Last month, I decided to see how long I could go without grocery shopping, just by using up the stuff I already had on hand in our cupboards and freezer.  I hadn’t been stockpiling anything and we didn’t have a huge amount of food stored, but it was 15 days between shopping trips, as opposed to my normal 7.  And when I did go back to the grocery store, our bill was only about $40 higher than it usually is, so it was definitely worth some kitchen creativity to use up some of what we had on hand before buying more groceries.

There’s a great Goodwill just around the corner from the grocery store, so I decided to treat myself to a little thrifting that afternoon.  I spend a total of $42 at Goodwill…

We are going to a wedding in June, and I went looking for a new dress to wear.  I found this, plus shoes that are a perfect match and were still tied together with the little string that retailers use to keep pairs together:

I got a great stainless steel bowl that I’m planning to use as a planter, and a black pan that I can use to sun dry tomatoes this summer.  I also got a cute little wooden step stool for our son to use in the bathroom – and it folds into a chair too!  In the pan you can also see some Melissa & Doug wooden stensils:

A friend of mine is expecting a baby girl this spring, and I got this adorable little dress/bloomers set, along with about four yards of super cute fabric that I will use to make something for the baby.  I haven’t decided what I’m making yet, but I’m sure inspiration will strike:

I also got a complete croquet set for out backyard:

And even though I know that I don’t need any more clothes, I did buy two tops for myself.  The brown one is LOLE, and I could tell it was a well made shirt as soon as I saw it.  After I got home, I looked up their website, and all of their basic long sleeved shirts sell for about $45 – $60:

All of that for $42.

Thanks Goodwill, for making it possible for us to have nice stuff and still fund our retirement accounts!

Apparently I’m a bit behind on reading personal finance blogs, because I just came across a couple of articles from February of last year.  They’re old, but make some great points and are very interesting reads.  Trent at The Simple Dollar wrote an article about how a media interviewer called him a cheapskate.  And then Him from Make Love Not Debt wrote about his thoughts on the topic.  I found both articles very interesting, along with the comments from readers.  It seems like everyone has an opinion, and two people can see another person’s frugality in very different ways.  My personal opinion – and we’re all entitled to one – is that I’d much rather hang out with Trent than Him.  I think Trent’s values are a lot more in line with my own, and from the articles I’ve read on his blog, he seems very happy with his life and choices.

But the articles brought up a deeper point than just the choices we make in our own lives and whom we choose as friends.  There was a lot of talk about judging others and self-righteousness – from both sides of the frugal – spendy spectrum.  I think that it’s somewhat natural to tend to think highly of others who are most like ourselves.  Most people tend to choose friends with whom they have a lot in common.   I would say that I’m probably the most frugal of my friends, but they’re all pretty focused on saving for a rainy day and for retirement, and none of them think less of me for shopping in thrift stores and driving an old car.

I do think of myself as frugal.  And I am happy almost 100% of the time.  For me, the connection between those two things is strong, and I believe that the simple life my husband and I have created for our family plays a large role in our happiness.  But I don’t think less of people who make different choices in terms of how they spend their money.  As long as those choices don’t impact the rest of us.  If a person chooses to spend all of their income each month (and I’m not talking about someone working for minimum wage who barely has enough for rent and food), that is none of my business.  But when I started hearing about mortgage bailouts after ARMs began to reset a couple years ago, I’ll admit to being irritated – especially when I read article after article about people who purchased houses that they could barely afford, even at the low introductory interest rate.  Bankruptcy is another example of something that drives up costs for everyone else, and it’s frustrataing when the bankruptcy is caused because a person consistently made choices to spend instead of save.  Yes, there are lots of cases where bankruptcy is caused because a person became too ill to work or suffered some sort of catastrophic circumstances, but there are also plenty of people who live paycheck to paycheck (despite having a good income) and are thus putting themselves in a situation where they have no ability to weather even the slightest financial storm.

What do you think?  Do you agree more with Trent or with Him?  Do you care about how other people choose to spend their money?  Are you more or less frugal than your friends?  Do you friends care?

Pretty much everything in our house was used when we got it – even our dog and cat.  But I haven’t ever taken the time to photograph and catalog most of the great deals we’ve gotten over the years.  So I’m quite impressed with the Thrifty Chicks for their latest project – an album of 201 photos of awesome thrifted stuff.  It’s like a Christmas catalog of unique stuff.  You can’t order from the pages, but you can be inspired to go out an find your own awesome stuff, for far less than you’d spend at the mall.

I’ve already mentioned that we’re planning a super low-key Christmas around here.  Our son is only a year and half old, and could care less whether it’s Christmas or the 4th of July or November 20th.   As long as we spend our evenings playing with him, and take him to the playground during the day, he’s a happy camper.  But there are a few people for whom I enjoy getting presents.  I’ve been pondering various homemade options this year, and I’m also going to go to the thrift stores a little more often for the next few weeks and see if I spot anything that reminds me of those people.  I’m making a commitment that all of the gifts my family gives this year will be either homemade, secondhand, or donations to a charity that is close to the recipient’s heart.  No mall stuff, no online shopping, nothing mass-produced unless I’m giving it a second life.

What about you?  Anyone else out there who is willing to get off of the crazy retail train that somehow manages to take over a good chunk of the country for the last month of the year?  If you have Black Friday off work, perhaps you can spend it thrifting for wonderful unique gifts, or sorting through things you already have on hand that can be turned into homemade gifts.  I’m thinking about making wooden blocks for a friend’s toddler by cutting up a 2×4.  Or I might felt an old wool sweater and use it to make a her a little purse.  Lots of possibilities, all more fun than spending the day at the mall racking up credit card debt.

So head over to the Thrifty Chicks site for some inspiration, and then challenge yourself to see how much of your Christmas shopping you can do without buying new stuff.  And whatever you do, promise yourself that you won’t go into debt for Christmas, since that takes all the fun out of it.

For a couple years now, I’ve had Colin Beavan’s blog – No Impact Man – on my blogroll.  His site is both interesting and inspiring, and I’ve always enjoyed it.  I  just finished reading his new book (also titled No Impact Man), and highly recommend it.  The focus of the book is on Colin and his wife and daughter as they work to eliminate as much as possible of their carbon footprint for a year.  No transportation except their feet and bikes, no food that isn’t local, no electricity in their apartment, no elevators… it’s quite an impressive feat.  Especially since they live in a 9th floor apartment in NYC.

The book is inspiring from an environmental perspective, but my frugal side was inspired too.  Colin and his family transform themselves from a typical TV-watching, Prada-buying (well, maybe that part isn’t typical…), taxi-riding, Starbucks-drinking family to something much more simple, and much more pleasant.  In the process, they stop buying new things (thrift stores are fair game, as used merchandise is always a green option), start riding bikes and walking everywhere, give up their TV and hang out playing games in the evening, and gather around the kitchen to prepare fresh local food rather than order take out.  All told, it seems that nearly all of the changes they made would have a dual effect of both lessening their environmental impact, and also reducing their spending.

The book is far more interesting than just a simple journal of their progress or a how-to list for environmental action.  Colin does an excellent job of weaving introspective musings in between the details of his life, and the result is a more thought-provoking read than many of the environmentally-focused books I’ve read.  If you’re looking for a book that will give you some ideas and inspiration for living a life that is a bit more gentle – on yourself, your wallet, and the planet – I definitely recommend No Impact Man.

I noticed a couple weeks ago that our son was starting to ourgrow most of his hand-me-down shoes.  His toes have gotten to the end of his size 5s, so I knew it was time for a trip to the thrift store.  I decided to get him two pairs of size 6 shoes, as I figured that would last him until he needs a bigger size. 

It only took me a few minutes to find exactly what I needed.  I found a pair of Stride Rite shoes (super cool, with little surf boards all over them – my husband said he’d like a pair in his size) and a pair of Lands End shoes, both size 6, and both with almost no wear at all (no toe imprints inside, no wear showing on the soles).  I also found a pair of size 6 winter boots – just in time, since we’re supposed to get a foot of snow over the next two days. 

As a bonus, I came across a miniature catcher’s mitt, which my husband thought was my best score of the day.  He got out his own glove and started playing a toddler version of catch with our son as soon as I got home.

All together, I spent $12.  For two pairs of shoes, boots, and a mitt.  I knew that Lands End and Stride Rite are good brands, but just out of curiosity I checked their websites to see what sort of a deal I got.  Most of the shoes on the Stride Rite site were in the $40 – $55 range, and the Lands End shoes were about $30.

In keeping with my mission to declutter our house, I dropped off a carload of donations at the thrift store.  The catcher’s mitt wasn’t on my list, but it was just too awesome to pass up.

If you’re not already shopping in thrift stores, you gotta start!

At our old house, there were two thrift stores within a 15 minute walk; now the closest thrift store is ten miles away.  I’ve mentioned that we very rarely go thrifting anymore, which has been helpful in my mission to purge the house of clutter.  These days, I only go to the thrift stores if there is something we really need.  I went a couple days ago, on a mission to find a small set of shelves to put by our back door.  We take our shoes off when we come in the house, and they end up in a big heap by the door.  I was looking for shelves that would fit into the small corner by the door and give us a neat place to put shoes.

There’s a Goodwill right next to my favorite grocery store, so I combined the two trips.  Within a few minutes in the Goodwill, I found a perfect set of shelves.  They are homemade, solid, and heavy, made of real wood.  Exactly what I was looking for, and for the bargain price of five bucks.  Since I found the shelves so quickly, I decided to browse around a bit.  I soon stumbled upon a great carry-on bag.  It was solid and well-made, with a retractable handle and wheels to roll it along miles of concourse.  It had tons of interior and exterior pockets, and was just a handsome bag overall.  I wanted it.  Up until a short time ago, I’d have bought it, simply because I wanted it.

But my new clutter-purging self decided to pass on the bag, for lots of reasons.  I already have a great backpack that works just fine as a carry-on.  It also works for hikes and day trips, which can’t really be said for the wheel-about carry-on.  I’m trying to eliminate uni-tasking objects from my life as much as possible, and a purpose-made carry-on bag isn’t really good for much else besides air travel.  If I were a frequent flier, I might have made a different decision.  But the last time I flew anywhere was in 2007.  We have a toddler now, and flying doesn’t sound so appealing anymore.  In fact, traveling in any form doesn’t really seem like as much fun as just hanging out at home with my husband and son.  In addition, my understanding of how my actions impact the planet has increased dramatically over the last several years, and these days the idea of flying just conjures up images of greenhouse gasses rather than exotic destinations.

So I put the bag back on the shelf for someone else to find, and left the store with the small set of shelves.  The corner by our back door is now neat and tidy, and I don’t have to find room in the basement for a bag that might come out of storage once every couple years.

All is good.

I don’t particularly like cleaning.  I love to cook, do laundry, work in the garden… but cleaning is pretty far down on my list.  But I love living in a clean house, and having lots of wide open, clean space around me.  And therein lies the conundrum.  Lately I’ve been on a mission to purge stuff from our house, so that it’s easier to clean and less likely to get messed up ( if you don’t have it, you can’t mess it up, right?)  I’ve pretty much stopped going to thrift stores, as there really isn’t anything we need, and thrift stores tend to entice me to buy stuff just because it’s there and it’s a screamin’ deal.  So at least no new stuff is coming into the house.

In addition, I’ve been going through the house and really looking at our stuff.  Asking myself if we’ve used it lately, or if we could do without it.  The back of my car is full again with stuff to drop off at the thrift store next time I go to town, and it feels great.

Yesterday, I tackled a set of kitchen cabinets.  The cabinets where we store tea, coffee, some spices, baking stuff, random kitchen gadgets that rarely get used… sort of the catch-all cabinets.  I took everything out, and tossed the stuff that I never use.  There were spices that were more preservatives than spice – and that I knew I would never use again – but were somehow still lurking in the back of my cabinet.  There was a beautiful glass pitcher that we got as a wedding gift from friends of my in-laws and have used one time.  One time, and we’ve been married since 2003.  Regardless of how pretty the pitcher was, in our kitchen, it was taking up space.  Now it’s in my car to donate, and will hopefully end up in a home where it gets used often.  By the time I had finished, I had a large stack for the thrift store, and an equally large stack for the trash.  And my cabinet looks and feels SO much better.  I can find everything.  I know that everything in there is stuff that we regularly use.

A while ago, I started saving plain glass jars when they were empty, instead of putting them in the recycle bin.  Yesterday I cleaned off all of the labels, and transferred all of the stuff that was in plastic bags in my cabinet to the jars.  Cocoa, dried coconut, spices… all of the stuff that our health food store sells in bulk bags.  Now it’s all in pretty jars instead.  I made labels out of scrap paper and black ink and glued them to the jars.  I love how it looks with all the different jars, and it’s easy to tell if I’m running low on something.  And with the cabinet all cleaned out, I can see all of the jars at a glance.

Ah, kitchen decluttering.  Perfect activity for a cold, snowy weekend.  And it’s free, which is always a bonus in my book.

Recently I got an email from a long-time reader, asking me if we still keep track of our monthly expenses.  I guess the answer is both yes and no.  We do pay close attention to what we are spending, and I check our bank balances and credit card transactions on a daily basis.  But we no longer keep track of every penny, nor do we break our spending down by category anymore.

We paid off the last of our non-mortgage debt in 2007.  Our income has slowly increased over the years without an increase in our living expenses (actually, as we paid off debt, our expenses went down).  And neither of us liked keeping every receipt for every purchase.  It was interesting to keep track of our expenses, and it did provide some motivation for keeping our spending down.  But we’re pretty far along on our frugal journey at this point.  Frugality is second nature around our house, and we never spend money mindlessly.  We ponder our purchases, buy used whenever possible, and avoid buying much of the time.  We use homemade cloth diapers, prepare pretty much all of our food from scratch, ride our bikes instead of driving, read books from the library, and we don’t even have a TV anymore.  Our cars are nearly 20 years old (no payments, and very inexpensive insurance and registration fees), and everything we wear comes from thrift stores.  We’re spending so much time trying to turn our little plot of land into a mini farm that we don’t have time to go out and spend money (we have spent money on things like fruit trees and berry bushes, but we planned for those expenses).

So we stopped keeping track of every penny spend quite a while ago.  Instead, we use a pay-ourselves-first approach that we like better.  Our only debt is our mortgage.  That means that each month our bills amount to current living expenses plus the mortgage.  In addition to that, we’ve created “bills” for several savings accounts.  Some are automated, some are not, but they are all priorities.  We have our son’s 529 plan, our HSA, our IRAs, and our emergency fund.  We also pay an additional amount towards our mortgage principal each month (it varies, but we try to make sure that each month we pay a little more than we did the month before).  Once we pay all of those “bills” we can use whatever is left over for current living expenses.  If there is a higher-than-usual amount left over, we tend to stash it in one of our savings accounts – we don’t spend it just because it’s there, but that’s probably a result of being frugal for so long that the habits are ingrained.

This is what works for us.  It guarantees that we keep making progress with our savings goals, but it also allows us some flexibility with how we spend our money.  Now that our checking account is paying more interest than our on-line savings accounts, we’ll be keeping more money in checking.  This means that we’ll have to do a little more keeping track, since money that is in our checking account will technically count as savings, and thus be untouchable for day to day expenses.  I do like having our savings in a separate place (out of sight, out of mind), but the extra interest in the checking account is enticing, and we’ll make it work.

What about you?  Do you prefer to keep track of every penny? (my mother started doing that in the early 70s, and still does to this day, even though she and my dad don’t need to anymore)  Do you use the pay yourself first method?  Do you have a budget at all?  Have you started keeping more careful track of your money since the economy headed south last year?  I’m curious to hear what other frugalites (and not-so-frugalites!) do.

Our new house doesn’t have a washer and dryer.  Well, it does now, but they aren’t included with the house.  I knew that I wanted to get a front loading washing machine once we moved.  I love that they use far less water, and the ones I’ve used (at friends’ houses) seem to spin things out much better than my top loader, so that clothes don’t take as long to dry.

I had been checking out Craigs List, but the few front loaders that I found were usually at least $500.  New, they typically start at $800, although I sometimes see sales where they get down around $600.  Still a lot to pay, but I was considering it.

A couple days ago, my parents were in their local Habitat for Humanity thrift store, and called me to say that they had found a front loading washing machine for $250.  The manufacture date on it was September 2003, and it came with a pedestal that raises it up off the floor.  The washer is now in my parents’ garage, and they have tested it to make sure that it works.

Just on a whim, I went to the appliance section at Home Depot yesterday to see what the pedestals that go under washing machines cost.  $219.  I couldn’t believe it – I actually went and asked an associate if I was understanding the sign correctly, and he assured me that I was.  That makes our $250 washer even more of a steal, since it came with the pedestal.

There was a matching dryer at the thrift store, also for $250.  But we’re going to try not having a dryer, and see how it goes.  I can’t remember the last time I used our dryer, and I think that we’ll be just fine without one.  We’ll be installing a clothesline right away, and we have our drying racks to use indoors if the weather is bad.  I stopped using our dryer about two years ago, and have made it through two winters without using it (summers are easy).  And that’s in a 1300 square food home where I have to set the drying racks in the dining room and bedrooms.  In our new house, I can set them in the basement where they’re out of the way.  So overall, I’m thinking we can get by just fine without a dryer.

Have any of you given up your dryer to the point of not having one?