am thinking about selling excess belongings, which I am astonished by, rather than giving them away as usual. I haven’t purchased any new clothes although I am starting to look a bit ragged.
I am growing most of my garden plants from seed rather than buying started plants. I do more but this has been my focus this spring.
Some of our more recent changes that come to mind:
1. Doing the bulk of our grocery shopping at Aldi.
2. Selling more items rather than bringing them to the thrift store or posting them on Buy Nothing.
3. Saving as much water as possible.
4. Cancelling almost all of our subscriptions.
5. Reining in some gift giving and donations, while increasing our time spent helping others.
6. Getting buzz cuts to reduce the number of hair salon visits.
7. Providing our dog with socializing and enrichment activities at home rather than taking her to doggy day care.
8. Reducing restaurant spending.
We are have cut back on groceries, just the fun stuff, not essentials. I have not purchased any baking supplies. Raisins, crasins, chocolate chips and nuts are astronomical prices (I am in Canada). Eating more bananas as quick snack. I am making everything from scratch.
My entire family has agreed to a “Hippy Christmas” We have all agreed not to purchase any gifts from a store this year. We are only giving handmade, homemade, thrifted, items you may already own or trash picked items. We try to make the gifts fun, with a slight competition on the creative side. The focus is more on fun. My children are young adults now so this works at this stage in our lives.
I am fortunate to belong to a generous Buy nothing group and this has been amazing. I find if I am patient, most items I need or want will become available. I also put many items in our group for re-distribution.
I am trying to be grateful for everything I already have. We are not even close to the Jones’s. Love the stuff you are with!
Appreciate this website and everyone who comments, thanks to all
I made sure I was sitting down and had a glass of wine in my hand before I opened my investment account statements for the month of April. The hemorrhaging wasn’t as bad as I’d feared it might be, but it still wasn’t pleasant. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest DJT’s Qatari Palace in the Sky jet.
Meanwhile, I can’t think of anything I’m doing particularly differently, except making more of an effort to clean out the pantry and freezers. That food is “sunk cost,” and I’m focusing on using it up within at least a reasonable time after its sell-by dates before I restock.
Everything else–cooking at home from scratch, rack-drying laundry, keeping ol’ Nellybelle (my 2010 Honda Element) on the road, batching errands, etc., etc.–is second nature by now. I’ve probably referenced this before, but I’ll do it again: On one episode of the classic 1970s series All in the Family, Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) and his son-in-law the Meathead (Rob Reiner) are having an argument about religion. The Meathead says, “Archie, you don’t even practice your religion any more!” Archie replies, “I don’t hafta practice my religion ’cause I already know it by heart.” That’s sort of the way I feel about frugality.
I don’t have “seasonable” wardrobes. I have one wardrobe that I wear 365 days a year. I have clothes that I’ve had since as far back as 2007. My daughter bought me 12 pair of socks for Christmas 2022. I only open a couple pair at a time and I’m still wearing them despite a few holes, AND I still have a few unopened pair.
I am crocheting my own dishcloths.
PurAqua sparkling water at Aldi’s is a great alternative to sugar-free soda and, at my Aldi’s, it’s only 67 cents for a 33.8 oz bottle you can buy 4 of these for less than the price of 1 (20 oz) bottle of soda in my area.
Making treats (cakes, cookies, etc) at home from scratch rather than buying at the store.
There are only a very few products that I am “brand loyal” to. Most of what we buy is store brand.
One more thing…please pray for the family of one of my 9th grade students that rides the school van I drive. Their house caught fire this morning. The family made it out ok, but they lost EVERYTHING. They just bought the house last fall and moved here from a neighboring town about an hour away. I am in the process of gathering my excess (bath and kitchen towels, a few kitchen utensils, some dishes, etc) to give to them when they are ready to get re-established.
One more thing. I have limited cupboard space and no pantry. I removed all non-perishables from the cupboards, wrote the “use by” dates on the packaging in black permanent marker, then restocked the cupboards in chronological order so that we use what’s going to expire soon first. Won’t work for everyone, but we are a household of 2. Works for us.
We are spending a lot less, and I haven’t bought anything “new” since “Orange Scourge 2.0” hit our nation in January. I want his economy to fail.
BUT… I recognize that I’m coming from a place of privilege. Not only do I have a nice cushion of savings to fall back on, but also that cushion is the result of years of scrimping and saving and being super frugal. I guess I’m saying that this is a skill, and I feel bad for people who are forced into it. I think it isn’t easy for some people to get into the mindset.
I’m also privileged to have saved like crazy during the good years, when people were able to get decent jobs. I feel terrible for young people who are just starting their careers, but are finding that a lot of the entry-level jobs, like those in the federal government, are disappearing. They may end up being frugal, not to save, but rather to survive. Life isn’t fair.
I have been frugalling for so long that it’s become standard operating procedure. While I mostly do small things that consistently save a few bucks, my husband excels at price comparisons for services, like banking and insurance, that save us a lot of money.
Love “frugalling”! The minute I saw that I thought of the “Caroling caroling” Christmas song. “Caroling, caroling now we go, Christmas bells are ringing…” Puts a cheerful soundtrack to “Frugalling, frugalling now we go…”
Here’s another one, a take-off on “Here We Come a-Wassailing”: “Here we come a-frugalling, among the leaves so green/Thrifty gifts and goodies, so fair to be seen…”
I am loving the frugal carols. Y’all are so clever!
We have changed how we cook. I was already meal prepping but I have worked to get better at it. We split a pig with my family and got 60+ lbs of pork for about $2/lb. We started halving the amount of meat in most recipes and adding in more veggies, beans, etc. we started gardening again also. I took a few years off when I was pregnant and my son was a baby but now that he’s a toddler he’s happy to help in the garden. We are taking advantage of free summer activities for our kids this year but did splurge on Black Friday for season passes to the water park. our season tickets (whole season for day pass price) are actually less than half the price of summer pool passes and will be a lot more entertaining.
I’m going back into crisis mode with the frugality stuff and no wonder! The news brings more bad tidings every day. I haven’t been getting Social Security until lately and I had hoped the lean times were over for me. But now, I hold my breath each month; I am afraid that all of the sudden, the SS direct deposits will stop. (Yes, I know what Trump said, but I don’t trust him to keep his promises. ) I have mutual funds, some just regular and some in a retirement account and I’m like you, Katy: it’s watching a (financial) train wreck in slow motion.
I’d wanted to quit working my store cashier job but I’m afraid to. What if SS ends?
They’ve hiked my property tax yet again — so much for Gov. Abbott’s promise to cut them — and I’m gearing for battle trying to argue with the county tax guys yet again.
We’ve had some really bad windstorms (no tornadoes, thank God) and there are shingles missing off my 15+ y.o. roof. So I gotta get another roof — when it rains it pours! — and it ain’t gonna be cheap.
Last night, Snuggles shredded the carpet in my bedroom, which I’d planned on replacing next year, anyway. Looks like Mr. Snuggly-Wuggly Dog is going to have to be crate trained; the animal rescue group may be able to help me with that. Meanwhile, it’s yet one more flooring repair I didn’t plan on doing yet, as I don’t think duct tape is going to work.
Another needed repair: I’ll just board up a messed-up bathroom window instead of replacing it. It faces the backyard; the city won’t catch me.
I found out that the dadgum broadleaf weeds in my front yard are actually a (very aggressive native) ground cover called Horse Herb. It’s choked out the English ivy and the St. Augustine grass, it’s taken over the whole space, and it’s a losing battle. The nursey pros say some people like it bc it doesn’t need water. So I think I will let it stay and just mow it. I can’t afford much landscaping this year, sorry, neighbors! I’ll just water the oaks and let it be.
We’re not even half way through May and already the forecast is for 100 degrees F. this week. Per someone’s post, I’m going to get out the great big watering can and put it in my shower stall so I can catch the water while I wait for it to warm up. Can’t let all that water go down the drain! I already dump the dishpan water outside, after handwashing the dishes.
I feel for you. My adorable cat managed to dig a hole in our wall-to-wall carpet. Ugh!
Lisa, there is no way in hell SS is going to end. As I said before, seniors vote. Plus there would be rebellion if the fascist ended it, as we all know, we have paid into it.
I’m not saying go ahead and quit your job, but I wouldn’t be kept up nights worrying about Social Security either. That’s the third rail of politics.
I agree with Rose about SS. Even if an ending was called for, first, it couldn’t end instantly. Second, look at how many recent government moves have been announced and later at least toned down, if not reversed, (even though the panic and pain they caused continues). Third, it isn’t just seniors who want SS to continue: How many people would have to take in their parents/ grandparents/ other relatives? They wouldn’t support the cut, either.
Oh, sweetie, you’re (temporarily) living in the Land of One Darn Thing After Another. It happens. Been there. Crawled back out. Take a deep breath. Snuggle with Snuggles. This is a great place to vent. Someone (I dare say everyone?) will be going through the same thing(s). You are not alone!
A church member who has a small farm recently turned it into a non-profit with the goal being to teach and encourage people to grow their own food. Individuals or groups can plant a large row of vegetables about 4’ x 75’ and is requested to contribute $25-50 toward irrigation. You can grow for yourself and/or the local food bank. Our family is growing corn, beans, carrots and peas for ourselves and the food bank. Besides being a place to garden, it’s also a wonderful social experience of everyone working together and sharing skills, seeds and conversation.
Cathy, what a wonderful idea. I love that you have this in your community.
We are pretty thrifty already so mostly we have been taking on more mystery shops, doing a few a week. We concentrate on the grocery store and restaurant ones, and the gas station ones. We also took on an oil change shop this week—it has been more than a decade since we paid for either of our vehicles to have oil changes or car washes. I also volunteer at the food bank, where we are offered extra vegetables or fruits that won’t last the weekend for distribution on Monday. Between shops and the food bank, we are spending less than $50 a month on food for the two of us. If it were not for milk and coffee, we’d spend even less than that. We are also putting in a large garden concentrating on things that store well, like carrots and potatoes and cabbages, just in case things get dire this winter. We are at the end of the food chain and this past winter, for example, a food barge issue meant weeks with some shortages. One way we are very fortunate is that we have lots of opportunities for free moose, caribou and salmon, so could eat soups and chilis to stretch those if we needed to. (We also have permits to fish so have sometimes gone salmon fishing with younger friends who help pull in the fish and we do more of the gutting and cleaning to compensate for less of the other physical. Our best salmon fishing area is dangerous, you have to tie yourself to a tree or risk being swept away because you are standing in hip deep water in waders that can fill with water and upend you, which happened to a neighbor years ago; they never did find his body.) I read here about folks cutting back on meats to extend their dollars; we are in the opposite situation, meats and fish being so plentiful that we cut back on produce.