Theories for a Frugal Life

Living within my means has been ingrained in me my whole life, as is living a green life, meaning being nice to Mother Nature.

The two - to me - go hand and hand.

I find when I share my theories with people, there are two schools of reactions. One is the person looking at me like I have three heads and webbed feet. This is sadly the usual reaction. The other rare reaction is a look of pure relief that there is a kindred soul out there.

My theories are simple:

1. Live within my means. My house is small - just big enough for the two humans and dog who live there. Yes, when I go visit friends who have big house with real closets and spare rooms, I get a tinge of jealously, but their needs are different than mine and our 950 square feet work for us. If our needs ever changed, we would carefully reevaluate things.
   

2. Live without what is not necessary. Necessary is different for everyone. For me, one of my life "with outs" was I made a conscious decision to live without a clothes dryer when my last one broke. It used a lot of natural gas and I felt like it was ruining our clothing.

   I started line drying everything and our clothing has lasted MUCH longer than before. Also, I felt I took a small step to reducing my carbon footprint. Your "live without" and mine may be totally different. I think everyone has something that they could easily eliminate from their life and not miss it.
   

3. I also have (where I can) a three-life rule. This means try to get at least three lives out of an item. For example, the good sheets were used on the bed, then the dogs used them in their crates, and their final life was being used for cleaning rags.

   This three-life rule can work for things like coats--a good coat, a take out the dog coat, a use what's left of the wool coat to make boiled wool flowers for a craft project. Even silverware can have three lives, which are use for meals, leave in containers to spoon out things like powdered cocoa, and spray paint and bend them to hold business cards (think of it as metal origami).
   

4. When I need something, I don't buy it immediately. If I want to replace something I use all the time, my first line is to ask around to see if anyone I know has one they don't need. If not, I will try a thrift store, flea market, or tag sale. Just about everything devalues the minute you take it off the store shelf, so why pay full price for something that someone else may have used a few times and discarded?

   If it is something I would like to have, then I wait a few days. If I think about it, 99 times out of 100, I don't get it. This is especially true with clothing and most household items. Yes, a pretty new tan sweater would be nice, but I have two already, so why add another to the mix? When the two I have lived their three lives, then I may replace ONE of them...maybe.
   

5. When I have to buy something that is more of a necessity - tires for the car or replace a broken washer or stove - I shop carefully and when I finally make up my mind with who has the best price, I ask the salesperson, kindly and with a smile, if there are discounts or rebates available or if this is the best price they can offer.

   I have found this works best when I have a history with a store/vendor, and they know me, know that I have recommended them to others.

   That said, it also works sometimes just being kind to the person you are asking. And I mean kind from the minute you walk into the store until the minute you leave. Kindness goes a long way and, in every situation, it is FREE!