MCFL FAQ
Misc.consumers.frugal-living.faq
V 2.0
1. What is frugal living?
Frugal living is living within your means, conserving resources
(including money and time) to the extent that you feel comfortable. Many
frugalistas are frugal for economic reasons, but some just feel good about
the fact that they are working to minimize negative impacts on the environment.
Some have quite a bit of money, and like holding on to it! Some people
are willing to make more drastic changes in their lives than others. Both
types are welcome here..just please remember that everyone's point of view
is equally valid. Oh, and don't forget to pack a sense of humor! To quote
one of MCFL's resident experts, "though we all have frugalistism in common,
we have some very strong differences on which we cannot expect to change
each others minds." Wise, wise words.
2. Doesn't being frugal mean being a packrat?
It can, but it doesn't have to. Yes, it's a great feeling
to have a problem that requires something you happen to have stashed. However,
it's ALSO a great feeling to have a problem and come up with a unique solution
to it. Frugality includes use of space and time as much as it does money-so
if you are spending hours and hours of time to save .10, you have to decide
for yourself if it's really worth it. By the same token, many "time savers"
are really money traps (ex. Purchased TV dinners).
3.What are some good resources for the newly frugal?
Newsgroups
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misc.consumers.frugal-living
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alt.dumpster
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alt.answers
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alt.autos.*
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alt.barter
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alt.building.*
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alt.comp.freeware
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alt.consumers.experiences
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alt.consumers.free-stuff
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alt.consumers.sweepstakes
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alt.coupons
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alt.crafts.*
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alt.creative-cooking
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alt.culture.luddites
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alt.culture.openair-market
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alt.education.distance
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alt.education.nontrad-degree
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alt.education.home-school.*
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alt.energy.*
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alt.food.*
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alt.freenet
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alt.healing.*
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alt.health.*
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alt.homebrewing
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alt.housing.nontrad
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alt.how-to
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alt.individualism
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alt.med.*
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alt.motherjones
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alt.poverty
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alt.recovery.clutter
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alt.self-improve
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alt.self-reliance
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alt.students.nontraditional
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alt.support.*
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misc.answers
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misc.consumers
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misc.consumers.house
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rec.autos.*
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rec.crafts.*
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rec.food.*
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soc.college.financial-aid
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alt.home.repair
Books
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Tightwad
Gazette, TG
II, TG
III
by Amy Dacyzyn. TG was the book that got the masses interested. All
three are full of good tips, as well as some "frugal philosophy." You may
not agree with everything, or ANYTHING Amy says, however these books are
definitely worth a read, for humor if nothing else.
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Your
Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. This book
has caused a great deal of people to re-evaluate their situations. Its
basic premise is that money is nothing more than a measurement of life
energy.and when you look at it that way, you have to wonder if some of
the things you purchase are really WORTH IT to you.
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Living
Cheaply with Style by Ernest Callenbach. A great frugal resource,
with lots of hippie-ish ideas, but still great philosophy-wise.
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Low Tech by Richard Ball. This book describes how
to make low tech furniture from cast offs. A lot of the directions require
some small amount of carpentry, but there is excellent advice for the urban
frugalista who is furnishing an apartment.
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Clutter's
Last Stand by Don Aslett. A good book to use in assessing your
posessions.
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How
to Have a 48-hour day by Don Aslett. His approach to time management
is more motivational than how-to, but I liked it anyway.
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Art
and Science of Dumpster Diving by John Hoffman. The classic treatise
on urban scavenging.
Websites
Frugality sites
http://www.qis.net/~aliciav/INDEX.HTM
--This site is a good repository of general moneysaving tips.
Affluenza--This
website is the companion piece to a wonderful PBS documentary on rising
expectations and how not to be crushed by the inevitable backlash of the
economy.
http://www.angelfire.com/ia/baglady/index.html
--The Baglady's collection of Abe-pinching links.
Consumer Information
Center --a good source for information on just about everything
Ca$h In -- This
site offers coupon organizing software
Debt Counselors of America
-- Lots of information on credit and credit counseling
Home
Decorating on a Shoestring --It's a lot cheaper to redecorate than
it is to move, after all!
Ann's
Page -- Another good personal page about the topic at hand...frugal
living.
Phoaks
Frugal living page -- This resource culls practically every URL
listed in newsgroup postings and gathers them up in one place.
Household
Budget Management -- "Budget" doesn't have to be a dirty word.
New
Road Map Foundation -- Foundation created by the authors of YMOYL
The
Penny Pincher -- Freebies and information sources.
Personal
Finance Web Sites -- A good listing of sites about what to do with
the money you've saved.
Dollar Stretcher
-- This weekly e-zine can be emailed to you, or accessed via the website.
Really nice, interactive forum.
The
Unofficial Tightwad Gazette Fan Page -- This page is dedicated to all
things Amy. (Amy D., head honcho of the late Tightwad Gazette)
Tightwadding
with Doris OConnell -- A good personal page about thrift.
Organization links
http://www.daytimer.com/
http://www.123sortit.com/toc.html
http://www.crazyladyco.com/link_page.htm
http://www.crazyladyco.com/
http://www.dayrunner.com/
http://pages.prodigy.com/getolife/
http://members.aol.com/bullseye57/webtest/geto/grandplan.html
http://www.smartbiz.com/sbs/arts/vel34.htm
http://www.columbian.com/
http://www.tgon.com/
Cooking links
http://www.goflorida.com/south/miami/dine/cuisine/cubafood.html
http://ddb.com/hazel/
http://www.cookierecipe.com/
http://www.culinaria.com/
http://www.ajlc.waterloo.on.ca/Recipies/
http://www.foodtv.com/
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8098/
http://www.bizcom.com:80/kitchenscience/
http://www.nmol.com/users/kountry/index.htm
http://www.ans.se/lottas.html
http://wctravel.com/lowfat/
http://www.eat.com/
http://www.meals.com/
http://foodstuff.com/
http://www.slip.net/~leeway/food.html
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~amyl/recipes/index.html
http://www.america.net/~gani/recipe/foodlnks.html
http://www.musicalfeast.com/recipes.htm
http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/recipes/
http://www.netins.net/showcase/medea/
http://www2.pace.edu/~docwoman/rpphome.html
http://www.icf.de/hausfrau/index_eng.html
http://www.twics.com/~robbs/tf-recp.html
http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/
http://www.tyson.com/chicken/
http://www.astro.cf.ac.uk/misc/recipe/introduction.html
http://www.foodstop.com/
http://www.boboli.com/
http://recipes.wenzel.net/
http://members.aol.com/oamcloop/index.html
http://www.execulink.com/~netherco/recipes.htm
http://www.windows95.com/apps/infobases-food.html
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/welcome.html
4. The MCFL Jargon File
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gazingus pin (n., YMOYL) A gazingus pin is anything you don't
really *need* but you keep buying anyway. (ex. Tupperware)
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frugalista (n., Mari Morgan) Frugalistas are those of us
committed to raising our standard of living while keeping the cost down.
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stupidmarket (n., Mari Morgan) Where the marketers try to
convince us to spend gobs of money on things we don't need.
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plannedovers (n., Tom E Arnold, Peg Bracken) This is the practice
of making a meal with the intention of reusing part of it in another dish.
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YMOYL (acronym) Your Money or Your Life (referenced in BOOKS)
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YMMV (acronym) Your Mileage May Vary, generally used to indicate,
"this was my experience, but I can't promise that yours will be the same."
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Amy (n. Amy Dacyzyn) The Frugal Zealot, author of TG I, II,
III. Often regarded as the Martha Stewart of frugal living.
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dumpster diving (n.) This is the act of salvaging "the good
stuff" from a dumpster or other pile of discards/trash. Generally seems
more acceptable socially than the phrase "trash-picking."
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ObFrugal (n.) Short for Obligatory Frugal, this is the way
to redeem a post that might seem offtopic. An ObFrugal is a short frugality
tip. Some people recommend creating a text file of good ones, to be recycled
one by one as situations warrant (and after all, recycling IS frugal).
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Killfile (n., v. to killfile) A killfile is a listing of
people or subjects you do not wish to see posts about. Some newsreaders
will do this, others won't (and if yours won't, you can always manually
scan the topics and NOT read the ones you're uninterested in). Details
on how to do this will be found in your newsreader documentation, possibly
under the term "filter".
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SAH (acronym) Stay at Home (as in SAHparent)
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price book (n.) A price book is a book in which you list
the normal price of an item at all the various places you might buy it,
so that you can compare and find the absolute lowest price.
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loss leader (n.) Loss leaders are those items sold at ridiculously
low prices to lure you into a store. If you buy only those items,
you can get a real bargain. However, stores HOPE that you will do
all of your shopping there, and many of their other prices may not be as
good as you can get elsewhere.
5. I've got this great new product which will save you tons of money....
Chances are, the frugalistas DON'T want to hear about it.
We could care less about MultiLevel marketing, or posts that are only there
to promote a product. That said, if you actually have something to SAY
about a product, don't hesitate to do so. SIG files (within reason) are
acceptable, of course. Oh, and REALLY don't bother with, "Send $5 to everyone
on the list." That's not only annoying, it's illegal!
6. I'm new to being frugal, so where should I start?
This particular question is what got the authors to compile
an FAQ in the first place! Such a broad question is likely to get NO response.
However, someone writing a question like this is probably most in need
of some "newbie clues". Below are some general comments, and then a few
specialized instances.
General
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Keep an eye on lowest-possible prices. Some people keep a
price book for this reason, others just keep it in their head. Always shop
at the lowest-possible price!
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Don't buy retail if you don't have to. Making your own clothes,
growing your own food, frequenting yard sales, etc. are all good ways to
get the things you really NEED.
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Evaluate what you REALLY NEED. If you get a great deal of
pleasure from an expensive pasttime, figure out what it is that you like
about it. For example, if you are really into going to the movies, is it
the going out you enjoy? Or the watching of the movie? When you see what
it is that makes it enjoyable, you can work to reduce the cost of the part
you enjoy. In the same example, if it really is the going out that you
enjoy, you may buy some of the reduced-price tickets or go to matinees.
If it is the movies you like, you might start staying in with the VCR.
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Consider hobbies that have a "net worth." To use an example
from a Don Aslett book, if you enjoy working with words, you can do millions
of crosswords, OR you can sit there and write letters, articles, stories,
etc. In the end, you'll have something real, instead of a bunch of marked-up,
useless crosswords.
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Stock up on nonperishable items whenever there is a price
you can't normally beat. Of course, if you won't USE what's stocked up,
it makes no sense to do it.
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Question your assumptions. Think about whether or not
you really NEED something to be fulfilled. For example, some people
won't consider buying a used car, much less not owning a car at all.
However, many people manage just fine without one. Frugality is all
about awareness and self-empowerment. Then again, if you truly feel you
are getting good value from an expensive purchase, that's fine, too.
Just make sure that it is in line with what you TRULY want for yourself.
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Don't think of yourself as being deprived. A positive
attitude makes all the difference. Instead of thinking, "Oh, I can't
buy that brand new outfit" think in terms of "Wow, what a bargain I got
on this outfit. By the time I've worn it twice, it's free."
Things like that. It's all about your mind set.
Food
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Try using store brands instead of name brands.
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If you MUST use name brands, check out bent and dent shops
and use coupons or purchase loss leaders.
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Avoid convenience foods for the most part. It is usually
cheaper and healthier to prepare food from scratch.
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Reduce the amount of meat in your meals, even occasionally
preparing a vegetarian meal. Take the emphasis off of the expensive part
of the meal, and think of the vegetables and grains as the primary, the
meat as the garnish.
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Grow your own, if you can.
7. DejaNews?
One of the best frugal resources on the Net is Dejanews.
Located at www.dejanews.com, this service archives posts made to Usenet
newsgroups. In theory, this should save a lot of time due to people looking
to see if their question has already been answered. You can also POST to
Usenet via this service. If you DON'T want your posts archived, then you
need to insert the following header at the start of your message: x-no-archive:
yes. More information about x-headers is available at DejaNews in
their help files.
There areother websites which archive Usenet, but people
in MCFL have a tendency to use DejaNews as the generic phrase for a UseNet
archive. Also, some of the other sites which archive UseNet do NOT
accept the x-no-archive header.
8. Are coupons really worth the time?(Section written by Maria Rost Rublee)
Why do some people save with coupons, and other people don't?
I've wondered this myself. I think I've figured it out. :)
I save a ton of money with coupons. Often at Safeway the
manager will have to come over and "approve" my purchase because I'll have
gone over the normal limit of savings. I always get stares and wow, how
do you do it?" from people behind me. (BTW, I always carry my coupons out
once I'm in line so if people don't want to wait, they can go to another
line.)
I brought my coupons up to WI for Christmas last year,
and saved only a little. Why? I'm the same person with the same coupons!
First, you have to live in an area that doubles coupons.
This way, your efforts are doubled...for every minute you spend, your savings
are doubled.
Second, you have to live in an area with high prices and
good loss leaders. This way, the store brand items are expensive also.
When a store has a good loss leader sale, and you have coupons that are
doubled, you are not only going to get a product for less than the store
brand, you are probably going to get it close to free!
I always buy store brand if it is less than name brand.
(With few exceptions, like bread and instant breakfast.) But I almost always
buy name brand because it is simply cheaper.
Plus, if you add rebates....you are going to do quite
well. And, if you consider premiums you get sometimes, that often takes
care of your Christmas shopping! Trix (14 oz) was on sale for $1.99 box.
Each time you bought a box, you got a checkout coupon for $1 off your next
purchase of anything except milk and alcohol. So that's $.99/box. Plus,
I had several $.50 coupons, which were doubled. AND each box had a promotion
for free Trix scratch n sniff t-shirts. Simply send in the form and 3 boxtops
per t-shirt. Took care of my husband's snacking and Christmas presents
for all my nieces and nephews .... Total cost, $0!!! (Well, $.32 for the
stamp to send it in.)
9. What exactly IS Off topic in this group? You seem to discuss EVERYTHING!
Frugality is a lifestyle, and therefore touches on almost
anything! Some newbies and not-so-newbies have taken offense when we get
down to nitty-gritty details of such things as frugal feminine hygiene,
or discussions of various other bodily functions. But, honestly, it's not
as if they don't have the exact same bodily functions (for the most part),
so objecting is more likely to get you flamed and killfiled than to cause
the topic to change.
And of course, off topic posts were the reasoning for
the invention of the ObFrugal.
10. Is there anything I SHOULDN'T discuss?
While nothing beyond trolling and spamming is truly TABOO
in this newsgroup, there are several topics that will cause downright heated
discussion, even though they are all very much YMMV areas. Some examples
include: chickpea humor, parenting styles, tax policies that favor one
economic group over another, the frugality of having/not having children,
whether a true frugalista would use paper towels,
and Amy Dacyzcyn: Frugal Avatar or nutcase. More topics of dissension include:
homeschooling, vegetarianism vs. omnivorism, regionality vs. Commonality
(for instance, that milk in Georgia is half the price it is in Hawaii and
that air conditioning isn't as much of a luxury in south Texas as it is
in northern Maine), SAH parenting vs. WOH parenting, barefoot vs. shoes,
cosmetics vs. no cosmetics, cars vs. public or human-powered transportation,
holiday observances vs. nonobservances, putting children through college
vs. the "sink or swim" philosophy,
11. What's this about chickpeas?
This from Jerry Chase. "Deja news searches are good if you
search for chickpeas then for chickpea, and only pick the MCFL postings.
One of the classics is searched with chickpea AND giant.
There are a few basic rules to Harry Chickpea. Harry is
an alien lifeform that can move from one individual chickpea to another
without anyone knowing it. The chances of his being turned into hummus
are slim. His relatives can do likewise, and some chickpeas are quite old.
Harry will take on the establishment whenever possible, and is slightly
left wing in his views.
The chickpea world is populated with other lifeforms that
inhabit fish, rocks, and all sorts of other items. Margo and Herman just
joined the troupe as goldfish dwelling in the toilet bowl of one hoo-man
bean family. BTW, Harry's girlfriend is Jennifer. She likes to dance. If
anyone wants to join the fracas, they can, but a chickpea character has
to have a singular personality, and borrowing a character without permission
is bad form.
Harry was born around the time one stick-in-the-mud poster
said that he would never try coffee substitute made from chickpeas, that
(the group) would have to pry the coffee cup from his cold dead hands.
Only a chickpea could lead the battle against such blatant rigid and anti-frugal
attitudes."
And, to all that, I would add, be prepared for a variety
of sly comments about chickpeas. It's an inside joke among many of
the old-timers.
12. Contact info
This FAQ will be posted monthly to misc.consumers.frugal-living,
misc.answers, and news.answers. An HTML version may be found at http://members.delphi.com/maweena/
. To make suggestions or corrections, please email maweena@geocities.com.
The author disclaims all liability or responsibility for information included
in this document. This document may be freely distributed and included
in CD-ROM archives as long as no modifications other than formatting are
made to the text.
13. Revision History
15 November 1997 Version 1.0 released for approval (hopefully)
by the masses. Several sections need some work, but I was hoping for more
input from the group.
16 November 1997 Version 1.1 released. Changes
include a few typos, addition of alt.home.repair and some modifications
to the general frugal tips.
7 February 1998 Version 2.0 released. Changes
include typo modifications, name modifications, and a "neatening up" and
summary of the web links. Also a few new links added, some removed,
etc.
14. Thanks
Special thanks go out to Mari Morgan, Tom E Arnold, Maria Rost
Rublee, R. Wallace, Eleanor Symonds, Harry Chickpea, James Chase, Warren
Block, and linda-renee.
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