Maybe it’s just me. And then again, maybe it’s just not. I’ve been noticing more and more people flocking to master the art of frugal living. With so much uncertainty now floating in the world air, I don’t think people have much of a choice anymore. Money has got to be taken control of as well as spending and saving. Bare essentials are key. DIY is on the rise. Priorities have been re-assigned. There’s a whole new spreadsheet out there advising us on what’s important and what’s not. It’s called ‘survival’ in my book. It’s one that many more of us need to master. Quickly.
There may not be any charts of record showing the surge in Frugal Living, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I tend to look at frugal blogs/vlogs subscriber count. If it contains good content, the numbers are going up. Rapidly.
Take my favorite vlog: Live Simple. Live Free (click here). (formerly Tiny House Prepper) I was with them when they first started out (I think it was 3 years ago? Not sure.) and maybe they had a handful of subscribers. Now? YouTube just sent the happy couple (Bill and Elizabeth) a plaque celebrating their achieving 100K subscribers (which has since gone up even more to 116K and counting!!) I have to admit that at first I was a little hesitant about this couple but over the years, they have proved to be the real thing: frugal to the core!
I’ve been a long-time-frugalista. I think you have to hit rock bottom before you become interested in frugality. My introduction to frugal living came in a newsletter subscription ($12 per year) written in the mid 1990’s by The Frugal Zealot herself, Amy Dacyczyn (click here). America was in a deep recession at that time and I was in much need of having somebody show me a different kind of sustainable lifestyle than what my parents or then-husband was doing. Through Amy, I’ve learned to make my own pizza, still to this day! And to get out a calculator and figure the bottom lined pricing on almost anything you buy or do.
Frugality is such a way of my life that I hardly think about it anymore. It’s just automatic. Take this box of Olay Facial Scrubs. In it are 66 sheets to wash your face 66 times. I used one sheet and noticed immediately the sheet was too large for just a facial. I also noted that each sheet could be used twice instead of once. So, I got out my scissors and cut a sheet in half. It was still too big. There was so much soap loaded onto each sheet, that I was able to cut each sheet into four parts AND use each sheet twice instead of once. That means (when I got my calculator out) instead of only 66 facial washes, I got a total of 528 facial washes. That was more than a 700% increase (462 more washes over the original 66). So instead of getting just a 2 month supply, for the same $10.32 I spent on the box (from Amazon) I now had a 17 month supply! Each wash came out to being slightly just under two cents (.0195cents to be exact) instead of 15.6 cents per original wash. Now, that’s what I call frugality! All thanks to Amy Dacyczyn so many, many years ago.
When I compound all the frugal techniques I have incorporated into my daily life since the days of Amy’s newsletter (she stopped writing when she saved one million dollars and hasn’t returned since) is it any wonder how I was able to downsize living on $96,000 a year in the mid 1990’s down to only $29,000 in 2020? I still live a top shelf life, using top shelf quality items but my out-of-pocket costs are always at bottom shelf pricing.
There’s a stark reality facing most of us out there, right now. There’s a pandemic raging worldwide and statistics show that nearly half of the US population are without a job (click here). If you haven’t learned or mastered frugality before, maybe now is the time you do.
Don’t look to me to show you the way. My frugality is mindless. I do it without thinking. I wouldn’t know how to show nor teach you. BUT there are other people on the globe, more talented than me, who I also look up to for help and guidance. There’s always something new in the world of frugality. It seems to me that there is a plethora of frugalistas who are learning to live on annual salaries of $25,000 to $35,000 to $40,000 a year. Based on a jobless recovery, $30,000 a year might start to sound luxurious to some. You might have to consider yourself fortunate and blessed if you can master that amount.
Till then, let me make the following suggestions to get you up and running (In addition to Live Simple. Live Free, as listed above:
#1. (with me) Coffee With Kate. Here’s her blog (click here). Here’s her vlog (click here).
#2. Living (Dining) On A Dime. Click here for their YouTube channel.
#3. Money Mom. Click here for her YouTube channel. (pandemic hit her hard)
#4. Homestead Tessie. Click here for her vlog/YouTube channel. (hubby just lost his job)
I’m sure there are many others. If you know of other sites, please share them here with us in the comments section. My kudos to all of the ladies and gentlemen I have listed above. I think they are all wonderful people and should be thanked for reaching out to all of us and showing us the frugal ways they found to make ends meet and still live a life of decency and abundance. All the information is free!
Live well and prosper, my friends. Live well and prosper.
Hi Cindi. My favorite frugal blogger is still American Dreamer at Frugal Things Every Day. I have followed her since 2008. Her posts have helped me so much. After all this time, I consider her the big sister I never had. She is the person who inspired me to pay our house off, pay cash for a car, and up our retirement savings. I also followed Amy from TWG many years ago, but some of her frugality was more than I did.
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Thanks Chris! I’ll check it out. 🙂
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Chris, I checked her out. I AM following her! I didn’t recognize American Dreamer. Just Frugal Things Every Day. I’ve commented several times on her blog. She is very good! Thanks again.
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I was born in Romania, under the communist rule, so frugality and DIY/crafts are things I was raised with. Now, in my 30s, living in UK, I am still living as frugal as I can, even if there is no need for that. My husband has the same background, so we are used to do lots of things ourselves, like renovating our home (we are doing that at the moment).
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Thanks Anca for sharing your story with me. Best of luck to you and your husband!
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Cindi, thanks for sharing Amy’s site. I was a follower of Tightwad Gazette and saw her first interview on a morning show. She brilliantly used her marketing background to publicize her frugal lifestyle, newsletter, and books.
I am checking out your other suggestions too.
It seems ages ago you splurge and bought the ring and purse in Florida and had a different mindset. I too can’t believe frugality has now taken over my thought again. Hard to believe just six months has passed!
Sincerely, Lara
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Lara, I regret those two purchases so much!!!! If it had been 2 days later, I NEVER would have bought them. Over the years, every time Nick and I went through a downturn, I sold a lot of my jewelry sometimes just to buy food. I literally was down to nothing. Nick and I have been together over 38 years and he never bought me a wedding ring. Yeah, the one I just got is nice, but since this new financial calamity has beset the world, to be honest, I’ve never worn the ring. I was thinking of returning it but there may be a time again when we need groceries, so I’ll sell it then. As to the handbag, it just sits in my closet in its original purchase bag. I’ve never used it. These items were just not me. It was a failed course. I also bought new jeans from Chico’s and a few nice tops. Still in my closet, with the price tags. I have no where to go and no where to wear them to. Maybe next year. If my weight doesn’t change. UGH!
Frugality is me. It’s part of my DNA. I just can’t live any other way.
I just sold my stock holdings yesterday (when the market was up!). Slight loss, but AOK. Back in CDs paying a measly 1%. Oh well. I’m only successful with being frugal. That I can do with my eyes closed!
Go figure.
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Can you still return all these items still? For full purchase price? I know Macy’s did have a Return policy like this for a year. Lara
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No. It was at an outlet mall. All sales final. Since I bought at such a discount I can sell retail or consignment and still maybe break even. I made a mistake. I was an idiot. I was a fool. Lapse of judgment. But I’ll make it right.
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Instead of looking at them as failures . Use that bag and put the ring on your finger- you deserve to wear it for you and your DH ‘s time together a celebration of your many anniversaries shared and your retirement together. Celebrate Nick’s not having Covid19. Try the clothes on as incentive to get back to a better healthier place. I have plateau at 16 pounds lost for almost three weeks. Thinking I need to do something else. I just read Yesterday :
The Plant Paradox :The Hidden Dangers in so called “healthy “ foods that cause disease and weight gain by Dr Steven R. Gundry. Eye opening. He is on Public Television. Have you read it or seen him on TV?
BTW: I learned the hard way on filling the freezer full- you got to watch getting to far ahead and the quality of the meat deteriorating from freezer burn. Instead of canning I prefer green beans blanched and frozen on a cookie sheet then bagged. It will help fill that freezer. I am going to plant the rest of my green bean seeds today for a Fall harvest. If you keep picking the beans gently holding the stem while you remove the pod – they continue To flower and your harvesting beans for two months, while also enriching the soil.
I am in stocks for the long haul. I just invested $30,000 more into the medical preferred stock my mentor suggested at its current price paying a monthly 10.65% and now it will generate an extra $250 a month Instead of .1% in the money market and $30 a year.
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I’m going to start harvesting and freezing the pea pods, the peas and probably in a week, the green beans. I have the same goal for the tomatoes. Rather than can them, I’ve been saving plastic containers and will freeze my marinara sauce instead (San Marzano tomatoes!!)
As for Wall Street, I’m done. I’m hopeless at it. My expertise is in saving money by getting lower prices, DIY or somehow doing it for less.
I’m not going to wear the ring around the house. I’m going to keep it pristine in case I have to sell it. Or go somewhere. In the fall, I’ll wear the Chico clothes I bought (too hot over the summer for them). I’ll wear them when we go food shopping.
Thanks for you comments and suggestions.
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Hi again, I was thinking on your statement
Frugality is me. It’s part of my DNA. I just can’t live any other way.
I have lived periods of extreme frugality In my lifetime For different reasons when the money needed to Be Stretched .
1. to save for our first home
2. To provide my kids education
3. Pay my DH medical Bills
4. To increase my retirement savings. When do you have enough?
I find frugal habits become second nature. They are a learned method. When the paycheck stops you need to learn About other streams of income, side hustles , real estate, investing . Frugality just lets you do more with less . Sincerely Lara
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Exactly. Frugality is just part of my everyday living. I don’t think about it. I just Do It!
I have been thinking about all the rough times most of us have had to gone through. If we sketch it out, we probably spent more time going through rough times than abundant times. I’m tired of the ups and downs. Frugality, for me, keeps it at a constant level. I prefer that.
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