Frugality and Money Stuff

Books

Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach - I don't care that this was on the bestseller list for a while. It's still not popular enough. It has scads of tips in it for living well no matter the budget. Also, despite its female-centric focus, it's suitable for all genders. The trouble is that these directions aren't explicit and require much mulling over to fit them to your circumstances. I've actually been reading this for years and I am still chewing on the lessons. Good luck.
Making Stuff and Doing Things by Kyle Bravo et al - where else will you find a guide to growing potato barrels, making a whole awful lot of compost, dumpster diving, and how to make your own sex toys?
The Tightwad Gazette I and II - although some ideas are questionable, a lot are still relevant. And the second one was published in 1995! Do note, never EVER turn off the pilot light for a gas stove. That's a sure way to a gas leak, and those can kill you in a variety of colorful ways don't do it. Other tips are seriously dangerous and questionable, but reflected best known practices at the time, such as "dented or rusty cans are safe to dumpster dive for." Like, no.

Links

SquawkFox 4/22/23 The "how to organize your fridge" entry got reposted on lifehacker, so I checked out the site. It's great.
Thread
Fun Cheap or Free 4/16/23 Now looking into these blog posts. Um, it's kind of overwhelming, but in a good way.
DIYnCrafts 4/16/23 Same deal

Frugality Tips

1/31/23 My husband came up with a brilliant idea I haven't heard before. He pays his bills... for the next month, before that month. A bill comes due right before the end of the month for that month, right? Well this way he gets to avoid having to shit bricks every month.
Bargain hunting, couponing, shopping around, and similar efforts can get seriously tiring. However, times you definitely will help out by finding deals is for big-ticket or expensive purchases, things that either are super expensive or matter a lot or both. If you rarely hunt for bargains, try to at least do that.
Treat things with respect. I know you've probably heard that this society values things over people, and sure, that's probably true and is bad. But that doesn't mean it's right to not respect things at all, because they sustain your life. And uh, practically that means your stuff won't wear out, fall apart, or need to be thrown out in record time, which is way worse for the environment and your wallet than you could ever imagine. Why throw all that hard work and effort required to make these things down the drain? In most places, this is a lesson you have to teach yourself because it is not culturally passed down. So try to train yourself to treat the things you can interact with, with as much respect as possible. Don't manhandle your stuff, maintain it with care, repair it if you can or farm out the labor to someone who knows how, and it will improve not only your quality of life but the quality of all life in the immediate vicinity. Possibly even in more places than you could realize. It's too easy to go for the new and shiny or the unfamiliar, instead of valuing what's here and now. What's around you right now? What can you do to take the best care of it you can? Lavish what's under your care with all the appreciation you can muster, like one of those stereotypical 50s nuts likes to lavish care on his automobile - that level of care and consideration. We trash too much.
Be proactive with your money. The granddaddy of all money tips. If you plan out your expenses beforehand, and almost never impulse buy, you are in control. And also on the road to getting rich. A good way to do this is to set aside some cash each month for "the unexpected," after figuring out how to meet your needs with the money. Generally speaking I find that budgeting once a month and looking at my bank balance once a week is sufficient.
The secret ingredient in being financially stable is connections. Be that inside a family, among friends, or among extended family, if you find yourself suddenly needing a loan with no interest charged on repayment, if you do that and pay back the donor asap, you keep the friendship, your bacon is saved, and you owe them one. Then, when they're later in the shit, they can ask you for help and you have the pleasure of being able to help (hopefully). How do you get this kind of thing going? Don't be a dick. Know the meaning of loyalty, trust, and of pulling through for your friends when they're in a pinch. What goes around comes around. Money only weirds up a friendship if you let it.
The same deal goes for references. Never, ever ask for a reference that will show up on your resume from someone who may or may not like you. They'll take pleasure in throwing you under the bus to every prospective employer and school. Ask me how I know. Instead, ask people you know have your best interests at heart, and more importantly, those who have seen you work and know exactly what you bring to the table.
Make a long list of the things you need that can be bought with money, and plan for that. If it takes one year or twenty or even fifty, at least you know where you're going and what's important so you don't waste the money on things you (in hindsight) don't fucking need or even want. Keep those things that you need in mind. Once your needs are taken care of, only then worry about your wants. This gets tricky when figuring out what you need for the sake of your mental health, so I suggest setting aside a little for a self-care budget, even if that's $1 a month.
With self-discipline window shopping is a heck of an asset. You can window shop as "retail therapy" as much as you want. Then when you actually need a thing you can buy a high-quality thing that doesn't break in half a year or otherwise turn out to be crap. I plan on filling up the shopping section of this site with such stuff ASAP, maybe it'll save you some time, dunno.
Credit? Hell no! It's a trap! Set up a GoFundMe and ask for spare change and help from friends and family and strangers on the internet instead! Sell your shit on eBay and Craigslist and whatever else you can find (Mercari perhaps?). Donate plasma. Find temp gigs on Craigslist, find side hustles, do whatever you can, because yikes. Unless you're good enough at finances to pay off your credit balance asap and want to build good credit via small token sums. If you've already paid student loans on time then you already have good credit.
Legal scams are a dime a dozen, and extremely expensive. Here are a few: student loans, all credit, a whole bunch of banks that are crooked as fuck (Santander and credit unions being a notable exception), lottery tickets, contracts with fine print that you literally can't read, every single casino ever, most banks "overdraft fees" for being poor and not having enough in the account, using a man as a meal ticket (marry, get pregnant, divorce, profit!), misusing government programs for social welfare, certain money wire transfer services, private health insurance, vehicle insurance, in fact all insurance right now. And the number one: lack of minimum wage that actually is federally mandated across the board with no loopholes. The best way to combat these is at the voting booth.
See Spirituality for some ways to improve your luck. Wealth luck is included in luck.
Our society has not gotten over its consumerism. In fact it is an addiction to buy stuff you don't need, want, or even like. In such situations, "just say no." Once you see through the fact that social pressures and clever marketing is really just drug pushing, this gets easier. Other things that are expensive drugs which aren't as obvious as you know, drugs: sugar, tobacco, constant television, external validation, fancy cars, constant high-speed internet, children to live vicariously through or conform to socioreligious pressures with, workaholism, conformity (especially with regards to mcmansions and high fashion and other keeping up with the joneses).
Roommates and housemates are underrated, but you have to know them for longer than 7 years first, and trust them with your life. Family members are good to live with. No shame in living with your parents in an economy like this. If there are privacy issues consider constructing partitions, getting soundproofing going, or doing something similar.
Regular paychecks? Automate your bills if you can. As many of these as you can.
If you are able to make phone calls from your computer, that's one less bill. You might want to get some kind of prepaid phone such as Straight Talk on a flip phone to carry around with you for emergencies.
Telecommute as much as possible. Shop online as much as possible, but track your package and be watching the window to prevent porch pirates. Use the USPS, they're no longer in the shit.
Use Healthcare.gov if you aren't rich enough to cover healthcare expenses out of pocket. I think that's like 90% of Americans?
I think I finally figured out why people buy so much stuff they don't need. Pain. Also fear, especially fear of lack, and this can be really pronounced if you lacked for your needs before. The ways to combat this are in the Mental Health, PTSD, and Herbal Medicine subsections of this site.
Develop 52 grocery lists, one per week out of the year, and make them of seasonal things you like to eat. Improve these year after year.
Develop 12 shopping lists for every month of the year, for household and general costs. Improve these year after year. Bonus: adding yearly expenses for things like soap and salt that don't go bad over time means that you can buy in bulk at a discount
Develop a local community; a network; of people you don't distrust. Know who to ask for things, and make yourself known as a person to ask for things. What's your specialty? Do you need help with anything that you can pay someone local for? Can you go to garage sales, is there a community garden, what's the library like? Know the resources in your community. Know where to find things. Learn.
Set up a way to trade your stuff with your whole friend and family group. Perhaps an indoors meetup to swap your extra stuff away that you don't want but know is good?
Find all the places that take donations in your area. Most areas in the US have at least one per county. Ask at your local library, visitor's center, coffee shop, and homeless shelter. And wow, I really stan Goodwill. Donate to them, ~~take~~ (7/14/22 oh crap, didn't mean to condone the five finger discount, that is not what i meant) or buy what you need.
There are dumpster diving guides on Instructables. Use them. Learn from experience, and how things are in your local area. If you get good enough at this and scavenging other stuff, you can even sell this kind of thing on Craigslist as long as you clean it up first.
Five things that are worth learning to save you shitloads of money: appliance repair, vehicle repair, home repair/handyman work, cooking, cleaning/organization.
If you don't have outstanding health issues, use one room as your main hangout and keep it far more comfortable than the rest of the house
It's not always the best policy to cook your own food. If you really can't, or if you can only cook so much, meal prep using takeout and premade supermarket stuff and get to know the stuff in your area, being sure to get the buying done twice a week or so
If nowhere in your area is hiring for work that isn't wage slavery and the whole area has gone to shit, get the fuck out of dodge. You can work yourself to death in a place like that and it's not even necessary. Even being a hobo for a little while is better than that. Squat the Planet can help here. But if you have a friend or contact in a faraway place ask them for help first, since being a hobo is extremely dangerous and can also kill you. So the bonus is marginal. Best if you get two weeks, preferably two months, of cash stashed for an airbnb in another state or something.
The notion that friendships are ruined by money and material gifts only applies if you and/or your friends are sheisty pieces of shit. Trust your friends? Help them out financially and materially. And if you ever need help desperately and have no other choice, ask them for help.
If you are healthy, DIYing shit gives you quite a workout (for free) and a lot of stuff (for free). Also gives you skills that you can put to use in the marketplace if you so choose. DIY as much or as little as you want, and frankly the more the better. The only real way to learn is to find a little guidance and then just jump in. Bonus points for upcycling stuff from the recycling bin.
If you cook, animal products should be a flavoring, not the main ingredient. Use vegetables as the main ingredient. Chinese food and soul food excels at this.
Learning to not waste food, running water, gasoline, and electricity is a process. Practice, practice, practice. You can reduce usage of other things around the house, but the benefits of that are dubious at best.
Be on the lookout for freebies and cheap stuff whenever you go to any store. Spend extra time in said store, not to buy more expensive stuff, but to see if there's anything you need at a low price
Have scheduled systems set up for your whole household. Big whiteboards in common areas might help, also paper lists taped to walls, possibly laminated and checked off with washable markers. A system for chores. A system for meals. A system for cleaning. A system for running errands. A calendar on the wall. Print off or write out the system as a personal copy for each family member. And buy everyone planners! All on a schedule, as strictly adhered to as is sane and reasonable, by all who live in the household. Less expenses out of nowhere, less losing your shit in the piles of mess, less stress. Overall way more money long term, not to mention health and happiness. It should help to tape up reminders too.
The reason that you get paid more for more college degrees is because that knowledge is that valuable. If you so choose to get a college education without the certificate, you can use the knowledge on yourself and your family members, and it will still be as valuable, although not socially accepted. See if you can do that and then follow through with getting the fancy piece of paper without the expense if you've already studied your way through a ton. Or, don't, you'll still benefit, just not as much. Check out those scholarship guides in libraries, and recommend ACT and SAT test prep guides to high school students as a way of paying this knowledge forward. Merit scholarships are dank.
You can work jobs while going to college that are in your college. See what you can find.
Set up a mini makerspace and upcycling area in your living quarters, possibly as part of a home office. You WILL use it.
5/21/23 Experiment with the store brand and the generic brand for stuff whenever you can, with generic/store brands and at stores you've tried before and liked if possible. Sure, you whiff (swing and miss) sometimes, but you'd be shocked and surprised to discover these often are just as good if not better than the name brand stuff.

Extra tips for really cutting down costs which may or may not be worth it 5/31/23

Get rid of cable, streaming entertainment services, and internet
Straight up stop buying all the niceties and things you want. All of them. Stick to only what you need to survive
Pack everything up. Move somewhere else.
Research available in-demand jobs... switch careers
Depending on how crooked banks in your are area and how secure your living quarters are, stop banking with anyone. Store all your assets at home til you find a better opportunity. Try credit unions. Also, consider moving somewhere else.
Depending on your lifestyle choices, eliminating the possibility you could get pregnant or get someone pregnant. There are many options and all good doctors will help you.
Switching to from-home work with no commute. No more car, and getting groceries either via walking or via delivery services. Or, by mail.
Upon going to college, only attending online classes
Literally downsizing living spaces-wise, to either a one-room cabin with attached kitchen and bathroom, or trailer, or DIY home you build yourself, or prefab small home, or even a small home/living space built on the land or in the backyard of a friend or family member (yurt? Earthbag roundhouse? Small DIY she-shed turned into home? Cabin?). These options seem to be becoming more available, which is really good and far better than renting from shitlord landlord, right?
More roommates
Work for a farmer at a farmer's market or in food service. Ask for an employee discount on the produced food. Better yet, get some land, share it with trustworthy people, grow your own.

Big Brain Time

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