MCFL FAQ
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

Books

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

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

  1. 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!
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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

  1. Try using store brands instead of name brands.
  2. If you MUST use name brands, check out bent and dent shops and use coupons or purchase loss leaders.
  3. Avoid convenience foods for the most part. It is usually cheaper and healthier to prepare food from scratch.
  4. 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.
  5. 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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