Cutting down automobile expenses by cutting back on how much you use it in the first place (not necessarily by finding the best gas deals) will probably make the biggest difference in most budgets. This is true even if in the short term you incur more expense by moving closer to work in order to cut down on driving.

In addition, we save even more money because we only go to the effort of going shopping for stuff when we really need/want something.

*Yes, I know this is not an option for everyone or every area, but for anyone who does have a choice, car-free or car-lite is a huge money-saver.

LOL
No, the First World War had been going on for a couple of years for millions of people. Just because the US joined it later doesn’t mean it hadn’t started yet!

Whether you are spending 1 cent or a 1,000 dollars: if you DON’T Need it, DON’T buy it. I read on many blogs how so many people are so “thrifty”, all they do is shop at thrifts and bring home things because those things are cheap and thrifty. Then they wonder where the money has gone and why their houses are bursting at the sames with unused “stuff”. Or, many are collectors of certain objects or styles and when finding these items in thrifts, buy them all, without paring down their original collections so, again, we have the “too much stuff/not enough cash” syndrome. Things that are cheap, are really expensive because no matter how little cash you use to obtain them, if they are of no use to you–ethsetically as well as materialistically, they cost your spirit, your life force, your life’s blood. How about addressing the “obessession of thrift”?

So nice that we became debt free today, at the start of national thrift week, too!

I love it!

I am most definitely going to incorporate that into The Non-Consumer Advocate.

Go team thrift!

Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

I’ve always felt that “thrift” was about making the most of what you have, which is also in a sense about transcending limits…yeah, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

interesting that several thrift ideas posted are about cleaning products… I guess I just don’t find them to be very expensive. A 99 cent bottle of shampoo lasts me 3 months. but I like the spirit of washing your hair with baking soda and vinegar, it’s like girly MacGyver.

Some of my favorite thrift games for myself:
- Finding the cheapest gas station I pass by in a day and trying to time the gas fillups… even better using grocery points to increase the gas discount
- Making gifts, cards, and wrapping paper out of old gifts, cards, and wrapping paper. I save all the scraps and get creative with them. I cut the fronts off pretty cards and then paste them on card stock paper to reuse them, or pull out the inside layer if it’s a double-layer card, you can also use the front piece of a card as a postcard. And of course I save all the gifts that I don’t want or need and try to think of people who would love them.
- Freecycle.

A day to think about budgeting and owning your own home? Would be nice, but I don’t think that message could overcome today’s pro-consumerism culture in the media.

I love this idea. Thanks for the contest link.

I mostly prefer the term thrifty though, so now I have to read this book.

Love that! It perfectly describes the frugal vs. cheap debate.

Of course, limits and boundaries and decisions are also necessary if you decide to deal with reality instead of living a fantasy life.

There’s an idea there, but I’m not sure I’ve got it clicked in yet.

-Use sugar + soap instead of facial scrub.

-Use body wash in foaming soap dispensers instead of liquid soap (I avoid antibacterials that way). I refill the ones from Body Works. The cap has a tab you can break open if you turn the lid hard enough, and then you can refill it. Use half or less of the amount soap and still get all the foamy goodness!

-Use body wash instead of shampoo or vice versa – whatever you happen to have more of or can get cheaper. It’s basically all soap with the same purpose of getting you clean.

- I use vinegar instead of fabric softener and instead of Jet Dry. Works great, doesn’t leave a vinegar smell. I get the big Costco bottles.

Those are my favorites, so I’ll stop there!

”
Fancies are all right, if we have no special reason for saving, but if we have, and we all have, let us guard against them ourselves by putting that money where we cannot reach it, and where it can work for us, on Sundays as well as Mondays.
”

(Replace War Bonds with your favorite investment vehicle here )

Full reprint of the 1918 article here: http://www.spendwize.com/archives/credit-crunch-got-you-down-read-about-savings-90-years-ago

You just never know what gem or gem of a memory you’re going to dig up, when you go through the used items category!

Oh and as an unintentional byproduct, it saves me money – but where’s the fun in that?

Patrick
veryevolved.com